Recipes

Jamie Oliver's latest book shares food he cooked for his family in lockdown

'Together' is the 25th cookbook from the chef, with a range of accessible recipes using ingredients that won’t break the bank — and you could win a copy

14 November 2021 - 00:03
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'Together' (R445) by Jamie Oliver is published by Penguin Random House ©Jamie Oliver Enterprises Limited (2021 Together). Photography by © David Loftus, 2021; © Levon Biss, 2021 and ©Paul Stuart, 2021.
'Together' (R445) by Jamie Oliver is published by Penguin Random House ©Jamie Oliver Enterprises Limited (2021 Together). Photography by © David Loftus, 2021; © Levon Biss, 2021 and ©Paul Stuart, 2021.
Image: Supplied

It’s a different Jamie Oliver we meet in Together, which he launched to great fanfare in the UK and US recently. It’s  a collection of recipes Oliver put together for his family during the global Covid pandemic.

If you follow the chef on Instagram — he has a whopping 8.7-million followers — you would have met the budding  young chef in the family, Buddy Oliver, and seen his cooking clips. He clearly is going to follow in his dad's footsteps and features prominently in the book.

As much as I’ve always enjoyed Oliver's cookbooks, and used his ideas over and over again, when it’s your 25th publication how do you make them different? Together, unlike many of his earlier cookbooks, offers a range of far more accessible cooking with simpler recipes and ingredients that won’t break the bank or take hours to locate.

There are some clever ideas and meals that are quick to put together, each with that cool JO touch.

He's broken the recipes down into themes, lots of them — brunch, curry night, taco party, sunny gathering, last-minute feast, to name a few.

As we hurtle towards the end of 2021 with cooking for crowds and celebration meals foremost in our minds, this trio of recipes from Together may just be the answer to a fuss-free festive celebration.   

Smoked salmon blinis.
Smoked salmon blinis.
Image: Supplied

SMOKED SALMON OAT BLINIS

BEETROOT & CELERIAC REMOULADE

Serves: 8

Ingredients:

15ml (1 tbsp) baby capers in brine

2 lemons

250g natural yoghurt

200g celeriac

200g beetroot

1 bunch flat leaf parsley

1 bunch dill

1 mug (150g) porridge oats

1 mug (250g) self-raising flour

1 large free-range egg

1 mug (400ml) skimmed milk

Olive oil

300g smoked salmon, from a sustainable source

METHOD

Get ahead:

  1. You can prep this on the day, if you prefer. Put the capers into a large bowl, squeeze over the juice of 1 lemon and stir in the yoghurt.
  2. Peel and coarsely grate the celeriac, then the beets, add to the bowl and mix well, then season to perfection, tasting and tweaking.
  3. Finally, chop the parsley leaves and most of the dill, and sprinkle on top — but don’t toss. 
  4. Put the oats, flour and a pinch of sea salt into a bowl.
  5. Crack in the egg, pour in the milk and whisk into a batter.
  6. Cover both and refrigerate overnight.

On the day:

  1. Put a large non-stick frying pan on a medium heat. In batches, cook tablespoons of the batter in a drizzle of olive oil for 2 minutes on each side or until puffed up and golden. 
  2. Cut the remaining lemon into eight wedges, squeezing over.
  3. Mix up the remoulade, stirring through the herbs.
  4. Either take it all to the table with the salmon and let people help themselves, or plate up delicate portions, sprinkling over the reserved dill.

Cook's notes:

Easy swaps: Beets and celeriac are a great combo, but feel free to swap in other crunch numbers like fennel, carrots, white cabbage, or even a little apple or pear.

Veggie love: Torn buffalo mozzarella and crushed toasted hazelnuts instead of the salmon would be a joy.

Epic mixed roast
Epic mixed roast
Image: Together

EPIC MIXED ROAST

Stuffed chicken, rolled pork belly and topside of beef.

