Something for the Weekend

THIS could well be the thinnest, smallest, cheapest and cheerfullest cookbook around. Written in the usual light-hearted Jamie O spirit, it contributes a quirky culinary touch to this accessible pocket series, issued to celebrate the Penguin’s 70th birthday. Apparently, Mrs Oliver (as in Jamie’s mummy), advised her son not to use this title “because of its associations with condoms and everything” but, as dedicated fans would know, nothing daunts our favourite kitchen boy’s adolescently upbeat nature, let alone a parental wagging finger.

You can’t expect any pictures – apart from what looks like a child’s (or Jamie’s) felt-pen squiggle of two fried eggs, and possibly sausages, on the front cover – in a booklet of 57 pages. What you do get, however, is the casual banter and enthusiastic conjuring-up act that the young chef-genius has accustomed us to: “As usual I was mucking about, trying to reinvent the apple sauce and roast pork story”. The result? The reassuringly “Unbelievable roast pork with stuffed apples and parsnips”. And unbelievable in its audacity it is, what with oranges, allspice, nutmeg and sage gate-crashing that bastion of tradition, the Sunday lunch. He also fiddles with the “Good old steak and kidney pie”, giving it a Mediterranean twang with rosemary, thyme and bay leaf.

And lest you think this is all about stuffing your face come 1 o’clock, there’s also “brekkie” (check out his outrageously scrumptious, “bastardized and personally composed muesli”, alias Pukkolla, or one of the naughtier alternatives, namely “Sticky sausage bap with melted cheese and brown sauce”), fish suppers (you can try out what he served to Tony and Silvio at the British/Italian summit), drinks, sideline dishes (minty mushy peas or baked carrots with cumin, thyme, butter and Chardonnay), wondrously flavoursome alfresco food, and, naturally, diet-destroying puds. Give this wrapped around a bottle of wine to any cookery-loving friend and watch their delight. Better still, invite them round for a little something this weekend.
Something for the Weekend is published by Jamie Oliver and is available from Moufflon Bookshops (£1.60)

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