Healthy & Delicious Food & Drink

We are more obsessed than ever with what we eat

and how it affects our health.

'Despite our desire for good, clean living it can be difficult

'to find great tasting meals that are good for us as well.

'So we're going to show you how to get the best of both worlds.

'My right hand in the kitchen, Monica Galetti,

'is here to prove healthy doesn't mean boring...'

-Where does the butter come in to this?

-Unfortunately for you

there's no butter in this recipe, but you will like it.

'..William Sitwell thinks soaring food intolerances

'are just another fad...'

I wasn't actually intolerant at all, just fussy.

'..Kate Goodman surprises us with some low alcohol drinks...'

-There's a pretty pink.

-Yes, this one fills me with fear.

It suits you really well actually.

'..and I'm making a light, nutritious tuna tartar.

'Welcome to a delicious edition of Food & Drink.'

In the last 20 years the range of exciting

and interesting food on the market has exploded.

But the downside is that mass production and bigger portion sizes

have led to weight issues, food intolerances and fad diets.

So, how do we take advantage of all the incredible food

we have on offer, whilst keeping an eye on our health?

Monica Galetti has worked with me for more than ten years,

but now she's going to show me a thing or two

about healthy cooking.

With a young daughter, she thinks it's important to explore healthy,

varied and, of course, tasty food.

-What are we cooking?

-Today I am going to use quail,

serving it with butternut squash and lentils.

-Healthy?

-Healthy.

Not only healthy, gluten-free, dairy free.

-And delicious!

-And delicious.

We French-trained chefs love using extravagant ingredients

in our cooking like butter, cream and wine.

But Monica's out to prove you don't need any of that to produce

tasty food that's packed full of flavour,

like her quail, lentil and butternut squash dish.

So what am I cooking, what am I doing for you?

Well, first I'd like you to get some butternut squash in the oven,

roast it with some garlic and that we are going to use for the puree.

-You can manage that, can't you?

-If I need help I will let you know.

Well, you always know where to go!

So here I have a wonderful jumbo quail.

-If you look at that, it is stunning. It is a great size, isn't it?

-Lovely.

Cor, yeah!

The quail, don't be afraid, if you've not used it before,

treat it like a chicken only its smaller so less cooking

and we are going to spatchcock this.

Spatchcocking is basically flattening it out.

All you need to do is cut out the backbone with some scissors

and press down the bird.

Season the quail, then brown it in a splash of olive oil.

Quail is strong flavoured like duck, but low fat like chicken.

-Where does the butter coming to this?

-Unfortunately for you,

there is no butter in this recipe.

But you will like it.

It should only take two to three minutes to go a nice golden colour.

So, what does healthy eating mean to you, Mon?

Oh, well, healthy eating for me, you know, it is

I think a little bit of everything is OK.

You know, not too much of a good thing and knowing

when to have it and when to stop, and then this is someone who has

-a weakness for chocolate, like you didn't know!

-Yes!

I have a stash at work

and you are constantly piling into my stash of chocolate.

It is better to eat someone else's than buy your own, isn't it?

You eat someone else's and you don't feel as guilty,

you didn't buy it, you win both ways.

But, going back to healthy eating, I think

also I'm a mum and I have a child, I'm responsible for her

and her well-being and I want her to grow up knowing

what real food is about,

that healthy doesn't mean you have to skimp on what your

ingredients are, it's just knowing how to budget and what to buy.

Here I have it, nice and golden brown

and I'm going to bang that in the oven and because it's spatchcock

it's going to cook very quick and it will take probably

three or four minutes and that is it.

Two tablespoons of the peeled butternut squash cubes

go into a pan of boiling water, for a couple of minutes.

The rest of the squash goes in to a baking tray

with a few cloves of garlic and drizzle of oil.

Pop it in the oven at 190 degrees for 20 minutes,

until it all goes soft.

Here I've got some bacon which I'm going to cut into some thin lardons,

or strips of bacon.

You know, it's not completely fat-free but I think that is OK,

it's only a little bit and a little bit goes a long way.

-It adds a lot of flavour to this dish.

-It really does, fat is flavour.

I'm with you on this, Monica,

for me a healthy diet is moderation and a balanced diet so

I love cream and I love butter and I love dairy produce,

but I don't eat that much of it,

I just enjoy the little bit that I do eat.

-Yes, and the good quality of it too.

-And quality!

I think that's the secret as well.

After about four minutes check the quail.

That smells good, Monica. That does smell good.

Really does.

Right, I need to drain these.

Take this out.

While the quail is resting,

cook the bacon strips in the remaining pan juices.

You don't want them burned,

just stir it lightly round so it's a nice roasted flavour.

