Jamie, a hero amongst men

 Let me tell you about Jamie.  Jamie Oliver,  successful, talented British cook, writes great cook books with recipes that work.  Took England by storm many years back and is now out to conquer the world..  His is a real success story that you have to be happy about, because he's such fun to watch and never seems to take himself too seriously.

Now let me tell you about my son away from home, studying in the UK, and how Jamie has contributed to his happiness and slightly overblown ego.   My first born loves to impress.  Not necessarily  a quality or a fault, it's just the way he is.  Fun loving, sociable but rarely happier than when swimming in admiration.  His first year at university, cooking his own food,  he has made it a question of Gallic pride to prepare good food for himself and for friends.   Thanks to Jamie's books and website the boy is in demand and happy.  Friends are falling over themselves for invitations to his dinners, and frankly the child's head has never been so big!

So thank you Jamie for your laid back style, your energy and your delicious recipes which bring joy to us and those at our table!

Here are a couple of our favourites:

Fish, fennel and tomato salad

Mix together a good lug of extra virgin olive oil, a nice squeeze of lemon juice and a pinch of salt and pepper. Drizzle this all over the fish then pat on the chopped marjoram or oregano. Put your fillets on the hottest part of the grill (make sure your grill is really clean to prevent the fish from sticking).

If your fillets are 2cm thick, they’ll only need about 2 minutes cooking time. If the fish breaks up, don’t worry as you’ll be flaking it up later anyway. If it still has the skin on, cook it skin-side down as it’s less likely to stick. Once cooked, remove to a warm plate.


To make the salad, finely slice the tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Arrange on your plates. Finely slice your fennel bulb and dress it in a bowl with extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper then scatter over your tomatoes. Finally, spoon over your fish, flaking it as you go. Scatter over your reserved fennel tops, drizzle with the balsamic vinegar and scatter with chilli, if using, to finish.

and a truly wicked dessert, which incidentally I'll be preparing tomorrow evening for friends:

Baked Chocolate Pudding

Melt 125g chocolate with the coffee, then pour into small ice-cube moulds and freeze until hard. Take 6 small 3 inch pastry rings, dariole moulds or cappuccino cups and grease well with some butter. Place in the fridge while you make your sponge mixture. Melt the remaining chocolate with the butter in a bowl over a pan of boiling water, then in a separate bowl whisk the egg whites with the sugar until firm. Fold the yolks into the cooled chocolate and butter mixture, then add the almonds and flour. Finish by carefully folding in the egg white mixture. Preheat the oven to 190ºC/375ºF/gas 5. Take your moulds out of the fridge and spoon a little mixture into each one, then push in a cube of the frozen coffee and chocolate mixture. Cover with the rest of the sponge mixture so each ice cube is completely enveloped. Bake in the preheated oven for about 18–20 minutes, then remove carefully from the moulds while hot. Serve immediately sprinkled with hazelnuts.

I wish you all a happy and delicious weekend!

photos and recipes jamie oliver