Jamie's Great Britain

Jamie Oliver, it's fair to say, is my favourite chef. There are so many chefs that I love to watch and love the recipes they do but Jamie Oliver as a whole almost seems like (in a really cheesy way) trying to change the world with his love for food! I absolutely love his travelling cookery programmes, especially Jamie's America. The cookbook for that series is my favourite cookbook, there are so many innovative and different recipes, meals that look difficult but are actually not that hard to prepare, it also has a ton of recipes which are healthy, involve lots of vegetables and just put a spin on a plain and ordinary meal! I used to make a lot of meals from this cookbook when I first started writing my blog, and you can check a couple of them out here, if you're interested.

However, what I wanted to talk about in this post was his new programme, Jamie's Great Britain! He's spent most of his food journey on television travelling around the world but now he's back to Britain to see the best of what restaurants, chefs and different parts of the country have to offer. I absolutely love that in this programme about "British" food, he's acknowledged the huge diversity of cultures in Britain and that it isn't just, as much as I hate to say it like this, white British that have contributed to our food history but people from all different backgrounds, races and cultures. For example, in the latest episode he made what looked like the most amazing lamb shank dish which was inspired by Persian cooks.

What I'm trying to say is, this is a great show and a great watch. Some of the recipes do seem quite difficult but I think with a bit of time and patience would turn out brilliantly. These are a couple of my favourites that I've seen that I'd love to try -

Guinness Lamb Shanks

Kate and Will's Wedding Pie

Here is a little clip from Youtube with Jamie talking about the show -

Courgette Carbonara (Jamie Oliver)

I seem to be making a lot of recipes with courgettes lately! No idea why... just a lot of yummy sounding recipes involve them! And this is another one, taken from Jamie Oliver's website. Carbonara is already so delicious, then add some roasted courgettes to it and it's even better (and with 1 of your 5 a day hopefully!) I feel that this recipe is also very summery, so what better way to say goodbye to our almost non-existent summer than with this dish and nice cold glass of white wine!

For 4 people

Ingredients

Sea salt and black pepper

6 medium green and yellow courgettes (I only used green, but the more diverse the colour, the better!)

500g penne

4 large eggs

100ml double cream

2 generous handfuls of freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Olive oil

Some kind of yummy porky meat - around 12 slices/1 packet (of lardons) - unfortunately I didn't get hold of any for this, but the meaty flavour deepens the flavours of the dish so it is well worth getting. You could use chopped up pancetta slices, the pre chopped up lardons you can get in the supermarket, grilled bacon chopped up or even some grilled parma ham!

A small bunch of fresh thyme

This is slightly different to Jamie's recipe, as I always like to start with the preparation. Put a large saucepan on the boil, and fill with slightly salted boiling water.

Then start preparing the carbonara mixture, you will need to get the eggs, double cream and grated parmesan in a bowl together and mix well. Season and then set to one side.

Halve and quarter the courgettes lengthways, and slice roughly so they are of a similar shape to the penne.

Then chop up the pancetta - or whatever meat you have chosen to use! The water should by now be boiling, so add the penne to the saucepan.

Get a large frying pan on and add a good amount of olive oil (Jamie says a 'splash'!) and fry the pancetta until crispy. Add the courgette slices and a good sprinkling of black pepper - then my recipe differs slightly from Jamie's here as I wanted my courgettes to have their own flavouring. So I used garlic oil, dried thyme, dried Italian herbs, fresh thyme and gave it a good mix coating the courgettes in the herby garlicky dressing. Fry until golden.

Now here I really did follow Jamie's instructions as he advises to work quickly otherwise the carbonara could end up ruined, as you don't want the eggs to start scrambling!

When the pasta is cooked, drain and keep a bit of the salted water on the side.

Add back to the pan and remove from the heat. Then add a ladleful of the salted water, and then the carbonara sauce and stir together quickly! (Again no scrambly eggs happening here!)

Dish out into four bowls and arrange the courgettes/pancetta on top of the pasta like a garnish. Season and then you're done! Yummy, summery courgette pasta!

Main course - Roasted mushroom risotto with parsley (Jamie Oliver)

To my knowledge, I have yet to put a risotto recipe on here. I have no idea why as it is pretty much one of my favourite meals to make, a go to recipe and I have made it so many times that I have my own risotto routine really! I took my inspiration for this from Jamie Oliver's, Jamie's Italy cookbook who had such a yummy recipe, where he roasted the mushrooms in a delicious buttery garlicky sauce and then added the parsley which really gives the dish more flavour.. Mushrooms always give the rice such depth and richness, which makes the meal feel a lot more decadent than it actually is.