Remove the bacon and fry off some finely chopped shallots.

-There we go, shallots in here?

-Yes, please.

Once the shallots are browned, add stock and continue to heat.

So, we have seen the stock is now reduced down to

a great consistency, you see that there?

And this hasn't got any butter in it at all. Sorry.

You know what, Monica, that looks so good I could eat it.

So, all I am going to do, just before finishing,

I have some red wine vinegar, and going to add into this

our lentils to heat through it and then back in goes the bacon

and we're going to saute our butternut squash

and serve everything up.

Whether it's because our tastes are changing or we're

not as flush as we once were, or we're thinking about our health,

we're drinking less alcohol than we did 10 years ago.

Matching soft drinks with food can be a challenge

as they're often very sugary.

Kate's got some foolproof ideas to help avoid

any sickly sweet disasters.

Pairing food with soft drinks might not be something

you've given much thought to

but picking the right soft drink to go with your food

can really add to the meal. Here are my top three tips.

Sweet flavours rarely go well

with savoury dishes.

Sugary drinks overpower most foods

and delicate flavours are lost in a sea of sweetness.

Think of your drink like a sauce for your food,

complementing it rather than clashing with or overwhelming it.

For example, try a dry apple juice with pork.

Tea time doesn't have to be in the afternoon.

Green teas like Dragon Well

or Jasmine are a traditional staple

at Chinese restaurants

but also a great match with lighter chicken dishes.

You could also try a darker Oolong tea with duck,

and black Assam with chocolate is a great combination.

The most reliable drink to go with any dish is, of course, water.

There is a dizzying array of mineral waters to choose from

but a more creative way of offering interest to water

is to add something to it.

Add a slice of lemon,

or strips of cucumber or even a few berries for a subtle fragrance.

Carbonation cuts through richness in food, so a fizzy water can work.

A naturally sparkling mineral water

will pair much better than

a harsh soda water, which can seem like sandpaper on the tongue.

Kate, you cannot be serious, I can't see a bottle of wine there.

You know how to upset me, don't you?

No wine today. I thought we would go for the lowest of the low

low alcohol drinks. So a tall glass of this

is the equivalent of half a teaspoon of wine

in terms of alcohol content.

Wait and see, you'll be pleasantly surprised, I promise.

It is not his day, is it?

-No butter, no cream, no alcohol!

-Exactly!

What are you two trying to do to me?

No! No!

Right, come on, we'll get a move on.

The butternut squash has gone nice and soft,

so it's ready to make into a puree.

Put it into the blender with a drop of olive oil

and a little vegetable stock or water

to give it a velvety smooth consistency.

Meanwhile into the sauce goes a glug of red wine vinegar

and some cooked lentils.

I love lentils, a great substitute for no carbs,

also very high in protein.

I'm going to put our bacon bits through there as well.

The cubed and blanched squash is quickly fried,

with a sprinkle of rosemary and seasoning, then it's onto the plate.

Right, there we go, what do you think, Michel?

Superb, absolutely stunning.

Mmm!

Look at that!

It is outstanding, I can't believe that's healthy.

I can't believe it's healthy!

-It looks too good.

-Come on, then. Get in there, Kate.

HE CHUCKLES

Mmm!

-I can't believe there's not butter in that.

-No...

Rich and full in the flavour. Rich, rich, rich in flavour.

The butternut squash is silky smooth and sweet,

adding a bit of nuttiness to it, the lentils are delicious as well

with that drop of vinegar, it brings out the flavour.

Eating healthily is not about scrimping,

it's just knowing how to prepare your ingredients in a different way,

making it more appealing that even the kids want to

-have a go at eating it.

-Well, my daughter would eat this.

-Butternut squash, oh, I have brought my daughter up on it.

-Yes. Great.

-Well done, Monica, that is really, really delicious.

-Brilliant.

After that bacon I am quite thirsty, Kate, what have you got for us?

Well, we're talking bitters,

I'm not talking about beer bitters,

I'm talking about flavoured bitters,

so there is a real growing trend towards using bitters

in cocktails so bartenders are using them

to add a different dimension to a cocktail,

give it a real sophistication and also using bitters

in soft drinks just to give it a new complexity, give it

lots of different flavours, meaning it will work really well with food,

so, please, have an open mind, give it a go and tell me what you think.

First up is Angostura,

made in Trinidad and Tobago, this costs between £7 and £12 a bottle.

Just put a couple of drops into a glass of tonic.

So this is made with an alpine flower, gentian,

it gives it a lovely, spicy, savoury edge to the tonic water.

If you use really nice quality tonic water it really makes a difference.

