5 Easy recipes from ‘Jamie Oliver: Together’ for your next house party

Food has brought people together since the beginning of time. Now that we’ve learnt not to take for granted the simple joy of being able to share a meal with our loved ones, there’s nothing like coming together to create memories over a hearty feast. This is exactly what celebrity chef Jamie Oliver set out to do with his new show, Jamie Oliver: Together.

“It’s about more than food—it’s about spending time together and ultimately, about making memories. I see my job here to make it as easy as possible for you to get ahead, plan and cook up extraordinary food, in such a way that you can enjoy maximum time with your guests,” the chef reveals about the show.

“A lot of us are keen to get out into the world again and support our local restaurants, but alongside that, showing your nearest and dearest how much you care by cooking up a storm in the intimacy of your own home, which has been off limits for so long, will feel so comforting, safe and memorable.”

From taco parties to steak nights, Jamie covers all the bases of hosting at home in his timely new series. And if you’re looking to recreate some of his dishes for your own house party, read on for his delicious, easy-to-follow recipes.

Celebration Meal

Slow roasted lamb

Fennel, sage, onion, and merguez stuffing

Serves 12

INGREDIENTS

• Olive oil

• 5 merguez sausages (250g total)

• 1 bunch of sage (20g)

• 2 small bulbs of fennel

• 2 red onions

• 250ml white wine

• 250g sourdough bread

• 3kg lamb shoulder, bone in (see tip below)

• 1 bulb of garlic

• 2 heaped tablespoons plain flour

• 1 tablespoon blackberry or blackcurrant ham

• Red wine vinegar

• Green sauce, to serve (optional)

METHOD

Get Ahead

1. For the stuffing, put a high-sided roasting tray (25cm x 30cm) on a medium-high heat with two tablespoons of olive oil. Squeeze the sausage out of the skins straight into the pan, breaking it up with the back of a spoon. Let the sausage start to crisp up, stirring occasionally, then tear in the sage leaves.

2. Trim the fennel, peel the onions, then roughly chop both, add to the tray, and cook on medium heat for 20 minutes, or until soft and caramelised, stirring occasionally.

3. Pour in the wine and let it completely cook away, then season to perfection, tasting and tweaking. Chop the bread into 2cm chunks and stir in, then turn the heat off and leave to cool completely.

4. Lay out the lamb on a clean work surface. Scrunch and spread the cold stuffing all over the meat, then roll it up, sealing the filling inside (if any falls out, just poke it back in at the ends once tied up).

5. Cut yourself eight 60cm lengths of string, slide them underneath the lamb at regular intervals, then tie them up at the top. Wipe out the tray, chuck in the lamb bones, break apart and add the unpeeled garlic bulb, then sit the lamb on top. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Tip: Ask your butcher to debone the lamb, then slice into it so you can open it out like a book. Get them to break up the bones, too—epic gravy, incoming!

On the day

1. Pre-heat the oven to 240°C/475°F.

2. Get the lamb tray out of the fridge, rub the meat with a little olive oil, place in the oven, and turn the temperature down to 150ºC. Roast for 4 hours, or until tender, basting every hour with the tray juices and adding a splash of water each time.

3. Remove from the oven and transfer the lamb to a serving platter. Cover with tin foil and a clean tea towel, and leave to rest for 1 hour. Use a spoon to skim the fat off the tray of bones (save it in a jar for another day).

4. Put the tray over medium heat on the hob and stir in the flour, jam and a swig of red wine vinegar, scraping up all the sticky bits from the base of the tray. Cook for a couple of minutes, then pour in 1.2 litres of water. Let it simmer on a low heat to the consistency of your liking, stirring occasionally.

5. Pass the gravy through a sieve into a pan and season to perfection, tasting and tweaking. Simmer on the lowest heat until needed.

6. To serve, uncover the lamb, spooning any resting juices into the gravy. Cut away the string, then spoon over the Green sauce. Take it to the table, ready to carve in front of your guests.

Thank You Meal

Stuffed salmon

Serves 8

“What I like about this recipe is that the method, which is incredibly easy to follow, elevates the salmon to a new level. It makes a real event of this incredible fish and, while it cooks, the flavours all mix and mingle together, amplifying utter deliciousness.”

INGREDIENTS

• 1 heaped tablespoon baby capers in brine
• 10 anchovy fillets in oil
• 2 sprigs of rosemary
• 10 mixed-colour olives
• 1 fresh red chilli
• 1 lemon
• Olive oil
• 1.2 kg side of salmon, skin on, pin-boned

METHOD

Get ahead (you can also do this on the day)

1. Put the capers into a small bowl, then tear in the anchovies and strip in the rosemary leaves.

2. Squash and destone the olives, tearing the flesh into the bowl, then finely slice and add the chilli.

3. Finely grate over the lemon zest, squeeze in the juice, add two tablespoons of olive oil, and mix well. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

On the day

1. Place the salmon skin side down in the middle of your largest roasting tray and use the tip of a small sharp knife to make deep cuts into the flesh at 3cm intervals.

2. Stuff each cut, using the knife to help you. I start by dividing up the olives and anchovies, then add the rosemary, chilli and capers. Take your time and enjoy the process. Sprinkle any excess around the salmon.

