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From Amazon
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.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Easy to Re-create These Tasteful Recipes!,
By
This review is from: The Naked Chef (Hardcover)
I enjoy watching Jamie Oliver's cooking show, The Naked Chef, on the Food Network so I decided to purchase his cookbook and try the recipes myself.If you are like me and enjoy reading cookbooks as well as trying the recipes out, this book is for you! It is an interesting and easy read with great pictures. This young man is very personable in his writing style. I cooked for a party of 6 the Spicy Squash, Basil and Ricotta Tortellini with Spicy Herbs (pg 75) and got rave reviews from my friends. I love fresh pasta and the flavors were subtle yet surprisingly refreshing. I am looking forward to trying other of his pasta recipes. I am baking the Baked Chocolate Tart and making his Semi-freddo this coming weekend for a dinner party where I have been asked to bring desert. I can't wait to try and taste these two deserts. I am also looking forward to trying his soups plus the fish and shellfish recipes in the cookbook. I recommend this cookbook, The Naked Chef. It is well worth the money to try these new and exciting recipes. Thanks Jamie for your creativity with food and love for cooking!
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Eye-catching title, simple food,
By
This review is from: The Naked Chef (Hardcover)
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.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great stuff!,
By soul seeker (LA, CA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Naked Chef (Hardcover)
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!!!!
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