You do have the time. You may be the busiest person in the world, but you still need to eat.
In just 20-30 minutes - about the same amount of time it takes to warm up a ready meal in the oven, watch something on TV or order and pick up a takeaway - I want to show you you can have an amazing home-cooked spread on the table.
I recently realised the way I was cooking during the week wasn't very efficient. Because I can cook, I often freestyle my meals and make things up as I go, but this has meant that although the food tasted great, my approach was slightly chaotic and I ended up spending more time in the kitchen, and more time washing up, when I could have been putting the kids to bed and reading them a story. So I started making a plan and approaching Monday to Thursday's meals methodically. I haven't looked back.
Family time seems to come way down the priority list these days, so I hope learning how to get beautiful, quick meals on the table will help to bring more people back together at meal times.
I didn't set out to make my new cookbook a budget one; there are meals in here to satisfy the foodiest of foodies! But, because I was curious, I costed these meals against their equivalents on the high street, and it turns out that most of them are actually cheaper to make from scratch. Just think: you can sit down with your favourite people in your own home and enjoy a fantastic spread for less than you'd spend anywhere else.
30 Minute Meals is all about cooking meals, so on those weeknights or busy weekends when everyone is together, remember that with less than half an hour of organised energy you can create something truly special.
Serves 4
PIZZA
1 1/2 mugs of self-raising flour, plus extra, for dusting1/2 a mug of tepid waterTOPPING
1 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoesFew sprigs fresh basil1/2 a clove of garlicRed wine vinegar1/2 a 125g ball of buffalo mozzarellaParmesan cheese, for grating over8 slices of salami1 tsp fennel seeds1/2 a fresh red chilliROCKET SALAD
TOMATO SALAD
500g of interesting tomatoes (such as cherry, plum and salad - mixture of colours if you can get them)1/2 a fresh red chilliFew sprigs fresh basil1 tbsp balsamic vinegar1/2 clove of garlicMOZZARELLA SALAD
1 1/2 125g balls of buffalo mozzarella1/4 jar green pestoFew sprigs of fresh basil1 lemonSEASONINGS
Olive oilExtra virgin olive oilSea salt and black pepperCHERRY DESSERT
2 good handfuls of ice300g cherries or other seasonal fruit125g mascarpone50ml milk1 heaped tbsp icing sugar1 mandarin1 tsp vanilla paste or extractFew palmiers or other nice biscuits, to serveTO START
Get all your ingredients and equipment. Turn the grill to full whack. Put a large (30-32cm diameter) ovenproof frypan on low heat. Put on the standard food processor blade attachment.
TOMATO SALAD
Scrunch the cherry tomatoes in a bowl with your hands. Roughly slice the larger tomatoes and add to the bowl. Finely slice the chilli and add, then tear in the larger leaves from some of the basil.
Add 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil and 1 or 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, then season.
Finely grate in the garlic. Mix and take to the table with some smaller basil leaves on top.
PIZZA
Turn the heat under the frypan up to high and dust a clean surface with flour. Put 1 1/2 mugs' worth of flour into a food processor, then half-fill the same mug with tepid water and add to the flour with a pinch of salt and a lug of olive oil.
Whiz until smooth, then tip on the floured board. Sprinkle the top of the dough and the rolling pin with flour (it will be quite wet, so be generous). Roll the dough to a 1cm thickness.
Drizzle olive oil into the pan, then dust dough with flour again and very lightly fold it over into a half-moon shape.
Lightly fold the half-moon in half, then move the dough to the pan and unfold it, pushing it down into the sides of the pan.
If you don't have a big enough pan, halve the dough and make two pizzas.
TOPPING
Put a third of the tinned tomatoes in a blender with a few sprigs of basil, 1/2 a peeled clove of garlic, a splash of red wine vinegar, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a pinch of salt. Whiz until smooth.
Pour over the middle of the pizza base and spread out evenly. Tear mozzarella into small pieces and dot around the base. Finely grate a layer of Parmesan over, then top with the salami slices. I like to bash the fennel seeds in a pestle and mortar and finely chop the chilli, then scatter over the pizza. Put the pan under the hot grill for 4 or 5 minutes, until golden and cooked through.
MOZZARELLA SALAD
Tear mozzarella into chunks and arrange on a large platter. Spoon a little pesto over each chunk. Sprinkle with pepper and pick over the basil leaves. Finely grate over some lemon zest and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. Take to table.
ROCKET SALAD
In a bowl, drizzle rocket with extra virgin olive oil, squeeze in the juice of 1/2 a lemon and season with salt and pepper. Toss the rocket with your hands, then take to the table.
PIZZA
Remove it from the grill, transfer it to a wooden board and scatter over the reserved baby basil leaves. Drizzle over extra virgin olive oil and take straight to the table.
CHERRY DESSERT
Put a little cold water in a large bowl. Add the ice and cherries.
Spoon the mascarpone into a separate bowl, add the milk and mix with the icing sugar.
Finely grate in the zest of the mandarin. Add vanilla paste or extract to the bowl. Mix well.
Divide the cream between some serving bowls, squash over the cold cherries, then put on the table with some biscuits for dipping.
* Extracted from Jamie's 30 Minute Meals by Jamie Oliver, published by Michael Joseph at AUS$49.95.
Recipes copyright Jamie Oliver 2010, photography copyright David Loftus 2010.
www.jamieoliver.com
www.penguin.com.au
Taste.com.au - September 2010
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