Saturday 29 September 2012

23 Minute Meal.


I had pre-ordered Jamie's 15 Minute Meals as I felt it would be a very useful addition to my cookbook library.  I am a working Mum who wishes she could do everything so rushing around is the constant state here. 

I realised this book was a bit controversial when I was following a Twitter conversation between @EvidenceMatters and @wotchers (Mary-Anne Boermans from the last series of The Great British Bakeoff).  She says, "Bit uneasy about the premise of Jamie's 15-minute Meals - if you hate spending time in the kitchen that much, why are you buying a cookbook?" and then continues, "If you loathe cooking, you won't have the skills to make anything in 15 minutes & there's other/better ways to provide for loved ones than rushing against a stopwatch. My family is worthy of better than just 15 minutes of my time".  I believe she is going to do a blogpost to give her tips for how to do the family cooking in a more timely way.  I agree with some of what she says but I think that last sentence somehow raised my hackles.  It just seemed rather judgemental.  

Having seen the book and having now made my first recipe from it, I still feel it is a good idea.  Most of the time I won't use it but there are good recipes in it and sometimes I will make them in a more leisurely way and sometimes I will try to do them quickly.  They are all full of great ingredients and are nutritious homecooking.  I don't see the problem.  And I certainly don't feel that if I make a meal for my family in a rush that it shows I don't value them enough!  Anyway, as far as I can work out, she hasn't even seen the book.



So, tonight I decided to make one of the meals and to time it and to try to do it quickly just out of interest.  I chose to make Mustard Lamb, Irish Mash and Watercress Apple Salad.  The first thing to note is that you have to have your equipment and ingredients all ready before you start.  This includes peeling the potatoes, having the kettle boiled and your pans hot.  This initial stage took me 11 minutes.  This is not included in the 15 minutes and Jamie states this quite clearly in the introduction.

Ready to start the stopwatch.

The actual cooking part which should have taken 15 minutes, took me 23 minutes.  Not bad at all for a lovely meal.  A lot of that time was spent going back to the book to read what I had to do next.  I have no doubt at all that if I do this recipe one or two more times, I will cut the time taken to do it significantly.  However, I am actually more likely to repeat the recipe but to do it in a leisurely way.  For a start, doing it so quickly means that if you don't have a kitchen porter, the place looks like a bombsite when you are finished.  I think I would rather take the time to put things away and clean up a little as I go along.



I did feel it was a lovely recipe, though, and really does show how to make a lovely family meal in not much time at all.  It doesn't matter if it can't be done in the 15 minutes.  It is still done fairly quickly, is healthy, satisfying and tasty.



I am very aware that Jamie Oliver has a HUGE marketing budget so I don't particularly feel that I want to be promoting his book for him for free but I do like the book and I would definitely say to go borrow it from the library and get some ideas for those evenings when you are in a hurry.



Steve is going to try a different meal from it tomorrow.  Not sure if he is going to be timing himself or not but I will report back.    

22 comments:

  1. I reckon all of your points are valid for his 30minute book too. Especially the bit about having to have everything ready before you start the clock (and the bomb site!). You can't argue with the flavoursome results though, and I reckon this sounds delicious! Hope Stephen picks a goodie for tomorrow, you'll have to let us know :-)

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    1. You know, I'm sure this will encourage some folk to do more cooking. And thanks for introducing me to this series.
      You can borrow my 15 min version now you have your hands full with two children!

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    2. I agree, I don't have either book but I did try some of the promo recipes for the 30 min book and found the criticism unfair.

      Lou - I enjoyed your review. And whilst I see what people on twitter are getting at, they don't all walk in the same shoes. Sometimes hectic family life isn't always conducive to a meal that needs a long time to make (as a single, working parent I certainly relate to that feeling) and making the effort to find a recipe that takes less time rather than ordering in junk or whatever shows you care for your family a great deal, in my opinion!

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    3. Thanks Hannah. It very much is each to his own, really.

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  2. That was interesting to hear your thoughts on this I think quick meals are definitely a blessing when you come home from work late.

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  3. Absolutely! And I don't think these meals are too shabby at all!

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  4. I've got the book too (lack of willpower has a lot to answer for) but I think I'll end up gifting it because it's just too meat-heavy for me and all the recipes are to serve 4, which is difficult to cut down to just one. However, I agree with your points entirely - I think the amount of time you spend making a cooked from scratch meal for your family is irrelevant - it's the fact that you care enough to cook for them at all that matters. The book perhaps isn't aimed at complete beginners, but as Jamie points out in the book, people are unlikely to be able to do any of the meals in fifteen minutes first time round, but repeating them will make them much faster. I am impressed that you managed 23 minutes! I look forward to seeing what else you make from it.

    Different question - did you find anything to make out of HFW's Veg Everyday - I'd be interested in recommendations.

