JAMIE DOES
Jamie Oliver
Penguin - NZ$75

Jamie Oliver has been on his travels again, this time taking the opportunity to visit six amazing places that are popular destinations for Kiwis travelling to the UK and beyond.  The result is Jamie Does…, a simple and enticing cook book (like all his books) which showcases beautiful and delicious recipes from six very different countries: Spain, Italy, Sweden, Morocco, Greece and France.

The book, which accompanies a six-part TV series (still to be scheduled for NZ), follows Jamie on his journey for inspiration as he discovers traditional dishes from destinations that are regular weekend break favourites.  As ever with Jamie, he ventures off the main tourist track to explore markets, meet local people and get to the heart of each place through its food.

On his travels, Jamie visited six cities or regions, Marrakech, Athens, Andalucía, Stockholm, Venice and the Midi Pyrenees in France. Each chapter focuses on a different place and collects together his version of each countries star dishes: the flamboyant paella of Spain, exotic Moroccan tagines, zingy Greek salad, lovely Swedish meatballs and delicious French desserts. 

Jamie says: ‘If I’ve learned anything over the years it’s to rely on my instincts. After hopping on a £70 return flight to Morocco and spending a few short but brilliant days tasting my way through the markets and alleyways of Marrakech, I knew I should take more of these trips. All those new flavours, sights, sounds and smells were like a breath of fresh air to me, and I came home excited and full of new recipes. What you’ll find in this book is fun, optimistic, escapist food that you can easily cook at home.’

About the author:
Jamie Oliver started cooking at his parents’ pub, the Cricketers, at the age of eight, and has gone on to work with some of the world’s top chefs. He founded Fifteen restaurant in London and the associated charity, Fifteen Foundation, which trains disadvantaged young people to become chefs. There are now Fifteen restaurants in Cornwall, Amsterdam and Melbourne. Jamie has also launched a chain of high street restaurants in the UK called Jamie’s Italian.
Jamie writes for publications in the UK and around the world, including his own Jamie Magazine.  He is the author of ten best selling books which collectively have sold over 15 million copies in UK alone. This makes him the best-selling non-fiction author of the last decade. His books are published in 30 countries, including America, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Sweden, Denmark, Russia, Poland and France.
How does he manage to do all this? The Bookman reckons he must have a great team behind him, and a very understanding wife and family!

The publishers have given me permission to reproduce the fiollowing recipe from the Jamie Does Italy section of the book

 

SPAGHETTI VONGOLE

Serves 4
• 1kg small clams, scrubbed clean
• a small bunch of fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 10 cherry tomatoes
• 250ml white wine
• 400g dried spaghetti
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• extra virgin olive oil
• 1–2 dried chillies

Clams were, and still are, available in Venice by the boatload. So much so that they’re even considered peasant food. Although this recipe originates from Venice, it’s so delicious that it’s nowbecome a classic Italian dish. People can be picky about whether or not it should be made with or without tomatoes,
but personally I like the subtle colour and sweetness they add to the dish. The most important thing about it is timing everything so you get perfectly steamed clams and al dente pasta.
Once you’ve made it a couple of times your intuition will kick in and you’ll be able to make it quickly and perfectly every time.

Put a pan of water on to boil. While that’s happening, sort through your cleaned clams and if there are any that aren’t tightly closed, give them a sharp tap. If they don’t close, throwthem away. Put a large pan with a lid on a high heat and let it heat up. Finely slice the parsley stalks, then put them to one side and roughly chop the leaves. Peel and chop the garlic, quarter the tomatoes and get your wine ready.

Add the pasta to the boilingwater with a good pinch of salt and cook according to packet instructions until al dente. About 5 minutes before your pasta is ready, get ready to start cooking – you'll have to be quick about this, so no mucking about! Put 4 generous lugs of extra virgin olive oil into the hot pan and add the garlic, parsley stalks and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Crumble in the dried chilli and add the
chopped tomatoes. Stir everything around constantly and just as the garlic starts to colour, tip in the clams and pour in the wine. It will splutter and steam, so give everything a good shake and put the lid on the pan. After about 3 or 4 minutes the clams will start to open, so keep shuffling the pan around until all of them have
opened. Take the pan off the heat. Get rid of any clams that haven't opened.

By nowyour pasta should be just about perfect. Drain and add to the pan of clams along with the parsley leaves and an extra drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Stir or toss for a further minute or two to let the beautiful seashore juices from the clams be absorbed into the pasta. Serve right away. No sane Italianwould eat this dish without some fresh hunks of bread to mop up the juices. Beautiful!

P.S. The first time you make this it will be good, but you might find things don't come
together exactly at the right time. But don'tworry, this dish is all about confidence and
the more you make this, the more you'll find the pasta and clams are ready and perfect
at the same time. And then it will be great!

Footnote:
Reprinted with permission from Jamie Does... published by Penguin Group (NZ).
RRP NZ $75.00. Available at all good booksellers nationwide.
Further Footnote:
Declaration of interest - Bookman Beattie is unashamedly  Jamie's greatest NZ fan and is known to be less than objective when writing about him.
It is now Sunday evening and I have just watched Jamie on the wonderful Food TV channel which has sent me scurrying back to Jamie at Home.