Jamie Oliver - Meals in 30 minutes
Discussion
Anyone else been watching these?
I'm hooked.
This is the best series I think he's done, it's quite compulsive viewing, seeing how he prepares a whole meal, obviously he's organised, but it's not a black art either.
Loved that feta pie.
Loved the 'bashed' spuds
The roast!
All look excellent.
Can't wait for the next one, and the book has been ordered!
I'm hooked.
This is the best series I think he's done, it's quite compulsive viewing, seeing how he prepares a whole meal, obviously he's organised, but it's not a black art either.
Loved that feta pie.
Loved the 'bashed' spuds
The roast!
All look excellent.
Can't wait for the next one, and the book has been ordered!
Simpo Two said:
How does he do a roast in 30 mins?
Curious to know how he'd stack up with the likes of Ramsey and Roux. Is he just pub chef made good or a serious Michelin with gor-blimey edges?
He doesn't. I caught that one as I got in early the other day.Curious to know how he'd stack up with the likes of Ramsey and Roux. Is he just pub chef made good or a serious Michelin with gor-blimey edges?
'Roast' fillet of beef done in the pan.
'Roast' spuds are boiled then.....done in a pan.
'Greens' are a watercress salad.
The only thing in the oven were the Yorkies (milk, flour, egg whizzed in a blender, bunged in the tray - came out looking like bullets).
Mushroom and red onion 'gravy' looked underdone, the mushrooms and onions looked raw and the gravy itself didn't have time to 'mature' (I'll bet you could still taste the flour).
I got the distinct feeling that he has a premise (all done in 30 mins) then tries to shoehorn a meal into the time, resulting (in the case of the 'roast') in something not particularly appetising.
Mark Benson said:
Simpo Two said:
How does he do a roast in 30 mins?
Curious to know how he'd stack up with the likes of Ramsey and Roux. Is he just pub chef made good or a serious Michelin with gor-blimey edges?
He doesn't. I caught that one as I got in early the other day.Curious to know how he'd stack up with the likes of Ramsey and Roux. Is he just pub chef made good or a serious Michelin with gor-blimey edges?
'Roast' fillet of beef done in the pan.
'Roast' spuds are boiled then.....done in a pan.
'Greens' are a watercress salad.
The only thing in the oven were the Yorkies (milk, flour, egg whizzed in a blender, bunged in the tray - came out looking like bullets).
Mushroom and red onion 'gravy' looked underdone, the mushrooms and onions looked raw and the gravy itself didn't have time to 'mature' (I'll bet you could still taste the flour).
I got the distinct feeling that he has a premise (all done in 30 mins) then tries to shoehorn a meal into the time, resulting (in the case of the 'roast') in something not particularly appetising.
It's just a take on it, I was impressed, I'd be happy with that meal during the week, which is ultimately what i'm after, good quick meals, quality will always be comprimised when you are short on time, which, after getting home, doing homework with kids, bathing and bed, ends up around 7:30 before you start.
dirty boy said:
How can a fillet not be appetising?
It's just a take on it, I was impressed, I'd be happy with that meal during the week, which is ultimately what i'm after, good quick meals, quality will always be comprimised when you are short on time, which, after getting home, doing homework with kids, bathing and bed, ends up around 7:30 before you start.
On it's own, the fillet looked nice.It's just a take on it, I was impressed, I'd be happy with that meal during the week, which is ultimately what i'm after, good quick meals, quality will always be comprimised when you are short on time, which, after getting home, doing homework with kids, bathing and bed, ends up around 7:30 before you start.
But by trying to re-create a 'roast' in 30 mins the fat tongued one ruined what could have been a decent meal. Better he hadn't had to 'theme' it to be a 'roast' and just got on with making something uncompromised in 30 mins.
Plenty of interesting things you can do with a beef fillet in half an hour that don't involve a pastiche of a Sunday dinner.....
Out of all the cook booked we have, most stuff comes out of a JO book, or Floyd.
For practical, home cooked food, they both know how to get the maximum taste for the minimum amount of skill/fuss/exotic ingredients.
They also give a good solid base or technique for making up your own stuff with similar ideas.
Thanks to Floyd a lot of my most successful curries normally start off with err, crushed nuts.
I've sky+d all the 30 minute meals but haven't started watching them yet as I seem to have inadvertently got hooked on Masterchef yet again after promising myself not to get drawn in.
For practical, home cooked food, they both know how to get the maximum taste for the minimum amount of skill/fuss/exotic ingredients.
They also give a good solid base or technique for making up your own stuff with similar ideas.
Thanks to Floyd a lot of my most successful curries normally start off with err, crushed nuts.
