Cutting down on processed food? Cook from scratch through the week and into the weekend without the faff with James Martin. Known for his accessible style and impressive results and comforting classics, including our all-time favourite toad in the hole, he has now combined and elevated simple suppers, easy entertaining and of course some signature sweet dishes in his new book, entitled James Martin’s Saturday Morning. The book features simple, speedy suppers that are a wonderful midweek treat but also special enough for bringing friends and family together at the weekend. Add to your recipe repertoire and make the most of stress-free entertaining. Glide around the kitchen like a pro, enjoy great home-cooked food and enjoy the evening – whatever day it is!
Here, James shares three deliciously simple recipes from his new book, James Martin’s Saturday Morning (Quadrille, £25): Prawn linguine, Chicken, chorizo & bean stew, and Warm harissa chicken with aubergine tahini salad.
Prawn linguine
'This is based on a dish that I used to do many, many years ago – over 30 years, in fact, when I was head chef at Hotel du Vin. This has simplicity at its heart. It cooks in no time, but you must use great prawns. Guests love it on the show and can’t believe how fast it is to cook.’
Serves 4 Takes 20min
200g fresh linguine
Parmesan, to serve
FOR THE SAUCE
25ml olive oil
1 shallot, diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 small bunch of parsley, chopped
50ml brandy
100ml double cream
400g can chopped tomatoes
400g large raw prawns, shelled and de‑veined
Zest and juice of 1 unwaxed lemon
Pinch of chilli flakes
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil, add the linguine and cook for 2min, then drain, reserving some of the cooking water.
2 Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat, add the shallot and garlic and cook until soft. Add all the remaining sauce ingredients and cook for 2–3min.
3 Add the pasta to the sauce and stir through, then add a little of the reserved pasta cooking water to thin down the sauce, if you like. Season with salt and pepper and grate some Parmesan over the top to serve.
Chicken, chorizo & bean stew
‘This is one of the dishes I learnt on my Spanish Adventure series. You really need the spicy, soft cooking chorizo for this dish, with its paprika flavouring giving the dish its depth.’
Serves 4 Takes 35min
25ml olive oil
8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs
200g chorizo, sliced
1 large onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, crushed
400g can chopped tomatoes
400g can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 small bunch of basil leaves, to garnish
1 In a large, non-stick pan, heat the olive oil over a medium-high heat and fry the chicken on both sides until golden brown. Season with salt and pepper, then add the chorizo, onion and garlic and cook until the oils are released.
2 Then add all the remaining ingredients, bring to the boil, then simmer gently for 20min, or until the chicken is cooked through. Garnish with the basil leaves and serve.
Warm harissa chicken with aubergine tahini salad
_‘I adore aubergines and grow them in the garden, just 50 yards from where we shoot the show. You don’t need to salt them anymore as they’ve had the bitterness grown out of them, but they contain quite a lot of water so the temptation is to put too much oil on them. Don’t. I try and use them as much as I can and this is just one of my favourite aubergine recipes.’
_
Serves 4 Takes 30min
4 chicken breast fillets, halved
4tbsp harissa paste
2tbsp olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
FOR THE SALAD
8 small aubergines
1tbsp olive oil
1 red chilli, finely sliced
Few sprigs of rosemary
2 garlic cloves, sliced
4tbsp tahini
4tbsp crème fraîche
Zest and juice of 1 unwaxed lemon
TO SERVE
1 pomegranate, seeds only
1 small bunch of coriander, roughly chopped
50g shelled pistachios, roughly chopped
25g sesame seeds, toasted
1 Preheat the oven to 200ºC/fan 180°C. Mix the chicken, harissa and olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place onto a baking tray and roast for 20min.
2 Meanwhile, for the salad, slice the baby aubergines in half lengthways. Mix the olive oil, chilli, rosemary and garlic and use to coat all over the aubergines. Sit them in a roasting pan and roast for 15min until soft.
3 Whisk together the tahini, crème fraîche and lemon zest and juice.
4 To serve, spread the tahini mixture on the bottom of the platter, pile the chicken on top and then the aubergines. Dot with the tahini mix and sprinkle on the pomegranate seeds, coriander, pistachios and toasted sesame seeds.
Extracted from James Martin's Saturday Morning Cookbook by James Martin (Quadrille, £25). All photography by Dan Jones.
Angela Romeo is an experienced Editor, Author and Stylist, specialising in food for consumer and customer publishing for over 20 years. Currently working as a Food Content Writer for Bauer Media, she is enjoying life writing for some of the UK’s most popular women’s weekly magazines and contributing to Yours.co.uk