Serves: 8

Ingredients:

3 onions

30g unsalted butter

30g dried cranberries

1 lemon

1 bunch of sage

30ml (2 tbsp) cognac

300g panettone or breadcrumbs

1 large egg

1.2kg pork belly, deboned, skin on and scored

1.5kg whole chicken

1 bunch of thyme

1.2kg beef topside, deboned, fat on, rolled and tied

METHOD

Get ahead:

  1. For the stuffing, peel and finely slice the onions, then place in a large non-stick pan on  medium heat, season and dry-fry for 15 minutes, stirring regularly.
  2. Add the butter and cranberries, finely grate in the lemon zest and squeeze in the juice, then pick, chop and add the sage leaves.
  3. Cook for 5 more minutes, or until the onions are soft.
  4. Add the cognac, carefully flame it if you wish, then let it cook away, turn the heat off and leave to cool. 
  5. Once cool, tip in the panettone, add the egg and scrunch together well.
  6. Sit the pork belly skin side down on 4 x 60cm lengths of butcher’s string.
  7. Pat over half the stuffing, then roll up and tie to secure, poking any escaped stuffing back in.
  8. Pack the remaining stuffing into the chicken neck cavity, then pull the skin back over it and tuck under the bird.
  9. Put the thyme into the other cavity, then tie the legs together with string, also tucking in the wings and tying it around the middle.
  10. Cover it all and refrigerate overnight.

On the day:

  1. Get all the meat out of the fridge an hour before you start cooking, rubbing each piece with 1 tbsp of olive oil and seasoning with sea salt and black pepper.
  2. Preheat the oven to 190°C. 
  3. Roast just the pork in a large roasting tray on the middle shelf for 15 minutes, then add the chicken and roast for another 15 minutes.
  4. Add the beef, basting the meats with the tray juices, and roast for 1 final hour, or until everything is cooked through and the juices run clear. 
  5. Remove the meats to a platter, cover with tin foil and a clean tea towel and rest for 1 hour. 
  6. You can use the tray to reheat your gravy — skim off excess fat, then simmer the gravy on medium-low heat on the hob until hot through, scraping up the sticky bits.
  7. Pour any resting juices into the gravy, and remove the string before carving.
Banana Panettone.
Banana Panettone.
Image: Together

BANANA PANETTONE

Serves: 12

Ingredients:

65g soft unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing

Ground cinnamon

200g golden caster sugar (or use plain caster sugar), plus extra for sprinkling

3 teaspoons vanilla bean paste

3 large free-range eggs

3 clementines (or use naartjies or a large orange)

600ml semi-skimmed milk

Smooth whisky, brandy, golden rum, optional

4 bananas, peeled and finely sliced

150g Medjool dates, stoned and finely chopped

500g panettone

15g flaked almonds

150ml cream

To serve: 

Vanilla ice cream

METHOD

Get ahead:

  1. In a large mixing bowl, mash 50g of butter with a pinch of cinnamon, 50g of sugar and the vanilla paste.
  2. Crack in the eggs, squeeze in the clementine juice, add the milk and whisk together. At this point, you could add a splash of smooth whisky, brandy or golden rum, if you wish.
  3. Add the bananas, dates, randomly tear in the panettone, and mix it all together really well.
  4. Grease a shallow baking dish (25cm diameter) with a little butter, pour in the mixture, sprinkle over the almonds and a pinch of cinnamon, then cover and refrigerate until needed.

On the day:

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Bake the pudding for 40 minutes, or until golden and bubbling, then leave to rest for 10 minutes while you make the sauce.
  2. Put the remaining 150g of sugar into a small non-stick frying pan with 50ml water.
  3. Place on a medium heat and let the sugar melt until you have a chestnut-brown caramel, swirling the pan occasionally — don’t be tempted to touch it.
  4. Stand back and whisk in the cream until smooth and combined — it will bubble vigorously — then whisk in the remaining 15g of butter.
  5. Either pour the sauce over the pudding, or carefully decant it into a jug for pouring at the table.

WIN A COPY OF JAMIE OLIVER'S TOGETHER AND AN APRON

Cooking up his recipes with a Jamie Oliver apron will put a whole new spin on gourmet in the kitchen. To stand a chance of winning this combo, send your name, address and contact details to food@sundaytimes.co.za with TOGETHER in the subject line and the answer to the following question: What is the name of Jamie’s son who is following in his fathers’ footsteps?

Entries close on Tuesday November 23 at noon. Please note only ONE entry per person.


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