Keep It Simple Food & Drink

I don't believe you need a list of ingredients as long

as your arm to create some great tasting dishes.

In fact, with some of my favourite food, less really is more.

And that is the secret to success.

Today is all about creating massively tasty,

simple food from only a handful of ingredients.

That is the ultimate in keeping it simple.

Top chef Monica Galetti knows a thing or two about getting

maximum flavour with the minimum of fuss.

-Welcome.

-Thank you.

-Nice to see you.

We go head-to-head in the kitchen with her perfectly tender

sticky-glazed chicken...

You're crying because you know you've lost already!

I'm like a blubbering wreck.

..up against my uncomplicated celery soup with poached eggs.

And that is going to take some beating, girl!

Joe Wadsack is taking the drinks right back to basics...

I think it's quite cool that we're drinking an iceberg,

-but I also think it's bonkers.

-You've got to admit, it's a novelty.

..before we find out which dish not only tastes best,

but really is simplicity on a plate.

It's make or break friendship time again, isn't it?

Yeah!

Food & Drink is back.

We Brits are scared of recipes.

One in six of us has never cooked a meal from scratch.

-A packet of these chicken thighs, please.

-How are you, today?

-I'm good, thank you. You all right?

-Not so bad.

If only everyone knew how easy home cooking can be,

if you just keep it simple.

-Take care. I'll see you later on.

-See you soon. All the best.

I love cooking.

Forget the fuss, just choose a few key everyday ingredients

and you're away...

-Take care.

-Cheers, bye-bye.

..making uncomplicated food, packed full of gorgeous flavour.

It really isn't rocket science.

Right then, Mon, I want us to come up with two dishes, one each,

-that are simple and amazing.

-Simple and amazing.

Sounds like something my wife calls me, to be honest!

-I'll take your word for it.

-Yeah, yeah, yeah.

The simple bit more than the amazing bit, I have to be honest!

I'm sure mine is still going to be the tastiest and the winner, though.

You know what, you can be as cocky as you want, Mr Kerridge.

The final proof will be in the eating.

It's game on.

Whilst I'm serving up a simple yet hearty celery and parsley soup,

with perfect poached eggs and soda bread,

Monica's taking inspiration from her childhood to make her honey and

soy glazed chicken, flavour-filled fluffy rice and pak choi.

And she's brought along something special

she thinks will give her the edge.

My secret ingredient, which will blow your taste buds, Mr Kerridge.

-What is it?

-It's coconut oil.

Where has this secret ingredient come from?

This is from the islands of Western Samoa, where I was born and bred.

Full of flavour. They build rugby players on this stuff.

So, can you get that coconut oil over here in the UK,

or have we got to ring your mum up to send it over?

Not this particular one that I use,

but you can get it throughout the UK.

This is virgin coconut oil.

That smells amazing. And you cook with that?

Cook with that, you could fix, get you some hair with it,

-if you rub it on every night.

-It's good for hair growth?! I like that.

Maybe if there's any left, I'll be taking this back with me.

Not cooking with it either! Right, I'm going to crack on.

First up, I'm making a base for my soup with onions and garlic.

I might be a hardened professional chef,

but there are some things you never get used to.

The onions are full of acid and it's making a big bloke like me cry.

I should have put my swimming goggles on.

Look at me, I'm like a blubbering wreck.

Well, I don't always have this effect on big blokes.

That's not what I've heard, girl - you bring grown men to tears,

that's what I've heard! You have a fearsome reputation.

-We know what the truth is.

-Yeah, yeah, yeah.

You're crying because you know you've lost already.

I've lost already?!

It's all right, Tom, it's all right. You need a hug?

Yeah, we'll have a hug later, girl.

Well, I wasn't going to give it to you!

Any takers for a hug?

Anyone? No?

Fine then. Well, it's time for Monica to get on with her

sticky-glazed chicken.

I'm going to start boning out the chicken thighs that I'm using.

I find coming home from work,

and I've got to knock out a quick dinner for myself and my daughter,

this is the easiest way to guarantee

the chicken is going to cook very quickly.

And, I don't know about you, but in our household,

-we all have our favourite part of the chicken.

