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Jamie’s Herby Salad – in Ten Minutes

Jan 24th, 2012 by

I’ll definitely be making this salad again – it’s delicious!

You’ll find Jamie’s Herby Salad on page 44 of Jamie Oliver’s book “Jamie’s 30 minute meals”. It’s the second recipe review from my Jamie Oliver Recipes series.

Jamie Oliver Recipes - Herby Salad

I served this salad as a side dish to Jamie’s Wonky Summer Pasta, which is vegetarian, but it would work equally well as a side dish to fish and meat dishes.  The dressing could also be used on other salad varations.

I used ordinary bacon in this recipe (because I didn’t have any pancetta in the fridge at the time) and I also omitted the tarragon (for the same reason).

The fennel seeds smelled absolutely delicious as they were cooking with the bacon – and they tasted even better. The grapes added a sweet contrast to the other flavours and the dressing was the icing on the cake!

My score – 8 out of 10.

Let’s get started:

Jamie’s Herby Salad – Ingredients

  • 8 rashers of pancetta (I used ordinary bacon)
  • 1 clove of garlic, squashed and unpeeled
  • 1 tablespoon fennel seeds
  • 1 x 100g/4oz bag of prewashed rocket and/or watercress
  • small bunch of fresh mint
  • small bunch of fresh tarragon
  • large handful or red, green or mixed grapes
  • 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • half a lemon – juice

Jamie’s Herby Salad – Method

  1. Put the pancetta into an empty frying pan and cook over medium heat
  2. Add the garlic
  3. Once the rashers are golden, turn over and add the fennel seeds
  4. Cook until pancetta is crispy
  5. Meanwhile, put the rocket/watercress into a large serving bowl and add the mint and tarragon leaves and the grapes
  6. Add the pancetta and fennel seeds – discard the garlic
  7. Make the dressing by mixing together in a jar the olive oil, balsamic vinegar and lemon juice – season with salt and pepper to taste
  8. Take to the table and add the dressing to the salad just before serving

Jamie's Herby Salad - Dressing

 

Bacon cooking with the fennel seeds

 

Jamie's Herby Salad

Handy Hints and Variations

  • As mentioned, I used ordinary bacon instead of pancetta and it worked fine
  • I also omitted the tarragon because I didn’t have any in the fridge
  • I cut the bacon into small pieces before adding to the salad – I would probably do the same with pancetta
  • I cut the grapes in half – suggest you do this if the grapes are large
  • It would be worth making double quantity of the dressing and leaving the remainder in the fridge to dress another salad in a day or two
  • Jamie doesn’t mention in his book about discarding the garlic, but I’m sure it wouldn’t go into the finished salad

Have a go at making this yummy salad.  It’s super easy to make and very tasty!

Look out for more reviews for Jamie Oliver Recipes. You can visit Jamie’s website at JamieOliver.com.

Thanks for reading Dinner in Ten Minutes.

You can follow Dinner in Ten Minutes of Facebook.

Jan Littlehales

You might also enjoy:

Salad Dressing

Jamie's Wonky Summer Pasta

Ratatouille Recipe

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted in Jamie Oliver Recipes | 1 Comment »

Jamie’s Wonky Summer Pasta – in Ten Minutes

Jan 21st, 2012 by

Here’s my first recipe review for Jamie Oliver Recipes. You’ll find it on page 44 of Jamie’s cook book, “Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals”.

Preparation time was under ten minutes for this dish. If you wanted to, you could prepare everything, bar cooking and adding the pasta, in advance – perfect if you’re having guests, or just want to get ahead of yourself in the kitchen.

Jamie Oliver Recipes - Wonky Summer Pasta

It’s aptly named, because it does have a real summery taste – probably due to the lemon and basil.  I was a little hesitant in adding the juice of two whole lemons, so only added one and a half in the end. I put lemon wedges on the table in case it needed more, but nobody added extra.

This recipe deserves good quality pasta so don’t be tempted to use your everyday packaged dry variety.

I served it with Jamie’s Herby Salad and the two complimented each other really well – a winning combo, as Jamie would say :)

My score – 8 out of 10!

