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Cooking From Jamie’s Food Revolution: Part 1

Did you watch Jamie’s Food Revolution? The show followed Jamie Oliver as he sought to change the way people in Huntington, West Virginia, eat. Huntington, which was recently named the fattest town in the country, responded with some resistance. However, with Oliver’s persistence, school lunches went from frozen processed foods to healthier, fresh meals. As for the people of Huntington? He won many over and introduced so many to easy cooking.

The show did a lot of good — not just for that one town, but for the many, many people who turned in, started talking about it and began taking steps to free their eating from the clutches of unhealthy, fattening foods. I hope there ends up being a second season.

Last week, my husband, knowing that I religiously watched the show, bought me a copy of Jamie’s Food Revolution: Rediscover How to Cook Simple, Delicious, Affordable Meals. This new cookbook from the man famously known as The Naked Chef is a thick book of recipes with photos galore. The dishes range from British Beef and Onion Pie to Crunchy Garlic Chicken to Mini Shell Pasta with a Creamy Smoked Bacon and Pea Sauce, which is what we tried tonight.

When I was putting together our meal plan for the week, I selected this pasta since it’s fast and filled with flavors that my family adores.

You start by chopping bacon while heating a pot of water to boiling. Typically, I use frozen bacon for something like this. However, since you are cutting such a mass of bacon, using a refrigerated stack and a super-sharp knife works great.

Then you remove mint leaves from their stems and chop them to bits. I was obscenely happy to use this mint from my garden. It’s been growing like crazy and I am so ready to use it. Wonder what else I can do with it  (suggestions?) …

Then the bacon is cooked in … a little olive oil and butter. Yea. Because bacon doesn’t have enough natural fatty lubricant? You toss in the peas, mint, pasta and a little heavy cream. Mix in the parmesan and serve.

The flavor of this dish? Really good. We’ll have this again, although I think next time I would make a few alterations:

  • Cut back on the fats. Honestly, I’m not sure that I would cook the bacon in oil and butter again. It seems like too much fat. Instead, I would let it cook on its own and add a touch of the pasta water to make the sauce more liquid.
  • Change up the timing. I followed the directions for this recipe, and the timing was a little off — next time, I would start the bacon cooking before the pasta goes into the water, instead of after (as the directions suggest).
  • Reduce the cheese. I love cheese as much as the next girl, but 6 oz is a lot … I think 4 oz could do the job.
  • Season to taste. Aside from the salt in the pasta water, this recipe doesn’t call for any salting … I think seasoning to taste at the end with some sea salt and a touch of pepper brings out the flavors in this amazingly … so that will definitely happen next time.

As for the cookbook? I will definitely use it again. This was a really tasty recipe. My daughter Paige didn’t say a peep all through dinner — she was too focused on gobbling her bowl up. It’s good stuff.

My one big complaint? I really hate the way the directions are presented — they are in one continuous paragraph with mid-paragraph bulletpoints to differentiate one step from another. That makes it somewhat hard to follow.

The directions in this New York Times reprint are better than those in the book. Click on the link for the recipe (with a print option!).

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Tuesday 17th of February 2015

[…] Pasta with peas and bacon […]

Cooking from Jamie’s Food Revolution: Part 2 (OMG Braised Cabbage!) | Sarah’s Cucina Bella :: Family Food

Wednesday 12th of May 2010

[...] Simple, Delicious, Affordable Meals. This is the second recipe I have made from the book. Last week I made a pasta from Jamie’s Food Revolution that was really [...]

Ellen

Thursday 6th of May 2010

I have that book and we have really liked quite a few of the recipes. The Indian curries and vegetable bhajis (mentioned by your first commenter) are fantastic. The ground beef wellington was great (and packed well for lunches since I made small ones rather than one big one), his salads are simple and great, the "dressed" asparagus and creamy leeks were big hits. I've got some posted with photos on my blog if you're interested. .-= Ellen´s last blog ..Roasted Fingerling and Small Red and White Potatoes =-.

Erin B

Thursday 6th of May 2010

It looks and sounds tasty. However, I am confused. Isn't his whole food revolution thing about getting American's to eat BETTER?? So in this dish he combines bacon (cooked in oil, no less!) and heavy cream? Or is it just the television show about eating healthier? Or am I just a big miss on all of this?

Sarah Caron

Thursday 6th of May 2010

Erin, I can totally see how you would think that! Totally! But the amounts of these things are minimal: a pat of butter, about a tbsp of oil, about a 1/2 lb of bacon, and 2 tbsp of heavy cream. Even all together, it's not a nutritionally bad meal since these things are used in moderation. But I would just prefer to have the end result a little more creamy and less oily. As for the Food Revolution, it's about getting people to cook at home instead of resorting to packaged foods, fast foods, etc which are not moderate in their use of fatty and high-calorie ingredients. Jamie's Food Revolution is not a fat-free, low-cal or anything like that idea. It's about eating real foods, which are healthier. Hope that answers your q.

sassymonkey

Wednesday 5th of May 2010

I find his timing a big off on some of the recipes as well. And one that I totally messed up was the meatload of all things. I missed the part where you were supposed to turn down the oven after it had been in x minutes. Oops. (I was so not liking Jamie Oliver that night.)

I like his potato salad. It tastes very light and fresh. .-= sassymonkey´s last blog ..And no one shall hear us pee. The end. =-.