-Yeah.

My husband is a breast man. Oh! Here I go.

-I have to be honest with you...

-So are you!

-..I'm with your husband!

I, myself, prefer the legs and the thighs, you know.

I find them more flavoursome.

Like a Samoan rugby player, yeah?

There you go, it's all in the legs and the thighs.

-It's all in the legs and the thighs!

-You know where this is going!

-Yeah.

But, to be honest, this is one of his favourite dishes.

And Anais' as well. Anais is our daughter.

It's nice because when they smell it, you know,

it's cooking in the house, the soy and the garlic, you know,

they know exactly what I'm cooking and they're like,

"Oh, it's the chicken dish!"

With a strong Asian influence in Samoan cooking,

Monica's using two classic flavours from the Far East

you've probably got in your store cupboard

to make her sticky glazed chicken - honey and soy sauce.

To get that flavour depth into my soup,

I'm packing it full of one my favourite ingredients.

Celery's beautiful.

Underrated, underused, full of beautiful flavour.

This is the sort of thing people will have in their fridge

and they don't know what to do with it apart from chew on it raw

and have it with a bit of cheese.

It looks like it's too much, but, as it cooks,

it'll slowly wilt down and collapse and all those natural celery waters

will come out and give that stock loads of flavour.

Whilst I'm reducing down that celery goodness for my soup,

even the most basic of Monica's ingredients perfectly complements

her sticky glazed chicken.

At home I tend to use a lot of brown rice

because there's so much more flavour in it

-and much better for you, as well.

-Quite nutty, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-Quite nutty.

-Pinch of salt, if needed.

-Is that yours?

-It's ours. What's mine is yours, girl. Help yourself.

-It's no bother.

-I will remember that, Tom.

-There we are.

By throwing in my parsley at the last moment,

it will keep that fresh flavour and punchy, vibrant colour.

That almost looks good enough to eat like that,

but I want to make it super nice.

Power!

-Smells delicious.

-Is that it? Have you decided to throw in the towel?

-I thought you knew me well-er.

-Yeah, I do know you better than that, Mon.

I know. You're leading me into a false sense of security,

thinking that everything's all right and then, at the last minute,

you're going to smash me in with a couple of chicken thighs.

That's pretty much my soup done.

All I've got to do is poach an egg and knock up a bit of bread. Easy!

So, we've got the food, where's the drink?

-This is meant to be Food & Drink.

-Well, Monica, do you know what?

I've curbed my drinking habits just a little bit.

I'm more interested now in non-alcoholic top-end soft drinks.

It's not just for kids, you know?

These days we're drinking less and less booze than ever before

and spending more and more money on posh soft drinks,

over £115 million last year alone.

Restaurateur Oliver Peyton is determined to find out

why the simple soft drink should be a big part of your meal.

It's not long ago that that a day off the booze

meant a pint of warm fizzy pop, squash, water,

possibly a funny look from the barman.

Simple drinks, but hardly inspiring.

But at the award-winning Ethicurean restaurant near Bristol,

they are determined to change our perception

of what a soft drink can be.

With the walled garden stuffed full of the freshest ingredients,

drinks expert Jack Adair-Bevan has free rein

to create simple, imaginative, non-alcoholic drinks

that are paired perfectly with their food.

-I am just so jealous here. This is amazing.

-It's fantastic.

We've got produce coming in every day.

You know, twice a day, sometimes, and it means that we get to use

the best seasonal produce with the best local seasonal meat, as well.

At the moment, we've got lots of fennel,

so we're going to be combining that with white fish.

But how do you, then, take that idea of, say, fennel and fish,

-and translate that into a drink that matches.

-Well, it's really simple.

How about you don't put the fennel in the food part

and you put it in the drink?

Sounds easy, but there are some key rules to follow

to make sure you get these combinations right.

Our first dish is Welsh rarebit made with local Caerphilly cheese.

It's about balance, really.

It's about thinking of those classic combinations.

What we're going to do is cut a little bit of rhubarb

and that's going to go in a drink

with ginger beer and cocktail bitters

and those flavour pairings work well.

