The Naked Chef
The only thing Jamie Oliver isn't doing at the moment is writing a blog. But it wouldn't surprise me if started one. The man's a hurricane of creativity. One day he's cooking in Munich, the next he's in San Francisco. He's written four books and sold five million copies of them, ranking second in British sales only to Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling. Then there are the TV shows. After dominating the British small screen for two years, he's exploded onto the American scene and can now be seen broiling, grilling, baking, roasting, poaching, simmering, frying and stewing six days a week on three shows airing on the Food Network cable channel: The Naked Chef, Oliver's Twist and Pukka Tukka. Phew!
Next on the list is a soon-to-open London restaurant, 15, which will be an eclectic take on Italian food with touches of French and Chinese cuisine. The name comes from Oliver's idea of hiring 15 disadvantaged youths and offering them training for a cooking career. And while all this is going on, he's juggling the roles of husband, father, consultant, columnist and drummer.
Here's a sample Oliver recipe that gives zest to the old sandwich idea. For men, especially, who have been out of the kitchen for some time, this is a great way of rediscovering the joy of cooking.
Jamie's steak sarnie
Serves: 2, cooking time: 8 minutes: preparation time: 14 minutes
Ingredients:1 baguette or 2 medium ciabatta loaves
2 slices of rump steak
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard
1 handful of arugula
1 lemon
Extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions:
Place the steak slices between plastic wrap and bash them with a heavy object (pot, hammer, fist) until thin. Season and sprinkle with the rosemary and rub with a little extra virgin olive oil. Place on very hot griddle or frying pan and cook each side to your taste — rare, medium, well done. Warm the bread in the oven at 225 degrees. Remove steak to a plate, squeeze over the lemon juice and allow to cool while you cut the bread in half lengthways and drizzle the cut sides with a little olive oil. Spread the mustard over the bread, put your steak and arugula on top, then drizzle over any juice from the meat. Eat! Mmmmm!
Sounds simple. Is, too. Today, I'm going to have a go at his "Warm bread salad of crispy pancetta, parmesan and poached egg".
