A selection of recipes from Jamie Oliver's new book Veg
Jamie Oliver is on a mission to get everyone eating more vegetables with the release of his new book, Veg. Stuffed with ideas to boost mealtimes with a wealth of plant-based recipes, consider this your new go-to cookbook.
Greens Mac n' Cheese
Preheat the oven to 180C/gas 4. Trim, halve and wash the leek and peel the garlic, then finely slice with the broccoli stalks, reserving the florets for later. Place the sliced veg in a large casserole pan over a medium heat with the butter, then strip in the thyme leaves and cook for 15 minutes, or until softened, stirring regularly.
Stir in the flour, followed slowly by the milk, then simmer for 10 minutes, or until thickened, stirring regularly. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pan of boiling salted water for five minutes, then drain.
Grate the Parmesan and most of the Cheddar into the sauce, and mix well.
Tip in the blender, add the spinach and whiz until smooth - you may need to work in batches. Season to perfection with sea salt and black pepper, then stir through the pasta and broccoli florets, loosening with a splash of milk, if needed.
Transfer to a 25cm x 35cm baking dish, grate over the remaining Cheddar and scatter over the almonds. Bake for 30 minutes, or until beautifully golden and bubbling. Swap spinach out for any kind of exciting fresh or frozen greens, discarding any tough stalks. I also sometimes add breadcrumbs to the top for bonus crunch. Tasty! To make vegetarian: swap Parmesan for vegetarian hard cheese.
My veggie moussaka
Cover the porcini with 500ml of boiling water. Peel and finely slice the onions and garlic. Drizzle two tablespoons of oil into a large casserole pan over a medium-low heat, add the cinnamon and fry for 1 minute, then add the onion and garlic.
Pick in the oregano leaves, pour in the vinegar, then simmer with the lid on for 20 minutes, or until soft and lightly golden, stirring regularly. Meanwhile, slice the aubergines lengthways 1cm thick, then chargrill in batches on a griddle pan.
Scrub the potatoes and slice 1cm thick, then add to the casserole pan with just the porcini water, reserving the mushrooms. Scrunch the tomatoes into the pan, then pour in a tin’s worth of water and leave to tick away on a medium heat for 30 minutes, stirring regularly. Preheat the oven to 200C/gas 6.
Freeze for 2 hours, remove, unwrap and slice into portions.
— Jamie Oliver (@jamieoliver) October 16, 2019
Pop back in the freezer and enjoy later 🙌
To use from frozen, simply defrost overnight in the fridge, or whack it straight into a pan to melt. pic.twitter.com/d8YiDo47eE
Place the mushrooms in a blender with half the feta and the eggs. Pourin the milk, finely grate in half the nutmeg, then whiz until smooth. Season the tomato sauce to perfection with sea salt and black pepper, then spoon half into a 25cm x 35cm baking dish.
Cover with half the aubergines, drizzle over four tablespoons of creamy sauce, then repeat, finishing with the remaining creamy sauce. Crumble over the rest of the feta, then bake for 40 minutes, or until golden and bubbling.
Delicious served with a simple lemony dressed green salad. Sometimes I swap the feta for grated halloumi. Ribbons of courgette grilled with the aubergine are very nice, too.
WONDERFUL VEG TAGINE
Put the saffron into a jug, cover with 500ml of boiling water and leave to infuse. Meanwhile, peel and finely slice the garlic and ginger, then place in a large casserole pan over a medium heat with two tablespoons of oil, the cumin, cinnamon and ras el hanout.
Add the tomato paste, fry for a few minutes, stirring regularly, then pour overthe saffron water. Trim and prep the veg, as necessary, then chop into large chunks, adding them to the pan as you go.
Tip in the chickpeas, juices and all, roughly chop and add the apricots and preserved lemon, discarding any pips, then season with sea salt and black pepper.
Bring to the boil, cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 45 minutes, or until tender, stirring occasionally. When the veg are almost tender, just cover the couscous with boiling water,season with salt and pepper and pop a plate on top.
Leave for 10 minutes, then fluff and fork up. Pick the herb leaves and toast the almonds. Serve the tagine and couscous sprinkled with the almonds and herbs. Delicious served with harissa rippled yoghurt. In the summer I grow most of these vegetables, and I’m always eager to pick, wash and race to cook this dish.
The flavour is just extraordinary with tender, delicate veg.