You know, fruit goes very well with cheese.

Another classic combination we're pairing together is beef and tomato.

Down here we've actually got the tomato that I'm going to use

in our tomato and kimchi juice soft drink

and it's called a Garden Peach.

What's going to be so good about having this tomato in our drink

is it's going to bring acidity for one,

but, also, it's going to be a contrasting colour.

And, with just a handful of simple ingredients,

Jack's ready to get creative.

We're going to start off with a tomato juice

-that we're spicing with kimchi.

-What is this kimchi thing?

Kimchi is, effectively, fermented vegetables.

Oh, it sounds disgusting!

People at home are not going, "Mm, that sounds nice," are they?

It's absolutely fantastic.

You've got lots of pepper. You've got lots of spices

like ginger and then you've got carrots and lettuce.

That is really delicious.

Absolutely, and what that does is it brings some spice into the drink.

If you can't get hold of kimchi or you are a little bit scared of it,

then that's fine. You could go for something like Tabasco.

OK, talk me through the process. What's going to happen?

Well, all I'll start off by doing is filling a container up with ice

and then adding 50 ml of tomato juice and 50 ml of kimchi juice

and then topping it up with a little bit of sparkling water.

Well, that sounds simple enough.

Very good work on the floating tomato trick, there. I like that.

-But what about the vegetarian dish?

-Well, for the vegetarians,

what I've gone for is a combination of raw rhubarb...

Oh, steady the buffs on that one. Really? Are you sure?

In the amount we're doing, it's fine and it brings really welcome acidity

-in the place of citrus fruit.

-Hey, I was wrong about the kimchi,

there's no reason that I'm not going to be wrong about the rhubarb.

We'll start off by slicing up a handful of raw rhubarb.

-So, go on. It's your turn.

-Thank you very much.

I want all of the juice out of that.

Come back in a couple of hours, then.

Then we'll throw a dash of bitters on top. A drop of ginger beer.

It's not that I don't trust you.

Can you see how much pinker it is now that I had a go?

I don't know. I thought it looked better before.

I'm going to finish just with a thin garnish of rhubarb.

Brilliant though these uncomplicated drinks are,

surely they're not packed with enough flavour

to replace a bottle of wine.

Wow! What that's got is the sweetness

and the bitterness behind it.

For me, trying to get something that's going to work really well

with that very strong rarebit is a real challenge.

I think that works amazingly well. You know what?

That's one of the most interesting things I've had in ages.

You've got the flavour of the kimchi on your plate

and you've also got the juice of the kimchi

and we're not wasting anything. It's a good way of using up ingredients.

That's really unusual. That kimchi has a completely unique flavour

to it. I really think this is a very interesting combination.

Absolutely and, with soft drinks, I think people have got

a real aversion to savoury notes,

and I think it's time to knock that one on the head

and to start experimenting and enjoying ourselves.

Now, I have to admit, I was sceptical when I went into this.

Why give up wine? But these are more than just soft drinks.

They're intrinsic parts of a well-thought-out meal

and a really good way of bringing another layer of flavour

to the table.

From one soft drink that's adding flavour

to another that really shouldn't.

Joe's got a taste test to challenge the most sensitive of taste buds.

-How are you?

-Very well, thank you.

Joe is normally the whirlwind of wine,

except this doesn't look like wine, Joe.

-Water.

-Water.

-Let's keep it simple.

I thought it would be fun to find out the difference

between posh water and not posh water.

-So, we've got a bottle that's a tenner, a bottle...

-£10 a bottle?

-£10 for a bottle of water.

-Seriously?

-I've also got another one which is a regular posh-ish water.

-OK.

And then a really cheap one.

-And really cheap probably means out of the tap, does it?

-Correct.

Do you want to try them? Let's see if there's any difference.

Right, number one.

Cheers, Joe. Your idea of fun and my idea of fun

are two different things completely.

You've got to admit it's a novelty.

Doesn't really taste of anything.

Numero due.

Oh, my gosh.

-That tastes like water as well.

-It's different.

-The last one.

The cleanest one, with not very much taste to it at all,

-is the first one.

