food & Drink
All photos from Veg by Jamie Oliver, priced £26.
something [about] where we’re at and where we’re going.” Te new TV show sees Oliver travel to countries where veg is oſten front and centre of the cuisine, like India and Israel. “Meat has always been an expression of progress, it’s always been a luxury or a sense of cash or commerce - but when you haven’t got much of it, humans are beyond genius,” he says, on the food he discovered travelling. “Te diversity of textures and colours, for really affordable - onions, carrots - everyday things like pickles and fritters, things that give you the same hugging feeling as a burger or a pizza. You’re kind of sitting there going, ‘I don’t want any [meat], I’m really happy’.” He even visits a meat-free school: “Te idea of schools going veggie is a brilliant idea - it would save loads of money.” Oliver says he wanted to go back to focusing on “Monday to Tursday eating, busy working people” for his Veg cookbook (which is incidentally 30-40% vegan), and it certainly harks back to the style of 30-Minute Meals and 5-Ingredients. It’s not rabbit food though. “It’s a celebration, not commiseration,” says Oliver. Tere’s heartiness (crispy cauliflower katsu), comfort food (Indian-style chip butty), nutrient- dense (veg tagine) and naughtiness (cheesy kimchi toastie) and ‘Friday night nibbles’ for the end of the week. “For me it’s a relief! I’ll pour myself a little whiskey maybe and I want to have something fun to nibble on,” Oliver says of his Friday nights. “It’s about making it simple, delicious
“IT’S NO COINCIDENCE THAT
SOCIAL CONSCIOUSNESS AROUND FOOD IS CHANGING.”
and as good as it can be, I’m not trying to give you the best,” he adds, ever the realist. “I’m trying to write recipes that are car crash-proof; OK so you chopped it really badly - that’s cool, chop it badly.” He doesn’t want busy people to open the book and think: “’Well I’m never going to do that, not until the weekend’.” It’s why he’s a big fan of using frozen food, particularly veg. “Frozen is the future,” Oliver declares. “Te science of freezing has never changed, it’s just that we’ve always frozen a lot of s***. Te chances are that your frozen pea will be more nutritious, and in better condition, than your fresh pea that’s been sitting in a warehouse for a week. “If you care about higher welfare, cheaper price - frozen. If you care about lack of waste - frozen. Convenience, portion control, nutrition - frozen.” In recent years, Oliver’s recipes haven’t been without controversy though; he was once criticised for using chorizo in a paella and last year ‘Jamie’s jollof rice’ attracted thousands of comments, many claiming he was ‘appropriating’ a traditional West African dish. “I just think that food can be
political, it can be divisive,” he says. “I learned to make the best hummus I’ve ever had from theoretically one of the best hummus makers on the planet - and there was at least 300- 400 comments that went really dark and really political. We were in the West Bank, Israel, so you’ve got to be really careful.” Politically speaking, Oliver has never been one to shy away; is he planning to lobby new Prime Minister Boris Johnson on child public health? “Always!” he declares - and there’s a long list apparently. “I’ve met him on a number of occasions, I’ve seen him as mayor, I’ve seen him say one thing and contradict one thing, but what now?>
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