Would I cook it again – definitely :)

Jamie’s Wonky Summer Pasta – Ingredients

  • 2 egg yolks
  • 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • salt and pepper
  • 125g (4oz) Parmesan cheese (grated) – plus extra for serving
  • zest and juice of 2 lemons
  • small bunch of fresh basil – reserve a few for decoration at the end
  • 500g (16oz) fresh lasagne sheets – cut into fettuccine strips

Jamie’s Wonky Summer Pasta – Method

  1. Put the egg yolks, olive oil, salt, pepper, grated Parmesan cheese, lemon zest and lemon juice into a large serving bowl
  2. Pound half the basil leaves in a pestle and mortar until they resemble a green paste (see photo below)
  3. Add the basil paste and remaining basil leaves to the bowl and mix everything together
  4. Cook the pasta in a large pan of lightly salted water – this will take only one and a half minutes for fresh pasta
  5. Using tongs, add the pasta to the bowl – this will ensure you get some of the cooking water, as well as the pasta
  6. Add 2 or 3 extra tablespoons of the cooking water, if necessary, to make the pasta ‘silkier’
  7. Give the Wonky Summer Pasta a really good stir
  8. Taste, and if necessary add more Parmesan cheese and lemon juice and stir again
  9. To serve, add the reserved basil leaves, sprinkle with extra Parmesan cheese and serve immediately

Jamie's Wonky Summer Pasta - preparation

 

Basil leaves pounded in pestle and mortar

 

Pasta sauce - awaiting cooked pasta

 

Fresh pasta cooking

My Hints and Variations

  • Depending upon how much lemon juice you get out of each lemon, you may want to consider adding less – I added the juice of one and a half lemons and it was enough
  • Don’t over-cook the pasta – it should be firm, but not hard – and definitely not soggy
  • As I mentioned earlier, buy good quality fresh pasta if possible
  • Buy fresh fettuccine, rather than lasagne sheets, if you can – although it doesn’t take long to cut the lasagne sheets into strips
  • Don’t waste the egg whites – they’ll make a wonderful meringue topping – or add them to scrambled eggs the next morning for breakfast
  • Variations? I can’t think of any!

I hope you enjoyed reading my first recipe review for Jamie Oliver Recipes. You can visit Jamie’s website at JamieOliver.com.

Thanks for reading Dinner in Ten Minutes.

You can follow Dinner in Ten Minutes on Facebook.

Jan Littlehales

You might also enjoy:

Beef Stroganoff

Prawn Pasta

Cooking Pasta

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted in Jamie Oliver Recipes | 7 Comments »

Fruit Slice Recipe – in Ten Minutes

Jan 16th, 2012 by

This has got to be one of the easiest fruit slices I’ve ever made.

Fruit Slice Recipe

Preparation time for this delicious fruit slice recipe is less than ten minutes. You can make one large slice or two smaller ones – so you can freeze one for later use.

To keep things simple, I use a cup measure. The cup should hold approx 8 fl oz / 250 ml of liquid.

I used two bread loaf tins to make two smaller slices (see photos below).

Here goes:-

Fruit Slice Recipe – Ingredients

  • 1 cup self-raising flour
  • 1 cup desiccated coconut
  • 1 cup oats
  • Half cup raw sugar (or other sugar)
  • 1 cup mixed fruit
  • 4oz /120g butter (or your usual spread)
  • Half cup milk (I use soy)
  • 2 eggs

Fruit Slice Recipe – Method

  1. Combine all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl
  2. Gently melt the butter in the microwave or on the stove top
  3. Add the milk and eggs to the melted butter and mix together
  4. Add this wet mix to the dry ingredients and stir to combine
  5. Line one large slice tray or two bread loaf tins with foil and add the slice mix
  6. Bake in a pre-heated moderate oven for around 30 minutes, until nicely browned and firm on top
  7. Allow to cool for a few minutes in the tray/tins, then remove baking paper and cool on a wire rack

Fruit Slices hot out of the oven

 

Fruit Slices cooling on wire rack

Handy Hints and Variations

  • If you are making two fruit slices and plan on freezing one, make sure it is completely cooled before wrapping in foil, placing in a plastic bag, then putting in the freezer
  • You can replace oats with crushed cornflakes, crushed Weetbix or muesli
  • If you like your slice a bit more fruity, add another half cup of mixed fruit
  • To help the baking paper stick to the bottom and sides of the tray/tins, spray the tray/tins with a little oil
  • The baking paper on the bottom is the most important, to stop the slice sticking to the bottom
  • This fruit slice recipe is best eaten on the day, but will store for a couple of days in an airtight tin

Thanks for reading Dinner in Ten Minutes.  You can leave comments and suggestions below.

You can follow Dinner in Ten Minutes on Facebook.

Jan Littlehales

You might also enjoy:

How to Make a Cake

Crumble Recipe e-book

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Posted in Cake Recipes | 3 Comments »

Australia Day Recipes – in Ten Minutes

Jan 13th, 2012 by

Australia Day, on 26 January, commemorates the landing of Captain Arthur Phillip and the convicts of the First Fleet in 1788.  It’s a day of national pride in Australia and the day has become a national holiday and an occasion of celebration.

What better way to celebrate than with family, friends and good food.  The good old Aussie BBQ is an Australia Day Recipes favourite, but you’ll need a few other foods to make the day a real celebration.

I’ve listed some Dinner in Ten Minute favourites and hope they give you some ideas.

