Jamie's 30-minute Meals

I'm going to show you how to put a whole meal on the table in 30 minutes flat!  Not just one dish, a whole spread of beautiful things.

If, like me, you love food, and have hungry mouths to feed when you get home after a long day, then allow me to let you in on a totally revolutionary new way of cooking.  In this book I'm going to show you how to make a complete meal in the time you'd normally spend on one dish.  What you'll be able to achieve in just 30 minutes will absolutely blow your mind.  It's certainly blown mine!

This is not about compromising on quality.  It's about being organized, working fast and using shortcuts and clever tricks to put insanely delicious plates of food on the table in no time.  Each of the 50 meals inside has been carefully written so there's no faffing about - just good, fast cooking.  I've created complete menus of food that go beautifully together and planned the recipes in a really unique, easy-to-follow way.  This kind of cooking is all about using every minute wisely, having fun, and reclaiming your kitchen for the job it was meant for.
 

You might think it can't be done, but I promise you it can.  Have a look inside to see the sort of meals you're going to get.  Once you start cooking this way, not only will you absolutely love it; you'll never look back.

Sample Recipes 

Pregnant Jools's Pasta, Crunchy Chicory & Watercress Salad, Little Frangipane Tarts, Page 30-33 (pictured on left)

PASTA
4 spring onions
1 carrot
1 stick of celery
1-2 fresh red chillies
1 x 6-pack of good-quality sausages (approx.400g)
1 heaped teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon dried oregano
500g dried penne
4 cloves of garlic
4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
a few sprigs of Greek basil, or regular basil

SALAD
2 red chicory
1 x 100g mixed bag of prewashed rocket and watercress
Parmesan cheese, for shaving over
1 lemon

SEASONINGS
olive oil
extra virgin olive oil
sea salt & black pepper

TARTS
6 small deep shortcrust pastry cases
1 egg
100g ground almonds
100g butter
90g golden caster sugar
1 orange
1 tablespoon vanilla paste or extract
a 350g jar of good-quality raspberry jam
1 x 250g tub of crème fraîche, to serve


TO START Get all your ingredients and equipment ready. Turn your oven to 190°C/375°F/gas 5. Fill and boil the kettle. Put a large frying pan on a high heat. Put the standard blade attachment into the food processor.

PASTA Trim the spring onions, carrot and celery. Roughly chop all the vegetables, then blitz in the food processor with the chillies (stalks removed). Add the sausages, 1 heaped teaspoon of fennel seeds and 1 teaspoon of oregano. Keep pulsing until well mixed, then spoon this mixture into the hot frying pan with a lug of olive oil, breaking it up and stirring as you go. Keep checking on it and stirring while you get on with other jobs. Put a large deep saucepan on a low heat and fill with boiled water. Fill and reboil the kettle.

TARTS Put the 6 pastry cases on a baking tray. Make a frangipane mixture by cracking the egg into a mixing bowl and adding 100g of almonds, 100g of butter and 90g of golden caster sugar. Grate over the zest of 1/2 an orange and add 1 tablespoon of vanilla paste or extract. Use a spoon to mix everything together.

Spoon a small teaspoon of jam Into each pastry base. Top with a heaped teaspoon of frangipane, add another small teaspoon of jam, then finally another heaped teaspoon of frangipane. Put the tray in the oven on the middle shelf and set the timer for 18 minutes exactly.

PASTA Top up the saucepan with more boiled water if needed. Season well then add the penne and cook according to packet instructions, with the lid askew.

SALAD Trim off the bases of the chicory, then click apart all the leaves and quarter the heart. Scatter over a platter, then sprinkle the rocket and watercress on top and toss quickly with your hands.

PASTA Crush 4 unpeeled cloves of garlic into the sausage mixture and stir in 4 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar and the tinned tomatoes. Add a little of the starchy cooking water from the pasta to loosen if needed.

SALAD Speed-peel or shave some of the Parmesan over the chicory salad and take it to the table with a bottle of extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper and lemon wedges for dressing right before eating.

PASTA Drain the pasta, reserving about a wineglass worth of the cooking water. Tip the pasta into the pan of sauce and give it a gentle stir, adding enough of the cooking water to bring it to a silky consistency. Taste, correct the seasoning, then tip into a large serving bowl and take straight to the table with the rest of the Parmesan for grating over. Scatter over a few basil leaves.

TARTS When the little tarts are golden and cooked, turn the oven off and take them out. Serve them warm, with a dollop of creme fraiche on the side.

Author Biography

Jamie Oliver started cooking at his parents' pub, The Cricketers in Clavering, Essex, at the age of eight, and has gone on to work with some of the world's top chefs. He founded Fifteen restaurant in London, and the associated charity, Fifteen Foundation, which trains disadvantaged young people to become chefs. There are now Fifteen restaurants in Cornwall, Amsterdam and Melbourne. Jamie has also launched a chain of high-street restaurants in the UK called Jamie's Italian. He writes for publications in the UK and around the world, including his own Jamie Magazine, and he lives in London with his wife and their children.