To serve

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.

2. Roast the salmon at the bottom of the oven for 20 minutes. Let it rest for 10 minutes, then serve.

Taco Party

Slow cooked pork belly

Serves 12

INGREDIENTS

• 4 fresh bay leaves
• 1 heaped teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 heaped teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 heaped teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 heaped teaspoon ground allspice
• olive oil
• 1.5 kg piece of boneless pork belly , skin off and reserved (see tip below)

Tip: Ask your butcher to remove the pork skin in one piece, ready to roast.

METHOD

Get ahead

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.

2. Tear the bay leaves into a pestle and mortar (discarding the stalks), and pound into a mush. Muddle in the spices and one teaspoon each of sea salt and black pepper, then loosen with a little olive oil so you can rub it all over the pork belly (leaving the skin as it is for now).

3. Sit the belly in a snug-fitting roasting tray, cover tightly with tin foil and roast for two hours. Remove, cool and refrigerate overnight.

On the day

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F.

2. Season the piece of pork skin with a pinch of salt and pepper, then lay on a baking tray and roast at the top of the oven for one hour, or until golden and crunchy.

3. Transfer the pork belly to a board, slice 1cm thick, then lay across a large baking tray.

4. Roast the pork for 30 minutes, or until crisp, sizzling, and golden. Carefully drain off any fat from the crackling tray and save in a jar for another day, then snap up the crackling.

5. Serve up at the table with all the sides, ready for taco building.

Garden Picnic

Jam Jar Prawn Cocktails

Cocktail sauce, avo, tomatoes, and crispy pancetta crumbs

Serves 6

INGREDIENTS

• 1 clove of garlic
• 4 rashers of smoked pancetta
• Olive oil
• 100g breadcrumbs
• 3 tablespoons free-range mayonnaise
• 3 tablespoons natural yoghurt
• 3 tablespoons tomato ketchup
• 1 lemon
• Worcestershire sauce
• Tabasco sauce
• 2 little gem lettuces
• 1 cucumber
• 200g ripe cherry tomatoes
• 1 punnet of cress
• 1 ripe avocado
• 100g cooked brown shrimp, from sustainable sources
• 200g cooked peeled prawns, from sustainable sources
• Cayenne pepper

METHOD

On the day

1. Peel the garlic and finely chop with the pancetta, then place in a non-stick frying pan on a medium heat with 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Add the breadcrumbs and fry until crunchy and golden, tossing regularly. Leave to cool.

2. For the sauce, whisk up the mayo, yoghurt, ketchup, half the lemon juice, and a dash each of Worcestershire and Tabasco sauce, then season to perfection, tasting and tweaking.

3. Finely shred the lettuces. Halve the cucumber lengthways and scrape out the seeds with a teaspoon, then chop into 1cm dice. Quarter the cherry tomatoes. Snip the cress.

4. Halve and destone the avocado, squeeze the flesh into a blender with the remaining lemon juice and blitz until smooth, loosening with a splash of water, if needed, then season to perfection.

5. Line up six clean wide-necked jam jars or glasses ready to fill. Divide the lettuce between them, followed by the cucumber and tomatoes, gently pressing down as you build the layers.

6. Spoon in the cool, crispy pancetta crumbs, top with the cress, then sprinkle in the shrimp and prawns.

7. Drizzle in the sauce and add a pinch of cayenne to each. Spoon over the blitzed avo, cover and you’re done.

Steak Night

Rosemary roasted rump steak

Fragrant rosemary and butter

Serves 6 with leftovers

“This meal is such a fantastic reimagining of steak and chips. It allows us to truly enjoy and celebrate the rump cut as a bigger joint, and as the oven does the hard work for you, all the last-minute smoke and stress is removed from the process. This piece of steak is slightly bigger than you need, but it cooks well at this size and is worth it for the leftovers.”

INGREDIENTS

• 1.5 kg piece of thick rump steak
• 1 bunch of rosemary (20g)
• 2 knobs of unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

METHOD

On the day

1. Get the meat out of the fridge an hour before you want to start cooking it, then you can do this first stage an hour or two before you roast it.

2. Rub the steak all over with one tablespoon of olive oil, then sear on every side in a screaming-hot griddle pan, or on a hot barbecue, until pleasingly bar-marked.

3. Strip half the rosemary into a roasting tray, sit the seared steak on top, strip over the rest of the rosemary, dot and rub over the butter, drizzle with another tablespoon of oil, then season generously with sea salt and black pepper.

To serve

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F.

2. Roast the steak on the bottom of the oven for 20 minutes for medium-rare, or 25 minutes for medium, turning halfway and basting with the juices from the tray.

3. Remove from the oven, spoon over the balsamic, then cover with tin foil and leave to rest for 15 minutes, basting occasionally.

4. Thinly slice and serve, drizzling each portion with resting juices. The leftovers will make an epic sarnie.

Watch new episodes of Jamie Oliver: Together on BBC Lifestyle every Tuesday at 7:25pm, on UnifiTV channel 512 and BBC Player | Astro channel 717.

Together by Jamie Oliver is published by Penguin Random House© Jamie Oliver Enterprises Limited (2021 Together).

For more recipes, click here.