Product Description

There are a few British television chefs, such as Delia Smith and Nigel Slater, who know exactly what viewers want. They cook food that is simple to prepare but looks and tastes delicious. That's probably the reason why the BBC appointed Jamie Oliver as the presenter of its series The Naked Chef (which airs on the Television Food Network in the U.S.). A working chef at London's celebrated River Caf+¬, Oliver cooks simpler versions of the fare you would find on the restaurant's menu. It's basically modern Italian food using ingredients that can be found by almost anyone who is reasonably interested in food shopping. Like the television show, the book is titled The Naked Chef. In Oliver's words, this sums up the idea: "It's basically stripping back to the bare essentials." He applies this to all his recipes--from salads to roasts, desserts to pastas. He doesn't use culinary jargon or time-consuming processes. In the book you'll find suggestions for ingredients to keep in your larder (pantry) and herbs to grow on your windowsill. Recipes include Warm Salad of Radicchio; Gem and Pancetta; and Beetroot Tagliatelle with Pesto, Mussels, and White Wine. There are also tips on how to cook live lobsters, how to make gravy, preparing dry beans for cooking, and how to make the perfect roast chicken. Several photographs accompany some of the recipes, with step-by-step instructions. Oliver's recipes for bread are particularly good--a tribute to his training at Carluccio's, the Covent Garden deli. This is the perfect book for anyone who doesn't want to spend much more than a half-hour preparing meals and is not willing to compromise on innovation or taste. --Dale Kneen, Amazon.co.uk

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #148102 in Books
• Published on: 2000-10-22
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 256 pages

From Amazon.com
There are a few British television chefs, such as Delia Smith and Nigel Slater, who know exactly what viewers want. They cook food that is simple to prepare but looks and tastes delicious. That's probably the reason why the BBC appointed Jamie Oliver as the presenter of its series The Naked Chef (which airs on the Television Food Network in the U.S.). A working chef at London's celebrated River Café, Oliver cooks simpler versions of the fare you would find on the restaurant's menu. It's basically modern Italian food using ingredients that can be found by almost anyone who is reasonably interested in food shopping. Like the television show, the book is titled The Naked Chef. In Oliver's words, this sums up the idea: "It's basically stripping back to the bare essentials." He applies this to all his recipes--from salads to roasts, desserts to pastas. He doesn't use culinary jargon or time-consuming processes. In the book you'll find suggestions for ingredients to keep in your larder (pantry) and herbs to grow on your windowsill. Recipes include Warm Salad of Radicchio; Gem and Pancetta; and Beetroot Tagliatelle with Pesto, Mussels, and White Wine. There are also tips on how to cook live lobsters, how to make gravy, preparing dry beans for cooking, and how to make the perfect roast chicken. Several photographs accompany some of the recipes, with step-by-step instructions. Oliver's recipes for bread are particularly good--a tribute to his training at Carluccio's, the Covent Garden deli. This is the perfect book for anyone who doesn't want to spend much more than a half-hour preparing meals and is not willing to compromise on innovation or taste. --Dale Kneen, Amazon.co.uk

From Publishers Weekly
With charming finesse, 24-year-old British chef and BBC television cooking show host Oliver argues a convincing case for "getting naked" in the kitchen. His home-cooking philosophy advocates "stripping down those [restaurant] recipes to something quite basic, and adapting them to what I had in cupboard, pantry, refrigerator or garden." The 120 recipes are organized into 12 chaptersDherbs and spices, soups, salads and dressings, pasta, seafood, meats, vegetables, legumes, risotto and couscous, bread, dessertsDwith a concluding section on stocks and sauces. Oliver's suggested list of ingredient staplesDEnglish mustard, durum semolina, couscous, sea salt, soy sauce and capers, among othersDreflects today's global pantry. His culinary approach synthesizes top-quality, fresh ingredients with fundamental culinary concepts (e.g., composed salads, soups from stock) upon which readers can build. Oliver dispenses helpful tips and advice with boyish enthusiasm: "the perfect risotto should slowly ooze across the plateDthe fact that it isn't moving tells you that it's too dry. Yuck!" Succinct, user-friendly recipes range from traditional English home-cooking favorites, like Pot-roasted Rabbit with Rosemary, Thyme, Sage and Lemon, to international comfort foods, such as Fragrant Green Chicken Curry. A stellar pasta chapter showcases photogenic renditions of Beet Tagliatelle with Pesto, Mussels and White Wine, and Ravioli of Borage, Stinging Nettles, Marjoram and Fresh Ricotta. This is functional home cooking at its grooviest: Oliver delivers a hip classic that will appeal to a new generation of modern epicureans who face the challenge of cooking within the confines of tiny urban kitchens on time-pressed schedules.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
No, OliverDwho looks more like a 16-year-old soccer player than a well-known chef with a best-selling cookbook (in England) and a BBC series to his creditDis not naked; it's his recipes that have been stripped down to the basics and then adapted into a "repertoire of simple, delicious, and feisty" dishes, as he puts it. Writing in a casual, conversational style, Oliver, currently at London's acclaimed River Caf , comes across as as unpretentious and appealing as his recipes, from Ravioli of Smashed Fava Beans, Mint, and Ricotta to Asparagus with Any Interesting Melting Cheese to Fast-Roasted Cod with Parsley, Oregano, Chile, and Lime. There are mouthwatering color photographs of many of the dishes, and interesting kitchen observations are scattered throughout. Unusual but thoroughly engaging, this is strongly recommended.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

