30 Minute Meals Jamie Oliver

We LOVE this book and it is the cookery book I've used the most. It is brilliant - I think the 30 minutes is pushing it but I know I can do them in one hour at the most.

Having done loads of the summery recipes we're now working through the more wintry ones.

The best cook book ever!

I bought this book last year and whilst the recipes work and are truly fabulous I find myself taking way past the 30 minutes !
Surely this can't be down to my cooking skills purely.
One meal that we make repeatedly is Jools pregnant pasta which can be made in about 15 minutes. This might be , because we have a lot of practice. I also love the recipe for the Scallops! Mmm. Loads of flavours and tasty !

Whilst I love food, I have to be honest, I can't say I have ever been Jamie's biggest fan. Neither the "cheeky chappy" nor the "ultra worthy food hero" incarnations have particularly inspired my culinary juices, more irritated my kitchen sensibilities beyond belief. I had literally zero hopes for this book, but having been given it as a gift decided to give it a go.
What a surprise. Functional, easy to follow, creative and inspiring, I loved reading this book and have made some great meals from it. Personal faves are the Sticky Pan Fried Scallops, Rib Eye Stir Fry and Indian Style Steak.
The only thing I would say is that I am an experienced cook and even I struggled with doing many of the meal plans in half an hour. Allow yourself half an hour either side for prep and mistakes and for beginners maybe start at the weekend so you dont get in a muddle.

A suprise birthday present this year brought with it Jamie's 30 minute meals. An initial glance through it provoked panic, they looked and sounded so complicated. However, on closer inspection (and use), I discovered that the recipes were well laid out and easy to follow. Setting it out in the order you need to do each part of the meal to ensure that it's all ready at the same time.
Each meal has the recipe for the main course, sides and desert, which can supposedly be done in 30 minutes.
As yet I have failed to make any of them in less than 45 minutes, and I haven't tried the desserts yet. However, considering I can easily spend that long in the kithen and serve up a dull meal that I have made 100 times before it's been worth it in that regard.
Each recipe does contain a lot of ingredients, not always cheap, so not a book if you want "bargain" or "frugal" meal ideas. Especially as a food processor and other kitchen equipment is really needed to get the best from it.
On the plus side the large number of ingredients has meant we have been discovering new foods in our house.
A definite one for the shelf, but perhaps not for every day.