I’ve been watching Jamie’s 15-Minute Meals on TV and was given the accompanying recipe book for Christmas. Always on the lookout for great recipes to add to my work-day dinner repertoire, this book is full of my kind of food and I thought it best to get stuck in and give it a go this week. And why not put a time limit on myself for once. Could I actually cook a meal in 15 minutes? Challenge accepted.

I’m notoriously slow at preparing food, partly because I like to clean up as I go and partly because of a previous kitchen mishap (picture a tough-skinned Queensland Blue pumpkin, a blunt knife and a self-stabbing—the pumpkin won that day).

I’ve read quite a few reviews of the book and blogs of people challenging themselves in the same way. Not too many seem to have managed it so my expectations for success in the 15-minute timeframe were not high.

Challenge #1 Golden scallops, sun-blush mash & greens

The golden scallops, sun-blush mash & greens recipe (page 144) appealed to me as a good starting point—all the flavours I love and maybe, just maybe, achievable in the timeframe because there’s not a lot of ingredients or chopping to worry about.

Ingredients: scallops, bacon, sage, potatoes, cheddar cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, milk, broccoli, asparagus, frozen peas, lemon juice, olive oil

Ready, set…

I should start by quoting the instructions in the book to get ready for cooking “ingredients out • kettle boiled • large shallow lidded casserole pan, high heat • medium pan, high heat • food processor (bowl blade) • large frying pan, medium heat”.

Rightly or wrongly, I took “ingredients out” to mean weighing out quantities, and some vegetable peeling and trimming. It took me 10 minutes and 27 seconds to get prepared (yes, I was keen to really test myself time-wise).

Now to the cooking. GO.

The idea was to get the potatoes on the heat first, as they would take the longest to cook. Jamie’s idea of 1cm slices going into a hot pan and covering them with already boiling water was a good one—the potatoes took a lot less time than normal to cook. Although I can envisage a few kitchen mishaps with boiling water going into the hot pan. It bubbles, hisses and spurts a lot!

Next was cooking the greens. Boiling water for 3 minutes—a no brainer really. Jamie says to toss with lemon juice and olive as soon as they have been drained. I personally think they need to be refreshed in cold water first, but I guess that would take up a bit more time and it’s something I can do next time.

Continuing on with the sun-blush part of the mash, the cheese and sun-dried tomatoes go into the food processor to blitz in readiness for when the potatoes are cooked—easy.

Next, slicing bacon and scoring scallops ready for the pan. Jamie says to cook the scallops first. For me, scallops are so quick to cook I think the bacon (I used proscuitto instead) should hit the pan first because it takes longer to melt the fat. Then the scallops and sage leaves could be added so they cook in the bacon fat. Another personal choice…

While that’s happening the cooked potatoes are drained and go into the food processor to create the mash.

Then plate up. It all comes together quite well. My cooking time: 16 minutes, 6 seconds. So not far too off the 15-minute timeframe.

Total time: 26 minutes, 33 seconds. Probably the fastest dinner I’ve ever prepared and cooked. Definitely the messiest state I’ve cooked in, physically and mentally.

My thoughts

Positive: I like the concept of Jamie’s 15 Minute Meals and the resulting dish was delicious! Sun-dried tomatoes, bacon, sage, scallops—these work so well together. Salty, meaty, sweet—brilliant! The mash, despite the rich flavours of sun-dried tomato and tasty cheddar, was surprisingly light and had a gorgeous creamy texture. It’s made me completely rethink the way I make mash.

Negative: I felt really rushed and disorganised, even though I had read the recipe several times and had everything out, weighed and ready to go. I know it’s not meant to be a race but I’m sure many people would struggle to get this done in 30–40 minutes, let alone 15! Oh, and perhaps I am guilty of gluttony but the dish needs more scallops (4 each is simply not enough of these tasty critters).

Next time?

I will most certainly make this dish again…but for me cooking should be an enjoyable experience, so I’ll do it while sipping a glass of wine and without the mad rush. I don’t really mind if this means it takes me longer.

I love this zucchini, potato and feta soup but I have to admit the first recipe I tried wasn’t that inspiring—basically throw everything in the pot and simmer. Instead, here I’ve taken the basic ingredients and changed the cooking process to get as much flavour out of them as possible.

This is just brilliant for lunch and freezes really well. It’s got a really fresh, leafy flavour from all the herbs, with tangy flavour from the yoghurt and feta.

Ingredients

2 tbs olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tbs thyme, roughly chopped
1L chicken stock (I use Massel because it’s meat, gluten and lactose free), plus ½ cup water
3 potatoes, peeled and cut into 1.5cm cubes, and rinsed
4 large zucchini, cut into 1cm slices
½ cup flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
½ cup basil, roughly chopped
¼ cup natural yoghurt
100g feta, crumbled
Freshly ground salt and pepper, to taste

Method

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan. With the lid slightly ajar, sweat the onions on low heat for five minutes. Add the garlic and thyme, stir and cook for one minute.

Turn the heat up to medium and add the potato cubes. Cover and allow to cook for around eight minutes, stirring frequently so they don’t burn or stick. You want to get the potatoes a little golden and flaky on the outside.

Add the zucchini and cook for two minutes. Add the stock and water, and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer with the lid off till the potato is cooked through and soft.

Stir in the parsley, basil and yoghurt. With a stick blender (or you could use a food processor), blend the soup mixture until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Add the crumbled feta and stir through.

Serve immediately. Alternatively, allow the soup to cool in the saucepan and dish into freezer containers.

Makes approximately six serves.