Episode 3 Christmas Kitchen with James Martin

Now, Christmas comes but once a year, join me to spread some foodie

cheer. This is Christmas Kitchen. Welcome to the show. Coming up today

we visit another of the BBC's best chefs for an exclusive Christmas

recipe, today it's the turn of Masterchef's Monica Galetti who

makes us her delicious coconut and fruit mince buns. Cooking with me in

the studio is Mitchelin star ed chief can executive at The Vineyard

in Berkshire, Daniel Galmiche gal. And we will have Brian Turner. Our

guest today has starred in some of the most successful TV shows to hit

the small screen including Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Little Britain and

Merlin and now he's on the big screen in the movie Percy Jackson,

it's Anthony Head. Percy Jackson Sea Monsters. All Christmas shopping

done? No. We are getting there. You two have two daughters? He is an

honest man. Christmas wouldn't be the same without pressure. We are

winding down to it now. These two guys have got the pressure today.

What are you cooking? Parcel of cod with mango chilli ginger, and some

wilted cucumber and kos lettuce a vegetable. Sounds better with a

French accent. Brian, over this festive period you are supposed to

create something festive, but also fun with turkey to help 25% of the

nation fall in love with turkey. What will you do for us today? For

the 75%, we have already done turkey en crout, today we have well spiced

turkey dumplings with cabbage stir-fried I'm positive ish that you

will like this. Turkey balls and cabbage. If you don't like that you

will enjoy this one. I will create a lobster salad for you as well. I

know you like this. We will do lobster salad with warm and mango

vanilla dressing. This is the second in the series this movie? It is. I

play a centor. Half man, half horse. Three quarters horse. I stick out of

the horse's next. I was watching it this morning. I was being polite.

It's a good film. The kids will love it as well as grownups. It's a great

stocking filler. A lovely family film. It's a thrill ride. Sorry. If

you like Greek mythology, go on... I loved it as a kid. It's just made

it... K he wrote a series of books. He has made the story more

accessible to kids. Percy is a young lad. It's a thrill ride. It's

available on Bluray, 3D. Got to get that in. Brian still has betamax.

It's a collectors piece now. It's all fine. I am a happy man. Get a

new video player for Christmas, you have to see it. Show this clip.

Whatever it is you think I did, I didn't do it. You have done nothing

Percy? Exactly. It would seem that the belief has been held in error.

You are saying Percy has a brother? Or a sister. Holy sticks. Not

exactly. Technically Tyson is not a half-blood, half-bloods are

half-human, hence the name. I don't get it. Sea nymph. Hi. Hi, brother.

Nice leg, by the way. Thank you very much. All four of them! Exactly. CGI

is betting better and better. You wouldn't know I was in blue tights,

but I was. They were very attractive, I have to say. CGI is

remarkable in this. The sea monster is really out... I mean, for

instance, Tyson, his half brother I was rifted to him throughout the

movie. It's uncanny. You really do believe that he is a cyclops. In the

old days it used to be a thing stuck on the forehead. Now you buy it. You

believe it. In the kitchen we have modern stuff as well. This is a

smoking they call it a smoke machine, you put oak chippings in

the top. We put the lobster in here. We put this in a little bag. You

seal it up. Cool. I mazing. -- amazing. 1950s for Brian in his

nightclub, you see. I if I do that his wife will tell him off for

smoking at home. How strong is that? It is pretty strong. The secret is,

don't put it in there for too long it will be quite strong. I will make

a dressing. We have mango, vanilla and lime and sherry vinegar. Mango

is the theme. Will change all of that. A little bit there. A little

bit of sherry vinegar. Throughout your career, you had a fascinating

career. Born into family of actors and actresses, your daughters are

actresses. A great mix in your career? I try to keep people

guessing as to who I am and what I do. It's fun. It's a challenge to

sort of just do something new. Whatever comes up, if the script is

good and something like Percy Jackson was a great script. I

thought the challenge of trying to be a Senator was something worth

having a go at. Give it a go. We have lobster lightly smoked. I

looked through your early career as well. Yes. I mentioned we have a

researcher called Charlie. You can tell how old the research are by

what they watched on TV Howard's Way, I picked it out. Went over the

top of her head? Surprising. You weren't in Air Wolf. I remember

Howard's Way. I remember it too. For anybody doesn't know it, sell

Howard's Way, it's bound to be on DVD. Brian will have a copy of it

anywhere. All I remember is little white trousers and loafers. The

occasional dodgy hat, peak cap. Yeah, it was sort of Dallas... By

the seaside. It was very popular at the time though. It was. It was a

Sunday show. It certainly was. Talking of popular stuff, all manner

of different things you have done Rocky Horror Show. You did that for

a number of years? I did it for a year back in 92 or something like

that. I did it, I repeated it a couple of times. It followed me.

