Jamie Oliver's Family-Friendly Recipes

With fall upon us, families are starting to sink back into a routine of school and work. So we asked Jamie Oliver for some of his favorite healthy dinners that he makes for his own family. He offered That's Fit three recipes from his most recent cookbook, "Jamie's Food Revolution," for you to try at home.

Oliver has made headlines recently for his efforts to overhaul school food programs, but he also believes that a love of healthy foods starts at home. So bring the kids into the kitchen; let them toss a "lug" of olive oil into the pot, as Oliver calls it; or have them rip up a bunch of fresh basil. The results will be a whole lot more than just a delicious dinner -- you're also serving up a lifetime of healthy eating.


Mediterranean Chopped Salad
Serves 4

Chopped salads are incredibly simple to make; you have to give them a go. If nothing else, they can offer you some chopping practice, so why not make something tasty while you're practicing your knife skills? Anyone can make these salads-- just make sure you use a good sharp chef's knife and your biggest chopping board and watch your fingers.

Ingredients
A small handful of black olives
1/2 red onion
1 red chile
3 firm ripe tomatoes
1 head Romaine lettuce
1 bunch fresh basil
Extra-virgin olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

What I want to show you here is that the sky's the limit when it comes to the ingredients you can add to a chopped salad. You can use whatever's available. The only rule I would give you is to always include a couple of handfuls of crunchy lettuce to give your salad a really good texture. Try out different things and don't feel obliged to use the same old stuff all the time. Bell peppers, tomatoes, herb sprigs, different types of cheese -- …you can get any or all of these into a chopped salad.

Get yourself a large chopping board and a large sharp knife. Press down on the olives with the palm of your hand to squeeze the pits out, then discard the pits. Start chopping the harder, crunchier veggies first. Peel and slice your onion; halve, seed and finely chop your chile. Chop the olives and the tomatoes. Bring it all into the center of the board and continue chopping and mixing together. Add the lettuce leaves and basil and chop them up, too.

When everything is well chopped, you'll have a big mound of salad on the board. Make a well in the middle and drizzle 6 tablespoons olive oil, 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Mix it up so everything gets dressed and serve straight from the board or in a bowl.


Sizzling Beef with Scallions and Black Bean Sauce
Serves 4

This works best with rice that has completely chilled down or, better yet, has been made earlier and kept in the refrigerator. But if you can't prepare rice for this dish in advance, you can still cook it and pop into the refrigerator while you're cooking the rest.


Ingredients
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups long-grain or basmati rice
1 pound top loin or sirloin
1 thumb-sized piece fresh ginger
4 cloves garlic
1 fresh red chile
4 scallions
1 small bunch fresh cilantro
4 tablespoons sesame oil
Peanut or vegetable oil
4 tablespoons good-quality black bean sauce
4 tablespoons soy sauce
2 limes
2 eggs, preferably free-range or organic

To prepare your stir-fry, bring a pan of salted water to a boil, add the rice and cook according to the package instructions. Drain the rice in a strainer, run it under a cold tap to cool, then allow to dry out in the fridge. Trim any excess fat from your steak and slice the meat into finger-sized strips. Peel and finely slice the ginger and garlic. Finely slice the chile. Cut the ends off your scallions and finely slice. Pick the cilantro leaves, put to one side and finely chop the cilantro stalks.

Get yourself a big bowl and put in the ginger, garlic, chile, scallions, cilantro stalks and steak strips. Add the sesame oil and mix everything together. To cook your stir-fry, preheat a wok or large frying pan on a high heat and, once it's very, very hot, add a good lug of peanut oil and swirl it around. Add all your chopped ingredients from the bowl. Give the pan a really good shake to mix everything around quickly. Stir-fry for 2 minutes, taking care to keep everything moving so doesn't burn. Add the black bean sauce and stir in 2 tablespoons of soy sauce and the juice of a lime. Keep tossing. Taste and season with black pepper and a little more soy sauce.

Remove the pan from the heat, transfer everything to a bowl, and cover with aluminum foil. Give the pan a quick wipe with a ball of paper towels and put back on the heat. Add a lug of peanut oil and swirl it around. Crack in your egg and add a tablespoon of soy sauce -- the egg will cook very quickly, so keep stirring. Once it's scrambled, stir in your chilled rice, scraping the sides and the bottom of the pan as you go. Keep mixing for a few minutes until the rice is steaming hot, then taste and season with a little soy sauce.

To serve your stir-fry, divide the rice between four bowls or plates. Spoon over the meat and black bean sauce and sprinkle over the cilantro leaves. Serve with wedges of lime -- great!



Meatballs and Pasta
Serves 4-6

Meatballs are fantastic! They're perfect like this, with a 1-minute homemade tomato sauce and spaghetti, but you could also try polenta or simple chunks of fresh, crusty bread. I like to make meatballs with a mixture of beef and pork, as I think it gives them a really wonderful flavor and texture.

Ingredients
4 sprigs fresh rosemary
12 cream or plain crackers
2 heaped teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 pound good-quality ground beef, pork or a mixture of the two
1 heaped tablespoon dried oregano
1 large egg, preferably free range or organic
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil
1 small bunch fresh basil
1 medium onion
2 cloves garlic
1 fresh or dried red chile
2 14-ounce cans of diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 pound dried spaghetti or penne
Parmesan cheese for grating

To make your meatballs, pick the rosemary leaves off the woody stalks and finely chop them. Wrap the crackers in a kitchen towel and smash up until fine, breaking up any big bits with your hands. Add to a mixing bowl with mustard, ground meat, chopped rosemary and oregano. Crack in the egg and add a good pinch of salt and pepper.

With clean hands, scrunch and mix up well. Divide into four large balls. With wet hands, divide each ball into six and roll into little meatballs -- you should end up with 24. Drizzle them with olive oil and jiggle them about so they all get coated. Put them on a plate, cover and place in the refrigerator until needed.

Pick the basil leaves, keeping any smaller ones to one side for later. Peel and finely chop the onion and garlic. Finely slice the chile. Bring a large pan of salted water to a boil.

Next, heat a large frying pan on medium heat and add two lugs of olive oil. Add your onion to the frying pan and stir around for 7 minutes or until softened and lightly golden. Then add your garlic and chile, and as soon as they start to get some color, add the large basil leaves. Add the tomatoes and the balsamic vinegar. Bring to a boil and season to taste.

Meanwhile, heat another large frying pan and add a lug of olive oil and your meatballs. Stir them around and cook for 8-10 minutes until golden (check that they're cooked by opening one up -- there should be no sign of pink). Add the meatballs to the sauce and simmer. Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook according to package instructions.

Saving some of the cooking water, drain the pasta in a colander. Return the pasta to the pan. Spoon half the tomato sauce into the pasta, adding a little splash of your reserved water to loosen. Serve on a large platter or in separate bowls, with the rest of the sauce and meatballs on top. Sprinkle over the small basil leaves and some grated Parmesan.

If you missed "Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution" on ABC, don't worry: He's coming back stateside to try to overhaul the eating habits of one Los Angeles neighborhood.

More on Healthy Family Recipes:
Guilt-Free Calzones
Veggie Lasagna
Cheesy Zucchini