Vegetable – Cook with Jamie: Give the meat a miss for a change and try these delicious vegetable recipes
By
Jamie Oliver
Last updated at 10:32 PM on 3rd February 2012
Jamie says: ‘This week we’ve got some great vegetable recipes that have gone down really well with everyone I know’
This week we’ve got some great vegetable recipes that have gone down really well with everyone I know.
I’ve chosen them to big up some of the delicious veg that are bang in season at the moment – even though it is a bit of a bleak time of the year in most British gardens.
More to the point, it’s also a nice time of year to focus on vegetables and go a bit easier on the meat, partly because it’s expensive, but frankly because most of us probably rely on meat a bit too much in our weekly menus. So I hope all of these lovely veg recipes will serve you well and offer you a bit of variety.
Each of these recipes lets one fantastic winter vegetable be the hero. I’ve set out to let sometimes-unloved veg really sing. So I’ve given you one of my favourite soups that can be a showstopper if you’ve got a bunch of friends over. Squash is fantastic for all sorts of winter meals, particularly when roasted, and it’s readily available in the supermarkets these days, so make the most of it.
You can vary the soup by using noodles instead of rice, or by adding chicken or sweetcorn.
We’ve also got a really humble and simple onion pizzetta, which is great for lunch with a lovely salad or as one hot element of an antipasti spread of cured meats and salads. I think it’s nice to highlight onions for a change – they’re so delicious but often get lost in the base of dishes. Finally, there’s a gorgeously creamy leek gratin. Think of the recipe as a principle for rustling up all kinds of delicious bakes on the same theme, and vary it as you like.
JAMIE’S TOP TIPS
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Invest in a terracotta pizza plate for an authentic, crispy base
Pizza plates are really good at giving your home-made pizzas and pizzettas that authentic crispy base, and are perfect to serve on because they look good and go straight from oven to table. Available at jamieoliver.com/jme
- On that subject, it’s a good idea to collect a few nice, different-sized, ovenproof serving dishes that allow you to serve straight from the oven – they’ll save on your washing up!
- If I’m making the squash soup for a crowd, I hack the top off a pumpkin, scoop out the flesh, then bake the shell for 40 minutes at 100°C/ gas ¼ and use it to serve the soup.
LEEK GRATIN
Gratins are simple and delicious dishes to make and can include almost any veg.
Finely slice onions, squash or potatoes then place them in a tray, cover with a milk sauce and bake until tender. Or use organic stock with garlic and thyme instead, for more of a boulangère vibe.
For an easy vegetable bake, make a simple white sauce then flavour it with mustard and Cheddar cheese, pour it over blanched cauliflower then bake at 180°C/gas 4 until golden.
You can take this principle and tweak it all sorts of ways – why not try flavouring the white sauce with Stilton and black pepper to go over parboiled broccoli before baking? The possibilities are endless.
Gratins are simple and delicious dishes to make and can include almost any veg
Serves 6
- 12 leeks
- A small bunch of fresh thyme, leaves picked and roughly chopped
- 100ml (3½fl oz) white wine
- 500ml (18fl oz) semi-skimmed milk, preferably organic
- 2 bay leaves
- 40g (1½oz) unsalted butter
- Olive oil
- 50g (1¾oz) flour
- 50g (1¾oz) Parmesan, grated
- ½ a nutmeg, grated
- 75g (2¾oz) breadcrumbs
Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas 4. Trim the ends of the leeks and remove the outer layers. Halve lengthways and rinse under the tap, making sure the water gets between all of the layers.
Drain, then slice into 3cm (1¼in) chunks. Place a large pan over a medium heat and add a good lug of olive oil. Once the pan is hot, add the leeks and thyme and sweat for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the leeks start to soften. Reduce to a low heat, cover and cook for a further 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the lid and add the white wine and 5g (1?8oz) butter to the pan. Continue cooking with the lid off for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the wine has almost completely reduced.
Transfer the leeks to an ovenproof dish. In a saucepan over a low heat, warm the milk with the bay leaves, being careful not to let it boil.
Meanwhile, place the remaining butter and 1tbsp of olive oil in another pan over a medium heat and stir gently until the butter has melted.
Add the flour and stir continuously with a wooden spoon for 5 minutes until smooth.
Remove and discard the bay leaves from the milk pan. Slowly ladle the milk into the flour mix, whisking each addition in until smooth before adding more, until the sauce thickens.
Remove from the heat and stir in three-quarters of the cheese and the grated nutmeg. Pour the sauce over the leeks. In a bowl, mix the breadcrumbs and the remaining Parmesan, then sprinkle over. Bake for 45 minutes, or until the top is golden and the sauce is bubbling.
Leave to sit for a few minutes before serving on its own or as a side with roast chicken.
