The Book
ONE is full of recipes that you cook in one pan or tray, dedicated to those who are facing everyday pressures which drive them to convenience.
Oliver says this book, his "20-something book", is his homage to making those people’s lives simpler and more convenient when it comes to getting good food on the table without any compromise on flavour.
"This is about helping you to plan your weekly shops to embrace knockout dishes and utterly delicious food, whatever the time of year, weekday or weekend, with no stress."
Each recipe uses eight ingredients or fewer and requires minimal prep and, of course, minimal washing up.
"Whenever I write a cook book I want it to arm you with the confidence to have a go, to maybe just try something new. To have comfortable food that doesn’t drive you mad and I don’t want you to have failures."
There is also a handy chapter on batch cooking to enable people to have that tasty dish tucked away in the freezer for those crazy days when cooking just seems too hard.
For fun there is chapter on frying pan pasta, meals where pasta can literally be cooked in a frying pan.
"This is a phenomena. No second pan for boiling pasta. It’s creative, in under 20 minutes you have delicious food."
But there is also the basics, a chapter highlighting how many ways eggs can be cooked and sections on chicken, fish and meat. There are also chapters on vegetables and toasties. And finally a section on puddings and cakes.
"What I wanted to achieve is simplicity. Seems like most of us are cooking less than ever, so I just wanted this book be something that convinced you to have a go."
Shredded winter salad - Roasted grapes & apples, red cabbage, mustard, walnuts & goat’s cheese
Nutrition information
Energy: 370kcal
Fat: 15.5g
Sat Fat: 4g
Protein: 10.7g
Carbs: 47.7g
Sugars: 29.7g
Salt: 1.6g
Fibre: 8.5g
Serves: 4 as a main or 8 as a side
Total time: 42 minutes
Ingredients
4 eating apples
1 head of celery
250g seedless red grapes
olive oil
red wine vinegar
½ a red cabbage (500g)
1 x 250g packet of cooked mixed grains
30g shelled unsalted walnut halves
3 Tbsp wholegrain mustard
60g crumbly goat’s cheese
optional: extra virgin olive oil
Method
Preheat the oven to 220degC. Quarter and core the apples, then place in a 25cm x 30cm roasting tray. Click off the outer celery stalks and save for another day, then finely slice the inner part and add to the tray, reserving any inner leaves. Pick in the grapes, drizzle with 1 Tbsp each of olive oil and red wine vinegar, season with sea salt and black pepper, toss together well, and roast for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, coarsely grate the cabbage on to a large board or platter. Heat the grains in the microwave according to the packet instructions, then add to the mix and crumble over the walnuts. Spoon over the mustard, drizzle with 3 Tbsp of red wine vinegar, then gently toss together, season to perfection and spread across the board or platter.
When the time’s up on the roasted fruit, spoon it all over the salad, then crumble over the goat’s cheese. Finish with any reserved celery leaves and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, if you like.
Rolled pork belly - Amazing roasted fennel, sage & saffron risotto
Nutrition information
Energy: 882kcal
Fat: 41.6g
Sat Fat: 14.2g
Protein: 41g
Carbs: 89.6g
Sugars: 0.6g
Salt: 1.5g
Fibre: 8.4g
Serves: 6–8 with leftover pork
Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 3 hours 10 minutes
Ingredients
2 bunches of sage (40g total)
olive oil
red wine vinegar
1.7 kg piece of higher-welfare boneless pork belly, skin on, scored (ask your butcher)
4 large bulbs of fennel
500g risotto rice
1 big pinch of saffron
150ml white wine
60g Parmesan cheese
Method
Preheat the oven to 220degC. Pick the sage leaves into a pestle and mortar, smash up with a good pinch of sea salt and black pepper, then muddle in 3 Tbsp each of olive oil and red wine vinegar. Rub all over the pork, then roll it up lengthways and secure with five bits of string. Sit it directly on the bars of the oven [rack] with a large shallow casserole pan beneath to catch the juices, and roast for 1 hour. Trim and quarter the fennel, reserving any leafy tops in a little bowl of water. Pull the pan out of the oven and toss the fennel into the pan juices. Reduce the temperature to 180degC, and roast for 1 ½ hours, or until cooked through, shaking the fennel halfway.
Transfer the pan to a medium heat on the hob. Use tongs to move the pork and half the fennel to a platter, cover with tin foil and leave to rest. Mash or break up the remaining fennel in the pan. Boil the kettle. Stir the rice into the pan for 2 minutes, then add the saffron. Pour in the wine and let it cook away. Add some boiling kettle water, wait until it has been fully absorbed, then add some more. Stir regularly, adding more water until the rice is cooked – around 20 minutes. Finely grate and beat in the Parmesan, season to perfection, adding more Parmesan, if you like, then loosen with water to an oozy consistency. Pop the lid on, turn the heat off and let it sit while you remove the string and carve or slice the pork, sprinkling with the reserved drained fennel tops. Serve with the risotto.
Honey orange traycake - Almonds, vanilla, yoghurt & a kiss of rose water
My dear Nan loved a traybaked sponge. With the combination of honey, almonds and orange here reminiscent of Greece, it’s like I’ve sent her on her holidays in the form of a cake! I think she would have really liked this one.
Nutrition information
Energy: 397kcal
Fat: 28.9g
Sat Fat: 4.4g
Protein: 7.1g
Carbs: 29g
Sugars: 16.3g
Salt: 0.3g
Fibre: 0.9g
Serves: 12
Total Time: 1 hour 5 min
Ingredients
olive oil
2 large oranges or blood oranges
200g runny honey
200g ground almonds
200g self-raising flour
200g Greek yoghurt
2 tsp vanilla bean paste
2 large free-range eggs
optional: rose water
Method
Preheat the oven to 180degC. Line a 20cm x 30cm roasting tray with a sheet of greaseproof paper, then rub it with olive oil. Finely grate the orange zest into a large bowl and put aside, then take your time to very finely slice 1 orange into rounds. Layer it into the tray, drizzle with 100g of honey and bake for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, add the almonds, flour, yoghurt and vanilla paste to the bowl of orange zest.
Crack in the eggs, add 200ml of olive oil, a small pinch of sea salt, the remaining 100g of honey and a small thimble of rose water, if using. Whisk together well. Remove the tray from the oven, gently pour the cake batter over the orange slices, and return to the oven for 35 minutes, or until golden and an inserted skewer comes out clean. Turn the cake out on to a board, and carefully peel away the greaseproof. Nice served warm with a dollop of yoghurt or custard.
