Amateur cook Homa Khaleeli and professional chef Stevie Parle cook one of Jamie Oliver's new 15 minute recipes: seared Asian beef. Photograph: David Levene / Sarah Lee for the Guardian
Jamie Oliver is not a stupid man. His last book, Jamie's 30-minute meals, became the UK's fastest and best-selling non-fiction book. It would be churlish of him not to capitalise on this success. And sure enough, today sees the launch of Jamie's 15-Minute Meals - half the time, so will it sell twice as fast?
According to the blurb accompanying it, this is his most accessible book yet, 'suitable for all ages and skill levels'. We thought we'd put that claim to the test. Step up occasional home cook Homa Khaleeli, in her spatially challenged kitchen, and professional chef Stevie Parle (in common with Oliver, River Cafe alumni), in the rather better equipped space in his restaurant, Dock Kitchen. Both tackle Seared Asian Beef from a sneak preview of the recipe.
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Stevie Parle
Professional chef Stevie Parle's Seared Asian Beef from a recipe in Jamie's 15 Minute Meals. He finished the dish with 4:28 remaining on the timer. Photograph: Sarah Lee for the GuardianI'm not sure I've ever cooked a Jamie Oliver recipe before. Perhaps I did when I was younger, after all Jamie has pretty much been a national institution since I was about 12.
My 15 minute meal took less than 10 minutes to make. I wasn't even rushing around and to be honest I'm not the fastest, or cheffiest of chefs anyway. I had everything out and ready to go, like I was told to - that's the key here, if you are faffing around looking for stuff, or don't have the kettle boiled, you might find yourself in a bit of a mess.
I followed the instructions, trusted what the boss was saying and it just flowed. The nuts were toasted when they should have been, the beef ready when I had finished the dressing. I think any more times and specifics might have made it more complex.
The result was pretty ace. A big messy pile of colourful stuff, great textures, big flavours, really fun to make, great to look at, and super tasty. This recipe is pretty much why Jamie Oliver is so brilliant, and so successful. This kind of Asian salad is just the sort of thing I like to make, with zingy fresh flavours, a bit of chilli, a bit of spice and lots of crunchy raw things.
It's easy to assume that Jamie is just out to smash another book sales record but I genuinely think he really wants to get everyone cooking fast fresh and delicious recipes and with dishes like this, I'm sure it'll work.
Homa Khaleeli
Homa Khaleeli's version of Seared Asian Beef from a recipe in Jamie's 15 Minute Meals. It took 35 minutes 7 seconds to prepare. Photograph: David Levene for the GuardianCompleting one of Jamie's 15 minute meals looked like it would be a doddle. After all it's the weighing and preparing that sucks up most time and the recipe bypasses this with a jaunty note to have ingredients prepared, the kettle boiled, pan on the heat before you begin cooking.
At first, things went well. I toasted the cashew nuts and sunflower seeds, put the noodles in a bowl of boiling water and started rubbing the steak with the deliciously fragrant spice mix. I can't blame Jamie for not factoring in my chronic habit of forgetting one vital ingredient per recipe (sesame seeds) and being overly optimistic about the contents of my cupboards (no pepper).
I only really started panicking when I noticed the noodles were looking mushy. With no timings for how long things should be cooked for - only the order in which to deal with them, I didn't dare take them out. Instead I hurriedly hacked at the chilli and spring onions and took a pair of scissors to the lettuce and herbs to save time. Despite this I was still only halfway through chopping the vegetables when my buzzer went off.
By then there was fish sauce, radishes and cucumber ends splattered across the floor and my serving board couldn't contain the veg I was dumping artfully arranging on it. It took me another 20 minutes to finish.
Once it was all laid out it looked and smelled impressive (without much washing up). The beef was lovely, but lost in the piles of veg and wasn't enough meat for four people. The balance of noodles and salad felt wrong and serving them side by side rather than mixed didn't help.
It takes too much shopping time for a mid-week dinner, with a few tweaks and omissions it would be a nice weekend one - but I'll leave the timed events to the experts.
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