So to start you need to make the risotto bianco, now this is my way of doing it, it might be different (or very similar) to other people's methods but it always works for me. Some people (my mum included) like to put the risotto in the oven after it's been made in the pan, it does turn out nicely but I prefer the risotto straight from the pan as it has a better texture and is more creamy. You will also notice that the recipe calls for a LOT of stirring, this is because stirring is pretty much the basis for direction in making risotto, all the ingredients need to be mixed and infused together well to get the right consistency.

Ingredients

(for 4 people)

A knob of butter

Olive oil (a couple of tablespoons)

1 onion (chopped)

1 garlic clove (finely chopped)

1 glass of white wine

400g risotto rice (arborio)

1.5 litres of stock (chicken/beef stock will give more depth to the dish and vegetable will be lighter but still just as nice!)

A very generous grating of parmesan cheese (the more the better I say!)

200g wild mushrooms (chopped - I only managed to find regular mushrooms and chestnut although chestnut do have a lovely flavour, shitake mushrooms would be even better for this and would definitely add a different taste)

Sea salt and black pepper

1 bulb of garlic, cloves peeled and halved

A small bunch of fresh thyme, leaves picked

1 tablespoon butter

A small bunch of fresh parsley, very finely chopped

1 lemon

Preheat the oven to 200C.

You want to make this using a fairly large, deep pan as you will be pouring in quite a bit of stock, so the pan needs to hold all of that! Heat the pan and add a drizzle of oil, a small knob of butter, the chopped onions and garlic. Stir so all the ingredients are nicely mixed, and cook until the onions are starting to slightly brown.

Add the risotto rice and mix everything together well for around 10-20 seconds so the rice is covered in the butter and onions. Then add a glass of white wine and stir again.

When the wine has been reduced by half and the rice has started to soak it up, start adding the stock. You will need to add enough stock to just cover the rice, then keep stirring, and when it has been absorbed, keep adding some more a little bit at a time. Try the rice to see if it tastes cooked, if not add more stock!

While the rice is cooking and soaking up the stock, start on the mushrooms.

Heat a non-stick pan with a little oil and then add the chopped mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper and cook for a couple of minutes until the mushrooms are slightly browned and shrunk in size. Add the garlic, thyme and butter and mix together well. Then empty onto an oven tray and pop in the oven for around 10 minutes, so the mushrooms are completely roasted and full of buttery garlic flavour!

At this point I served the starter, so I left the pan on the stove with the heat off and the lid on and turned off the oven, but left the mushrooms in there to keep warm.

After the starter, get the heat going on the risotto again, give it a good mix. Then add the roasted mushrooms, grated parmesan and chopped parsley.


Squeeze some lemon juice over it and stir well. Serve straight away!

Jamie's Italian (Nottingham)

Two (or maybe three) weeks ago, I met up with my lovely friend Emily in Nottingham, our plan was to shop for posh hats (for the races in York) and to eat at Jamie's Italian. I was beyond looking forward to this day, we had a pretty funny time trying on all sorts of hats and daydreaming about being rich and getting to wear them all them time (Emily wants a hatdrobe). I was also very much looking forward to the day because of eating at Jamie's Italian. Ever since I caught the cooking bug and started to cook and follow recipes, I have been a big fan of Jamie Oliver. I think Jamie's America was one of my first cookery books, which I have used to no end. I love his cookery shows, especially Jamie at Home, where he cooks with fresh produce. I also followed his Jamie's Food Revolution programme which was hugely informative, and just great that he is so passionate about it. So eating at his restaurant was definitely something I've been wanting to do.

After the shops closed, Emily and I made our way to Jamie's Italian, it's in a really gorgeous part of town, just up from Carluccio's. It's in a lovely building and not at all like I had imagined inside, it was quite small, green old fashioned-esque wallpaper, wooden tables and 60s style floor tiles. The whole restaurant gave a really lovely feel, there was a bar in a separate room and the restaurant was kind of cornered off, the toilets were down in the basement and even they were pretty damn cool as far as toilets go! I just felt that as it was a celebrity chef's restaurant, that it may be intimidating, but it wasn't even remotely like that. Me and Emily were shown to a perfect table by the window, where we shared a bottle of white wine and ate the most delicious food.