When I was in LA doing Buffy I did a VH1, which is a channel, they did a

Rocky Horror tribute, I did 25 years of a tribute to the Royal Court

Theatre. We did a rehearsed reading. It has been around for a while. You

mentioned America. You went over to the States, things like Highlander.

How difficult was it as an English actor to get work, a lot of people

try to break it, what was the defining moment for you? I did a

commercial here and there. It opened doors over there. When I got there I

was welcomed thankfully. I did a couple of things and then Buffy came

up. Buffy really opened doors across the world, basically. I'm still... I

still meet people who are new to Buffy. Because it was only seven

series long no-one got tired of it. When it left the screens it was

still fresh. Do you think this will be the same with this movie. It's

part of a collection of many books as well? I hope they continue the

franchise. It's a very... It's a great series of stories. It s a

treasure trove. It is really. It has everything that kids love. I think a

modern-day clash of the titans with Greek mythology, what kids seem to

love. Also, the benefit of it now you have an amaze... It's a thrill

ride. There are so many quests and rights of passage, you know that's

why kids can identify with it because it is sort of... Buffy was

very argoricall. Percy Jackson is a thrill ride. That is your salad

done. Good luck with the DVD, out now. Great stocking filler. There is

your salad of smoked lobster. Thank you. Brian is lightly smoked at the

same time as that. You have mango dressing to go with it really. It

just is, it's... I put a little bit of vinegar, sherry vinegar in there.

A little bit of lime, vanilla in there. The secret is, if you buy one

of these for Christmas, don't put too much of it in? Beautiful. It is.

Light and delicate. Time to enjoy the festive spirit in our stocking

of treats this series we have been visiting the homes of BBC's finest

chefs in their own homes. Today is the turn of Masterchef's Monica

Galetti make delicious Coe nut buns with fruit mince. Is -- coconut

buns. Mitt -- I don't think there is anything

better than coming in from a cold day into a warm kitchen that is

smelling of Christmas cooking. Looking forward to it.

For my special Christmas kitchen recipe I will make for you a family

favourite, that is coconut buns with fruit mince.

I have put a twist on it. I put fruit mincemeat through mine, same

recipe with the additional of more Christmas flavours. I have for you

here some plain flour, caster sugar, milk and fresh yeast, if you can get

it. Butter, coconut milk, dem rare ya sugar, fruit mince mix, which I

made. The first thing I will do is warm up the milk with the sugar. We

just want those just warm. We will add the yeast to it. I like to use

my hands. If you don't want to use your hands, use a whisk. I break the

yeast in like that. Here we have our plain flour. Once you have diluted

and mixed your yeast through as much as possible. It's easy, pour that

onto your flour. You are going to make your dough. Very easy, mix it

through. When that starts to come together, I like to work it onto the

bench afterwards. We want to form a dough ball from this mix. Get

everything in there. We will place it back into the bowl. We cover it

with clingfilm or a towel and we leave it to proof. It can take

anything from 40 minutes to an hour. Here is the dough that I have

already proved. That's very light and Arie now. I'm going to knock

that air out, just a little bit. OK. Knead it for a bit. I will divide it

into two. OK, we take a rolling pin and just gently roll it out. Don't

press it out too flat. About a centimetre thick is what you are

looking for. Take your mincemeat, spread it over the two. That does

smell of Christmas, I think, when you put mincemeat out in the

kitchen. The aRoma is so strong. I'm adding the toast desicated coconut.

I'm spreading it out as evenly as possible. What you want to do is

then roll your rolls up, like a swiss roll, OK. Get it up. . If you

have used fresh fruit, wonderful. I have used fresh apples with a bit of

lemon zest and orange zest as well as the juices. It is completely up

to you. Once you have got them into roles, all it is is breaking the

butter up on the base, like so. Next, you are going to add Demerara

sugar. Put that all along the base. Then I am pouring in my coconut

milk. It is very easy. You then trim your mix. You are going to place

them into the coconut milk. I will start from the middle.

