By being interested in and partaking in the act of cooking, you’re expressing choice and the freedom to nourish yourself and your loved ones. And it’s that choice, that decision to keep cooking alive, that will forge where we go with food and farming in the next 50 years, how it evolves and develops for the future.

I always presume you’ve got these five every day staples ingredients. The five heroes are olive oil for cooking, extra virgin olive oil for dressing and finishing dishes, red wine vinegar as a good all-rounder when it comes to acidity and balancing marinades, sauces and dressings and, of course, sea salt and black pepper for seasoning.

I tend to use a small range of equipment on repeat so don’t feel you need to spend a fortune to get kitted out. A set of frying pans, a couple of casserole dishes- one shallow and one deep - and a nest of roasting trays are your key cooking vessels. Of course a chopping board and a decent knife is a given. When it comes to making your life easier, a speed peeler, box grater and pestle and mortar are all fantastic for creating great texture and boosting flavour, and a blender and food processor will always be a bonus, especially if you are short on time.

Whether you’re a seasoned pro or just starting out in the kitchen, I want to arm you with the recipes - and the confidence - to fit more cooking into your life, with total ease.

Jarred red capsicum pasta

Who knew such big sunshine flavours could be made so fast? You need this sunny one in your life.

Serves 4

Total time: 12 minutes

• 300g dried penne
• 1 bunch of flat-leaf parsley (30g)
• extra virgin olive oil
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 x 460g jar of roasted red capsicum
• 100g blanched almonds
• ½-1 teaspoon dried red chilli flakes
• olive oil
• red wine vinegar
• 150g cottage cheese

1. Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions.
2. Blitz the parsley (stalks and all) in a blender with enough extra virgin olive oil to make a vibrant green oil, then pour into a clean jam jar.
3. Peel the garlic and place in the blender (there’s no need to clean it) with the jarred capsicum (juice and all), the almonds, chilli flakes, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar and half the cottage cheese. Blitz until super-smooth.
4. Drain the pasta, reserving a mugful of starchy cooking water, then return it to the pan. Pour over the capsicum sauce and toss together over the heat, loosening with a splash of cooking water, if needed, then season to perfection with sea salt and black pepper.
5. Divide between serving plates, dot over the remaining cottage cheese, then drizzle with parsley oil, to taste, keeping the rest in the fridge for up to 3 days, or freezing in an ice cube tray for future meals.

Energy 591kcal; Fat 30.6g; Sat fat 4.7g; Protein 18.4g; Carbs 64.1g; Sugars 7.2g; Salt 0.2g; Fibre 1.1g

Gochujang chicken noodle traybake

Gochujang is a Korean chilli paste that takes this humble chicken traybake up a serious notch.

Serves 4

Prep: 12 minutes | Cook: 50 minutes

• 2 x 6cm pieces of ginger (80g total)
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 cabbage
• 4 large higher-welfare chicken thighs, skin on, bone in
• 2 heaped tablespoons gochujang paste
• olive oil
• red wine vinegar
• 4 nests of vermicelli rice noodles (200g total)
• 1 bunch of spring onions
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds

1. Preheat the oven to 200C fan-forced (220C conventional). Peel and finely slice the ginger and garlic, quarter the cabbage lengthways, then place it all in a 25cm x 30cm roasting tray with the chicken thighs and gochujang paste.
2. Drizzle everything with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar, add a pinch of black pepper, then mix well, massaging that flavour in. Arrange the chicken skin-side up and roast for 30 minutes.
3. Plunge the noodles into a bowl of boiling water for 1 minute, then remove the tray from the oven and use tongs to drag the noodles into the tray, dressing them in the tray juices, and nestling them in the corners. Trim the spring onions, finely slice and reserve the green tops, then add the lengths to the tray. Move the chicken thighs to sit back on top – we want the skin to get nice and crispy.
4. Pour 200ml of cold water into the tray, scatter over the sesame seeds, then roast for another 20 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through, the cabbage is tender and the noodles have hydrated in all the cooking juices. Scatter over the reserved spring onion tops, to serve.

Energy 549kcal; Fat 23g; Sat fat 5.9g; Protein 30.1g; Carbs 55.4g; Sugars 8.9g; Salt 1.3g; Fibre 5.4g

Tin-raid fishcakes

Grab some tins, have a good scrunch-up, and within minutes you’ll be ready to fry off an epic bite.

Serves 4

Total time: 20 minutes

• 100g bread
• 1 x 567g tin of peeled new potatoes
• 30g cheddar cheese
• 1 lemon
• 1 large free-range egg
• 1 heaped teaspoon English mustard
• 1 x 400g tin of tuna in spring water, from sustainable sources
• 1 x 200g tin of sweetcorn
• plain flour, for dusting
• olive oil

1. Hold the bread under cold running water until completely sodden, then squeeze as hard as you can to remove excess water.
2. Tear the bread into a large bowl, drain and add the potatoes, scrunching as you go, then coarsely grate in the cheese, finely grate in the lemon zest, add the egg and mustard, season with sea salt and black pepper and mix well.
3. Drain the tuna and sweetcorn and fold through the mix, then divide into 8 equal-sized balls, dust liberally with flour, and shape into patties (you can make some smaller ones for younger kids, if you like).
4. Put a large non-stick frying pan on a medium heat and, once hot, add a thin layer of olive oil. In batches, fry the fishcakes for 7 minutes, or until golden and crispy, turning halfway, then drain on kitchen paper.
5. Serve with a big seasonal salad and lemon wedges, for squeezing over.

Air fryer it: Flatten the fishcakes to 2cm thick, generously spritz them with oil, then cook in a single layer in an air fryer at 200C, in batches if needed, for 12 minutes, or until golden and crispy, turning halfway.

Energy 383kcal; Fat 12.9g; Sat fat 3.4g; Protein 26.9g; Carbs 40.1g; Sugars 2.4g; Salt 1.8g; Fibre 2.1g

Simply Jamie by Jamie Oliver is published by Penguin Michael Joseph © Jamie Oliver Enterprises Limited (2024 Simply Jamie). Recipe photography: © David Loftus, 2024.