Leigh-On-Sea Sole, Jamie's Great Britain

Another Christmas and another Jamie Oliver book to top the charts. This time it's all about good old Blighty! You might expect traditional roasts, fish and chips and Yorkshire puddings and I suppose that's what you get in a round about way. However, there's a twist, Jamie is also paying homage to Britain's diversity, the rich tapestry of cultures which have come together and created some of the UK's best known dishes. So a simple Sunday Roast turns into Empire Roast Chicken with Bombay Roasties! There are some fantastic recipes with beautifully photographed food. As with all of Jamie's recipes, they're easy to follow and it's not about precision it's about flavour.

The first recipe I tried was the "Leigh-On-Sea Sole". It was a simple but impressive dish and full of flavour. If you're a Norwich reader then I got all the seafood for this recipe from Norwich market. It's definitely not the cheapest dish in the book, Dover sole is one of the pricier sea creatures to grace our shores, but great for a weekend treat.

 

If you've asked Santa for Jamie Oliver's new book but can't wait to make this recipe then you can find it on the C4 website here. I served it with a spinach purée which you can make by blanching a bag of spinach in boiling water for a minute. Then to retain the vibrant green colour, you refresh the spinach by draining and running under cold water. Finally, place all the spinach in a food processor and blitz, adding cream until you have the desired texture. To make the purée silky smooth I then passed it through a sieve. My girlfriend did a watercress purée using the same technique which tasted fantastic and I'd definitely recommend.

Once again, another another triumph for Jamie Oliver. Right I'm off to make ER's Diamond Jubilee Chicken!