Giveaway, Review, and Recipes from "Jamie Oliver's Great Britain" Cookbook

"Jamie Oliver's Great Britain"
by Jamie Oliver
 
Publisher: Hyperion
Release Date: Oct 2, 2012 (reprint)
Source: sent by publicist

My Rating: 5 of 5 Stars

Partial Summary from goodreads.com:
Having grown up in his parents' gastropub, Jamie Oliver has always had a special place in his heart for British cooking. And in recent years there's been an exciting revolution in the British food world in general. English chefs, producers, and artisans are retracing old recipes, rediscovering quality ingredients, and focusing on simplicity and quality. Jamie celebrates the best of the old and new (including classic British immigrant food) in his first cookbook focused on England.

Here are over 130 great, easy-to-prepare recipes, ranging from salads--Heavenly Salmon and Epic Roast Chicken; to puddings--Rhubarb and Rice Pudding and Citrus Cheesecake Pots; to Sunday lunch--Guinness Lamb Shanks and Roast Quail Skewers; and, of course, the crumbliest scones. America has already fallen for the new British gastropub cooking, with popular restaurants by chefs such as April Bloomfield of The Spotted Pig and the John Dory. Now Jamie shows how to make the same delicious food at home. This is definitely not your grandmother's mushy peas!

My Review:

Readers of my blog know that I am a huge fan of Jamie Oliver (as shown here), so I was thrilled to have the opportunity to review this cookbook. Many people caught "Britain fever" this summer due to the Olympics in London, and this cookbook is released at a time when the world is really interested in knowing more about the country and it's culture. This book honestly has some of the best looking recipes in any of Jamie's books yet, and that's saying something because I love all of this cookbooks!

The book is oversized, and at 416 pages, it is absolutely full of recipes, photos, and details of Jamie's trip around Britain looking for the best recipes and inspiration in the country. The gorgeous photos, are not just of the food, but also of Jamie's adventures around Britain. In a graphic style, almost like a scrapbook, he shares the people, culture, and the beautiful sights that he found along the way. I want to visit all of these places, he makes them look so inviting and beautiful.

Every recipe in the book has a heartfelt intro by Jamie, these alone will make you want to try the recipes no matter what the ingredients are! With recipes like "ER's Diamond Jubilee Chicken" (an upgrade on Coronation Chicken), and "Kate and Will's Wedding Pie" (a meat pie), I am willing to try the more traditional British dishes that I haven't been so sure about before.

There is an entire section of the book for "Afternoon Tea." Does anything get any more British than Tea Time? The recipes here sound delicious, and almost dessert-like, including "Sour Cranberry Bakewell" and "My Nan's St. Clement's Cake."


Bottom Line: Not only do I love all the recipes, and want to try them all, but I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Jamie Oliver's adventures in Britain with it's uniquely British people and culture.

Jamie Oliver's Great Britain on Amazon.com:


Jamie's website:  http://www.jamieoliver.com


 Bonus Recipes from the Book!

The publicist and publisher have given me permission to post two recipes from the book on my blog along with the blog tour! Enjoy!!

photo credit: David Loftus

Roasted Apple & Squash Soup
By Jamie Oliver


On my travels around Bristol I spent an afternoon with Leona, who runs the Boiling Wells cafe in the allotment gardens. She’s a lovely young lady and a real food activist in many ways. What’s more, she’s a great cook, and I’d rather eat food made by a great cook than a great chef any day of the week. The food she makes is clearly a reaction to the wonderful ingredients she gets from the allotments, which are a stone’s throw from her cafe. She knocked out this soup for me, which I’ve tweaked slightly. I genuinely love it.
SERVES 4 TO 6

butternut squash (roughly 2 lbs)

3 good eating apples, such as Braeburn

1 large onion

1 or 2 fresh red chiles

4 cloves of garlic, unpeeled and bashed

olive oil

sea salt and ground pepper

a pinch of coriander seeds

a few sprigs of fresh rosemary, leaves picked and finely chopped

3 heaped tablespoons pumpkin seeds

a pinch of cayenne pepper

3 ¼ cups organic vegetable or chicken stock

⅔ cup light cream

optional: edible flowers or flowering herbs, to serve

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Very carefully(!) peel and slice the squash lengthways and scoop out the seeds. Cut into 1-inch chunks and put them on a large baking sheet. To see how to safely cut up butternut squash, go to www.jamieoliver.com/how-to.

