British chef and TV personality Jamie Oliver is known for his approachable cooking as well his oddball choice of words when in the kitchen. In one breath, he will tell you to bang it (mix it), chuck it (add it), and will describe a particularly good dish as “pukka” or “lovely jubbly” (I’m not really sure what this means, but it makes me slightly uncomfortable).
But behind the showmanship and quirky words, Oliver has real nuggets of kitchen wisdom. Take, for example, a technique from his latest cookbook, 7 Ways: Easy Ideas for Every Day of the Week (2020), where he instructs cooks to grate a mushroom on a rasp-style grater along with the cheese when making cacio e pepe.
The result, he says, “will be nutty and fresh with flavor.” I decided to give it a go.