Quite interesting to sit and watch Jamie Oliver on his gardening programme at the moment he is showing us the peas and broad beans that he has grown. Apparently everyone thinks you have to peel broad beans but Jamie says you don't need to do that when they are fresh.
He is now using a pestle and mortar to bash up broad beans, mint and peas, busting and breaking all the skins and mint, bruising the hell out of everything. When it's a sort of mush you add about three tablespoons of olive oil and some grated parmesan cheese. This makes a harmony that you've just got to scream about, so Jamie says. Have a little taste and appreciate the fabulous colour, keep tasting and add cheese and lemon juice until you get a good flavour.
You can serve it over a piece of fish or on toast. You can add a bit of garlic rubbed on the toast if you like then get a big lob of the paste and slap it on the toast. If you want to take it up a notch, tear a ball of mozzarella in to bits and put it on top then grill it.
You can also add some pea shoots which look beautiful. Raw peas in salad are a total luxury and also small broad beans with just lemon juice and olive oil dressing. Then sprinkle with more parmesan cheese to make a pretty green and white starter on toast or luxury snack.
Brian the gardener taught Jamie to grow peas and beans by first of all working up and chaffing up the soil then add some fertiliser which gives the beans a good head start - organic is best.
Then you dig a gulley with a spade and plant the seeds about 6 or 7 inches apart, a couple at a time - they don't mind that. 16 times 50 is 700 broad beans in a row. Put water in the gulleys and then fill over the soil so they're 3 inches deep.
Peas are even easier to grow. Make a 6 inch gulley, sprinkle the peas in and then fill the dirt over, give it a good watering. You can grow two crops a year.
Pigeons like peas so it's a good idea to build a twig wigwam over them so that the pigeons can't get them, because pigeons don't like twigs in their eyes and it also looks pretty.
Toads are good for the garden because they eat all the slugs and snails which is good for an organic garden that has no pest killers. Spice broad bean fritters is a recipe that Jamie says you will love and is the tops! Pod 250g of broad beans then heat some oil and half a potato in a pan and when the potato goes brown you know the oil is ready. Nice spices for it are cumin, cayenne pepper, teaspoon of each, half a chilli, finely sliced to give the blender a bit of help. This is a falafel type of dish.
Pulse the blender until the ingredients are mushy, add a little bit of flour, just enough to bind it for a crispy outside and juicy inside. Make quenelles from the mixture and drop them into the hot oil.
One can make them beforehand and put them in the fridge. A nice dip is made from Lemon juice, Yogurt and Mint. Jamie loves them and as he takes them out of the oil he says, 'oh my lord!'
Served on a plate with some fresh lettuce, a squeeze of lemon juice and some olive oil. He loves this type of cooking as this is what he likes to eat, together with a wodge of chili.
This is the account given by those who watched Jamie Oliver's Peas and Beans programme. If you'd like to read more about their television encounters just go to
Mister and MissesO and dexter cow
In his new book, "Jamie's 30-Minute Meals", Jamie proves that, by mastering a few tricks and being organized and focused in the kitchen, it is absolutely possible, and easy, to get a complete meal on the table in the same amount of time you'd normally spend making one dish! The 50 brand-new meal ideas in this book are exciting, varied and seasonal. They include main course recipes with side dishes as well as puddings and drinks, and are all meals you'll be proud to serve your family and friends. Jamie has written the recipes in a way that will help you make the most of every single minute in the kitchen. This book is as practical as it is beautiful, showing that with a bit of preparation, the right equipment and some organization, hearty, delicious, quick meals are less than half an hour away. You'll be amazed by what you're able to achieve.
The incredible diversity in American cooking was a real revelation to me. So although I went looking for "quintessential American food," my conclusion is that there is no such thing; instead there's a huge wealth of seriously exciting dishes. 
Bestselling author Jamie Oliver finally devotes an entire book to America's favorite cuisine -- Italian! 
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