-Mmm!

-Very refreshing.

He's not knocking me out, that's a good start.

Yes, it is actually quite nice because it's not too sweet,

it's got a bitter aftertaste to it that is not unpleasant.

Yes, it works for me, I think nice.

It gives it a bit of spice, a bit of a savoury, a bit more complexity.

Again it is not that sweetness that you often associate with

soft drinks but that's what you need,

especially with a magnificent dish like this. Do you like it, Monica?

-I do really like it.

-I think it's a really refreshing drink.

-It's an option if you're not drinking wine.

-Yes.

It is, it is an option.

OK, so here's the pretty pink.

-Now, this one fills me with fear and dread.

-Come on!

-Dear me!

-It suits you really well, actually.

The next bitter is Peychaud's from Louisiana in the States,

which also costs between £7 and £12 and uses extracts of Gentian root.

It's a little bit lighter, it's a bit more floral.

Oh! There's definitely cloves, maybe aniseed,

fennel, something like that. I quite like that.

I actually think possibly it would be better with a dish.

Well, it is pink but I'd drink it.

OK, well, that's progress.

The final bitter is from the new wave coming onto the market.

It's called Bitter Truth,

costs around £14 and is made using orange peel.

I'm not sure about that.

I think it's actually something you could open in a tin, that one.

-You feel it's a bit confected?

-I do prefer those two.

I think definitely if we were thinking about matching it with food,

these two are better, but that's refreshing, Sunday afternoon

-when it's warm...

-That, I think I would drink on its own.

-Yes, exactly, in the garden.

-But with food, personally...

-I feel outnumbered here. I...

-You wouldn't drink that one?

I don't know what it is, it's medicinal or something,

I don't like the taste of it.

That's OK, you liked two of the three.

Surprisingly enough for me the pink one is my favourite.

I really enjoyed that,

because of the spice element, because of the cloves, it really...

-I think that's a really nice drink.

-Good!

Just blindfolded! Yes!

-And if nobody's watching.

-Yes.

Monica's quail dish packs in flavour whilst going easy on rich

and fatty ingredients. But that's not all.

This is delicious and it's wheat and dairy free,

the perfect meal for tens of thousands of people in the UK

who have a food intolerance, or,

as writer William Sitwell believes, THINK they have a food intolerance.

As a child I was intolerant of carrots, any type of greens

and quite a lot of meat.

Nowadays I realise I wasn't actually intolerant at all,

just fussy.

Nowadays food intolerance is an official medical condition.

We're awash with faddy diets and phoney science.

Maybe it's just a load of hot air.

You hear about the symptoms all the time.

Been coughing a bit recently?

Or some heartburn?

Felt a bit tired?

A touch of gas?

If so, congratulations, you've got a food intolerance,

but you're nothing special.

Up to 35% of the population have a food intolerance...allegedly.

But, whatever the facts, claims are rising at an alarming rate.

Wheat... Gluten...

Dairy... Fructose...

Cheese...

Go on, snag yourself an intolerance before you become a minority,

a gooseberry, Norman no mates.

There's no doubt that food allergies are very real

and potentially dangerous, but are we blaming some perfectly

normal ailments on a dubious notion of intolerance?

It really is, it's one of those subjects that as a restaurateur

it kind of gets my back up because we have seen so much

of an increase in customers who say, I'm allergic to this,

I'm allergic to that, I've got an intolerance and so on and so forth.

Is there a difference, that's what I want to know?

There's a difference between an allergy and an intolerance.

An allergy is a very specific reaction, the immune system reacting

to a particular food and it's pretty immediate,

we're talking within minutes,

anaphylactic shock with peanuts for example.

Food intolerances are rather less defined and you don't tend to see

people admitted to hospital for food intolerance.

There must be something in it, though?

Because if you think about how our diets have radically changed

over 50 years, and we're eating more processed food,

a lot of our food we don't know where it comes from,

surely that must take a toll at some level on the body?

It may be in 50 or 100 years' time

we're discovering that a lot of the way that food is processed,

-you know is slowly killing us, but what we do know...

-Slowly but surely!

A lot of people who are wearing the badge of intolerance,

when they actually get tested will discover that they

don't have intolerances and the reason this is dangerous is that

if you are a young teenage girl, you are wearing the badge of intolerance,

you'll end up missing out on some very vital food groups in your diet.

I agree but there's also that argument that we're quite prone,

and I am definitely guilty of this,

the self diagnosis so I will feel a bit "Ooh," and think

"Oh, my word!" We've got access to infinite amounts of information

so I will be... "What is it?"

There's something there and I attach it to that's what I'm feeling.

