Product Description

This book is very close to my heart. It's about no-nonsense, simple cooking with great flavours all year round. When I began writing it, I didn't really know what recipes I would come up with, but something began to inspire me very quickly... my vegetable patch! I came to realise last year that it's not always about looking out at the wider world for inspiration. Being at home, feeling relaxed and open, can also offer this. I love to spend time at home in the village where I grew up, working with the boss, Mother Nature, in my garden and seeing all my beautiful veggies coming out of the ground. Inside you'll find over 100 new recipes, plus some basic planting information and tips if you fancy having a go at getting your hands dirty as well!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #97 in Books
• Published on: 2007-09-06
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 408 pages

About the Author
Jamie Oliver has worked with some of the world’s top chefs and now runs his own restaurant, Fifteen. He lives in London with his wife, Jools, and their two daughters. He is the author of nine bestelling cookbooks, including Jamie’s Italy and Cook with Jamie.

Customer Reviews

Jamie 'gets his hands dirty in the garden'
and produces another fine cookbook!

Not particularly noticeable for their 'leap-off-the-shelf' covers, the JO cookery books have seemed a little unappealing, and, to some extent, this one follows the trend with a cream-coloured background and a centred photo of Jamie in his garden!
However it is what is between the covers that matters!

Generally speaking, as the 'celebrity chefs' seem to spin out one book out after another, it is easy to wonder what 'on earth' (please pardon the pun!) can possibly be different about the latest offering?
But, as defined in the Amazon text and from the back cover - this book is indeed 'no-nonsense, simple cooking with great flavours all year around', based on the produce from Jamie's garden......
Over 100 new recipes, plus some basic planting information and tips if you fancy having a go at getting your hands dirty as well!'

Written to coincide with his latest TV programme series, the text is the typical Jamie Oliver banter that has made him so
famous, e.g.

(1) from 'Winter Veg':-

'I've obviously reached the age where I've started to sound like my old man.....
Now, when a good day gets rained off, and the cold weather kicks in, I always think, 'Well, the garden's going to love it.'
And I've learnt that if you plan ahead and plant an assortment of winter veg in the summer you can reap the rewards from your garden every day of the year.....'

and from:-

(2) 'Bubble and Squeak with Sausages and Onion Gravy

Bubble and Squeak is a classic British dish of smashed-up winter veg traditionally made from the Sunday roast leftovers.
Use about 60 per cent potato to get the right consistency, then whatever veg you like - carrots, Brussels, swedes, turnips, onions, leeks or Savoy cabbage.'

Dedicated to Steve Irwin, 1962 - 2006:-

'I was so inspired by his verve for life......
And, most importantly, how he taught us all to appreciate this incredible planet we live on!......alongside a suitably pensive garden shot of Jamie, this weighty tome has 407 high quality matt pages, split over seasonal chapters:-

Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter

with 'A nice little chat' opening the book and ending with 'Useful Stuff' and Jamie's 'Thanks', as always - just before a full index, enhanced by V = 'Vegetarian Meal' referencing and BOLD for illustrated dishes, which are plentiful.
On-location shots are also littered throughout.

Each chapter opens with a seasonal, double page spread showing with the associated main ingredients, followed by introductory text.
Each recipe has relevant opening text, the number of servings, the list of ingredients and clear directions.

The book also includes advice on how to grow the JO way and harvest the selected ingredients, along with sections dedicated to other relevant areas, some a little more sensitive than others, such as:-

'The Shock of Battery Farming'
'What I have Learned about Shooting'

Other information section examples include the definition of 'The Different Cuts of Lamb', 'Types of Hen Eggs' and 'How to Barbecue'.

A very small taste of the typically JO-defined recipe titles contained within:-

Eggy Breakfast Crumpets
Incredible Roasted Shoulder of Lamb with Smashed Veg and Greens
Really Very Delicious and Simple Lamb Tartare
Rhubarb and Custard Kinda Soufflé
Best Barbecued Meat and Homemade Barbecue Sauce
English Onion Soup with Sage and Cheddar
Pizza Bomba
The Quickest Tomato Sauce
Creamy Rice Pudding with the Quickest Strawberry Jam
Proper Chicken Caesar Salad
The Mothership Tomato Salad
Roast of Incredible Game Birds with Proper Polenta
E. F. R
Wild Mushroom and Venison Stroganoff for two lucky people
Homemade Tomato Ketchup
Cheeky Chilli-pepper Chutney
Welsh Rarebit with Attitude
Superb Squash Soup with the best Parmesan croutons
Winter Crunch Salad with a mind-blowing sauce

The 'best winter veg coleslaw' recipe opens with:-

'Coleslaw is something most of us have grown up eating, yet a lot of the time it must have been made so badly! With this in mind I want to bring it back with a vengeance...'
.....and the recipe is certainly a new spin on an old favourite, because it ditches the mayonnaise!
Friends of mine who NEVER eat coleslaw because of the thought of 'the mayo' were forced to admit that this version changed their minds, especially served with the 'thinly sliced leftover roast lamb, pork or rare roast beef, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil', Jamie recommends.

Excellent
Jamie Oliver does it again more fantastic recipes to try out. There's some good honest down to earth cooking here unlike some other cookbooks which are filled to bursting point with poncey recipes we can only gawp at.

My personal favourites here are the chapters on strawberries and feathered game and also the tips on growing your own fruit and veg.Oh and the homemade barbecue sauce is to die for. Keep em coming Jamie.

A great buy, and good fun.
I bought this book as I had been watching the TV series. The recipes are great and very easy and if you don't have any of the ingredients, I have missed a few things out and it still tasted great. The book itself is a lovely thing to have too, great graphics and Jamie has written about all of the veg he grows too, which has encouraged me to start my own patch. And that is quite something as I am not good as growing things!! He's made it really easy to understand and not too off putting!. A great book.