Peel the apples, then quarter them and remove the core. Peel and roughly chop the onion and add the apples and onion to the baking sheet. Halve and deseed the chiles and add to the sheet with the unpeeled and bashed garlic cloves. Drizzle over a good amount of olive oil and add a good pinch of salt and pepper – I also like to add a pinch of coriander seeds and a little chopped rosemary because I think it brings out the best flavor. Toss everything together so all the veg is nicely coated, season one more time, then whack into the oven and cook for around 45 minutes, or until everything is cooked through, intensely golden and delicious.

Toss the pumpkin seeds with salt, pepper, olive oil and the cayenne. Spread on a baking sheet and roast in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes until nice and toasted, then put aside for later.

Put some of the roasted veg into a blender, making sure you squeeze the garlic flesh out of its skin first. Add a swig of stock, then place a tea towel over the lid and gently blitz until smooth and lovely. Put this into a large pan while you blitz the rest. Pour in most of the cream and bring to a simmer over a medium to low heat. Have a taste, season to perfection and either add another splash of stock, or carry on simmering until you’ve got it to the consistency you love.

To serve, divide between warm soup bowls and add an 80s swirl of cream and a sprinkling of
toasted seeds. If you’re as creative as Leona, you can also grab some flowering herbs or edible
flowers to sprinkle over the top and make it extra beautiful. Serve with warm crusty bread.



photo credit: David Loftus

Empire Roast Chicken
By Jamie Oliver


EMPIRE ROAST CHICKEN
BOMBAY ROASTIES | AMAZING INDIAN GRAVY

Ask any British person what their two favorite meals are and I reckon most people would say their mum’s roast chicken, and a curry. Well, welcome to Empire roast chicken, a combination of both of those things. Your friends and family are going to love it. I love it. You will love it.

Slash the chicken’s legs a few times right down to the bone. Get a baking sheet slightly bigger than the chicken, then add all of the marinade ingredients and mix together well. Put on a pair of clean rubber gloves, then really massage those flavors over and inside the chicken so it’s smeared everywhere. Don’t be shy! Ideally marinate overnight in the fridge.

Preheat the oven to 400°F and organize the oven rack so the baking sheet can sit right at the bottom, the chicken can sit directly above it, right on the rack, and the potatoes can go at the top. Halve any larger potatoes, then parboil them in a large pan of salted boiling water with a whole lemon for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked through. Drain the potatoes then let them steam dry. Stab the lemon a few times with a sharp knife and put it right into the chicken’s cavity. Move the chicken to a plate.

Roughly chop the onions and add to the baking sheet along with the cinnamon stick, cloves, vinegar and Worcestershire sauce, then whisk in the flour. Pour in the stock or water, then place this right at the bottom of the oven. Place the chicken straight on to the bars of the middle shelf, above the baking sheet. Cook for 1 hour 20 minutes.

Put another sturdy baking sheet over a medium heat and add the olive oil, a knob of butter, the mustard and cumin seeds, garam masala and turmeric – work quickly because if the fat gets too hot the mustard seeds will pop everywhere. Halve a bulb of garlic and add it straight to the pan, with the sliced chile and chopped tomatoes. Add your drained potatoes to the tray, mix everything together, then season well. Finely slice and scatter in the cilantro stalks, and keep the leaves in a bowl of water for later. After the chicken has been in for 40 minutes, put the potatoes in.

Once the chicken is cooked, move it to a board and carefully peel off the dark charred bits to reveal perfect chicken underneath. Pass the gravy through a coarse sieve into a pan, whisking any sticky goodness from the pan as you go. Bring to the boil and either cook and thicken or thin down with water to your preference. Put it into a serving bowl and drizzle over a little yogurt. Get your potatoes out of the oven and put them into a serving bowl, then serve the chicken on a board next to the sizzling roasties and hot gravy. Sprinkle the reserved cilantro leaves over everything and serve with any condiments you like. Life doesn’t get much better.

