I have a confession… I’m addicted to cook books. I love to study the beautiful pictures, be inspired by different ideas and day dream about who I would invite for dinner on the night that I cook the recipe on page 82. So when I was watching TV the other night and Jamie Oliver’s 30 Minute Meals came on, I heard myself say “that looks nice, i’m going to buy that book tomorrow.” I looked at the pile of cook books on the coffee table, the stack on the TV cabinet, the one in my lap… (not to mention the two cupboards full of them in the kitchen!) and asked myself. “Do you really need one?” Of course, as an addict, the answer was a yes and there is now another beautiful cook book in my collection.
The pictures are beautiful. And the first dinner I made out of the book was too – Mustard Chicken, Potato Dauphinoise, Greens and Black Forest Affogato.
I started by preheating the oven to 200 degrees. I then thinly sliced a kilo of potatoes and a red onion, leaving the potato skins on, and placed the slices in a baking dish. The potatoes and onion were topped with a sprinkling of nutmeg, some salt and pepper, 2 crushed garlic cloves, a pinch of fresh thyme, six torn anchovies, a handful of grated parmesan and 225ml of cream, and tossed together. Just quickly, i’d encourage you to put the anchovies in, even if you don’t like them. They kind of melt into the bake and you don’t see them or specifically taste them when you’re eating them, but they make the dish have a delicious flavour. Anyway. I then sprinkled some more parmesan over the top, covered it in foil and popped it in the oven.
When the potato was soft when i poked it with a fork, i took off the foil and made sure the cheese on top was nice and golden. When it was perfect, i turned off the oven and let it stay warm.
I will say from the outset that it didn’t take me 30 minutes, but it was not due to the recipe or Jamie. It was quick, and i’m sure it would take only half an hour if you followed the recipe properly, but I cooked this at a friend’s house where there is an electric stove. Jamie uses a gas one. So where Jamie starts his preparation with putting the potato dauphionoise on a stove to cook before going in the oven to brown, mine went straight into the oven for a longer time. It took a bit over an hour. But I you don’t have to touch it once it is in the oven, so i’m happy to leave it there! Also, Jamie just chucks all of his vegetables through the slicing attachment of the food processor. I cut mine my hand. Also not that hard…
Onto the chicken. I thinly sliced a leek and popped it aside, then cut four chicken breasts in quarters. Jamie cooks his whole and cuts them up after, but i’ve found that it stays a lot more moist when I cut it up first. Up to you. I then sprinkled four teaspoons of mustard powder over the chicken and moved them around to coat.
eI put a pan onto the stove with a splash of oil in it, and popped the chicken in once it was hot. After about five minutes, I turned the chicken and popped the leeks and 4 cloves of crushed garlic in. I also added about a glass of white wine and 75ml of cream. The chicken was cooked in five minutes time, so i transferred to a plate and covered with foil to keep warm. A tablespoon of wholegrain mustard was stirred to the sauce mixture and that was done too.
For the greens, I popped a bag of baby spinach into a strainer and poured a kettle of boiling water over it. I then transferred it to a bowl and added some salt, pepper and a squeeze of lemon. Could it be easier?
The result was three delicious plates to be shared by the group.
Jamie’s dessert of black forest affogato was another hit that i’m sure will be used time and time again in my house. And really, it’s about as easy as any dessert I can imagine. You crumble a shortbread biscuit into a cup/ramekin/bowl/glass. Add in a few tinned dark cherries (from the tinned fruit section of the supermarket). Add a few broken up bits of dark chocolate and a dollop of vanilla ice cream. Dissolve a teaspoon of instant coffee in a tablespoon of boiling water and drizzle some over the ice cream. Top with some grated dark chocolate (or milo would do!). Delish! Though next time i’d put it in a glass or see through dish, i’m sure it looks pretty amazing from the side!
So my first Jamie Oliver 30 Minute Meal… A success!