Jamie Does... Cookbook Review

Now I do have Jamie's 30 Minutes Meals but I'm sure a lot of people are testing it out at the moment, especially to check if the meals can be made in the 30 minutes advertised. I'm sure I'll get to it eventually but I thought I'd go back to his last book, Jamie Does..., which I've had since it came out (which you can see I bought for £8.99!!) but have never used thus far.

I thought I would be most interested in the Spanish, French and Swedish chapters but I've actually made dishes from Morocco and Greece. I really enjoyed the TV series and getting a feel for the different areas he visted. I kept pausing the Stockholm episode as I'd only recently visited myself, shouting "oooo, we went there!" several times!

The photography is really beautiful in the book and there is an image for each recipe. Hurrah! You get a real sense of the different areas the recipes are from and there are nice photos from Jamie's travels, as much a travel guide as a cookery book. Well, as long as you're into food tourism! What I especially like are the photos of the essential ingredients from each country/area at the end of each chapter. Alas it wasn't crayfish season when we were in Sweden.

The first recipe I made was from the Moroccan chapter, Chicken, Olive and Preserved Lemon Tagine. We bought some preserved lemons in France last Easter, wanting to try a tagine for ages but they've only just been taken out of the cupboard. It was well worth the wait. I'm not mad keen on raisins or dried apricots in savoury dishes and I don't eat lamb so tagines have never been very high on my favourites list. This recipe seemed perfect. The only thing I left out was the fennel. It seems like I'm very picky with my food - I'm really not! But that's what's great about cooking, you make things for your taste and if you don't like a particular ingredient - just leave it out.

The spice rub was very simple to make ahead of time and added a great amount of flavour. It cooked for about an hour and a half. I don't have a tagine but in a large saute pan was fine. Instead of using a whole chicken I used chicken thighs as I was only making it for 2 people. I served it with bulgar wheat and cooked this in the dish itself so none of the lovely juices were wasted. The lemon was really nice, not as overpowering as I thought it would be. I probably put too many olives in there so I would put fewer in next time, but there will definitely be a next time. Gorgeous. There is also a recipe to make your own preserved lemons so will have a go at some point. To try the tagine yourself find it here: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_drink/article7088864.ece

The next was from Greece, the Mighty Meat Stifado. Another slow cooker after marinading the meat. It's mighty meat as it's a mixture of pork and beef, though I didn't actually see the point of having both meats so I'll choose one or the other next time I make it. I cooked it for 2 1/2 hours but the beef didn't melt quite as much I wanted but the pork was lovely. I used crimson raisins and they soaked up so much of the sauce they became full grapes again! I did say I wasn't a fan of raisins in savoury food but actually they did go really well with meat and added a delicious sweetness. The spices were really subtle but again added to the sweetness of the dish, and you can never go far wrong with red wine and chopped tomatoes in a stew! Had it with ciabatta the first day and had the leftovers the following day with mash. As with most stews it was nicer the next day so a great on to make at the weekend and leave for Monday or Tuesday. Yum.

So pretty good results from those 2 recipes. I hope it's a book I will return to quite regularly. I don't fancy the look of all the recipes, I doubt I'll ever make pickled herring, but the courgette gratin, souvlaki (made with something other than lamb) and all the tapas recipes look scrummy. I'm glad I own it. On a final note here is Jake the cat eyeing up my ostrich steak with Nigel Slater's winter roots and lemon roast. Needless to say he did get a bit of the meat! It was the first time I'd tried ostrich and did like it but it was surprisingly quite a strong game-like flavour. I was expecting a lighter flavour for some reason. Probably because most things inevitably taste like chicken, or so people say! It did cook well though and was quite juicy despite it being a lean meat. But what I was most impressed by was Nigel Slater's roast recipe from his last TV series. Roasted potatoes and Jerusalem artichokes with lemon. Sticky and fluffy and very tasty. We also had it the next day with some pan-fried fish. Here is the recipe to try out:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/winter_roots_and_lemon_06059

Artichoke season

Still no cookbook review (slap wrist) but I was excited to share my first fresh artichoke of the year. It might well also be the last of the year, why is n0-one selling them? There were all of 2 available at Waitrose, for, eeks, £1.99 each. Phew. But if it's the only one we're getting then hell, it's worth it. It makes my insides cry when I see chefs on TV cutting into an artichoke and only using the heart or the bottom, especially when they're obviously so expensive. No doubt in their restaurants they would use the remainder to make soups or foams but I think the best way of eating artichoke is simply, with a nice vinaigrette, and eating as much as possible.

Too right it's a bit of a faff getting through all the leaves but it's good to fool your brain into thinking you've eaten loads when you've only had a taste of the bottom of the leaves until you get to something more tender. I've always been the vinaigrette maker in the house, learnt from my French side of the family - Dijon mustard, vinegar (your choice of flavour), pinch of salt and oil mixed in little by little until it tastes nice! This time I used sherry vinegar as we've had it for a while and never really used it, very nice. I like balsamic but I use much less as it's so strong. I also avoid using olive oil as I think it's too strongly flavoured, sunflower oil is perfect.

So very happy with this simple meal, just wish we could find them somewhere else.

The only other dish I can report on is a Jamie Oliver risotto recipe from the Sainsbury's Magazine from October 2009. The upside to tidying up magazines is that you re-discover some nice looking recipes. I went for Jamie's red wine and mushroom risotto as we already had all of the ingredients at home. I used a gorgeous selection of dried wild mushrooms, using the water they'd soaked in as the stock for the rice. The red wine added a nice depth to the flavour without hiding the flavour of the mushrooms and cubes of pancetta in the dish. I didn't go for celery or onion for the base as I'm not a great lover of either but I honestly don't think the risotto was lacking anything without them. Plenty of parmesan on top and it was great. A good recipe to have on hand when you can't think what else to eat but want something homemade.

I'm now going to be creative in other ways, making a card for my friend's birthday and then testing out a new nail art kit! Do I go for flowers, stars or leopard print?!