SERVES 4-6

For the chicken and marinade

2 ¼ lb preferably higher welfare chicken

1 heaped tablespoon each finely grated garlic, fresh ginger and fresh red chile
1 heaped tablespoon tomato puree

1 heaped teaspoon each of ground coriander, turmeric, garam masala and ground cumin

2 heaped teaspoons plain yogurt

2 lemons

2 teaspoons sea salt


For the gravy

3 small red onions, peeled

1 stick of cinnamon

10 cloves

3 tablespoons each of white wine vinegar and Worcestershire sauce

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 cups organic chicken stock

optional: plain yogurt, to serve


For the Bombay-style potatoes

1 ¾  lbs new potatoes

sea salt and ground pepper

1 lemon

2 or 3 tablespoons olive oil

a knob of butter

1 heaped teaspoon each of black mustard seeds, cumin seeds, garam masala and turmeric

1 bulb of garlic

1 fresh red chile, deseeded and finely sliced

2 tomatoes, roughly chopped

1 small bunch of fresh cilantro

I am so happy to be able to offer a copy of Jamie Oliver's Great Britain to one lucky reader of my blog!!

GIVEAWAY RULES:

The publicist and publisher have generously provided a copy of "Jamie Oliver's Great Britain" for a lucky follower of my blog!
All you have to do is follow my blog publicly and fill out the Rafflecopter form below. Please follow publicly or I can't tell that you are following :)
  • US and Canada only
  • Must be a follower to enter
  • Books will be mailed out by the publisher
  • Must be 18 or over 
  • Ends Nov 15
Thanks to everyone for entering! Good luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway


Follow along with the rest of the tour here.

54 comments

  1. I bet this is awesome. I heart him. I am SO saving this soup recipe. YUM! Great review. Thanks for sharing.

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  2. That book is HUGE but I love when they include pictures of traveling. It makes me want to immerse myself wherever they are visiting and try all the recipes.

    I used to watch Jamie all the time. I like how relaxed he always is about cooking.

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  3. These recipes look so yummy. I think I'll try making the soup tomorrow. Thanks for the review and the giveaway.

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  4. I like that it is such a big cookbook with so many tips and pictures!

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  5. Being of British heritage I would enjoy cooking from this book. It would bring back memories from my childhood.

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  6. That looks cool. I heard some of the recipes were kind of complicated though, but I'm glad you loved the book.

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  7. I loved this cookbook too...it's so much more than a cookbook, isn't it? :) No need to enter me in the contest since I already have a copy :)

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  8. I like Jamie's recipes and they are so easy to make vegan, too. I watched this show but didn't buy the book, glad you like it!

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  9. What fun to find your blog post about Jamie Oliver and your love for him. We are HUGE Jamie fans, too. We recently relocated to the Los Angeles area and we go to Patra's - how lucky are we? - ALWAYS get the Revolution Burger. It is the best hamburger every single time. Just this morning my husband texted me from the bus saying it passed the school that was featured in the same revolution program! What a crazy coincidence. (The bus & route are new to him.) I planned to follow your blog and post this comment even before I finished and found your contest. Now I have my fingers crossed that I win! I have never had or seen one of his books. We miss his show and have a dream of getting Ryan and Jamie to collaborate again on a great idea of ours. If you know how we can pass it along to one of them please let me know. And nice to meet you. ox joon

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  10. How great is this --perfect book for our Katie--her dream that we are working for is that she be a missionary and a chief--She was one of the youngest at 13 to receive her bronze medal for her KI studies--as the people were reading her short biography they were amazed a child at this age--had already made goal and is working on her dream--this book would help alot--All the same Thanks for a great giveaway

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  11. I love Jamie Oliver! A huge fan and I would love to have this book.