I will work my way around. If you leave a little gap, when it proves,

it will join up together and it will look amazing. Once the bombs in the

tray, I am going to put them into the oven to prove for 20 or 30

minutes or until it has doubled in size and filled up the tray. I am

going to take some extra butter, just quite soft, and I am going to

put a knob on each bun. I am taking some extra Demerara sugar which goes

over the top and it goes into the oven to bake. It will take 25 to 30

minutes at about 180 degrees. They smell amazing. You can see, it is

still very hot and it is boiling on the edges. I am just going to gently

prod the bonds apart. -- buns apart. Just like this. The sugar on the

bottom has caramelised and soaked into the buns. I like my coconut

milk and I am going to add a little extra. Where I have separated the

buns, I am pouring on extra coconut milk. I am going to set it aside for

ten or 15 minutes for this extra coconut milk to really soaking. --

soak in. I am going to sprinkle on some desiccated coconut. Set it

aside, and it will be ready to serve in ten or 15 minutes. There we have

it. Normally I put the tray on the table and everyone helps themselves,

but I am not waiting. I'm going to try one out. Lots of caramelised

coconut cream and it is going to taste like Christmas. That, for me,

is Christmas. Merry Christmas, everyone.

That looks pretty good. I was thinking of a glaze to go with that

with Maple Sarah. It is like a Chelsea bun. Still to come, Daniel

will be cooking a pan-roasted cod with mango and curry. Here are some

familiar foodie faces with seasonal tips.

My Christmas tape is using whole vegetables. Instead of chopping up

carrots, use the whole thing and just rub it down the same as a

parsnip. Blanch them and fry it in a pan. Do not worry about overcooking

them, they are supposed to be soft. For a really good gravy, get celery,

carrots and onions and roast them with the turkey, and then once you

have taken the turkey out, you will have all of this lovely juice. Put

some chicken stock or water in with the vegetables, bring it to the

boil, and you will have a really nice, intense and delicious gravy.

The most important part of the meal is the turkey or the meat, but for

me, it is potatoes. I love crispy potatoes. The best way to do it is

to bore them until they are almost falling apart. -- or them. -- boil

them. Then put them into a hot oven for 30 minutes with some fat, then

they are lovely and crunchy. I am doing called, -- cod,

pan-fried, and we are serving it with a chutney with mango, red onion

and curry. It is very light. So, a chutney with this mango. That is the

theme. At least we read the brief about our guests. How can I do enter

key challenge without meat? -- how can I do the Turkey Challenge

without meat? I am going to prepare the cod. I am seasoning it with sea

salt, pepper and curry. I am not going to overpower it.

And you are going to cook in a bag? So, are you going to crisp up the

skin a bit? Yes, we just want a bit of colour. Just a tiny bit of butter

at the beginning? Yes, I do not want it to burn. We have got mango and

ginger in the chutney, some chilli, we were fry it with brown sugar and

vinegar. -- we will. And a little bit of red onion. Christmas is a

busy time for you in a hotel will stop yes, it is very busy. Overall,

it has been a very good year. Yes, it is a big part of the year. So,

what does a Frenchman could add Christmas? You are not having

turkey. I am doing a capon. It is nearly as nice as a turkey. It is

much nicer. In France, it depends on your region. In my region, we do not

eat turkey. There is no cancer to that! When you have had the

meatballs you will change your mind. And you are making a salad? Yes, but

different in a sense, because I am using cucumber. The French love

cooking with lettuce. It is a thing we do not do much in the UK. Table

think it is only for salad but as a vegetable, it is really nice and

interesting. -- people think. So, this is the bag it is going to go

into. For the chutney we have used brown sugar, vinegar, we have got

the chilli, ginger and onion. We will keep it very light. So you are

not cooking the fish all the way through like this? Can you do this

with other fish? Yes, you could do it with halibut or turbot. I like

cucumber when it is barbecued. it with halibut or turbot. I like

cucumber when it is barbecued That is nice as well, yes. We have

prepared our veg. We have got the lettuce ready. Let's get this nice

and hot. Now, I know you are going to put this into a little bag. Just

one or two spoonfuls in here. It is a great way, the cos you enclose the

flavours. -- because you enclose the flavours. It is very simple. It

looks very Christmassy. You could put a bit of ribbon on it! If you

invite your guests and they did not know what is in it you could give it

as a present. We have got one in the oven. There is two minutes to make

the salad and do the sauce. This is for the reduction. So, in this pan I

am going to fry the cucumber and the lettuce. It smells good, chef! Thank

you. I have got fish stock in here. No chicken! No chicken here. We love

your accent. He has been in this country longer than I have. What are

you doing? Just a little butter. Also, a little bit of curry. Also,

sea salt and pepper. And that is creamed coconut. After that, we will

put whipped cream at the end. The fish is about 30 seconds away. You

have to keep the lettuce crunchy and it is very nice. I don't know why

people hesitate to use it as a vegetable. You have released a book

as well? Yes, shortly. It is Evolution In French Cooking. It is a

fantastic concept. It is with Michel Roux Sr. We are also releasing one

called Recipe For Life, which is for a cancer charity. That is about

ready. Why are you using whipped cream? If you add whipped cream and

it has are in it, it gives you a much lighter sauce. Do you want to

start plating up? Just a touch of seasoning. Is this the kind of thing

you serve in the restaurant? I do serve something like this sometimes.

