by Jamie Oliver
2 red peppers, deseeded and cut into 2.5cm pieces
MARINADE
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
2 cloves
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
2 teaspoons coriander seeds
olive oil
First, bash up all the spices in a pestle and mortar until fine, then mix with the oil to make a paste. Put the lamb pieces into a bowl and cover with the marinade. Allow to sit for 30 minutes to an hour, then, using the rosemary sticks (or skewers), spike each piece of meat alternately with red onion and peppers. Grill for 5 minutes, turning regularly, to give you nicely charred meat on the outside with juicy pink on the inside. Allow to rest for a few minutes — that is, if you can stop yourself eating them straight away!
CHICKEN KEBABS
SERVES 6—8
500g chicken breasts, skin on and cut into 2.5cm cubes
4 courgettes, sliced lengthways very thinly
6—8 woody sprigs of fresh rosemary, leaves removed (see page 248)
MARINADE
1 bunch of fresh coriander
1 bunch of fresh mint
3 cloves of garlic
6 spring onions
1 fresh red chilli
1 lemon
olive oil
Place the chicken in a bowl. Blanch the courgette strips in boiling salted water for 30 seconds, then drain and allow to cool. Finely grate the lemon zest into a food processor and squeeze in the juice. Add the remaining marinade ingredients (except the olive oil) and blitz to a paste. Loosen with a little oil, then add the marinade to the chicken pieces and mix well. Allow to sit for 30 minutes to an hour, then weave the courgette strips in between the chicken pieces on the rosemary sticks (or skewers). Grill for 5 minutes, turning regularly, until cooked through — cut a piece open to check if they’re done.
FISH KEBABS
SERVES 6—8
500g monkfish tail, cod or haddock, skin off, trimmed, pin-boned, cut into 2.5cm cubes
6—8 woody sprigs of fresh rosemary, leaves removed (see page 248)
250g boiled new potatoes, halved
MARINADE
10cm piece of ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
1 lemon
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
2 cloves of garlic
2 dried red chillies, crumbled
1 bunch of fresh mint
4 tablespoons natural yoghurt
Put all the marinade ingredients except the yoghurt into a food processor and blitz until smooth. Stir in the yoghurt. Using the rosemary sticks (or skewers), spike the fish alternately with the new potatoes. Drizzle with the marinade and grill for 2 minutes each side, or until just cooked through.
TURNING ROSEMARY STICKS INTO SKEWERS
1. Get yourself a big bunch of fresh rosemary.
2. Keeping the leafy tops on, run your fingers down the woody stalk to remove the rest of the leaves.
3. Sharpen the tip of each stalk by cutting across at an angle.
4. Your rosemary stick is ready to use as a skewer.
‘anyone can train to be a chef, but to be really good you need to live and breathe food’
seafood mixed grill
Growing up I made so many mixed grills in my parents’ restaurant that I thought it would be great to reinvent it. The thing that makes all the difference here is that I’ve flavoured each fish with the herb or spice I think best complements it. I’ll talk you through the seafood I like to include. All you have to bear in mind is that it’ll all be cooked at the same time, so having your pieces the same thickness is important.
FOR AROUND 4 PEOPLE
First off, get yourself a large tray that fits under the grill and rub it with a little olive oil.
Prawns: Run a knife down the back of 8 large peeled prawns and pull out the vein. In a pestle and mortar, bash a little fresh coriander, a little grated lime zest, 1 teaspoon of grated ginger and a drizzle of olive oil. Rub all over the prawns and place on the tray.
Red mullet: Cut the fish through the bone, as this will give it extra flavour and succulence when cooking. Bash a little rosemary with some olive oil in a pestle and mortar and rub all over the fish. Put the red mullet on the tray.
Salmon: Bash some basil leaves in a pestle and mortar with a little olive oil and rub all over some thin slices of salmon fillet, then fold the slices over a few olives and more basil leaves. Use a rosemary sprig or cocktail stick to secure and place on the tray.
Plaice, Dover sole or lemon sole: Grate some lemon zest over the fillets, then roll up and wrap a piece of pancetta around each one. Use a rosemary sprig or cocktail stick to secure and place on the tray.
Mussels, clams and razor clams: Scatter among the fish (debeard, if needed).
Cherry vine tomatoes: Rub with oil, sprinkle with fresh oregano and place on the tray.
A lemon: Cut into quarters. Once cooked it will become juicy and jammy and is nice squeezed over the seafood once it’s all cooked.
To cook, sprinkle over some finely chopped garlic, some sea salt and black pepper and some small knobs of unsalted butter. Whack under a hot grill for 6 minutes, or until the fish is golden and sizzling and all the shells have opened. Divide between plates, giving everyone a little bit of everything. Squeeze the jammy lemon over the tray, scraping any goodness off the bottom, and drizzle over the fish. I love this served with new potatoes, a green salad and a nice bottle of white. Give it a bash — you’ll love it, too!
seafood mixed grill
chargrilled marinated vegetables
The first time I ever made this was at the Neal Street Restaurant, and about two years later, when I was at the River Café, Rose Gray showed me her way of doing it. She inspired me to think of grilling as a really exciting way to prepare vegetables.