So what's your latest food fad? What have you diagnosed yourself with?

I thought that I might feel better if I ate less gluten, that's all.

-Did you feel better?

-Not really.

THEY ALL LAUGH

That's what's very common now, is people following something

cos they've heard they think it's good for them

and they're coming in and they're gluten-free.

It used to be they come in and we get a list of how many vegetarians

we have and now it's a list of how many gluten-frees we have.

There is a very serious point to this

and people who have got a genuine allergy,

as a restaurateur, it's our job to make sure that we don't

poison our customers or send them into an anaphylactic shock

and that's something that we've got to be very careful,

-very careful, very conscious of.

-That is very serious.

And the statistics are real,

I mean since 1990 the number of hospital admissions for allergies

has been, it's up something like 500% it is increasing massively.

Retailers are being very serious about this

because the Free From range of food that you can now get in

supermarkets is growing far faster than the sales of organic foods

so there is something happening out there, I have to admit.

Maybe it's just that we're eating the wrong balance of foods,

so eating too much of certain things and that's not good for us?

I think too much of anything is bad for you. You have to admit that.

Barry White used to say that too much of anything isn't enough.

THEY LAUGH

But maybe he didn't have any food intolerances.

I don't think he was talking about food!

Chicken tikka masala, pilau rice and a plain naan

clock in at well over 1,000 calories

and could never be described as a guilt free meal,

but Ravinder Bhogal is convinced

there must be a way to indulge in a healthy curry.

With over 9,000 Indian restaurants in the UK

and with curry vying for the status of our favourite national dish,

you would think us Brits would know all there is to know

about Indian food.

But the image of a typical restaurant dish swimming in an oily sauce

is in direct contrast to the fresh and healthy produce

used by families cooking Indian food at home.

For me curry is the healthy option

and, as with most good food,

Indian authentic home cookery is all about the freshest ingredients.

As we become more aware of this,

growing numbers want to learn how it's done.

Now we are making the spice mix for the chicken chettinad.

Cookery writer Monisha Baradwaj runs courses

in how to cook Indian food the healthy way.

So, Monisha, tell me what we're cooking today.

We're going to be making a South Indian feast

and we are going to be using lots of South Indian flavours

-like curry leaves, coconut.

-Very fragrant ingredients.

And actually looking at the raw ingredients that you've got

laid out here, they're just so healthy, fresh and nourishing -

-pulses and nuts.

-All of Indian cooking is based on health benefits.

You know people who grew up in India know that right from childhood.

You're told about what things work together, which ingredients

will give you what health benefits so it's always dependent on

how it's going to benefit you health-wise,

both mentally as well as physically.

In real Indian home cooking,

something called Ayurvedic medicine is important.

Ingredients are considered to have health benefits -

ginger for colds,

turmeric as an antiseptic

and pepper is a digestive spice

so it's used with heavy meat like lamb.

Obviously when you eat an Indian home-cooked meal you should

feel very good after that, very light, it should be fresh

and you shouldn't end up with wanting water all through the night

or feeling awful the next day, so we aim to add spices to our food

to enhance the health benefits of everything that we are cooking.

Monisha's class have cooked up a fantastic feast,

and, unlike the average restaurant meal, there's not a hint of grease.

It can be healthy, it can be nutritious

and it doesn't have to be rich and heavy and stodgy.

It's much lighter, much fresher,

the spectrum of tastes are just amazing.

For a lighter dish, the lemon rice

has been cooked in vegetable oil rather than ghee or butter.

The fresh green beans are made exciting with coconut

and coriander, and the lentils and fresh aubergine provide

a hearty and nutritious accompaniment for the vibrant fish curry.

Fresh ingredients, light and delicious,

bolstered by the healing properties of spices,

it may all seem too good to be true but for me

the more people share in the flavour and that knowledge, the better.

Healthy food doesn't have to be tasteless

and this recipe really does prove the point.

It's one of my all-time favourites.

Packed full of essential nutrients and knocked up in minutes,

a tuna steak tartar is the perfect dish to demonstrate that

healthy food can be as delicious as it is good for you!

This is really a long, long way away

from my traditional style of cooking.

There's nothing French or classic about this dish.

So, first off we need to toast some sesame seeds.

You just need to put them in the pan

over a low to medium heat for a matter of seconds.

And they smell wonderful.

Next the tuna,

and it is very important to have the freshest fish possible.

This is a beautiful piece of tuna, off the loin.

It's not the belly so it's very, very dry.

Beautiful and fresh, it's vibrant in colour.

The first job is to cut the tuna.

And I like my tuna to be toothsome,

I like a little bit of texture.