I've sky+d all the 30 minute meals but haven't started watching them yet as I seem to have inadvertently got hooked on Masterchef yet again after promising myself not to get drawn in.
Mark Benson said:
dirty boy said:
How can a fillet not be appetising?
It's just a take on it, I was impressed, I'd be happy with that meal during the week, which is ultimately what i'm after, good quick meals, quality will always be comprimised when you are short on time, which, after getting home, doing homework with kids, bathing and bed, ends up around 7:30 before you start.
On it's own, the fillet looked nice.It's just a take on it, I was impressed, I'd be happy with that meal during the week, which is ultimately what i'm after, good quick meals, quality will always be comprimised when you are short on time, which, after getting home, doing homework with kids, bathing and bed, ends up around 7:30 before you start.
But by trying to re-create a 'roast' in 30 mins the fat tongued one ruined what could have been a decent meal. Better he hadn't had to 'theme' it to be a 'roast' and just got on with making something uncompromised in 30 mins.
Plenty of interesting things you can do with a beef fillet in half an hour that don't involve a pastiche of a Sunday dinner.....
I caught the one on Thursday, which is made a salad with tomatoes such a tiger and black ones, (the salad itself was probably worth about 10 quid in ingredients, serving about 4) which unless you live next door to a market garden, you are never going to be able to buy. Another was using massive filets of beef - not exactly "everyday food" I would say! Just a little out of touch on real world family cooking.
I did the piri piri chicken main meal last night.
Have to say, the sweet potatoes with feta, chili and corriander are superb, really superb, for something so easy and simple i'm very impressed with how well they combined.
If I were to do it again, i'd probably use chicken breasts rather than thighs, and take a bit longer by cooking them entirely in the oven with the sauce, but otherwise, very nice indeed.
Have to say, the sweet potatoes with feta, chili and corriander are superb, really superb, for something so easy and simple i'm very impressed with how well they combined.
If I were to do it again, i'd probably use chicken breasts rather than thighs, and take a bit longer by cooking them entirely in the oven with the sauce, but otherwise, very nice indeed.
I have watched a few more of these, and still not impressed - he is doing his typical "Jamieising" everything, like he did with the Italian series years ago. This series so far he pours olive oil over main/side dish/salid. Hell, he pours olive oil into plain rice, along with cooks with it for an Indian dish - they don't use that in the Sub Continent.... Oh, and he instructed how to cook a curry with a jar of Pataks paste - FFS, they have instruction to do that on the jar.
Oh, and using more (no doubt very expensive) stuff you can't find unless your neighbour is a market gardener supplying to Michilen star resturants, like purple carrots!
Oh, and using more (no doubt very expensive) stuff you can't find unless your neighbour is a market gardener supplying to Michilen star resturants, like purple carrots!
smack said:
I have watched a few more of these, and still not impressed - he is doing his typical "Jamieising" everything, like he did with the Italian series years ago. This series so far he pours olive oil over main/side dish/salid. Hell, he pours olive oil into plain rice, along with cooks with it for an Indian dish - they don't use that in the Sub Continent.... Oh, and he instructed how to cook a curry with a jar of Pataks paste - FFS, they have instruction to do that on the jar.
Oh, and using more (no doubt very expensive) stuff you can't find unless your neighbour is a market gardener supplying to Michilen star resturants, like purple carrots!
Well, the one I did last night was easy enough, cheap ingredients.Oh, and using more (no doubt very expensive) stuff you can't find unless your neighbour is a market gardener supplying to Michilen star resturants, like purple carrots!
I think this series is a take on Delia's cheat book, he knows full well that some ingredients etc are easier to buy (Pataks paste) and he's not aiming for full authenticity anyway.
You really sound like you have an axe to wield over this series.
dirty boy said:
I did the piri piri chicken main meal last night.
Have to say, the sweet potatoes with feta, chili and corriander are superb, really superb, for something so easy and simple i'm very impressed with how well they combined.
If I were to do it again, i'd probably use chicken breasts rather than thighs, and take a bit longer by cooking them entirely in the oven with the sauce, but otherwise, very nice indeed.
Think I'm going to give this one a blast over the weekend Have to say, the sweet potatoes with feta, chili and corriander are superb, really superb, for something so easy and simple i'm very impressed with how well they combined.
If I were to do it again, i'd probably use chicken breasts rather than thighs, and take a bit longer by cooking them entirely in the oven with the sauce, but otherwise, very nice indeed.
Sky plus at the minute is just full of masterchef/Nigella/Jamies 30 minute meals.
dirty boy said:
You really sound like you have an axe to wield over this series.