SERVES 4—6
2 red peppers
2 yellow peppers
2 medium courgettes
1 bulb of fennel
1 aubergine
8 baby leeks, trimmed
olive oil
1 big bunch of fresh basil, leaves picked
extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons herb or white wine vinegar
1 clove of garlic, peeled
Heat a barbecue or a griddle pan to high, put the whole peppers on it, and get them really black on all sides. While still hot, put them in a bowl, cover and leave to cool.
Slice the courgettes lengthways about ½cm thick and do the same with the fennel, reserving the herby tops. Grill the courgette and fennel together for 1 minute on each side, or until nicely charred. Remove to a clean tea towel in one layer, making sure they don’t sit on top of each other, otherwise they will steam and go soggy.
Cut the aubergine across into slices 1cm thick. Chargrill the aubergine slices, turning 4 times, or until nicely marked, then remove to the tea towel.
Boil the leeks in salted water until just cooked, then drain, rub with a little olive oil, and chargrill quickly until lightly marked.
Peel the peppers but don’t hold them under the tap as all the sweet fantastic flavour will go down the drain. Carefully rub off the black skin, then remove the stalk and pips and tear the peppers into large strips. Put all the vegetables into a large bowl.
Take a quarter of the basil leaves and bash them in a pestle and mortar with a good pinch of sea salt and black pepper until you have a paste. Add 8 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and the vinegar, to taste. Pour over the vegetables and toss to coat, then throw in the remaining whole basil leaves. Slice the garlic really thinly to give you a delicate flavour and add to the bowl with the fennel tops. Mix together, and serve at room temperature. Great with any grilled fish or meat, or as part of an antipasti plate with some toasted bruschetta and some fresh buffalo mozzarella.
‘get yourself a good sharp knife and practise those chopping skills – you’ll soon get the hang of it’
grilled marinated mozzarella with crunchy bread, smoked bacon & a black olive & lemon dressing
This is an
absolutely genius combination. It’s not very often that mozzarella gets cooked in a credible way but this is one time it does. I love the whole idea of putting the bread, mozzarella and smoky bacon together because when cooked they complement each other so well — the bread goes really crisp and soaks up all the lovely juices, the milky mozzarella starts to melt and goes really gooey, and served with a fresh herb salad it’s lovely. Great for a starter, and I’ve even made little mini ones as canapés (dare I say that word?!).
SERVES 4
1 loaf of ciabatta bread
4 slices of pancetta or smoked streaky bacon, halved
2 lemons
2 large buffalo mozzarella cheeses
8 woody sprigs of fresh rosemary
1 clove of garlic, peeled
olive oil
1 good handful of nice black olives, stone in
1 fresh red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
extra virgin olive oil
3 handfuls of mixed fresh herbs, such as chives, chervil, mint, basil, parsley
Remove the crusts from the ciabatta and tear up into rough 2.5cm pieces. Throw into a bowl with the pancetta and finely grated lemon zest. Divide each mozzarella into 8 pieces and add to the bowl. Keeping the tips on the rosemary sticks, remove the lower leaves (see page 248), then smash in a pestle and mortar with the garlic. Stir in 8 tablespoons of olive oil, then pour this mixture over the bread, cheese and bacon. Marinate for anything from 15 minutes to 1 hour.
Thread the mozzarella and bread on to the rosemary sprigs, weaving the bacon in and around. Line up the kebabs on a wire rack and place under the grill on a very high heat until the bread and bacon are golden and the mozzarella is gooey. While this is grilling make sure you keep an eye on it, as it can turn into a charred kebab very quickly. To make a dressing, chop up the olives (bash and remove the stones) and mix with the chilli and 5 tablespoons each of lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil. Season to taste with sea salt and black pepper.
To serve the kebabs, dress the herbs with half of the olive dressing right at the last minute so the leaves stay nice and fresh, then use the other half of the dressing drizzled over the kebabs.
Try this: Do exactly the same as above but swap the mozzarella for cubes of fresh white fish, such as haddock, cod or monkfish.
best chargrilled steak
If you love steak, here’s a great way to take it up a few notches. The combo of thyme, beef and mushrooms with the salsa verde is so good and can’t be beaten.
SERVES 4
½ × salsa verde recipe (see page 263)
1 big bunch of fresh lemon or regular thyme
1 clove of garlic, peeled
1 anchovy fillet in oil
1 lemon
olive oil
4 × 175g fillet steaks or sirloins, ideally 2.5cm thick
4 rashers of smoked streaky bacon
8 large Portobello or other flat mushrooms
First of all, make the salsa verde.
Tie up the stalk-end of the bunch of thyme, place the leafy end in a pestle and mortar and give it a good bash. This will remove the tasty leaves and leave you with what looks like a miniature broom. Put to one side. Put the garlic, anchovy fillet and finely grated lemon zest in a pestle and mortar. Bash to a paste and stir in 8 tablespoons of oil.