-I agree. It's very light.

-Very light.

-And I'm finding it's getting heavier.

-As we go along.

So, I reckon the first one, that's the one that's the most expensive

and then the last one, I reckon, is the cheapest.

-That's what I think.

-The first one,

the one that we seem to like, is this.

Artesian water. Comes out of a hole in the ground, literally.

Number two is a tenner.

It comes from an iceberg off the coast of Canada.

The last one looks like that.

I think it's quite cool that we're drinking an iceberg,

but I also think it's bonkers that it's a tenner.

Considering that's for nothing and out of the tap,

the difference between those two is pretty much minimal.

And I wouldn't have guessed, of the three, which was the tenner.

I think that's the point, really, isn't it?

Can we have some real drinks now?

I'll find something simple but delicious

-with your dishes for a bit later, all right?

-Yeah.

We'd better get a move on.

These dishes aren't going to cook themselves

and Monica's got a great tip to get her soy and honey glazed chicken

as tender as can be.

Start with a cold pan.

Normally when you put things in a pan,

you hear a really nice sizzling noise.

-S-s-s-s-s!

-Yeah, yeah, yeah.

-I know.

-Where's that noise?

So, if this was already hot, what would happen is we'd put it in,

it will just go, "K-ch-ch!" All this liquid would disappear.

It would be more like a barbecued chicken afterwards.

What I'm doing here, I'm actually going to be poaching it.

I used to watch my mum cooking this way

but I just wasn't getting the marinade, sort of,

going through the meat the way she would do it and, in the end,

I got the pot and I tried it and it's worked and I've stuck with it.

She makes it sound so easy.

Now it's time for me to get on with my black pepper soda bread.

A couple of pinches of salt.

This is probably the easiest bread you'll ever make

but there's one extra ingredient I need.

A little bit of buttermilk. Bring it all together.

-I always keep buttermilk in my fridge too.

-Yeah.

It's always there. Just in case you want to make soda bread.

It's a classic ingredient

that was originally the sour milk left over after churning butter,

but, today, you can find it in cartons in most supermarkets.

When added to my soda bread it reacts with the bicarbonate of soda

to create the gas bubbles

meaning you don't need to wait for it to rise. Simples.

And this goes into a hot oven, bake for about 45 minutes to an hour.

-What? About 190?

-190.

Mate, it's like you read my mind.

Now, Monica might be a MasterChef, but it's time the judge

becomes the judged in my devilishly simple challenge.

-Where's Gregg Wallace when you need him? Ready for this?

-I'm ready.

Ta-da!

Eggs, cheese, butter,

sandwich bag.

Can you cook me something without using the hobs or the oven?

-It's all about keeping it simple.

-Can I use that jug?

-This jug?

-No, that jug.

-The kettle?

-The kettle.

Of course, you can use the kettle.

Oh, you do it different to me.

All right. It's really odd, isn't it?

Dear me.

Let me show you the way that I'd have done it.

Into the kettle.

That's one to you, big man.

-Well, you have to make sure that it's got a concealed element.

-Right.

If there's one on the bottom and it's open,

you'll be in a whole world of trouble

and you'll be off buying a new kettle.

It looks about done. Look at that.

It's almost like a perfect omelette.

Do you think if you served that to your boss he'd know?

He'd have no idea.

-That is the ultimate in keeping it simple.

-That's impressive.

Well done, chef.

Success in the kitchen is all about getting the basics right

and food writer Kimberley Wilson is curious to find out

just how simple cooking can be.

Ah, the beautiful Welsh countryside.

It's the perfect place to set up camp and get back to basics.

You might be miles away from a kitchen,

but that doesn't mean you can't cook delicious and wholesome food

for you and your family when you're working with limited resources.

Josh Sutton is a master at creating proper, delicious meals

with just one hob, but his tips don't only work here,

these are lessons we can all use at home too.

At the heart of it, camping and camp food is very basic, isn't it?

It's about adopting the food that you've got

to cook with the facilities that you've got, really.

So, a single burner is pretty much all you need

and you can have a whole food adventure, if you like.