Yeah, I think he is being un original with this series. It has been done many times before, and there are plenty of "Fast Food/Quick Eats" type books out there.They just finished showing the Fat Yank children series - which he is raising his profile in the States (fair enough), but showing Yanks what is wrong with their way of life with food, starting with their children. So there is a purpose to it.
Jamies 30 minute dinners - make more money from Channel 4, and sell another book.
smack said:
I have watched a few more of these, and still not impressed - he is doing his typical "Jamieising" everything, like he did with the Italian series years ago. This series so far he pours olive oil over main/side dish/salid. Hell, he pours olive oil into plain rice, along with cooks with it for an Indian dish - they don't use that in the Sub Continent.... Oh, and he instructed how to cook a curry with a jar of Pataks paste - FFS, they have instruction to do that on the jar.
Oh, and using more (no doubt very expensive) stuff you can't find unless your neighbour is a market gardener supplying to Michilen star resturants, like purple carrots!
I think you're missing the point. His aim is not to get you cooking the exact same meal. It's also not about being authentic.Oh, and using more (no doubt very expensive) stuff you can't find unless your neighbour is a market gardener supplying to Michilen star resturants, like purple carrots!
It's about making tasty, wholesome food, quickly and easily.
He is trying to get people away fom the POV that the only way to do quick food is to get a microwave meal.
Using the basic techniques, cheats, ideas you get something tasty using more fresh ingredients that you know the source of rather than something pre-made.
I don't think, for a second, that the only way of making it is with a purple carrot.
I use quite a lot of Jamie techniques as well as Floyds. They get me all the flavour I want, with 80% less fuss, and keep me relatively healthy buy using fresh veg, meat, spices, herbs. I don't shop in exotic shops. I eat well.
At the weekend, I can spend 2 hours doing an authentic vindaloo for instance. It tastes better and more interesting which is why I'm willing to invest the time. Weeknights it's a pataks paste and some fresh herbs and spices to lift it.
The pataks example, for instance. Pataks is generally a pre-made sauce using the same staple ingredients that you'd use to make the masala, without having to roast, grind, make the paste. This is a time saver. It's not the best option, making the source from scratch is. But you're not going to do that on a rainy Wednesday night. However, doing it means your making a curry with your choice of fresh meat, or prawns, or fresh veg, and fresh onion and real rice. You're not buying an entire meal of crap.
smack said:
dirty boy said:
You really sound like you have an axe to wield over this series.
Yeah, I think he is being un original with this series. It has been done many times before, and there are plenty of "Fast Food/Quick Eats" type books out there.They just finished showing the Fat Yank children series - which he is raising his profile in the States (fair enough), but showing Yanks what is wrong with their way of life with food, starting with their children. So there is a purpose to it.
Jamies 30 minute dinners - make more money from Channel 4, and sell another book.
When he goes travelling around the place telling people what to eat and getting all emotional about principles it’s really cringeworthy but his simple no nonsense cookery is pretty inspirational if you ask me.
DeadMeat_UK said:
Mark Benson said:
dirty boy said:
How can a fillet not be appetising?
It's just a take on it, I was impressed, I'd be happy with that meal during the week, which is ultimately what i'm after, good quick meals, quality will always be comprimised when you are short on time, which, after getting home, doing homework with kids, bathing and bed, ends up around 7:30 before you start.
On it's own, the fillet looked nice.It's just a take on it, I was impressed, I'd be happy with that meal during the week, which is ultimately what i'm after, good quick meals, quality will always be comprimised when you are short on time, which, after getting home, doing homework with kids, bathing and bed, ends up around 7:30 before you start.
But by trying to re-create a 'roast' in 30 mins the fat tongued one ruined what could have been a decent meal. Better he hadn't had to 'theme' it to be a 'roast' and just got on with making something uncompromised in 30 mins.
Plenty of interesting things you can do with a beef fillet in half an hour that don't involve a pastiche of a Sunday dinner.....
What I'm saying is, the 'arming you with a bunch of different, quick techniques to mix and match as time/appetite/fridge contents allow' has been done a million times before, so they're trying to dress it up into something different. But as a concept it fails. Buying a whole fillet of beef to do a mock sunday roast just because it has to fit into 30 mins and resemble the real thing is a great way to waste £40 or more on meat that could be treated far better in the same time.
Nigel Slater did it the whole thing better with his 'Simple Suppers' book and series, as did Delia, but they didn't try and 'concept' it up.
Agreed. Get a copy of Nigel Slater's 'The 30-Minute Cook'.
It's out of print but there are loads of second-hand copies on Amazon.
It's out of print but there are loads of second-hand copies on Amazon.
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