Eye-catching title, simple food
Jamie Oliver's first book based on his television series (no, the title does not refer to the chef but instead to his philosophy) is a fine entry in the cookbook market for those who prefer their meals on the plain but flavorful side. Oliver excels in simplicity. His stripped down recipes are easy to follow and don't require a lot of imagination to guess how they will taste. For example, his six recipes for salad dressings fit on two pages; the recipe titles describe exactly what one gets. While Oliver supplies a few recipes that I'll never try (Ravioli of Borage, Stinging Nettles, Marjoram, and Fresh Ricotta) and a few gourmet dishes (Spicy Squash, Basil, and Ricotta Tortellini with Crispy Herbs), most dishes will be familiar to those who dine out at mid-priced restaurants. The emphasis is heavily, though not exclusively, on pasta and Italian flavors. (For ambitious cooks, Oliver supplies clear instructions on how to made pasta at home.) Meat recipes are often plain, without sauces or exotic ingredients; you'll find roast chicken, slow-cooked lamb shanks, and pork chops with thyme, lemon, and pesto. The fish and seafood dishes tend to use off-beat (for Americans) ingredients such as sardines, whole trout, and skate wings, although pan-seared tuna, a staple in restaurants nowadays, makes an appearance. Desserts are uninspired.

The strength of this cookbook is the no-nonsense style and the color plates that accompany the recipes. I recommend this for beginning cooks and those who have simple tastes and are looking for something new. Gourmet cooks, particularly those with a lot of cookbooks, are likely to find themselves bored with the selections.

Great stuff!
As a complete beginner, I was totally amazed by the clarity of this book. Jamie takes sophisticated tasting dishes and strips them down to the bare essentials, I couldn't believe that I was cooking up grilled salmon with black olives and basil in minutes. He made me aware of the importance of cooking with the freshest ingredients, that way less really can be more. I also liked the fact that his recipes were fairly health-conscious too without really trying to be low fat. I am ready to take it to the next level!!!!

A new, simple way of cooking
I have cooked all my life. As a girl I loved to help my mum, and then when I married and got four kids there were always someone to cook and bake for. And there still is.

Living in Norway I am used to make most of the food from scratch, and to bake most of the bread and cakes we eat. I also have inherited alot of recipes from my mother, my grandmothers, and (some of the best ones) from my father-in-law.

Of course I thought I knew everything there was to know about making tasty food in my kitchen:-) Then my husband got The Naked Chef for Christmas. I had seen a few of Jamie Olivers television programs and was interested in the book. And after having read a few pages I was hooked.

Jamie Oliver has a very simple, fresh way to cook. There is nothing difficult, no dishes with too much preparations (at least he tells us so). Still the food he is making is so good, so tasty, and looks so elegant. Take his bread recipes for instance. He starts with the same ingredients for all his different sorts of bread, then, "simsalabim", he does a little trick, and you have a totally different bread.

I celebrated my birthday as an Italian party the other night, and his Focaccias and Ciabattas are the most delicious ones I have tasted (exept from the fresh ones bought in Iatky of course).

I still have alot to try from his book, and look forward to great hours in my kitchen, in Jamie's company.

Britt Arnhild Lindland