So, hopefully, lots of things here

that will translate quite well to domestic kitchens

-and smaller spaces as well.

-Yeah, absolutely.

What works in a field quite often works in the kitchen at home.

And, when it comes to stripped back cooking,

it turns out you don't need much.

Single burner. Burns on butane gas.

Pot. Decent nonstick pot. Wooden spoon that I whittled myself.

I was going to say. It looks pretty rustic. That's impressive.

Yeah, it's pretty rustic.

And a very, very sharp knife and that's it, really.

With such a simple set-up,

we're going for a straightforward recipe too. A flexible fish stew.

The rule is to not use the cracked or open ones,

but if they're open and you give them a tap and they do close...

-Like this?

-..then they're all right.

-Oh, yeah, it's going.

-Yeah, yeah.

The key to one-pot coating is that everything goes in raw

and cooks together

and you don't need to be a perfectionist about it either.

It's about blending flavours and not being afraid of it, really.

Be bold, you know. Have a go, have an experiment.

I always say, if it doesn't go right, just eat the evidence

-and start again.

-Absolutely. Yeah, yeah.

You learn for next time, don't you?

While the stew is simmering away, Josh takes full advantage

of having a campfire to cook some local mackerel.

Which he's turning into a rustic pate with creme fraiche

and a few drops of lemon. It couldn't be easier.

All right, that's been cooking for about 40 minutes.

Just a few final ingredients. A couple of halved tomatoes

and some fresh dill just to fancy it up a little bit, really.

And now, the best bit of the day.

Getting around the dinner table, or fold-up camping table in this case,

for a tasty family feast, but can food cooked in the most basic

of kitchens really be that gourmet?

That is so lovely and fresh. It's really delicious.

Well-cooked fish, Ruby.

It's delicious. The flavours are just fantastic.

Yeah! I really like it! Yummy!

-It was perfect.

-It's really impressive what you can do with...

Well, not just one pot, but one burner.

You can do it at home, as well.

It just goes to show, you don't need fancy kit or gadgets

to cook delicious food. In fact, you don't even really need a kitchen.

If you want to improve your cooking skills

and get some recipes and great tips from me

go to the BBC Food website and click on Dish Up.

Over the next year, we are going to be encouraging everybody

to get in that kitchen and get clever.

Now, poaching an egg might sound easy,

but, as the centrepiece of my celery soup,

it's going to have to be perfect if I'm going to win this.

Now, a lot of people would put vinegar in the water,

but I'm going to put a splash of vinegar in the cup

and that acid almost starts to cure the egg straightaway.

Then, a pan of almost boiling water. Give it a swirl.

And then drop them in.

Off they go.

That's me pretty much done, mate.

Bread's in the oven, soup's blended, eggs are poaching.

Monica's hit of green goodness is another classic of Asian cooking

- bok choy. Flash fried in sesame oil.

Add a little bit of water and that's just going to create a bit of steam

-and that to finish cooking it. Lid on.

-Very quick cooking.

My rice is cooked,

so this is the moment I would add my coconut oil to it.

See, this is the point where all the flavours come in in your part of it.

Right at this last bit of cooking.

As you see, just a little bit of that oil. It is really strong.

Also, I found some sesame seeds in your cupboard.

Even Monica's rice has layer upon layer of flavour

to complement her honey and soy glazed chicken.

I'd be getting a bit nervous if my own carb creation

wasn't looking so beautifully tasty.

-The looks of that bread it, Tom, wow!

-Stay calm, girl.

Time for me to plate up.

Eggs might be a kitchen staple, but, done properly,

they add an incredible richness to a dish, working perfectly

with my straightforward celery and parsley soup.

-A little bit of the chopped celery leaf.

-Look at you.

I'm going to finish it with a little bit of English rapeseed oil,

make it look very pretty.

That, my friend, Monica Galetti, is going to take some beating, girl.

Bring it on, Mon.

-Joe's going to be arriving soon with something very interesting.

-What?

-More water?

-No, no, mate. I'm hoping, at this point of the day,

he turns up with something more interesting than water.

Cooked off in the soy and honey,

Monica's chicken has taken on a sticky, sweet, finger-licking glaze,

but there's not quite enough of it to go round.

