Happy Days with the Naked Chef

Like Jamie's first two books, Happy Days is filled with fantastic recipes for different occassions. Along with his perfect curry for a night in, Jamie gives you his version of some old favourites in 'Comfort Grub' - try his Steak and Guinness Pie or indulge in his to-die-for pancakes! And in 'Quick Fixes' he whips up some really simple, tasty dinners - just right for when you get home late from work. Plus there's a 'Kid's Club' chapter, all about catching kid's attention and getting them interested in food. It's a starting point for children, to encourage them to have a go at other things in the book with their parents. Get them squashing tomatoes, pouring olive oil, pitting olives and making bread in no time - they'll love it. So, enjoy yourself, get stuck in ... happy days! ‘Great, fabulous. There’s some really hot tips and some scrumptious recipes that really hit the spot. Just enjoy yourself, get stuck in, happy days’ Spectator ‘Absolutely yummy. And who would have thought of serving pork fillet on a bed of rhubarb? It looks so scrumptious that I want to dash off and cook it now’ Daily Telegraph ‘The food is simply explained and superbly presented, and it makes you want to cook every dish’ Daily Express ‘There’s only one Jamie Oliver. Great to watch. Great to cook’ Delia Smith Scrummy Warm Rocket Salad Serves 4 Warm salads can be blooming amazing or a complete disaster. First, you have got to get your hungry guests around the table before you plate up, so as soon as their bums are on the chairs, you are tossing the warm ingredients in with the rocket leaves. Boom, boom, boom on a plate and it’s in front of them. Peel, halve and quarter 2 medium red onions, then quarter again, to give you 8 pieces from each onion. Heat a frying pan and fry off 8 whole rashers of pancetta or smoked streaky bacon until crisp. Remove, add a couple of lugs of olive oil to the pan, and add 4 sprigs of thyme, the onions and a good handful of pinenuts with a pinch of salt. Toss around and fry on a medium heat for about 5 minutes until caramelized and sweet (not black!). Put your pancetta or bacon back into the pan, toss around, then throw everything into a salad bowl with 4 big handfuls of rocket or any nice salad leaves. Drizzle generously with balsamic vinegar - this will make a natural dressing as it mixes with the olive oil. Serve with some shaved Parmesan over the top - you can use a potato peeler to do this. Munch away. Seared Salmon with Radicchio, Pancetta, Pinenuts and Balsamic Vinegar Serves 2 1 radicchio, halved through the core and sliced • 8 rashers of pancetta or dry-cured smoked streaky bacon • 1 handful of fresh marjoram or basil, leaves picked • 1 handful of pinenuts, toasted • extra virgin olive oil • balsamic vinegar • sea salt and freshly ground black pepper • 2 x 225g/8oz salmon fillet steaks, skinned and pin-boned Get a griddle pan very hot, then place your slices of radicchio on it. Char for around a minute on each side. Remove the radicchio and place in a bowl. Cook your pancetta or bacon on the griddle pan and then remove and add to the radicchio. Throw your marjoram and toasted pinenuts into the bowl and drizzle with 2 or 3 good lugs of extra virgin olive oil. Add 2 or 3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar and season to taste. Sear off your salmon until just pink in the middle and serve with your radicchio and pancetta. Fruit Cobbler This is a fantastic American recipe equivalent to our crumble. Particularly good with strawberries and rhubarb, but you can use any fruit combo you like; about 680g/1Vlb of fruit should do it. Serves 6 for the fruit 2 apricots, stoned and sliced • 1 pear, cored and thickly sliced • 1 punnet of blackberries • 1 punnet of blueberries • 1 punnet of raspberries • V an apple, grated • 5 tablespoons sugar • a good glug of balsamic vinegar for the topping 6 heaped tablespoons butter, chilled • 225g/8oz self-raising flour • 70g/2Voz sugar • a large pinch of salt • 130ml/4Vfl oz buttermilk • a little extra sugar for dusting Preheat the oven to 190ºC/375ºF/gas 5. Put the fruit into a pan with the sugar and the balsamic vinegar, put the pan over the heat, and cook gently until the juices begin to run from the berries. Pour into an ovenproof dish. Meanwhile make the topping. Rub the cold butter into the flour until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the sugar and salt, stir well, then add the buttermilk to form a loose scone-type mixture. Spoon this over the hot fruit (to get a cobbled effect, flick balls of dough randomly over the fruit), sprinkle with a little caster sugar, and bake in your preheated oven for 30 minutes until golden brown. Serve with vanilla ice cream.