It’s the combinations that count. Jamie Oliver conjures easy, mouthwatering dishes from only a handful of ingredients

Each of these recipes focuses on just five ingredients that work together to deliver an utterly delicious result, giving maximum flavour with minimum fuss. They are dishes you can get on the table in 30 minutes or less; or that are ridiculously quick to put together with just 10 minutes hands-on time, while the oven or hob then does the rest of the work. I want everyone to enjoy cooking from scratch and, armed with these recipes, there are no excuses. I’ve made it as simple as possible to cook amazing food, celebrating the joy of five ingredients, any day of the week, whatever the occasion — from a quick weeknight supper to a weekend feast with friends.

Italian seared beef

Serves: 2 people

Time: 10 minutes

01 Put a large non-stick frying pan on a high heat, toasting the pine nuts as it heats up, tossing regularly and removing when golden. Cut the fat off the rump. Chop it finely and place in the pan to render and crisp up while you cut the sinew off the rump, then season it with sea salt and black pepper. Place between two sheets of greaseproof paper and bash to 1cm thick with a rolling pin, which will also tenderise the meat. Scoop out and reserve the crispy bits of fat, then sear the steak in the hot pan for 1 minute on each side, until golden but still blushing in the middle. Remove to a board.

02 Spread the pesto over a sharing platter. Thinly slice the steak at an angle, then plate up. Pile the rocket on top, then scatter over the pine nuts and reserved crispy fat, if you like. Mix the steak resting juices with 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil and drizzle over. Shave over the parmesan, tossing before serving.

Nutrition per serving 
Green: 321kcal, 21.1g fat (5.3g saturated), 32.2g protein, 0.7g carbs, 0.5g sugar, 1g salt, 0.3g fibre