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  12. I'm so glad you enjoyed Jamie's latest! Thanks for being on the tour. I'm featuring your review on TLC's Facebook page today.

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  13. Always been a big fan of Jamie. Would love a copy of his latest book.

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  14. I LOVE to cook. Thanks for the chance to win. This looks like a great book.

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  15. I have heard great things about Jamie, and I"ve seen him on TV a few times. I would love to try this!
    Marysa {at} marysa {dot} com

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  16. This cook book looks awesome! Thanks for the giveaway of a spectacular cook book :)

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  17. I'd love to win this for my brother. He's a single guy who just bought his own home. I was going to get him cooking stuff for Christmas!

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  18. Oooohhh ... I love Jamie! Longtime fan here. I have a ratty copy of his Naked Chef and I am still using it today! :) I would love to win this!

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  19. I enjoyed reading Oliver's cookbook as well as picking our recipes to try...there's so much of his personality here! :) No need to enter me in the Giveaway as I already own the cookbook :)

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  20. This book sounds yummy!

    felecia@twinoaksfl.org

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  21. Don't enter me because I reviewed it too. I loved this cookbook. The Cornish Pasty recipe is terrific. I've made it several times as my husband is British and it's one of his favorite dishes. I have so many more marked to try!

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  22. sounds like a wonderful cookbook. I like that it's a scrapbook with recipes moreso than just a typical cookbooks. makes it a nice gift!

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  23. I love trying out new recipes! This cookbook sounds wonderful.

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  24. Luv to read new cookbooks and try new recipes..this looks like a fun one...thanks!

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  25. Looks like a great book to add to my collection!

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  26. Looks like it would make a great gift for my husband!

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  27. I love how euthastic he is about food. I am sure all of these recipes are wonderful and nutritous.

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  28. I would love to win this cookbook!
    Paula Myers
    paulajomyers@yahoo.com

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  29. I would love to win this cookbook!
    Paula Myers
    paulajomyers@yahoo.com

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  30. Roasted Apples and Squash soup sounds delicious! I'd love this cookbook

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  31. Oh wow! My sister would LOVE this cookbook!

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  32. This book sounds like it would serve me well for breaking the cooking rut, especially on Meatless Mondays :)

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  33. I absolutely love Jamie Oliver!!! I miss English food so much!

    Thanks for the giveaway!

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  34. I love that it isn't just a cookbook but about his travels too.

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  35. all my friends say British food isn't tasty, but I was there and I LOVED it. Looks like this book has some good recipes
    xoxo

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  36. I am a big fan of Jamie Oliver and I would love to have this book.

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  37. I ate at his restaurant Fifteen when I visited the UK and these recipes look delicious.

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  38. I love Jamie Oliver and am excited to try some of his British recipes - good for him for breaking the stereotype of the Brits having bad food!

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  39. I would love to win
    sarahlovesvegas@hotmail

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  40. I love Jamie Oliver and would love to read this!

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  41. I have cooked using Jamie Oliver's recipes and always been happy with the way they turned out. I would LOVE this book!

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  42. Love trying new recipes, I haven’t gotten to try many British ones. The Roasted Apple and Squash soup looks particularly interesting to try.

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  43. This sounds like such a great book. I love to try new recipes!

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  44. This books looks great. Thanks so much for the informative review.

    My Name: Heather Abbe
    My Email: abbegirl1977 at gmail dot com

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  45. I love Jamie Oliver and I love cook books that have more than just recipes. I am going to have to give that roast chicken a try.

    april yedinak

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  46. my nun lives in the uk and loves jamie oliver i would love to try his recipes

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  47. I think this cookbook sounds fantastic! I read cookbooks like novels!

    Nancy
    allibrary (at) aol (dot) com

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  48. That chicken sounds amazing! I am dying to read through this book. Thanks for the great giveaway.
    hstorm799{at}gmail{dot}com

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  49. Thanks for the giveaway! This looks like a fabulous book!
    hrddiana556@gmail.com

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  50. Oh I would be so excited to see all the recipes in this book! Thank you for the opportunity!

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Thanks so much for your lovely comments!