Jamie Oliver Round Up, Vol. I

I've always wanted to choose a recipe book and cook every single recipe in it. So, as I've mentioned in previous posts, I've been steadily cooking my way through Jamie Oliver's 30 Minute Meal recipe book, and have really enjoyed it so far. The recipes are very easy to follow, and usually take me around the 45 minute mark. The ingredients lists are usually quite extensive so I doubt this is something you could cook every night as he suggests. However there's some really tasty special feeling meals in there that I'll definitely be cooking again. I think where he really excels are his exciting salads, which is something I never think to include with a main meal, especially a hot one.

So, here's my round up of the first five dishes I cooked.

1. Tasty Crusted Cod, my mashy peas, tartare sauce, warm garden salad.

The herb crust on the fish was a crunchy, well seasoned match for the clean fresh tastes of the cod fillet. The mash held all sorts of exciting textures and the mint sauce gave it an unexpected kick. Since making this recipe I've made the tartare sauce numerous times as it's easy and much more satisfying than buying it in. Also, it means the big jars of cornichons and capers that we wouldn't usually buy can be put to good use. The salad had crispy pancetta that gave the leaves a naughty fatty edge which is always welcome. Overall, an excellent alternative to an ordinary fish n potatoes tea. I'm giving this one 8/10.

2. Oozy Mushroom Risotto, Spinach Salad, and Quick Raspberry & Lemon Cheesecake

Lots and lots of STUFF was chucked into this risotto; rosemary, garlic, thyme, dried porcini and a variety of wild mushrooms. So I was very surprised when it actually tasted quite bland. Perhaps it was the quality of the stock that I used but it needed more seasoning and I just expected it to deliver more of an earthy mushroomy smack to the face. The actual risotto was easy enough and the consistency was perfect. Whilst the sun dried tomotoes gave the salad a much needed bit of excitement, plus I LOVE pine nuts. The quick dessert was the highlight of this meal and led to me discovering how ace lemon curd is. I've never been a fan before but it's lovely and sweet, and I got it from our new local family run village shop. How virtuous of me. A 6/10 because of the slightly disappointing risotto.

3. Summer Veg Lasagne, Tuscan Tomato Salad, and Quick Mango Frozen Yoghurt

I love different takes on lasagne and this one was really scrummy. The bulk of it was made from my favourite green veggies; broad beans, peas and asparagus. Then a creamy mix of cottage cheese and stock. It all got a bit messy and some parts of the pasta was a little chewy for some reason but overall it was summery and very satisfying, especially considering it was meat free. This was one of the best salads I've ever had. Big chunks of bread with fresh tomatoes and basil; sort of a deconstructed bruschetta. A proper revelation for me. I swapped mangos for strawberries which worked very well, only I made it ahead and froze it for too long which spoiled it a bit. Very quick and healthy though. An 8/10 for this meal.






4. Seared Pork Fillet & Catherine Wheel Sausage, Meaty Mushroom Sauce, Celeriac Smash, and Garlicky Beans

I always think fondly of this meal as when I was deciding which one to make, the man himself tweeted me! I always tend to veer away from pork as I've been put off by dry and bland chops. However, I went to  Chadwick's and picked up a bloody lovely piece of pork fillet along with some kidneys for the sauce and sausages. This new (on me) cut of pork was a real revelation as it was tender and tasty. But what made this meal was the sauce; the kidneys made it so much more exciting than an ordinary mushroomy sauce, so it was meaty as well as creamy. I couldn't get hold of celariac in any of the supermarkets I visited so we just had ordinary mashed potatoes which is always nice. The apples and sausage complimented each other really well but I think it was all a bit too much altogether. Especially considering the Catherine wheel sausage is the main component of another meal in the book. Overall a 9/10 mostly because of that pork and the sauce.

5. Super-Fast Beef Hash, Jacket Potatoes, Goddess Salad, Lovely Butter Beans & Bacon

This was one of those meals that I didn't think would be anything to write home about, but ended up being one of the nicest I've had in a long time. Avocado still feels like a bit of an exotic treat to me and I enjoy it in all its forms so the salad and dressing were lovely. The hash was hearty and comforting but still full of interesting flavours. The butter beans were absolutley gorgeous; meaty and fresh with lots of different textures going on. At all tasted very nourishing and everything really came together beautifully; a 9.5/10 as I feel I should reserve the big 10 as you never know what might come along!






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Cheats Pizza, Sauteed Sweet Potato and Caprese Salad

This recipe (made on our recent holiday to Cornwall) is based on one from the goodfood website that claimed to be a 'no-oven' pizza. However, you can clearly see the need for the grill to melt the cheese and finish off the pizza at the end, so it's a good job our camping stove came with a grill underneath. Not sure what you'd do otherwise.

I made pizza before using a ciabatta mix, which was quite successful. But last time I attempted it, the oven just didn't seem to be hot enough and the dough wasn't cooked through while the topping was becoming burnt. So I was a little wary of this recipe and was really pleased when it turned out so well. The base had a real crisp bite to it and was so simple to make, with no waiting around for the dough to rise. We'll definitely be trying these again with different toppings. 

