Real fast food.
By Jamie Oliver
Busy schedules often leave little time for preparing a satisfying home-cooked meal. Jamie Oliver’s 20 Minute Meals tackles that challenge with a practical collection of quick and flavourful recipes. The book shows that fast cooking can still produce food worth sharing around the dinner table.
20 Minute Meals features 120 recipes designed to reach the table in 20 minutes or less. Oliver sets a clear rule for the collection. If a dish cannot meet that time limit, it does not make the book.
Fast food can be good food
Each recipe uses no more than ten ingredients. The collection also includes meat-reduced and meat-free options. In addition, 70% of the recipes meet daily nutritional targets. These features make 20 Minute Meals particularly relevant to busy households seeking practical meal solutions.
The recipes span a wide range of everyday favourites. Chapters cover chicken, pasta and gnocchi, beans and pulses, rice and noodles, salads, fish and seafood, vegetables, eggs, meat and soups. This variety helps readers avoid repetitive weeknight meals.
Importantly, speed does not come at the expense of flavour. Oliver combines accessible ingredients with bold combinations and straightforward techniques. Recipes such as fish pie pasta bake, gnocchi peperonata and lamb and aubergine hotpot demonstrate the book’s emphasis on satisfying food.
The result is a cookbook that makes quick cooking feel achievable rather than restrictive. 20 Minute Meals also encourages families to spend less time preparing dinner and more time eating together. Its focus on speed, accessibility and flavour makes it a useful addition to a busy home kitchen.
About the author
Jamie Oliver is a globally recognised chef, author and food campaigner. He began cooking at his parents’ pub in Essex at the age of eight. After studying as a chef, he worked at the River Café, where television producers discovered him.
His television career began with The Naked Chef. Since then, his programmes have reached millions of viewers, while his books have sold more than 50 million copies worldwide. Through his organisation, Oliver also campaigns for healthier food and improved childhood nutrition.
- PUBLISHER | Penguin Random House SA |
- ISBN | 9780241657850 |
- Recommended Retail Price | R625.00 |
- Classification | Recipe |