The starters we shared; mixed breads with olive oil and balsamic vinegar dipping sauce and mushroom fritti with a garlic mayonnaise.

Wild Truffle Risotto. Without a doubt, THE most amazing risotto I've ever eaten. I'm always hesitant when I go to Italian restaurant chains to eat pasta/risotto because it will never be as good as a proper Italian. This risotto shows however that Jamie's Italian is a proper Italian. The ingredients seemed so fresh and it tasted so rich and delicious.

Emily chose this Fish Stew. She said it was delicious and very filling!

I would definitely recommend Jamie's Italian, to any food lovers. It would be lovely for a casual lunch but also a romantic dinner. The prices are quite reasonable for how good the food is. The staff are friendly and very knowledgeable and it was just overall a lovely foodie experience!

Tuna meatballs and tomato salsa

Last night, for the second time round, I made these deliciously yummy tuna meatballs with a tangy salsa. I have taken this from Jamie’s Italy cookbook, which I love leafing through and thinking about my time in Italy and the amazing food Italians make.

I have kind of merged two recipes, in that I use the recipe for the tuna meatballs here but use another recipe for the salsa (sausages with green lentils and tomato salsa) which is also in the Italy cookbook. However, I sort of make up the salsa more or less as I go along now as I have made it so many times.

My version of the salsa – (for one person – double up if you’re cooking for more people)

1 red onion, 2 garlic cloves (finely chopped)

Generous sprinkling of cinnamon

1 tin of plum tomatoes

1 tablespoon dried oregano

Salt

Pepper

Red wine vinegar

Finely chop the red onion and garlic cloves. Heat up a pan and drizzle some oil in it. When it’s hot enough, add the onion and garlic and fry until soft and with a slight brown colouring. Sprinkle over the cinnamon and mix the onion and garlic in it.

Add the tin of tomatoes, and if you’re using the plum kind, try to chop up the tomatoes in the pan with a wooden spoon. Add the oregano and put the lid on. Simmer until your meatballs are almost cooked.

Once you’re about to plate up, add a drizzle of red wine vinegar to the salsa and mix. Turn off the heat for a minute or two before plating up.

For the meatballs themselves, follow this recipe here. I would highly recommend rolling the meatballs quickly between your palms so the heat keeps them together and then arranging on a plate to keep in the fridge for an hour or so before cooking.

It is delicious, also even better if you make too many meatballs and have to save some for the next day!

Enjoy!

exciting salads

So this caught my eye in Jamie's America a few days ago and I couldn't believe I hadn't taken notice of it before. It's a real, fresh summery salad with some of my favourite foods in it. Watermelon, lime, seeds, spinach (which was my addition to it), goats cheese and mint. The flavours tasted amazing together, the crunchiness of the seeds with the soft cheese and crunchy, watery melon. It's so easy as well and just makes salad that bit more exciting!

I heart chickpeas

So along with all the ingredients mentioned with that pasta (chorizo, tomatoes, crème fraîche), chickpeas are another ingredient that I really love and that goes so well in so many recipes. I found this recipe in Jamie's America cookbook (a recipe book that does come across as having pretty tricky recipes, but there are some that on a closer look are actually not that hard) One of my favourites is Jamie's chicken chickpea stew. A recipe where the chicken drumsticks and thighs are marinated in a light lemony, garlic marinade and the stew is full of tomatoes, chickpeas and tinned peppers which makes a rich, oily stew. It's so summery and lovely to enjoy with a glass of cold white wine.

New cookery book - Foods Of America

Had a lovely day with my mum for Mother's Day today, having lunch and shopping. She bought me a lovely new cookery book from Marks & Spencer, called the Foods of America. I am pretty interested in American food, there's something about the American diner feel to things, and delicious stodgy foods like maple syrup drizzled pancakes and burgers. I loved Jamie Oliver's America cookery programme; I just love how in one country there are so many diverse cultures, so many different foods and styles. I loved how he didn't just deal with food but with the people of the different cities, their lives and hardships and how food is incorporated into their daily life. I just think food is so special to helping to deal with problems which he showed in the New Orleans episode where he talked about Hurricane Katrina and how many people used to come together to eat big meals to help get by and deal with the problems of what the hurricane left behind. I also love the aspect of fusion foods of America, how there are so many different cultures from all over the world coming together to cook with different styles and ingredients. 

So, hoping to get some recipes out of this one! It also seems great for milkshakes, sauces, dips and cocktails! 

Love FF x