Jamie Oliver. Photo / Samy Frikha
Jamie’s most popular cookbook goes Mediterranean in this mouth-watering follow-up to 5 Ingredients. 5 Ingredients Mediterranean is everything people loved about the first book, but with the added va-va-voom of basing it on Jamie’s lifelong travels around the Med.
Fragrant rose harissa, zingy lemon & fresh parsley
Serves: 2 Total time: 22 minutes
Tunisians are one of the biggest pasta eaters on the planet and they have a whole load of their own pasta shapes and techniques. Harissa really amplifies the sweetness of the prawns here – delicious!
150g dried spaghetti
8 large raw shell-on king prawns
2 tsp rose harissa
½ a bunch of flat-leaf parsley (15g)
1 lemon
1. Cook the pasta in a pan of boiling salted water according to the packet instructions.
2. Meanwhile, peel the prawns, removing and reserving the heads and leaving the tails on. I like to run a small sharp knife down the back of each, discarding the vein, so they butterfly when they cook. Toss the prawns with the harissa and leave to briefly marinate.
3. Place the prawn heads in a large frying pan on a medium heat with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and fry until golden all over, stirring regularly and gently squashing to extract amazing flavour.
4. Roughly chop and reserve the top leafy half of the parsley, then finely slice the stalks and add them to the pan with a pinch of sea salt and black pepper. Fry for 1 minute, then add the marinated prawns and cook for 1 minute on each side.
5. Using tongs, drag the pasta into the pan, squeeze in half the lemon juice, throw in the parsley leaves, then toss together, loosening with a splash of starchy cooking water, if needed.
6. To serve, pick out and discard the crispy prawn heads and cut the remaining lemon half into wedges for squeezing over.
ENERGY 373kcal FAT 9.3g SAT FAT 1.2g PROTEIN 19.2g CARBS 56.3g SUGARS 3.2g SALT 0.9g FIBRE 2.8g
Creamy chickpeas, spinach & sumac
Serves: 2 Total time: 18 minutes
Inspired by some of the wonderful flavours of Lebanon, this quick dish is perfect for an easy meal. Hunting out nice fat jarred chickpeas is game-changing when it comes to both flavour and texture.
4 cloves of garlic
2 x 150g skinless chicken breasts
½ x 700g jar of chickpeas
250g baby spinach
1 heaped tsp sumac
1. Peel the garlic cloves and slice lengthways, then place in a large non-stick frying pan on a high heat with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, stirring regularly.
2. Slice each chicken breast lengthways into 3 strips, then toss with a pinch of sea salt and black pepper. Once the garlic is nicely golden, quickly remove from the pan with a slotted spoon, leaving the flavoured oil behind. Go in with the chicken and cook for 5 minutes, or until golden and cooked through, turning regularly.
3. Remove the chicken from the pan and tip in the chickpeas (juices and all). Add the spinach, along with most of the garlic and 1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar, then toss over the heat until the spinach has wilted and the chickpeas are hot through.
4. Season to perfection with salt and pepper, then return the chicken to the pan and finish with the reserved garlic and a generous dusting of sumac.
ENERGY 406kcal FAT 13.3g SAT FAT 2.2g PROTEIN 48.8g CARBS 23.2g SUGARS 3.1g SALT 1.3g FIBRE 1.1g
Silky-smooth chocolate, best coffee, pure happiness
Serves: 6 Total time: 40 minutes, plus cooling
Chocolate and coffee are celebrated all around the Med and they’re also my wife’s two favourite indulgent pleasures, so why wouldn’t I create possibly one of the most decadent desserts on Earth?
150g dark chocolate (70%)
125g unsalted butter
50ml good espresso
2 large eggs
125g golden caster sugar
1. Preheat the oven to 120°C. Snap the chocolate into a heatproof bowl, add the butter, espresso and a good pinch of sea salt, and place over a pan of gently simmering water to melt very slowly until smooth, stirring regularly.
2. Meanwhile, whisk the eggs and sugar together until pale and doubled in size, then carefully fold in the melted chocolate mixture.
3. Boil the kettle. Divide the mixture between 6 coffee cups or ramekins and put them into a roasting tray. Place the tray in the oven, then carefully pour in enough boiling kettle water to come halfway up the side of the cups. Bake for exactly 20 minutes, then carefully remove from the oven and leave to cool in the water for 2 hours.
4. To serve, I sometimes shave over some extra chocolate, or add fresh fruit with a dollop of yoghurt or crème fraîche.
ENERGY 400kcal FAT 26.8g SAT FAT 15.9g PROTEIN 3.8g CARBS 38.6g SUGARS 38.5g SALT 0.4g FIBRE 0.0g
5 Ingredients Mediterranean by Jamie Oliver is published by Penguin Michael Joseph ©Jamie Oliver Enterprises Limited (2023 5 Ingredients Mediterranean). Recipe photography: © David Loftus, 2023.
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