What is that? It is not just tinfoil. There is grease-proof paper

inside. It just adds an extra ?4.50! Do you want to come and have

a taste? Yes. There is just some sauce to go on. Here is some

chervil. Less is more, chef. Lettuce more! So, have a taste. Dive in.

Quite an unusual mix of flavours, with the mango and coconut. But it

is still fresh. Absolutely delicious. Still to come, Brian

Turner will be making turkey dumplings. Let him. But first, a

treat from the BBC archives. You is Lorraine Pascal with her take on a

veggie Christmas dinner. -- heroes. In my family we have a vegetarian.

Every Christmas they get sick and tired of having the veg. This year I

have made a pretty tasty veggie pie. Here is the filling and here is how

I made it. Carefully toast 600 grams of pecan, cashew and hazelnuts in

the oven for ten to 15 minutes. Let them cool and blitz them in the food

processor. Fry four finally sliced leeks with time, rosemary and

garlic. Add sage leaves and mushrooms and cook for another two

minutes. Take off this heat and leave to cool. Mix in the nuts,

Gruyere cheese, and combine an season.

I was making it one day, you make it with plain flour, I had run out, I

used half plain, half whole male, it tasted amazing. Put 1 grams of plain

flour and whole male flour, salt and egg in a bowl. Cover the egg with

flour to protect it. Put it over a low heat, as it is bubbling, it's

ready. Pour the liquid over the flour and mix together really

quickly until it combines into a dough. Troll out to about half a

centimetre thick. I have this tin. A 7 inch loose bottom tin. It's deep.

Put it into quarters. Doesn't matter about holes, patch them up after.

Take the tin, put the corner in the centre of the tin, like that. Then

let it sink into the tin. Just easing it gently in. I'm going

to try and get it so it has nice straight sides, so it gets right

into the corners. Just trim it all the way round.

I will take my fill and just tip half of it in, like that.

Now, something a little bit festive, and for a bit of colour, dried

cranberries, just sprinkle them on. You can use ape Premier League cots

or anything like. That I like to use cranberries, when you slice it you

get that lovely layer effect. Then the rest of the topping. It smells

really good. OK. Right, now I'm going to make the

lid. I take my offcuts, and just roll out a lid. I pop this down on

it like that. Then cut around. I need one egg to stick the pastry

lid on. A quick whisk. Then just glaze the top, so it acts like a

glue. I've got my pastry lid, pop it on top, then I'm going to seal it or

crimp it. I take my finger and pinch all the way round, like that.

There you are, neat up a bit. Then a hole in the middle, to let any steam

out, there won't be that much, it's not like cooking meat. That is that

done. I will pop it in the oven 200 degrees, 40 to 45 minutes. 10

minutes before it ready I will glaze the top and put on cranberries.

There are cranberries inside, the cranberries on top are quite sour.

There is a wonderful layering of different flavours.

Now, it is that part of the show where I challenge Brian Turner to

make something tasty with turkey. I don't like the stuff, I'm trying to

convince him. Over the series will he be able to tempt me with his

turkey dishes, in a feature we are calling - Brian Turner's Turkey

Challenge. He even does voice overs now. Cluck over! What are you making

today? I have to say to the people out there, I have two guestes who

are non believers. For you who believe in turkey, turkey dumplings

with cabbage stir-fried. It's a quick dish. It's very tasty. I have

my minced turkey in the bowl ready to go. If you could shred up the

cabbage. I have spring onions here. There is a recipe, you don't have to

follow it 100%. Please help me a little bit here. It's like your

jumper, an acquired taste. What is wrong with my jumper? Very good,

chef. If you don't like lots of chilli, don't put lots of chilli in,

if you do get the membrane in there and get the seeds in there as well.