Joe can have double egg in his soup, but only one chicken thigh.

Chopped pumpkin seeds just over the rice and then, what you can do,

is serve this cooking liquor.

A little bit of chicken gravy.

Mate, they look amazing.

Not sure Judge Joe is the man you want to short-change,

but it's time to see which of our straightforward suppers

is punching above its weight.

First up, my celery soup.

It doesn't look simple, does it? It looks really lovely.

It's fantastic to look at. I can't believe you made bread so quickly.

It's dead easy. Mix it all together, whack it in the oven, job done.

Nicely poached eggs, dare I say, Kerridge?

Nicely poached, they're still nice and runny.

I love that. It's such a clean, pure, light, fragrant celery taste

and the little orange yolk swirling into the soup gives it

a little extra something, you know? It's lovely.

I just want to say, celery, you always know it is

quite a strong flavour in itself,

it's knowing what to do with it, isn't it?

That's what's great about this dish.

Gives it that kind of wholesome, hearty, warming feel,

like log fires, autumn or winter evenings.

Soup should be doing that to you.

They should be really rich and comforting.

We do like to throw Joe a challenge,

so how do you go about matching a drink to... Well, a drink?

I love sherry with soup. It's kind of a soft spot for me.

Any soup, really. So I always treat it more like a condiment

on the side. It's like adding a bit of spice to the food.

-It's savoury and, if you smell it, it's a bit celery-y as well.

-It is.

It is. Very fresh, very fragrant.

I prefer that to the water.

I told you I'd get you something nice in the end.

So, that was Tio Pepe dry sherry and it's about £8-£9,

available everywhere. Also, I've got other choices,

other sherries you can try, on the Food & Drink website.

Some slightly kookier matches.

And you'll find details of today's recipes there too.

Because you had double egg, you've only got single chicken thigh.

That's OK. As long as I get the rest of the bread.

-No, no, I'll have to fight you for that one.

-OK, let's get in.

-Enjoy.

God, it's tender.

-That is so good.

-There's a lot going on considering how little's

in there. You've got the sweetness of the honey, the salty of the soy.

That coconut oil goes through that rice so, so well.

It's absolutely beautiful.

Well, it's food I like to eat at home

and you saw that took no time at all to cook this up,

and it's a good way to remember my mother, as well.

What have you got that's going to match this?

You've got some strong flavours here.

What I've chosen here is something just to get people away

from the idea that cheap German wine isn't worth drinking.

So, here we've got a German Riesling.

It's from a place called Pfalz in south Germany.

This is £6.99. It's available in supermarkets,

and it doesn't look like Riesling used to.

You know, those old, tall bottles with some script on them.

This is really modern winemaking.

Is that me or is that slightly fizzy on the tongue?

It's got the slightest little spritz, the Germans call it.

It's bottled with a little bit of carbon dioxide left over

-from the fermentation.

-Is that what it is? It's really alive.

The chicken and the wine go beautifully together.

That salty, savoury sweetness comes alive with that.

It makes almost like a really nice packet of chicken Refreshers

-in your mouth.

-Chicken Refreshers in your mouth.

-Chicken Refreshers.

Now for the moment of truth, it's decision time.

-No pressure, Joe.

-It's make or break friendship time again, isn't it?

I really enjoyed the water tasting, by the way.

I was going to say,

I counted the amount of times you criticised the water

and you did it one more time than Tom,

so, I'm afraid, Tom gets it today.

But no, no, joking aside, a plate of soup is something very special

and I think it's very easy to make soup the way you have

and how easy is it to make bread. This is a really wholesome supper

for six or seven people for not much money.

-I have to say, you are a very brave man...

-Please, don't hit me, Monica.

..because I think Monica's chicken was amazing.

Too much talk about the water tasting, to be honest.

Well, that's it. I think we've proved that simple cooking

couldn't be easier and you never need to compromise on flavour,

as well. Happy times.

Well done, girl.

GLASS SMASHES

Bad loser! Bad loser!

Joe, can we order that taxi for Monica?

LAUGHTER