7 Ways: Easy Ideas for Your Favourite Ingredients

6 Reviews For This Product

1. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   06

   by CobWeb September 6, 2023

   This is a great cookery book which came very quickly

2. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   06

   by Jengen September 7, 2023

   This is another great book by Jamie Oliver. The recipes are simple and easy to follow for both beginners and more advance cooks. Great price for the book.

3. 

   Rated 2 out of 5

   06

   by Gayle G. September 10, 2023

   Good book but Amazon sent the US version, ingredients are listed in pounds and oz and oven temperatures are in Fahrenheit rather than Celsius. Difficult to convert. Product description states it’s the original uk version, however Amazon sent US version. Wouldn’t have bought this version knowingly, please refund, or replace with UK version.

4. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   06

   by CobWeb October 19, 2023

   Be warned, tho’…the ‘neon pink’ on the cover is the accent colour throughout, including the inside cover pages, front & back!

   Published to coincide with the new TV series, ‘Jamie’s Keep Cooking Show’ (Channel 4), at the time of writing, this new book is sincerely dedicated to ‘Sir Paul Smith’.

   ooOoo

   Having followed JO, including on TV since the beginning of time (well 1999 anyway!) i.e. his days as ‘The Naked Chef’ & that famous spiral staircase greeting, he was just as passionate & down to earth then as he was during the early days of lockdown with his ‘selfie’ broadcasts with the family, and the various archive clips that showed thereafter.

   So, is there much more he can offer in yet another book?
   Well, yes, IMO.
   It is a concise and simply well laid out publication across double page spreads that includes a photographic shot (Levon Biss) of every single dish, so you know what you are aiming for on the plate.
   It also aims, as always, to make cooking look like something you want to do rather than a chore and the casual, easy confidence JO exudes in said TV programmes is here and evident from the start in part of the INTRODUCTION:

   ????‘I’ve set out to give you solutions’…

   …there then follows how he covers off all the excuses one might have for not cooking tonight, e.g.

   ~ ‘I don’t have time’
   ~ ‘I don’t know what to cook’
   ~ ‘I can’t find fancy ingredients’
   ~ ‘I hate washing up’
   ~ ‘I want a takeaway’
   ~ ‘I don’t know how to cook: Whether you’re a total beginner or a kitchen ninja, these recipes will serve you well…’

   From the back cover (capitalised):

   ???? ‘Easy ideas for every day of the week

   Looking for new inspiration!
   Jamie’s got you covered.
   Celebrating 18 much-loved ingredients with more than 120 exciting recipes, these are delicious big hitters with maximum flavour, minimum effort.’

   I think it is important to note, at this point, that other store cupboard ingredients are required in addition to the mains quoted in the recipes, and this is explained in the INTRODUCTION, including:

   ????‘…Cooking is simply impossible without these items at your fingertips and I believe every household should have them in stock.
   …olive oil for cooking, extra-virgin olive oil for dressing and finishing dishes, red wine vinegar as a good all-rounder when it comes to acidity and balancing marinades, sauces or dressing and, of course, sea salt and black pepper for seasoning.

   …Herbs are a gift to any cook…Herbs allow you to add single-minded flavour to a dish, without the need to over-season, which is good for everyone.
   They’re also packed with incredible nutrition ~ we like that.

   …I use a lot of condiments in this book, like mango chutney, curry pastes, black bean and teriyaki sauces, miso and pesto.
   These are items you can find in all supermarkets, and of an extraordinary quality. They guarantee flavour and save hours of time in preparation. Most are non-perishable, which means you’re not under pressure to use them too quickly…
   …Over the years, the press have taken the p*** out of me for using these so-called ‘cheat’ ingredients, but I think cheat ingredients are great! They help keep food exciting.’

   ooOoo

   Measuring around 19.25 cm x 25 cm x 3 cm, the thick hardback cover opens to 320 numbered, matte finish pages, split over the CONTENTS, as listed at the front, which is a collage of snapshots of the finished dishes alongside the list of the 18 main CHAPTERS, aka ‘HERO INGREDIENTS’, namely:

   ~ BROCCOLI
   ~ CAULIFLOWER
   ~ AVOCADO
   ~ CHICKEN BREAST
   ~ SAUSAGES
   ~ SALMON FILLET
   ~ SWEET POTATO
   ~ AUBERGINE
   ~ EGGS
   ~ MINCE
   ~ POTATOES
   ~ PEPPERS
   ~ PRAWNS
   ~ WHITE FISH FILLET
   ~ WHOLE CHICKEN
   ~ MUSHROOMS
   ~ STEAK
   ~ PORK

   …all sandwiched between an 8-page INTRODUCTION at the front and NOTES ON NUTRITION, the usual sincere THANK YOU, a full alphabetical INDEX + the full list of JAMIE OLIVER books, of which this is NUMBER 24, at the back!

