It’s only Valentine’s Day, but already I’m dreaming of the easy-peasy cooking days of summer, when dinner can be a smoke-kissed protein or veggie from the grill on a paper plate with a handful of potato chips.
It’s not that I don’t like to cook — I do! — but there’s something about gray skies and cold weather that makes me feel inexplicably lazy when I could be instantly energized, and comforted, by a slow-simmered roast, hearty pan of lasagna or big pot of homemade chicken soup.
That’s why I feel like we have a friend in Jamie Oliver, whose latest cookbook, “ONE: Simple One-Pan Wonders” (Flatiron Books $35) just hit bookshelves on Jan. 10. Its 312 pages are a lifesaver for the cook on the hunt for no-fuss, no-mess meals that still deliver big on taste, with (mostly) everyday recipes built around eight or fewer ingredients.
Better still, all can be made in a single pan, which means after some minimal prep, your stovetop or oven does all the heavy lifting. Another plus: super-easy cleanup!
“Cooking is many things to many people and the most wonderful pursuit,” the British chef writes in the foreword, “but when it comes down to everyday pressures it seems that, time and again, convenience rules.”
For him, that translates to budget-friendly recipes that don’t just come together quickly, but also make good use of pantry staples such as olive oil, vinegar, eggs, garlic, onion and salt and pepper. In this new cookbook, pasta is cooked right in the pan with meat and/or vegetables; eggs serve as a springboard for dishes as diverse (and easy to make) as Yorkshire pudding and shashuka; and desserts come to life in roasting or frying pans.
If you worry “quick” means “non-nutritious,” be reassured: Balance is key when it comes to eating well, Oliver writes. As such, the majority of recipes (70%) contain at least three of the five major food groups and at least one serving of vegetables. More than half, in fact, are meat-free or meat-reduced, providing plenty of options for those on plant-based or flexitarian diets.
They also have less saturated fat, sugar and salt, with each recipe’s full nutritional information listed at the bottom of the page to prove it.
Along with chapters on “frying pan” pastas, veggie delights and chicken dishes, the cookbook also offers up burgers and toasties, eggs, seafood and a variety of meat dishes, many with easy swaps and ingredient hacks.
Oliver isn’t the only cookbook author writing with an eye toward convenience. Huge props go to home cooking guru Mark Bittman, whose “everything” series of cookbooks have inspired and informed millions of Americans with their straightforward, wonderfully utilitarian and easy recipes that make everyone a better, and faster, cook.
Bittman’s latest, a revised and updated version of 2014’s “How to Cook Everything Fast,” is built on this premise: While life may have become more complicated, cooking can become simpler if you 1) prep ingredients while you cook, 2) choose quick-cooking ingredients and 3) set your kitchen up for speed.
“Fast cooking involves strategy, not compromise,” he writes. “Smart, easy techniques, like cutting meat into smaller pieces for lightning-quick braises and harnessing the power of the broiler give you all the pleasure of eating homemade meals with minimal work and — perhaps more important — time.”
His recipe for Smoky Shrimp Scampi is a perfect example. With just six ingredients (not counting salt and pepper), it comes together in less than 10 minutes, but is incredibly full of flavor. It can be served atop pasta or rice for a filling meal, or spooned with its garlicky, paprika-kissed sauce over thick and crusty pieces of bread for a less-formal nosh. It also works as a cold or room-temperature appetizer.
Ever the educator, Bittman also includes a new chapter on essential pantry and freezer staples, including how to properly store them. You’ll also find a Plan B chart of ingredient substitutions — say, canned tomatoes for fresh, and beer or cider for stock — and a guide to fast equipment because a cluttered kitchen, he writes, is a slow kitchen.
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MUSHROOM GARLIC TAGLIATELLE
PG tested
Cooking fresh sheets of lasagne right in the pan with the other ingredients eliminates having to boil and drain dried tagliatelle for this vegetarian pasta dish. The original recipe calls for using arugula but I used micro greens. I also subbed baby bella for oyster mushrooms because they’re more readily available.
1 pound fresh lasagne sheets
16 ounces sliced baby bella mushrooms
2 cloves garlic
1 1/2 ounces Parmesan cheese
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
4 sprigs thyme or fresh rosemary
Handful shelled, unsalted walnut halves
4 heaping tablespoons ricotta or cottage cheese
Large handful of fresh greens
Bring 5 cups of water to a boil in a kettle or saucepan. Cut lasagne sheets lengthways into 1/2-inch strips to make tagliatelle.
Put a 12-inch frying pan on a high heat and dry fry the mushrooms as it heats up.
Peel and finely slice garlic. Finely grate the Parmesan.
Once mushrooms are lightly charred, add a little drizzle of olive oil to the pan with the garlic, strip in the thyme leaves, then crumble in the walnuts. When the garlic is lightly golden, scatter the pasta into the pan.
Carefully pour in enough boiling water to just cover the pasta — about 4 or so cups. Let it bubble away for 4 minutes, or until the pasta has absorbed most of the water and you’ve got a nice sauce, stirring regularly and loosening with an extra splash of water, if needed.
