5 Ingredients Mediterranean: Simple Incredible Food

On a new cookbook, if I see 8 to 10 recipes that immediately catch my eye and I think 'Yes, I'd like to cook those' then I think I've done well. On going through Jamie Olivers 5 Ingredients Mediterranean, there are about 30 - and that's just the first pass. The instructions are clear, the method is simple and the dishes look really wonderful. Some have commented that the appearance of some dishes isn't so great. Okay, I agree that food is more appetising when looking good, but that comes a long way second to flavour. Even the few not-so-smart looking dishes here hold the promise of wonderful flavour. I look forward immensely to starting on these. Well done (again) Jamie Oliver and team.

Love this so many great dishes to make

I'm really pleased with this book, as the recipes are easy to follow and don't use a lot of ingredients.Make sure you read the section that lists 5 ingredients that Jamie is assuming you will have in stock, as all recipes include some of these as well as the main 5 ingredients. The "cupboard stock items" are olive oil for cooking, extra virgin olive oil for dressing etc, red wine vinegar (available at any supermarket for less than £2.00 and will last ages), sea salt, and black pepper. (Some reviewers seem to have skipped those pages.)First recipe tried in this book was the mushroom soup. Really easy and gives lots of practice with slicing technique (750 grams of mushrooms 😀).There are some recipes I probably won't ever try, but that's the same with any cook book.Bought on offer for £4.00 but definitely worth more.

Simple recipes with only 5 ingredients required

As the title suggests 5 ingredients Mediterranean, the secret is that they are all stunning recipie ideas with anunusual mix of ingrediants to produce easy to make mid week meals well done Jamie PS each recipie comes with a comprehensive nutrition guide making great for those on various diets

It's worth keeping in mind this is Mediterranean food, not 'the Mediterranean Diet'. The meals are quite carb heavy - there's a lot of pasta, potatoes, pastry, breads and heavy grains used. This is more winter meals than light lunches.The meals are more fusion food then pure Mediterranean, but for only 5 ingredients per meal there has to be some leeway.The book uses the word "oozy" too often.There's not much here for vegetarians.The book layout is lovely. One recipe per page, each with a photo. Bright text, lots of white space. The ingredients are generally affordable and easy to buy in any supermarket - perhaps with the exception of squid. The accompanying nutritional information (fat, protein, carbs, salt etc) is really helpful.The downside for me, is that the recipes aren't inspiring, others look revolting. Example is "Winter Greens Gnocchi" which is walnuts, kale, mascarpone, gorgonzola and potato gnocchi. 2 x heavy cheeses plus potato, and a photo that looks like lice, is just too ikky for me. Similarly, I didn't buy a Mediterranean recipe book to be greeted with steamed fish, new potatoes and carrots (with basil).I think about 25% of this book will be very useful for me. If you're into pasta and seafood you'll get a lot more use out it.

So many good dishes and it conplete my mums collection of Jaime oliver books. We use it every week.

...‘with the added va-va-voom of basing it on my lifelong experiences travelling around the Mediterranean…...holding your hand and guiding you to make everyday cooking super-exciting, but with minimal fuss…’n.b. With 5 key ingredients (‘key’ being the word) for each recipe, it is naturally assumed, even if a beginner, that you have other basic ‘everyday ingredients’ to hand, i.e.:~ OLIVE OIL~ EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL~ RED WINE VINEGAR~ SEA SALT~ BLACK PEPPERThe cheering colour of orange (more neon-like in hand) will always draw my eye to a cookbook, although for me, the food on the plate on the front cover is not the best choice it could have been.But, it’s only the cover!Inside, it is a logically presented, colourful volume packed with, IMO, generally achievable recipes, if a Med. influence is your choice.If in doubt, I am sure that the encouragement & enthusiasm in the TV series of the same name will keep Mr Oliver at the top of the game, when it comes to air.~ ‘It is so good; so simple.’The current LOOK INSIDE facility above gives an idea of the layout.ooOoo~ TITLE: 5 INGREDIENTS MEDITERRANEAN: SIMPLE INCREDIBLE FOOD~ AUTHOR: JAMIE OLIVER~ FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY: DAVID LOFTUS~ ‎PUBLISHER: MICHAEL JOSEPH~ 2023 (August 31st)🦐 From the back cover (image below refers):~ ‘A celebration of hero Mediterranean flavours and ingredients~ Quick and easy recipes for exciting everyday cooking’Measuring roughly 19.5 cm x 25 cm, the hardback book, with raised main titling on the front cover, includes handy hints & tips.The 320 page book is divided into 10 main SECTIONS, namely:~ SALADS~ SOUPS & SARNIES~ PASTA~ VEG~ PIES & PARCELS~ SEAFOOD~ FISH~ CHICKEN & DUCK~ MEAT~ SWEET THINGSUniform in the presentation, the recipe is on the left-hand page, with a picture of the completed dish on the right-hand side, together with 5 smaller pictures of the key ingredients.Montages of on-location pictures are also included, across double-page spreads.The book starts with a dedication, followed by the usual chatty introduction and winds up with a comprehensive alphabetical index that follows ‘Helpful Kitchen Notes’, further 'Nutritional' notes, etc. + the usual acknowledgements.