   Pages 10 & 11 are a handy cross-reference to the recipes included under typically sounding JO titles:

   ~ FAKEAWAYS
   ~ ONE-PAN WONDERS
   ~ TRAYBAKES
   ~ SIMPLE PASTAS
   ~ BEAUTIFUL SALADS
   ~ SOUPS & SARNIES

   Easy to navigate, each CHAPTER opens with a double page spread with, white on neon pink, the list of 7 recipes capitalised on the left-hand page and the section title on the right.
   Without further ado, it is straight into the first recipe.

   Each recipe has snapshot pictures of the KEY INGREDIENTS down the left-hand side of the left-hand page of each double page spread. The recipes are in black coloured text with the TITLE at the top, the NUMBER OF SERVINGS & TOTAL TIME, followed by the LIST OF INGREDIENTS required & the METHOD.
   NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION is at the foot of the page.
   The right-hand page is a full-page, colour illustration of the finished dish.

   The chunky tome can be a bit reluctant to stay open at the chosen pages, depending on where you are in the book, but is easily solved with a book stand as shown in the images below, as I struggle to find my next favourite recipe to try from the enticing 126 on offer!

   p.s. There are NO puds in the book, even in the EGG section!

   [22 images attached ©Jamie Oliver, Levon Biss & Penguin Michael Joseph/2020]

5. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   06

   by Tessa W. November 8, 2023

   I love this book there’s some great recipes. Nice and quick to make with easy ingredients and everyone I’ve tried has been really tasty. I’ve made a few more I can’t find pics for annoyingly and there’s loads more I will try in the future. The avocado section doesn’t grab me as much as the others but there are some in there I’ll try but I don’t really fancy any from the sweet potato section but everyone’s different so don’t let that put you off as all the others have loads of great ideas. You couldnt fail to find a dish you fancy in here whatever you’re in the mood for you’ll find something to cook. Some reviewers say the limited ingredients limit flavour now I haven’t found this with any I’ve made but as with any recipe if you feel it needs something else or you think something would go well in there you can add in whatever else you fancy as you go along and I must admit I do tend to add more than he says alot of the time. If it says 1tbsp of harissa I’ll prob use 1 and a half or 2 lol I do this with most recipes not just his and I always add extra garlic to recipes as we do love our strong flavours but there are loads of brilliant recipes in here. I’ll add more pics as I cook more but upto now this is the book I have made the most recipes from so far and I have alot of cook books.

6. 

   Rated 3 out of 5

   06

   by Gayle G. November 19, 2023

   I really enjoy cooking and one of my not so guilty pleasures is buying a new cookbook and sampling the delights. I liked the sound of Jamie Oliver’s 7 Ways – key ingredients I regularly cook with, simple recipes that I can make without taking up too much time, healthy, balanced meal ideas all sounded very appealing… However having tried out a couple of the recipes I’m left feeling quite disappointed. I’m not giving up yet and I’ve given three stars to reflect the fact that I’ve only tried a limited number of recipes. Based on the ones I’ve made so far, 2 stars would be generous…

   It’s important to point out that I follow recipes to the letter the first time I try them…

   I started with the Cullen Skink fishcakes and these were very bland. I have a recipe for smoked basa fishcakes which are along a similar vein but have so much more flavour. The Cullen Skink fishcakes were a bit of a pain to make, the onion and chive sauce was pretty gross and the overall result was a lot of effort for a rather lacklustre meal.

   Next up was the sweet potato and chicken chop suey. Sounded great in theory. We love a simple stir fry and I like to try new ways of doing them so that we can enjoy a bit of variety. Unfortunately, this dish was also lacking in flavour. The sweet potato was out of place, gave a strange texture to the dish and just felt a bit unnecessary. I’d perhaps give this dish another go but wouldn’t bother with the sweet potato and I’d serve it with noodles instead of rice. I’d add some nice crunchy veggi s and would throw in some garlic and ginger and use fresh chillies instead of the sweet chilli sauce.

   I feel that perhaps by limiting the recipes to only 8 ingredients Oliver is limiting the flavour. The idea is to encourage people to cook for themselves and to show that you can have a healthy, nutritious diet without overcomplicated recipes. The concept is marvellous. However, the result is bland, uninspiring dishes which I fear will have folk reaching for the takeaway menus! I’ll try a few more recipes but I’m not hugely optimistic. Shame because I had high hopes for this book and thought it might give our mid-week repertoire a bit of a shake up.