Jamie's 30-Minute Meals

I absolutely love this book. I was able to see a bunch of the episodes of the TV show on YouTube and wrote down every single detail of each episode but now I have the whole thing right in front of me!!! I ADORE cooking in metric units, I bought a small and very easy to use scale on amazon.com for around $12 a while back and I'm constantly converting all my stupid US measuring units to metric. Why on earth would anyone try baking with out actually weighing ingredients ... I digress. The layout of each meal actually makes it easy to get the whole thing on the table in 30 minutes. I am an experienced cook with a good set of tools so I'm sure that helps as well but I've made the Steak Sarnie dinner and the Killer Jerk Chicken (my two favorites) several times and got them on the table in no time flat. I did notice that one of the big differences between finding/sourcing ingredients here versus in the UK (or at Irish grocery stores that I am familiar with such as Superquin and the UK Marks & Spencer) is that packages are usually larger. You don't often find a small 250 gram sack of rice - we are jumbo size! And whole tinned tomatoes (Jools Favorite Pasta) usually come in giant 32 oz cans rather than the smaller ones. Oh well. I make very good use of the bulk bins at Whole Foods. There are also some differences in the names of the cuts of beef and a few veggies - just goole it if you really get stuck and don't know that aubergine and eggplant are the same thing. And Jamie's readers also have ready access to Marks & Spencer which is a high-end grocery story that stocks TONS of excellent prepared ingredients that are only starting to become common over here. I haven't seen cooked beets anywhere except for Whole Foods and that was a new product. I've also gone back through some of Jamie's other family-friendly food books (Food Revolution) and converted some of the Indian curries into 30 minute meals too. I love the method for cooking Jerk chicken - wizz the marinade in the blender while browning the skin on the stove in your non-stick skillet and then finish the whole thing off by baking it right in the sauce in the oven. This is now one of my favorite books and you really can get stuff on the table in 30 minutes; this is not your Rachel Ray tasteless crap. And I also find that this is truely home-chef friendly. I have a few other nice Jamie books that I don't think are as good for the average home chef.

The book was wonderful, after I finally got it. The meals are all great, not sure about done in 30 minutes, but who really needs them to be. Jamie is one of my favorite cooks, not only for good food, but sensible eating habits. He teaches real life lessons. But the shipper is another story--myrockland. It took over a month to arrive and when it did,the package was empty. They said they would replace, but after two weeks nothing came. I asked for the return of my money and they complied. I don't know what their problem is...mostly how they ship...but I have to wonder if there was a book sent at all, since the package was still sealed in places. I will never use that vendor again.

As a foodie, and also a busy university student, the first recipe definitely was a pleasant novelty for me to eat and cook. I was surprised there was a section on staying organized in the kitchen. I have much to learn even though I've been cooking since I was little (about 8-9). On my budget, even at a steep rate, the book is definitely worth it (the recipes are not expensive if you are willing to make small changes). As a cook, I was hoping to do it faster. Don't expect to be able to do all of the recipes first time in 30 minutes (after prep). It's not realistic unless you have good culinary skills and familiarity with the recipes. I will strive to do it in 30 minutes for next time. Also I didn't have a food processor so it took me slightly longer than 45 minutes (chicken pie). Although I have to say, I did it fairly quickly with a shredder, so many of the special bits of equipment are good to have, but not needed. I will definitely go through the rest of the book doing most of the cooking on Sunday and otherwise picking the easier recipes. The recipe I made involved around 6 servings which is good, because it's not worth it to make too many different types of meals for me.

I love this man!! Simple easy recipes

Love watching Jamie on TV. His recipes are easy to follow and taste great. Have tried a good number of the recipes. Only thing to remember is they have different names for some ingredients. Just look on the internet if you are not sure.

Excellent recipes that are, fast, flavorful, and fun. Jamie's approach to efficient cooking techniques have made him one of my favorite two cooking authors. The recipes are well photographed and the instruction is well described and ezpz, although you will be doing well to cook these meals in 30 minutes which is still a fast meal in my eyes. Nutritional info is provided. Get this along with his 15 minute meals book and Caitlin Weeks "Mediterranean Paleo Cooking" and start looking at healthy food in a new and exciting way!

Jamie has a knack for putting together recipes that are easy to follow and very flavorful! Great to have his book at my fingertips.

I have many cookbooks and several Jamie Oliver books. I ordered this book for 1 recipe I saw on FB and am delighted to see that there are beautiful pictures of every dish. We eat with our eyes first, right!! Can’t wait to get started.

Una maravilla de libro, está escrito como menús completos, las recetas incluyen un entrante, plato central y postre, es sencillamente una maravilla.

Qui n'a pas envie de faire de la bonne cuisine équilibrée? Mais qui a plus de 30mn a y consacrer après une journée de boulot? Le dernier opus de Jamie Oliver est fait pour ça. Ce ne sont pas des recettes typiques,mais plutôt des guides pas à pas pour produire tout un repas en une demie heure. Chaque page couvre trois recettes, souvent plat - légume - dessert, avec les recettes imbriquées pour faire au plus efficace. En novice, je mets environ 45mn, mais c'est très bon et passionnant!

Amazing book for average Cooks

Libro pieno di spunti interessanti per menu convenzionali e meno. In puro Oliver style. Consigliato il libro e anche l'acquisto "usato" e lo metto tra virgolette perché in pratica è nuovo (manca solo la copertina esterna ma poco interessa per quello che l'ho pagato: 7,9 € spese di spedizione comprese)

Right first things first - the only way any of these meals are going to take 30 minutes is if you are a chef or you have a helper, Jamie also fails to mention that each meal takes at least 30 minutes of washing up too. That said I love the book and if theres two of you it is much easier. I did find it easier to make the meals that I had watched on the TV series as you knew exactly what your doing, before you start make sure you take a leaf out of Jamie's book and relax, if you try and keep to his timings you'll get very stressed out. I love the concept of a recipe for a whole meal with instructions in time order,the only downside is if you want to omit an element or use just one of the dishes it is a bit of a pain. The meals are generous and great for big groups. My favourite meals: Curry Rogan Josh, fluffy rice, carrot salad, poppadoms, flatbread, beer - real winner with the lads, personally I think the carrot salad is the star of this one. Killer Jerk Chicken, rice & beans, refreshing chopped salad, chargrilled corn - I particularly love the rice and beans in this one. Chicken Skewers, amazing satay sauce, firey noodle salad, fruit and mit sugar - packed with flavour a real taste tingler. Piri Piri Chicken, Dressed Potatoes, Rocket Salad, Quick Portuguese Tarts - great mid-week meal Sticky Pan-Fried Scallops, Sweet Chilli Rice, Dressed Greens, Quick Brownies - the Brownies are great and really quick Roast Beef, Baby Yorkies, Little Carrots, Crispy Potatoes, Super Quick Gravy - this is a great recipie for those who love roast dinner but can't be bothered with hours in the kitchen on a Sunday morning, even includes easy yorkshires. Tapas Feast, Tortilla, Glazed Chorizo, Manchego Cheese, Cured Meats & Honey, Stuffed Peppers, Rolled Anchovies - real winner if your havinng a summer garden party. The book is well laid out with lot's of pictures of all the food, just make sure you read the recipie first and know what equiptment you'll need. The food tastes amazing just make sure whoever your cooking for agrees to do the washing up!