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    1. I noticed it was meat heavy too as I was looking for veggie options to put on our meal plan. I guess it might be easier to make a meal quickly when it just involves searing a piece of meat?
      So far, I have made only one thing from HFW's veg book. It is squash and fennel lasagne. I will blog it later but it was very tasty.

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    2. I totally hear your comment Caroline. My best friend was given the 30 minute book for Christmas by a thoughtless aunt, it was only a couple of months after her relationship broke up. And so while she thinks it all looks wonderful, she says it's virtually impossible for a single person to contemplate as all the meals are for 4 or 6 and often full of lovely fresh ingredients that would be hopeless the following days. I suddenly realised that it must be a problem common to a lot of review books, and have resolved to make sure I think through her future gifts as carefully as I can!

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    3. *recipe* books, not review books!

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  5. This is a great post. I agree with some of those points made on Twitter - and saint Jamie certainly has a way of polarising people - but to each their own. I remember the 30-minute book came in for a lot of flak so I'm not surprised this one has too (should it be twice as much, or half?)
    When it comes to fast after-work dinners I favour things that require minimal prep, even if there's a longer cooking time. If you can shove (sorry, carefully place) something in the oven then you can get on with bath time, cleaning up, having a glass of wine and all those other meaningful family activities. I'm not sure the book's out here yet but I'll definitely get it from the library!

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    1. I personally love a mix of ways to make meals - slow cooked, long prep times, quick/easy,etc..
      We always have our meals together as a family so sometimes there is a short window between us all getting home, and kids needing to be in bed. We quite often do easy pasta dishes on those nights.
      I think I am going to like the JO book but it will remain to be seen how much use it gets.

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  6. Do you think he's still on his campaign to convert those who just shove a ready-meal in the microwave?

    If so, I think he'll never win that battle. An awful lot of people just don't see the point of cooking when you can buy the stuff made for you, no matter how much you preach to them about the nutritional value and provenance, etc.

    For me you simply can't ignore preparation and clearing-up time - that's what I would like to cut down on, not the cooking time. You can relax and enjoy a glass of something while dinner is bubbling away on the hob or in the oven - it's all the washing up and chopping that's so tedious - I will be happy to buy the book if he can cut down on that !!

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    1. I agree. I think he cuts down on the prep a bit for me as he uses the food processor so much and that's something I don't usually ever think to do for veg prep. There wasn't a lot of clear up to be done, just that it all gets left o the end if you are trying to do it in 15 mins.
      No, I think I do prefer to take my time cooking and be a bit more relaxed about it.
      If I was him, though, I would absolutely try to sell this book - I think there is a huge demand for it. I just hope if it does encourage new cooks, they don't get disheartened at not being able to make dinner in 15 minutes.
      Thanks for commenting.

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  7. 23 minutes is pretty impressive for the first time round! I have yet to get this book but will be buying it as soon as I head home for Christmas (can't resist Jamie!).I tested/ reviewed his 30 minute meals and it was the same - kitchen was a disaster(!) and they didn't take 30 minutes, however the meals were all so delicious.

    There will always be people being negative but to me the main thing is you are cooking a home cooked meal so the time it takes is irrelevant and for those of us that are busy, if it can be done in 15/20 minutes then I couldn't be happier! Thanks for sharing, will look forward to hearing how Steve got on.

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    1. Exactly!
      Steve did amazingly well - just writing up the post now.

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  8. I see nothing wrong with a homemade meal prepared quickly as long as it's tasty and nutritious. Cookery skills are learnt, and if Jamie's able to impart some of those skills in a speedy fashion then I saw well done, Jamie. We aren't born with these skills - they're learnt, so someone needs to teach them. Jamie is as good as Delia or Gordon-God-Forbid. Great post.

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    1. Yes, and I'm sure there are a good few people who might be inspired by Jamie and not by the others. And vice versa, of course.

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  9. I heard Jamie talking about this with Zoe Ball on the radio. He said the book was a response to public demand. I'm sure we all have favourite quick meals, mine is salmon fillets slathered with red pesto and either grilled or stuck in the oven, serve with bread and salad. I read Mary Ann's post and I do much like she does I.e. cook ahead and heat up on week nights. I have done this for years, it works for me but I know some people prefer different approaches.

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    1. I absolutely do that too. Makes much more sense to make a huge batch of something, have some later in the week, and freeze some. Away to read her post now.

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  10. Well, I don't own the 30 minute book and I can't see myself getting the 15 minute book either but I don't think I'm the target audience. It's very tempting to judge this book as a rival to some of the books that we like and rely upon as people who cook a lot and enjoy cooking. I don't think that's what the 15 and 30 minute books are about. It's a bit like trying to assess if the X Factor is making a significant contribution to original popular music. What I've seen this week is the teenage children of a friend of mine excited about getting this book because they want to cook from it. Until the 30 minute book and TV series I really don't think that they knew where the kitchen was. I'm certain that they're not unique and I think that's quite impressive.

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    1. That is good news that it is inspiring youngsters. Taking an interest in food is the new rock'n'roll. :)

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