Here I added in courgette for some extra veg, and served it with a caprese salad and sauteed sweet potato. We had originally wanted to bake the potatoes on our barbecue but Gav couldn't get it lit and Spencer the friendly dog was doing his head in so that was swerved. A happy accident really as the potatoes were really delicious.

Ingredients

(Serves 4)

Base:

225g self-raising flour

3 tbsp olive oil , plus extra for frying

Topping:

1 tsp olive oil

1 onion , sliced
3 garlic cloves , crushed

1 courgette, sliced
250g pack cherry tomatoes , halved
4 tbsp passata

Fresh basil leaves 

1 ball mozzarella, torn up into bite size pieces

Salad and Sides:

1 ball mozzarella, torn up into bite size pieces

Tomatoes, sliced 

3 sweet potatoes, cubed

Greek yoghurt, to serve

1) Heat 1tsp oil in a frying pan, then add the onion and garlic and cook for 5 mins. Add the sliced courgette after 3 minutes. Tip in tomatoes and passata, and simmer for 5-10 mins or until the tomatoes are soft. Remove from the heat, stir in some chopped basil, season, then set aside in a bowl to cool.

2) Put the flour into a bowl. Make a well in the centre, add the olive oil then add 6-7 tbsp warm water or enough to make a soft dough. Tip the dough onto a lightly floured surface and roll out to fit a 22cm frying pan or make 2 small ones.

3) Begin to saute the sweet potatoes in a little butter and olive oil over a medium heat for around 15-20 minutes, until softened and coloured. Serve when the pizza is ready, with a blob of Greek yoghurt.

4) Heat a glug of olive oil in the frying pan, then press the dough into the pan and cook over a medium heat for 8-10 mins or until the base is golden. 

5) While the dough is cooking prepare the caprese salad by arranging 1 of the balls of torn up mozzarella onto a plate with sliced tomatoes and fresh basil. Drizzle with olive oil and season. I sometimes like to add sliced avocado for a tricolore salad. Or you can blend the basil together with the olive oil using a hand blender, to create a tasty basil oil to drizzle over.

6) Heat grill to hot. Spread the pizza base with the tomato sauce, scatter on the rest of the mozzarella and grill until it has melted and the base is golden at the edges.

Miller Howe Cafe, Grasmere

Sincere apologies for the Leeds Festival shaped hole in my blogging activities!  However I'm back now and raring to go. I started at my new teaching post in a Reception class today, but hoping to still fit in lots of cooking, eating and blogging or I'll go insane!

In last Friday's post I told you about the day out I had with my Mum and sister in Grasmere. As promised, here is my review on the dinner we had that day. We were torn between 'Miller Howe Café' and 'Greens' which are on opposite sides of the village square. We plumped for the former as there was room to eat outside and the menu was a little more varied. 'Greens' is a favourite with my Mum, however, and she heartily recommends it if you're visiting.

We ordered drinks first from an extensive collection of fresh fruit juices, I went for homemade lemonade and was very pleased with this monster glass. Usually I find that if you order a fruit juice they fob you off with a weeny bottle and an even weenier glass, but this was perfect. I found the colour a little odd and at first thought I'd been given orange juice instead, but the taste was wonderfully sweet and lemony. Very refreshing.

We had a bit of a nightmare when it came to ordering; there are just so many dishes! Lot's of ingredients and combination that you wouldn't usually find on your average lunch menu, meant that I didn't want to miss out and found deciding very difficult! One thing I did notice though, is the complete lack of chips on the menu. Not being a chip lover myself I didn't mind at all but I did find this a little different and it was actually very noticeable. Anyway, after a long long process of shortlisting and elimination, I decided to go for the toasted club sandwich, on triple decker toast.

I placed our orders at the till with the very polite and friendly waiter, who seemed to really make the effort to make natural conversation with each customer, which was appreciated. The service was also very fast considering the vast menu and small kitchen they appeared to be working in. A few minutes later I got my sandwich. It had been advertised as being served with a trio of salads which I thought were fantastic. Much better than your usual pre bagged wilted affair! I'm not sure where one salad ended and the next begun but the highlight was the creamy pasta salad that included ham and some kind of beans. The rest was really crunchy and full of flavour; top marks for a side dish!

The club sandwich involved bacon, lettuce, tomato and mushrooms; no complaints there. Fresh fantastic ingredients. However the chicken and egg that were promised came in the form of chicken mayonnaise and egg mayonnaise. I felt this was okay, but it I'd have much preferred it without, as it all became a bit soggy. Slightly thicker bread would have probably helped. These are only teeny complaints because overall this meal was a real treat, and the little touches were superb.

Also worth a mention were the other meals in our trio. My mum ordered the brie, bacon and mushroom jacket potato which was piled high with filling and got rave reviews. My sister ordered their homemade sausage roll with jacket potato and beans; it wasn't very photogenic bless it but made up for it in taste. There was no big gap of air between the sausage and the pastry, a rarity that went down very well!


All in all; good quality food that you can tell a lot of effort has gone into, a huge menu full of unusual lunches, friendly service and a lovely eating environment whether outdoors or in. We'll definitely be returning.