Stir in Parmesan, ricotta or cottage cheese and arugula, keeping everything moving, then season to perfection with salt and pepper. Finish with a kiss of olive oil, if you like.
Serves 4.
— Adapted from “One: Simple One-Pan Wonders” by Jamie Oliver (Flatiron Books, $35)
SMOKY SHRIMP SCAMPI
PG tested
This dish goes from countertop to tabletop in less than 10 minutes. Smoked paprika, made by slowly smoking Spanish pimenton over oak, adds a wonderfully smoky and seductive flavor. I served it in a bowl with thick slices of bread for sopping up the juices.
1/3 cup olive oil
4 cloves garlic
1 bunch fresh parsley
1 1/2 pounds peeled medium shrimp
Salt and pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1 lemon, halved
Cooked rice, pasta or thick toast for serving
Put olive oil in a large skillet over low heat. There should be enough to cover the bottom of the pan; don’t skimp.
Peel and chop garlic. Chop parsley. If shrimp are frozen, run under cold water to thaw, draining well.
Add garlic, shrimp, a sprinkle of salt and pepper and smoked paprika to the skillet. Toss to coat and turn the heat to medium-high.
Cook, gently shaking the skillet once or twice, until the shrimp turn pink on one side, about 2 minutes.
Cut 1 lemon half into 4 wedges.
Turn the shrimp and add half of the chopped parsley. Cook, shaking the pan again until the shrimp are pink all over and just cooked through, about 2 minutes more. (It’s OK to cut one to check.)
Squeeze the juice from the lemon half through a strainer or your fingers into the pan and cook for another 30 seconds. Taste sauce and adjust seasoning.
Garnish with remaining parsley and lemon wedges and serve.
Serves 4.
— “How to Cook Everything Fast: Great Food in 30 Minutes or Less” by Mark Bittman (Harvest, $40)
ROASTED TOMATO CHILI CON CARNE
This one-pot chili is not for the timid, thanks to the generous addition of chipotle in adobo sauce. You can cut the spice level by adding less. Crushed tortilla chips thicken the chili while also adding a salty, corny finish. Don’t forget the shredded cheddar and/or sour cream — no bowl of chili is complete without it.
3 tablespoons ancho chili powder
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon ground oregano
Kosher salt
4 pounds boneless beef chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 1-inch chunks
3 tablespoons grapeseed or other neutral oil
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
6 medium garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 tablespoons tomato paste
14 1/2-ounce can diced fire-roasted tomatoes
4 chipotle chilies in adobo sauce, finely chopped, plus 3 tablespoons adobo sauce
2 cups tortilla chips, finely crushed (about 3 ounces)
In a large bowl, stir together chili powders, sugar, cumin, oregano and 1 teaspoon salt. Add beef and toss to coat.
In a large Dutch oven or sauce pot, heat oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and cook until lightly browned, about 3-4 minutes, then add garlic and cook until fragrant.
Add tomato paste and cook, stirring, until it is browned. Stir in tomatoes with their juices, chilies with sauce and 1 cup water, scraping up any browned bits. Stir in the seasoned beef, and distribute in an even layer.
Bring to a simmer, then cover with the lid just slightly ajar for 3-4 hours, or until the meat is fork-tender.
Using a large spoon, skim off and discard fat from the cooking liquid. Stir in crushed tortilla chips, and cook, stirring occasionally, until chili is lightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Let stand for a few minutes, then taste and season with salt.
Serve in warmed bowls with shredded cheddar, pickled jalapenos, sour cream, chopped cilantro and hot sauce, if desired.
Serves 6.
— Adapted from Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street
BAKED LEMON CHEESECAKE
PG tested
1/2 cup unsalted butter
8 ounces Lotus Biscoff or gingersnap cookies
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract
3/4 cup confectioner’s sugar, plus more for dusting
1 1/2 pounds cream cheese
Juice 1 lemon
1 cup fresh raspberries, divided
1 cup fresh blueberries
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Melt butter in an 11-inch ovenproof frying pan over a low heat while you blitz the cookies until fine in a food processor.
Tip the cookie crumbs into the pan and mix well, then spread and pat out in an even layer, going slightly up the sides. Bake for 5 minutes, then remove.
Crack the eggs into the processor (don’t worry about cleaning) with the vanilla and most of the confectioner’s sugar and blitz for 2 minutes, until pale. Blitz in the cream cheese and lemon juice, then pour evenly over cookie base.
Mash half the raspberries and the remaining confectioner’s sugar with a fork, swirl through the top of cheesecake batter and bake for 15 minutes.
Pull out the pan and scatter over the rest of the raspberries and blueberries, dust with a little extra confectioner’s sugar, then pop back into the oven for 10 minutes. At this point, switch from oven to the broiler until top is beautifully golden and just starting to catch.
Remove from oven and allow to cool, then chill in fridge for 2 hours before serving. The texture won’t be completely smooth.
Serves 12.
— Adapted from “One: Simple One-Pan Wonders” by Jamie Oliver (Flatiron Books, $35)