Jamie Oliver 15-minute meals – Can it be done in that time?

From humble beginnings in Essex to a celebrity chef with TV shows, restaurants and books, he is now a household name.

One of Oliver’s most well-known staples is his array of cookbooks, specifically his 15-minute meals.

The follow-up to Jamie’s 30-Minute Meals, Jamie’s 15-Minute Meals was equally successful, showing people how to cook fresh meals in even less time.

@jamieoliver WHERE has this recipe been all our life #pasta #homemade #homemadefood #homemadepasta #pastatiktok #pastarecipe #easyrecipe #easycooking #pastalover ♬ Cooking, bossa nova, adults, light(950693) – Kids Sound

Although released some time ago, quick and easy meals remain key for many households, with the small amount of time many have to do things getting ever more apparent.

With this in mind, I decided to put it to the test: can these meals really be done in 15 minutes?

Let me start by saying I am not a cook.

Despite Chef Gusteau in Ratatouille saying anyone can cook, I am not someone who really dabbles in it. Thankfully, my partner loves cooking, so I got a little help from her.

The book opens with an equipment list, showing items you “need” to cook the meals in 15 minutes.

Is it cheaper to cook with an air fryer or oven?

Our kitchen thankfully had many of these, and for the recipe I chose, I made sure to have all of them to give ourselves the best chance of success.

The book also stresses the importance of organisation in the kitchen, and while I wouldn’t say ours is unorganised, we did not have the time to get as pristine as Mr Oliver would perhaps have liked.

The real first thing on the to-do list was to decide which recipe to cook… don’t worry, this is not timed.

After much deliberation, we landed on the ultimate pork tacos with spicy black beans and avocado green salad.

This meal serves four and has around 582 calories. See a version from the man himself below.

With the recipe chosen, we went to get the ingredients.

Full list of ingredients

Pork

350g skinless pork belly
1 heaped tsp fennel seeds
1 heaped tsp sweet smoked paprika

Beans

Olive oil
1 good pinch of cumin seeds
3 spring onions
2 cloves of garlic
1 x 400g tin of black beans

Salad

1 fresh red or green chilli
2 little gem lettuces
½ a bunch of fresh coriander
1 ripe avocado
1 large ripe tomato
1 eating apple
Low-salt soy sauce
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 lime

To serve

Lingham’s chilli sauce
4 tbsp fat-free natural yoghurt
8 corn taco shells

We got everything that we did not already have at home from our local Morrisons.

The only thing of note was that we could not find Lingham’s chilli sauce, so we opted for a similar product by Blue Dragon.

All the ingredients bought ahead of the cooking (Image: Newsquest) Ingredients were out, a large frying pan set to medium-high heat and a medium frying pan to medium heat.

With everything prepped and ready, it was time to cook.

Now I will preface this by saying that due to filming and picture taking, the clock was paused a few times, spoiler, not that it mattered in the end.

You begin by dicing the pork and putting it into the frying pan, along with the seeds, paprika, salt and pepper, stirring regularly.

Dicing the pork, putting it into the frying pan, along with the seeds, paprika, salt and pepper (Image: Newsquest) We could not find skinless pork belly, so had to sort that out (before time started to be generous).

Add a tablespoon of olive oil and cumin seeds into the other pan, before adding trimmed and sliced spring onions, squashed garlic through a crusher and stirring in the black beans and their juices.

The black beans and their ingredients cooking (Image: Newsquest) By this point, time was ticking, and I was stressing.

Then came all the chopping. I finely sliced the chilli, lettuce, and most of the top leafy half of the coriander, before halving, destoning, peeling and chopping the avocado, along with the tomato.

All the salad ingredients being chopped (Image: Newsquest) This was all tossed and piled on a platter, with slices of apple on top, salad almost done and left to one side.

The yoghurt was sorted next, with chilli sauce rippled through it in a small bowl.

The avocado green salad and yoghurt with chilli sauce (Image: Newsquest) Finally, I stirred, mushed and seasoned the beans, drizzled the salad with soy sauce, olive oil and lime juice.

After heating the taco shells up, it was just to prepare to serve, with the black beans going into the shells first, followed by the salad, pork, and yoghurt on top.

The ultimate pork tacos I made next to the Jamie Oliver recipe (Image: Newsquest) While this test was not about taste, I have to say it turned out great, but the goal was to do it in 15 minutes…

So, what’s the verdict?

@uktoday_ I tried to cook one of Jamie Oliver’s 15 minute meals in 15 minutes. Here’s how it went! #uknews #jamieoliver #15minutemeal #cooking ♬ original sound – UKToday Newsquest

Jamie Oliver 15-minute meals – can it be done in that time?

The final time I completed it was around 30 minutes, which, all in all, I did not think was too bad.

The 15-minute mark was passed during the salad chopping and preparation, and I did not time going out and getting the ingredients beforehand like many would have to.

I think this book is a great idea and some of the meals in it, for those familiar with cooking and the recipes, in a well-stocked and organised kitchen, it can be done in 15 minutes.

However, the everyday person will likely take more than the allotted time.

Recommended reading:

Despite this, I still think these meals are fun to do and do not take that long.

For those looking to get into cooking and seeking some easy and healthy meals, this is for you.

But for those perhaps looking for a quick and easy meal, sticking something in the oven for 20 minutes might be your option.

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