Jamie's 30 Minute Meals

[Noodley]

I got the 30 Minute cookbook for my birthday and I love it...but I have yet to time myself following an entire meal. Some great ideas, and it has got me back into being a bit more creative again after a few years of sticking to the same stuff all the time!

I like Nigel Slater stuff but am starting to find him very irritating on the telly. I cannot stand watching Nigella so I have no idea if she is any good or not.

And whilst we are on about decent cookbooks can I put forward a vote for Sophie Grigson's "Meat Course" and anything by Antonio Carluccio, who seems to have gone out of fashion for some reason

 

[skudupnorth]

I'm a Mrs Skud fan ! She can wizz up an Indian curry in less than half an hour...it's just a blur when she's on a mission !!! No weighing,counting for her ect just instinct.......mind you she is Indian,Although i am the master of mashed spuds and scrambled egg !

I like some of Jamies earlier books and his programmes but the latest stuff is getting boring so i'm back to River Cottage if it's another cook i have to vote for other than Mrs Skud.

 

[Arch]

Re reading the OP, I'm wondering, how does a steak sandwich take anything like 30 minutes to prepare?

Anyway Vernon, sorry, I mistook your meaning perhaps.

 

[vernon]

Re reading the OP, I'm wondering, how does a steak sandwich take anything like 30 minutes to prepare?

Anyway Vernon, sorry, I mistook your meaning perhaps.

It's not just a steak sandwich the full recipe is:

Steak Sarnie
Crispy New Potatoes
Cheesy Mushroom
Beetroot Salad

I can do a steak sarnie in roughly a minute longer than it takes the steak to cook.

I am not confident that I can do a Jamie 'Steak Sarnie' in the allocated time.

This is one of his less complex recipes.

The outcome might well be wonderful but it's unrealistic to expect to do it quickly. The book is a cycnical marketing exercise where it is bought off the back of excellent marketing exercises i.e. his heavily edited programs.

It's a bit like going to a market and seeing the high quality fruit and veg on a stall and buying on the strength of the display only for the market trader to serve you goo,ds unseen, from under the counter that are inferior to the display goods. Thankfully such sharp practise seems to have disappeared from most markets but there's more than a hint of it with cook books.

If anything I've learned not to abandon my normal practise of skim reading cookbooks in bookshops before committing to a purchase.

 

[skudupnorth]

Mrs Skud curry tonight...there is a God and he ain't called Jamie !!!

 

[slugonabike]

What time should I be there, Skud?

 

[skudupnorth]

What time should I be there, Skud?

Sorry,all gone......but it was very nice

 

[Noodley]

I shall be making Moroccam lamb chops tonight, page 266

 

[vernon]

I shall be making papier mache, pages 1- 287.

 

[Noodley]

I shall be making papier mache, pages 1- 287.

 

[SavageHoutkop]

For chinese, soy and sesame oil is a great mix.

I have a great little recipe I call my 'chicken surprise' (mainly because I just did this mucking about in the kitchen one day and the 'surprise' is whether I've got the ingredients in the right ratio as I never write it down!)

Take some chicken fillet strip things (breast is more expensive than thigh, but both work fine). If they're not already in strips, cut them up into the right size.

Fry them up in a pan with a little oil for a few minutes, then (before they're properly done) add in soy sauce, honey, ginger powder and (the clincher) lots and lots of sesame seeds (you essentially want a good coating of sesame seeds). Cook till done.

Serve with noodle (of the 'add boiling water and wait four minutes' kind, I'm partial to the 'spinach noodle' at the moment).

The sesame seeds soak up the moisture and go all yummy, and seem to soak up even more when you take the leftovers out the fridge the next day.

 

[carolonabike]

I got Jamie's 30 minute meals in November and have tried several recipes. They've been without exception delicious and while I agree that it would be a challenge to finish them in 30 minutes they don't take too long, I would say 40 - 50 minutes. Cooking on an evening after work and ending up with food of this quality I'm more than happy.

There's a couple I've now made several times and I am getting quite speedy, the fish tray bake is particularly fab (new potatoes with salsa verde ) .

I do take a fairly flexible approach; when I made the the mushroom risotto, I didn't have oyster or any other fancy mushrooms so I just used the Shitake and ordinary mushrooms and it was still lovely. Sometimes when he says put stuff under the grill if I'm not in a hurry I'll put it in the oven instead.

 

[Noodley]

I shall be making papier mache, pages 1- 287.

Dinnae mache page 266! 30 mins from starting prep to sitting down to eat....and because I missed out the couscous in favour of a salad and olives I even had time to have a sit down.

Exceedingly tasty

 

[Arch]

I have a great little recipe I call my 'chicken surprise' (mainly because I just did this mucking about in the kitchen one day and the 'surprise' is whether I've got the ingredients in the right ratio as I never write it down!)

Take some chicken fillet strip things (breast is more expensive than thigh, but both work fine). If they're not already in strips, cut them up into the right size.

Fry them up in a pan with a little oil for a few minutes, then (before they're properly done) add in soy sauce, honey, ginger powder and (the clincher) lots and lots of sesame seeds (you essentially want a good coating of sesame seeds). Cook till done.

Serve with noodle (of the 'add boiling water and wait four minutes' kind, I'm partial to the 'spinach noodle' at the moment).

The sesame seeds soak up the moisture and go all yummy, and seem to soak up even more when you take the leftovers out the fridge the next day.

oh, interesting, I'll try that. I'm normally a bit ambivalent about sesame seeds, but the combo of soy and sesame oil I love - my sister introduced me to it, as she does a noodle stir fry for Oli with that seasoning.

honey and soy, I'd also like to try. I had scallops the other day in a chinese restaurant, and they were served in their shells surrounded by a thin sauce which was like soy, but sweet, so I assume there was honey or something in it. It was delicious - I could have drunk the sauce!