Between work, running errands, and all the extraneous activities that come with the holidays, it can be nearly impossible to find the time to cook at home. Over the last couple of weeks, I've fallen victim to ordering out more than I'd like to admit. Convenience has become more important than cooking something healthy. Worse, eating out for meals is much more expensive than cooking at home. Here's where celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay comes in to save the day. His publisher recently sent me a copy of his newest cookbook Ramsay in 10, a collection of recipes that promises delicious and healthy meals with a cook time of around ten minutes. Is that too good to be true? The only way to know for sure was to try out one of the recipes for myself.
In the introduction to the book, Ramsay concedes that recipes promising a meal in 30 minutes typically take an average home cook around 40-50 minutes altogether. He was inspired to try to beat that time. With his years of experience as a professional chef, Ramsay was able to cook most of the recipes in this collection within the timeframe allotted. That being said, he states that most home cooks will probably achieve the same meals in about 15-20 minutes. That's still not a bad trade-off! As the world shut down due to the COVID-19 outbreak, Chef Ramsay began challenging himself to produce a take on classic recipes as quickly as possible. He documented this undertaking on his YouTube channel and began to inspire viewers across the world to cook.
Browsing through the recipes, I was instantly drawn to the coconut chicken with sweet peanut dipping sauce. Even better, I already had most of the ingredients in my kitchen. Because Ramsay developed the recipes from lockdown, many of the ingredients are staples. I even had some coconut palm sugar in my panty, though most of the uncommon ingredients listed provide several options for substitutions. Armed with everything I needed (minus the tamarind paste that is listed as an optional add-in), I began to prep and cook the meal.
I was a bit skeptical of the promised cook time, but Ramsay really delivered a recipe that was quick to put together, easy enough to cook, and most importantly delicious. With the complete prep time, cook time, and plenty of pauses to capture photos of my progress for Instagram, it took me about 20 minutes to completely cook the meal. Perusing through the rest of the book, I already have my eye on several others to test out in the near future. My only gripe with the concept of Ramsay in 10 is that it doesn't really offer a complete meal. Yes, the entre is simple and tasty, but it isn't really enough food to make a full meal out of. I supplemented the coconut chicken with some steamed rice and sesame green beans. This gave me plenty to eat for my dinner and to have lunch out of the next day. All in all, Ramsay in 10 offers a variety of recipes that will appeal to cooks of all experience levels. Even better, each recipe is quick and accessible, allowing for healthy meals to be prepared at home in a short amount of time.
For more information visit the author's website, Amazon, and Goodreads.
(2021, 49)