SQUASH SOUP
If you’re making the squash soup for a crowd, hack the top off a pumpkin, scoop out the flesh, then bake the shell for 40 minutes at 100°C/ gas ¼ and use it to serve the soup
Serves 4
- 1¼ltrs (2pts) organic chicken or vegetable stock
- 6-7 lime leaves (from Sainsbury’s)
- 4 red chillies, deseeded (1 of them finely chopped, as a garnish)
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1 large thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled
- 3 lemongrass sticks, trimmed and squashed with the back of a knife
- A small bunch of fresh coriander
- Olive oil
- 1 heaped tsp five-spice
- 1tsp ground cumin
- 1 onion, finely sliced
- 1 large butternut or acorn squash, halved, deseeded and cut into 2.5cm (1in) chunks
- 200g (7oz) basmati rice, washed
- 2 x 400ml tins of light coconut milk
- Juice of 3-4 limes
Put a high-sided pan or wok on a medium-high heat. Warm the stock in a small pan on a low heat.
Place the lime leaves, 3 chillies, garlic, ginger, lemongrass and a pinch of salt in a food processor.
Pick and reserve a few coriander leaves, then add the rest to the processor and blitz for 30 seconds, or until fairly fine. With the processor running, add a few lugs of olive oil, the five-spice and cumin. Tip the mixture into the hot wok, loosen with a splash of stock and stir-fry for a couple of minutes. Add the onion, then cook gently for 8 to 10 minutes.
Stir in the squash, pour in the stock and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the squash is lovely and soft. Stir in the rice, adding a splash of water if it looks a bit dry.
Simmer for about 8 minutes, till the rice is almost cooked, then add the coconut milk. Bring to the boil, then simmer and thicken for a couple of minutes.
Mash up some of the squash then take the pan off the heat, stir well and season to taste. Add lime juice to taste to give it a twang, scatter with chilli and the reserved corriander and serve.
ONION PIZZETTA
This base tastes great with all sorts of different toppings
Serves 8
- 4tbsp olive oil
- 1tbsp melted butter
- 3 large white onions, peeled and finely sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely sliced
- A small bunch of fresh thyme, leaves picked
- 3tbsp fat-free natural yoghurt
- 1½tbsp double cream
- A pinch of ground nutmeg
For the base:
- 7g (¼oz) dry yeast
- 280g (10oz) plain flour, plus extra
- 1tsp each sugar and salt
For the base, dissolve the yeast in 200ml (7fl oz) of lukewarm water. Combine flour, sugar and salt in a bowl. Stir in yeast mix to form a dough, adding more water if needed. Knead on a floured surface for 3 to 5 minutes. Return to bowl, cover with clingfilm and let rise for 1½ hours. Meanwhile, heat 3tbsp oil and the butter in a pan over a low heat. Add onions, garlic and thyme, stirring occasionally, for 45 minutes or until soft but not brown. Drain excess liquid, then let the onions cool a little. Preheat oven to 180°C/gas 4 and grease a baking tray. Knead the dough on a floured surface, roll into a rectangle 5mm (¼in) thick and put in the tray, stretching out to the sides. Combine the yoghurt, cream and onions, season with nutmeg, salt and pepper, then spread on the dough. Drizzle with the remaining oil and bake for 35 to 40 minutes.
EASY LIKE SUNDAY MORNING: Quick-fix crepes
Serve the crepes with and a dollop of yoghurt
Serves 12
- 3tbsp sugar
- 525ml (19fl oz) milk
- 35g (1¼oz) unsalted butter, melted
- 225g (8oz) flour
- 3 large free-range eggs
- 2-3 knobs of butter
- 1 tin cherries
- Fat-free natural yoghurt.
Mix 2tbsp sugar into the milk until dissolved, then whisk in the eggs. Tip the flour into a bowl, make a well. Whisk in the milk gradually to form a smooth batter. Whisk in the butter.
Heat a 25cm (10in) nonstick frying pan on medium heat. Swirl a knob of butter in the pan until sizzling. Add a ladle of batter and swirl it to coat the pan. Cook for 1 minute or until the surface is set. Flip, cook for 30 seconds and tip onto a plate. Clean the pan with kitchen paper.
Repeat with rest of batter.
Simmer cherries with 1tbsp sugar. Serve with the crepes and a dollop of yoghurt.
SIMPLE SATURDAY NIGHT SUPPER: Beef and oyster pie
This takes a while to cook, but very little time to prepare
Serves 8
- Olive oil
- 2 onions, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 3tbsp flour
- 1kg (2lb 4oz) quality beef, diced
- 375ml (13fl oz) red wine
- 500ml (18fl oz) beef stock
- 6 large oysters, shucked
- 320g (11oz) ready-made puff pastry
- 1 free-range egg, beaten.
In a large pot, heat a little olive oil and fry the onions and garlic until soft. Remove from the pan and set aside.
In a bowl, season the flour and toss the beef in it. Add more oil to the pot, brown the meat in batches, then put it back in the pot with the onions and garlic, wine and stock. Bring to the boil, season, cover and simmer 2½ hours or until meat is tender and sauce has thickened.
Preheat oven to 180°C/gas 4. Put the beef in an oval pie dish and lay oysters on top. Roll out the pastry, place it on top and seal with beaten egg.
Make small cuts in the top, brush with more egg and bake 30 minutes, until golden.
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