It's really your taste at the end of the day. You can almost personalise

your turkey... You have got me at it now. We have shallot here. He is

coming round. A bit of fresh ginger. What I do to keep you happy, to try

and get in the your good books, it's ridiculous, it really is. Fresh

ginger as well. It's down to you. I have mushrooms here. I will blitz

those up to put into my mix. Bring it over here to the machine. Let us

put oil in this nice hot pan while we are waiting. A bit of vegetable

oil. We give it a whirl there. Just be careful. Sometimes a lot of juice

comes out. We don't want it too wet. If necessary, if there is a lot of

juice in there, put it the into aself and -- sieve and get rid of

the excess moisture. What are you cooking for Christmas? A stuffed

turkey, careful what I say now, chef, with sausage meat and chestnut

stuffing for the whole family. Every year we have it, it's lovely. It

works extremely well. Why are you looking like that? Nothing. Garlic,

chilli, you want? Yes, please, thank you. These are u all the flavours I

like. That is already good news. All the ingredients great, apart from

the turkey. If you don't like turkey, sea bass is good. The trick

is to roll them in your hand and put them in the fridge so they set up.

Into a hot pan for a nice colour on them, caramelise it and enhance the

flavour tremendously. We are ready to go. Roll those round a little

bit. In the meantime, let us see what you have done here, James. You

have cabbage ready for us here. Perfect ready to go. We have garlic,

more chilli. The tap is running, dad? What a good lad you are. It's a

bit Asian, isn't it? It is. Look at that colour on there? That's already

a very appetising colour. That's really what we want to get out here.

Lovely colour. Great flavour. It smells good as well. I don't care

what you say, James, I'm happy with this dish. I think it works

extremely well. Proud of this one? I'm proud of this. After the last

two dishes, which you didn't really like... Yesterday was all right.

That was all right. No, it wasn't all right, you put it in the bin. It

tasted more of bacon than turkey. How dare you say that.

OK, we have chilli in there. Please stand back and a bit of garlic. Get

the flavours releasing. Yes. Then we put in the cabbage. Right. Cabbage

is a very under rated vegetable. It's also mishandled, they cook it

too much far too often. Cook it nicely and let the whole thing now

start to come together. This would be like traditionally done with

pork, wouldn't it, that kind of stuff? Traditionally done with

turkey, the pork people said we can do the same with pork. Now it has

gone back to turkey, chef. Give that a bit of a go. Over here we have

chicken stock. Turkey came to the UK, what, 1950s? Don't be

ridiculous. 1850s? 1850. True believer. I have soy sauce to go in

here and Worcestershire sauce. Goose is our thing? Goose was our thing,

you are quite right. It was one of the late kings, whose name I can't

remember right now, who decided they wanted this healthier meat they had

been introduced to. Lovely. OK. I have chicken stock here. You are

putting the finishing the cooking of these in the stock? Absolutely. They

don't take a lot of cooking. You want to keep the colour. I have

chicken stock here and a bit of corn flour. A little tip for people. If

they want a clear broth, arrowroot? Yes. This works just as well. A

little bit of broth. If you use corn flour it will cloudy it? That's OK.

I like it cloudy. Remember that. Have you my parsley? It's there.

It's like a sprung gazele? You can can do it with a gazele, but turkey

works better. Put it in a bit at a time. Let it start to thicken up.

Not too thick. No, not too thick. It's entirely up to you. We will put

in a drop more. We serve it up there. I will put the cabbage in the

middle. I hope you are sal vating over there? I'm oking forward to it.

Our turkey dumplings around the outside. Looking good. It's quite

important this. I can feel an air of anticipation in this room. I feel a

stomach ache coming on. Get out of here! You are out of order. Give me

this spoon here. We are about ready to go now. A bit of juice on top

there and around the outside. As you say, the juice is important. You

guys had better taste this, one of you at least. I will look. Are you

not allowed to eat the cabbage either? Where are you going to taste

it? Taste it here. It looks great, actually. They are cooked nicely.

Yeah. It's a touch Asian, that will help a lot. What do you mean, "that

will help a lot" for goodness sake. Actually, you know, Brian, I love

the garnish you made with the turkey. Are these turkey dumplings

worthy of the Christmas Kitchen recipe book, or the bin, you know

the rules is it Better than I thought. The combination is nice. A

bit Asian, a bit of strength. Nice garnish. We are on day three, I

wasn't anticipating this, after the last two I thought dramatic

failures. They were not dramatic failures. You didn't like it. I will

put it in there. Wow! Yes. Thanks to Daniel Galmiche, Brian Turner,

Monica Galetti and Anthony Head, you can pay me later. All today's

recipes, including this one if you really want it go to

bbc.co.uk/christmaskitchen. Goodbye for now.