  • Have a go at making your own burgers – beef burgers or lamb burgers. You can prepare the day before and store in the fridge until required:

Beef Burgers

 

Lamb Burgers

 

  • Why not accompany the steaks, burgers and snags with a delicious fried rice.  You can make it the day before and just reheat on the day:

Fried Rice

 

  • Ratatouille can also be made the day before and served cold or reheated on Australia Day. It’s delicious with barbecued food:

Ratatouille Recipe

 

  • Who doesn’t love garlic bread? You can prepare the day before then either cook in the oven or on the BBQ (wrapped in foil) on the day:

Garlic Bread Recipe

 

  • Had enough BBQ’s? Why not make roast chicken – another great Australia Day Recipes choice:

Roast Chicken

 

  • Guests will be looking for something sweet for dessert and you can’t go wrong with apple crumble. Make it the day before, then just reheat in the oven:

Apple Crumble

 

  • You’ll find 18 delicious crumble bottoms and 10 delicious crumble tops in Crumble Recipe e-book – that’s 180 crumble combinations :)

Crumble Recipe e-book

 

Chocolate Cupcakes

 

Banana and Chocolate Chip Muffins

 

A very happy Australia Day to my Aussie readers. Hope you have a wonderful day and get to enjoy some Australia Day Recipes :)

Thanks for reading Dinner in Ten Minutes.

You can follow Dinner in Ten Minutes on Facebook.

Jan Littlehales

You might also enjoy:

Salad Dressing

How to Defrost Chicken

Meat Pie Recipe

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted in Easy Dinners | 9 Comments »

Vegetable Lasagna – in Ten Minutes

Jan 9th, 2012 by

If you previously made my Ratatouille Recipe (and made extra, so you’d have some left over) then you’re well on your way to preparing Vegetable Lasagna in ten minutes.

All that’s left to do is make the yummy white sauce that goes on top, called Bechamel Sauce.  I’ve included a detailed list of instructions for doing this,  just in case you’ve never made bechamel sauce before.

Vegetable Lasagna

Here goes:-

Vegetable Lasagna – Ingredients

  • Left over ratatouille
  • Ready to cook lasagna sheets
  • 2 tablespoons butter or usual spread
  • 2 tablespoons plain flour
  • 250 ml / 8 fl oz milk (I use soy)
  • Good handful grated Parmesan cheese
  • Extra Parmesan

Vegetable Lasagna – Method

  1. Spread a little ratatouille on the bottom of a large oven proof dish
  2. Top with lasagna sheets
  3. Spread a layer of ratatouille
  4. Top with lasagna sheets
  5. Continue in this way a few more times, finishing with lasagna sheets
  6. Gently melt the butter in a saucepan
  7. Add the flour and using a wooden spoon stir to form a thick paste
  8. Take off the heat and add a little milk
  9. Stir to combine
  10. Add a bit more milk and return the pan to a moderate heat – keep stirring
  11. Slowly pour in the rest of the milk with one hand and continually stir with the other
  12. Eventually you’ll end up with a nice thick white sauce
  13. Add a good handful of Parmesan cheese and stir until melted
  14. Pour the sauce on top of the last layer of lasagne sheets and smooth over
  15. Sprinkle with extra Parmesan cheese
  16. Bake in a moderate over for 30-40 minutes, until golden brown on top
  17. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving

Serving Suggestions

  • I like to serve at the table with a mixed green salad
  • Also nice with Garlic Bread served on the side

Handy Hints and Variations

  • You can add a cooked spinach layer if you have time. Use fresh or frozen spinach and squeeze out as much water as you can after cooking
  • Again, if you have time, roast some pumpkin, sprayed with olive oil and sprinkled with chili flakes. Use as bottom layer of veggie lasagna
  • Try adding a drained tin of pulses to the ratatouille – I use ‘three beans’
  • You can use a combination of milk and plain yoghurt for the white sauce
  • Don’t panic if your white sauce goes lumpy.  A hand whisk will usually get rid of them.  Just remember to keep stirring and don’t have the heat too high
  • If you’re preparing in advance, use cold ratatouille and cold bechamel sauce. That way the lasagna sheets will stay flat (and not curl up at the edges)
  • If the white sauce is too thick, add more milk
  • If the white sauce is too thin, it’s too late to add more butter and flour. But you can add more Parmesan cheese or thicken with corn flour mixed with a little water
  • As suggested above, it’ best to allow the vegetable lasagna to cool for about 5 minutes before serving.  It makes it much easier to slice and serve and tastes better when it’s not boiling hot

Thanks for reading Dinner in Ten Minutes.

You can follow Dinner in Ten Minutes on Facebook.

Jan Littlehales

You might also enjoy:

Vegetarian Pizza

Ratatouille Recipe

Crumble Recipe e-book

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted in Easy Dinners | 9 Comments »

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