Wrap a piece of bacon around each steak (this gives it a really good flavour) and secure loosely with a piece of string. Peel the mushroom skins off, which only takes a second and helps them absorb the marinade. Brush the steaks and mushrooms with some of the flavoured thyme oil, keeping the rest for the cooking.
Try to become instinctive about cooking basic things like steaks and to understand heat, sizes and cuts of meat. Chefs test their meat by the way it looks and the resistance it gives when squeezed. Preheat a griddle pan or barbecue to high. I don’t want to give you a specific time to cook them, as your steaks may be thicker or thinner than the ones I’m using. Whether using fillets or sirloins, I cook mine for roughly 3 to 4 minutes each side to give me a medium steak — you can do them for a little more or less time to your preference.
Season the meat on both sides with sea salt and black pepper and place on the griddle pan with the mushrooms. Turn every minute, and brush each time with the thyme oil brush. The mushrooms will be cooked after 6 minutes and should be soft to touch — cooking them this way means they don’t go all soggy but they do have an intense meaty flavour. Once the steak is cooked to your liking, remove the string, divide between warmed plates with the mushrooms, allow to rest for 2 minutes and put a big dollop of salsa verde over the top.
1. Secure a slice of bacon to each steak with a piece of string.
2. Tie a bunch of thyme together with string at the stalk-end.
3. Make a marinade by bashing up the leafy end of the thyme bunch.
4. Peel off the mushroom skins
5. Use the thyme to brush the marinade over each steak.
salsa verde
The best way to make salsa verde is to chop all the ingredients very finely by hand. It’s great served with grilled or roasted meat and fish.
SERVES 8
1½—2 cloves of garlic, peeled
1 small handful of baby capers
1 small handful of gherkins
6 anchovy fillets in oil
2 large handfuls of fresh flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked
1 bunch of fresh basil, leaves picked
1 bunch of fresh mint, leaves picked
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
extra virgin olive oil
Finely chop the garlic, capers, gherkins, anchovies and herbs and put them into a bowl. Add the mustard and vinegar, then slowly stir in up to 8 tablespoons of oil until you achieve the right consistency. Have a taste and balance the flavours with black pepper, a bit of sea salt and maybe a little more vinegar, if needed.
chargrilled tuna with dressed beans & loadsa herbs
This is a really beautiful summer dish that takes hardly any time at all to prepare — and of course you can use different kinds of beans, such as black-eyed beans, flageolets, butter beans or even lentils. I like to griddle the tuna for a minute on each side so it has colour on the outside, but still remains a little pink in the middle. A lot of people still want to cook tuna all the way through (which I think is madness!), but you must do it how you like best. It’s worth seeing if you prefer it pink in the middle though. I’m really going heavy on the herbs in this recipe — four or five years ago this might have been a bit OTT, but it’s really easy to get hold of a good selection of herbs now, so the more the merrier.
SERVES 4
100g dried cannellini beans
100g dried borlotti beans
optional: 1 ripe tomato
optional: 1 potato
extra virgin olive oil
1 red onion, peeled and finely sliced
4 anchovy fillets in oil, finely chopped
1—2 fresh red chillies, deseeded and finely sliced
2 lemons
4 × 225g tuna steaks, ideally 1cm thick
olive oil
3 handfuls of mixed fresh herbs, such as chives, chervil, basil, parsley, mint, leaves picked and roughly chopped
Feel free to use a couple of tins of beans if it’s more convenient. But if you’re using dried, which taste better, soak them overnight in water — they’ll double in size. You then just need to drain them and put them into a pan with fresh water to cover. Bring to the boil, then simmer them for 40 minutes, or until tender — sometimes I put a squashed tomato and a potato in the water with them, as it helps to soften the skins. Once done, drain, discarding the tomato and potato, and put them into a large bowl with 8 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, the red onion, anchovies and chillies. Season with sea salt and black pepper and the lemon juice — for a bit of a twang.
Preheat a griddle pan until really hot. Season the tuna steaks with salt and pepper, finely grate over the lemon zest and pat a
little olive oil on both sides. Sear the steaks for 1 minute on each side. While the fish is searing, get your guests round the table. Throw the herbs into the dressed beans, mix up and divide between the plates. Take the tuna off the heat, tear it up and place on top of the warm beans. Nice with some cold white wine.
KNIFE TECHNIQUES
1. To stop the carrot moving about, simply slice down the length of one side, then roll it on to its flat edge.
2. Slice the carrots to your required thickness — very fine or a bit thicker. If the carrot feels at all unstable at any point, make sure you roll it on to its flattest edge. Be careful.
3. You can slice the carrots into lengths to make batons, which can be handy for stews and veg dishes.
4. Or gather up the batons and slice across to give you diced vegetables.
1. To chop an onion, peel, halve and, with the core facing away from you, slice through but not quite to the core end, as this will hold the onion together.