Some people would prefer it chopped up really finely.

It is up to you, it really is.

Of course you can use other fish.

Bass, mackerel or even salmon are perfect alternatives,

but because it's not being cooked you need to make sure

it's the highest quality you can get.

Once diced, transfer your fish into a bowl placed on ice.

You wouldn't want to eat a tartar,

be it of fish or meat, that's served at room temperature or warm.

So the next step,

I'm going to add in more flavour to this tuna.

Personally I think this dish needs a bit of heat,

so I'm quite generous with the chilli

and I like a few seeds in there, I like the warmth.

Finely chop the chillies and some spring onions...

I like to use the green part of the spring onion.

I think it's wasteful not to use it

and it brings out a bit of colour to this dish as well.

And then, finally, a little bit of ginger.

For me, ginger is superfood.

It's versatile and it just makes me feel a lot better.

They say ginger is good for digestion and I must say that

if I do feel in that way, and I've got a bit of an upset tummy,

I do grab a piece of ginger and it does do the trick.

Finely diced, this raw ginger infuses the dish with

all its goodness and its flavour.

If you are not confident in your knife skills, you could grate it.

So, there we have the chopped tuna,

the chilli, the spring onion and a bit of ginger.

The final touch for this is the dressing.

Mix some honey with soy sauce, the perfect complement for the raw fish.

A splash of Omega 3 rich sesame oil helps bind it all together.

Add a squeeze of lime.

In go the toasted sesame seeds to be mixed in thoroughly.

And that's all there is to it.

Light, healthy, a doddle to put together and bursting with flavour.

Served with a few slices of toasted ciabatta,

you really couldn't wish for a more straightforward and nutritious dish.

What do you reckon?

-It looks brilliant.

-It looks healthy.

-Simple and brilliant.

-It's something I'd eat straightaway.

-Yes.

-Tuna tartar, lots of chilli, lots of ginger, my type of dish.

Lots of flavour.

Well, I hope you're not allergic or intolerant to it.

Ha! Well, we'll find out in a minute, won't we? Ha-ha!

What drinks are we having with this then?

What I've chosen to match your lovely tuna tartar is a sake.

-Don't be shy.

-Sorry, is that not enough?

I'll pour yours right...

Well, actually you are supposed to pour it so it overflows,

you have these lovely little dishes and that's kind of the tradition.

But we haven't got the dishes so...

Shot glasses are fine!

Right to the top for you there Monica, there you are,

is that better? Are you happy?

Sake is a Japanese alcoholic drink.

It's made with fermented rice

and water and it's an inherent part of Japanese cuisine.

Often when we talk about sake there is this image of

a hot, unpleasant drink,

but actually it couldn't be further from the truth

and there are brilliant characteristics in sake

that make it fantastic for matching with food.

This is Akashi Tai Junmai Daiginjo which costs around £30.

This is best served chilled and the "Daiginjo" refers to

how polished the rice grains are that were used to make it,

so these rice grains here are milled to 40% of their original weight

so you get a really lovely, delicate, elegant sake,

so, have a go and see what you think.

Well, kanpai I think they say.

-Kanpai.

-Kanpai, I like it.

-Mmm.

-We need to try with this as well, don't we?

We weren't going to!

Come on!

I just love it. I'm huge fan of sake, I must say.

Very, very good dish.

I just love the vibrancy really, the liveliness of those flavours

and the heat from the chilli

a little bit of sweetness from the honey, all sort of interplaying with

each other, it's brilliant and I love it, love it, love it.

What about you, Monica?

Oh, it is my kind of dish, it's my comfort food.

I'd have this in the evening, I'd have it for lunch,

-possibly for breakfast!

-Why not?

-Yes!

It is all good for you, isn't it?

There's nothing here that you'd say is bad for you.

It's not French!

I mean it's Asian flavours, there's no cream, there's no butter,

it's really not me, is it, Monica?

But I love it, it's one of those dishes that I could eat

and eat and eat and eat and especially with sake,

and sake for me is a match in heaven for this, it really is.

You have got the hints of the citrus coming through

and I think the sake really freshens this dish up.

You know, you can go home in the evening, sit down and you can

knock it out within five minutes, you've seen how easy it was

for Michel to do that. What is there not to like here?

Food like this proves we don't have to compromise on taste

or flavour when it comes to healthy eating.

We can all eat well to be well.

'Next week experimental chef Sat Bains gets futuristic...'

-That is maddening!

-I like that.

'..Stefan Gates asks if artificial meat

'really is going to feed the planet...'

That's meat without the need for cows.

'..and I'm making a succulent pan-fried duck with a twist.'

Look at that!