Book 3: Jamie Does... - Jamie Oliver

I will always pick sweet over savoury!  If I was ever told I had to pick one over the other for the rest of my life, there is no way I could pick savoury.  Don't get me wrong, I love savoury food (look at me,  I love any food!), pasta, steak etc etc.  But if it came down to never eating chocolate or vanilla again, you can be sure the pasta would be flung out of the window without a second thought.  So it's with some relief the random number draw picked Jamie Oliver (and no I didn't redraw, this time :) ), because otherwise I would stick to deserts and would never cook anything savoury.... who would?

By the way the full title for this book is, Jamie Does... Spain, Italy, Sweden, Morocco, Greece, France (Thought I'd better clear that up cos the above title looks a tad wrong)

Recipe:  Souvlaki (Wicked Kebabs)   
(this one was chosen by Matt)

-  3 Sweet peppers (mix of colours)
-  8 Flat breads, to serve
-  4 sprigs of fresh mint, leaves picked
-  a small bunch of fresh dill, chopped (stalks and all)
-  red wine vinegar
-  Extra virgin olive oil
-  1 lemon, to serve

For the kebabs 
-  800g leg of pork, (I used Fillet, I couldn't get the suggested shin) cut into 2cm chunks
-  1 tablespoon dried mint
-  1 tablespoon dried oregano
-   juice of 1 lemon
-  100ml good-quality olive oil
-  2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely grated
-  1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
-  pinch of freshly ground black pepper
-  pinch sea salt

For the tzatiki
-  1/2 a large cucumber
-  200ml natural yoghurt
-  1 small clove of garlic, peeled
-  1 heaped teaspoon dried mint
-  1 1/2 teaspoons red wine vinegar

If using wooden skewers, cut 8 to fit your pan and soak them in a tray of water to stop them burning.  Put all your kebabs ingredients into a bowl and use your clean hands (dammit, I wanted to do some gardening!) to mix everything together really well.  Cover with clingfilm, then pop into the fridge for 30 minutes, or longer if you want the flavours to get  a bit more intense.

Meanwhile, blacken the peppers directly over the flame of your hob, in a hot dry griddle pan or under a hot grill.  Turn them every so often and when they look almost ruined, pop them into a bowl, cover with clingfilm and put to one side to steam for 5 minutes or so - this will help their skins to come off.

Make your tzatziki by coarsely grating the cucumber into a sieve set up over a bowl.  Add a few good pinches of salt, then use your hands to squeeze out as much water as you can.  Pour the water away, then tip the cucumber into the empty bowl and add the yoghurt.  Pound the garlic in a pestle and mortar with a good pinch of salt until you have a paste, and spoon that into the bowl with the cucumber.  Add the dried mint and red wine vinegar and mix really well.  Have a taste to make sure you've got the balance right, then put aside.

Preheat a griddle pan or grill (or BBQ) on a high heat.  Thread the skewers through the marinated pork pieces, leaving little spaces between them so that the heat cooks everything evenly.  Cook the kebabs on the screaming hot griddle or grill for about 8 to 10 minutes, turning occasionally until done on all sides.  Warm your flat breads in the oven or in a hot dry pan while your kebabs are cooking.

Just before your kebabs are ready, peel and deseed your blackened peppers, then tear them into strips and put them in a bowl.  Roll up your mint leaves, finely slice them and add to the bowl along with the dill.  Add a few splashes of red wine vinegar, a pinch or two of salt and pepper and a lug of extra virgin olive oil.  Toss and mix together, then have a taste to check the balance of flavours.  Cut your lemon into wedges.

Put a dollop of tzatziki and the meat from one skewer on each warmed flat bread.  Top with some of your pepper mixture, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a good squeeze of lemon juice.  Life doesn't get much better.



The finished product

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Who doesn't love Jamie Oliver?  and if not, why not?  This book/recipe is awesome!  The book itself is a great collection of recipes, every recipe has a little story or spiel that goes along with it (which I love! You may have noticed I like to type?) The biggest problem I had with this book is that it was so hard to choose!  My partner Matt picked this recipe and I wouldn't normally let him anywhere near the books (mainly as he may realise how many there are and freak out a tad!!).

I was a bit disappointed at first that he chose souvalki's, there are so many interesting recipes in the book, that I thought it might be a tad boring.  How wrong was I, this recipe is amazing!! I was extremely sceptical of using pork, I honestly thought lamb would be the meat of choice, but the pork was fantastic and incredibly tender (I marinated mine for half a day).  The condiments that go with it go really well, the tzatiki in particular is delicious.  The only things I would change for next time, is a tad more salt and pepper on the meat and I'd use small pita pockets and put the meat etc. inside them.

Once again, I really like Jamie Oliver!  Which is funny considering I have never thought about buying one of his books, (I picked this up as a two pack for $20.00 on a Aust Post clearance table) and now I'm thinking about getting all of them.  I'm thinking if I put them in a box in the shed, I can pretend I've had them for years :P 

Kate
xx

Really should edit myself a bit, the waffle is going a bit nuts (I won't though)   :)