Jamie Oliver has the secret sauce. The cooking legend shares his secret to a long marriage and one-pan recipes.
MAIN
BUDDY’S PASTA BAKE
CASSEROLE PAN
BROCCOLI, CHEESY SAUCE & GARLIC BREAD CRISPY BITS
SERVES 8
TOTAL 45 MINUTES
2 heads of broccoli (13 oz each)
4 cloves of garlic
½–1 teaspoon dried red chili flakes
6 cups reduced-fat (2%) milk
3½ oz baby spinach
3½ oz Cheddar cheese
1lb dried pasta shells
3½ oz garlic bread
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Cut off and discard the tough ends of the broccoli stalks, trim the green florets into 1¼-inch pieces and put aside, then roughly chop all the remaining stalks and place in a food processor. Peel and add the garlic, then blitz until fine. Place a large shallow casserole pan on a medium heat. Once hot, go in with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and the chili flakes, to taste. As soon as they start to sizzle, tip in the blitzed broccoli stalks. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, then pour in 4 cups of milk. Pour the remaining 2 cups of milk into the processor with the spinach and crumble in the cheese (I wanted this to be healthy, but now’s the time to add extra cheese if you want it more indulgent). Blitz until smooth, pour into the pan, then bring to a boil and season to perfection. Stir the broccoli florets and pasta shells into the sauce and boil for 5 minutes, stirring regularly. Tear the garlic bread into the processor (there’s no need to clean it) and blitz into crumbs. Sprinkle over the pasta bake and transfer to the oven for 15 minutes, or until golden and bubbling. Delicious served with a fresh green salad.
SEASONAL SWAPS
Go festive and swap out the broccoli for Brussels sprouts – blitz half for the sauce and quarter the rest to add with the pasta. Embrace Christmas cheeseboard cheeses, and try a cheeky crumbling of chestnuts in the garlic bread crispy bits.
SIDE
ROASTED CARROT SALAD
ROASTING PAN
CLEMENTINE, SMOKED ALMONDS, VIVID PARSLEY DRESSING & ARUGULA
SERVES 4
PREP 9 MINUTES / COOK 1 HOUR 30 MINUTES
12 large carrots
2 clementines
2 tablespoons smoked almonds
½ a bunch of Italian parsley (½ oz)
8 tablespoons cottage cheese
1 tablespoon liquid honey
4 whole-wheat pita or small flatbreads
2 oz arugula
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Scrub the carrots, then place in a large roasting pan in a single layer. Squeeze over the clementine juice, placing the squeezed halves in the pan. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, add a pinch of sea salt and black pepper, then cover tightly with aluminum foil and roast for 1 hour. Remove the foil, give the pan a good jiggle, and roast for another 30 minutes, or until beautifully soft. Meanwhile, blitz the almonds in a blender until fairly fine, then tip out for later. In the blender, blitz the parsley, stalks and all, with 6 tablespoons of cottage cheese and 1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar until smooth, loosening with a splash of water, if needed, then season to perfection. Spread across a large serving platter and ripple through the remaining cottage cheese. Remove the carrots from the oven, drizzle with 1 tablespoon each of honey and red wine vinegar, then scatter over the almonds. Heat the pitas in the oven for a few minutes while you arrange the roasted carrots on the platter, sprinkle over the arugula, and drizzle with any sticky juices from the pan. Serve with the pita.
DESSERT
PEAR & GINGERBREAD CAKE
DARK CHOCOLATE SAUCE, BROWN SUGAR & GROUND ALMONDS
SERVES 16
TOTAL 58 MINUTES
4 large eggs
1 cup + 2 tablespoons dark
brown sugar
11⁄3 cups self-rising flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
11⁄2 cups ground almonds
31⁄2 oz dark chocolate (70%)
31⁄2 oz stem ginger in syrup
1 x 14-oz can of pear halves in juice
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Rub the inside of a 12- x 8-inch roasting pan with olive oil, then line with a sheet of damp parchment paper. Crack the eggs into a large bowl, whisk with the sugar and 3/4 cup + 5 teaspoons of oil, then fold in the flour, baking powder and ground almonds. Finely chop half the chocolate and all the ginger, then fold through the batter and pour into the pan. Reserving half the juice, drain the pears, slice lengthways and arrange on top, poking them into the batter. Bake for 35 minutes, or until an inserted skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack, carefully removing the paper. Place the empty pan over a medium-high heat on the stove and pour in the reserved pear juice. Add a drizzle of syrup from the stem ginger jar, bring to a boil, then turn the heat off, snap in the remaining chocolate and stir until you have a simple chocolate sauce, which you can drizzle over your sponge. Great served just as it is, or with a scoop of ice cream, for dessert
