0:00:02 > 0:00:06- The best British produce is under threat.- At the mercy of foreign invaders, market forces...
0:00:06 > 0:00:09- ..and food fashion.- Produce that has been around for centuries...
0:00:09 > 0:00:12..could die out within a generation.
0:00:12 > 0:00:14So together, we're on a mission...
0:00:14 > 0:00:19- ..to save it.- We'll give the best tips how to find it, grow it and cook it.
0:00:19 > 0:00:22And, crucially, how to put sensational British produce...
0:00:22 > 0:00:24..back on the food map.
0:00:59 > 0:01:03When you look at the supermarket shelves nowadays, you simply don't see
0:01:03 > 0:01:07the hundreds of potato varieties that used to be available to us.
0:01:07 > 0:01:12Well, I am on a mission to bring those varieties back to our dinner plates.
0:01:14 > 0:01:17Growing potatoes is a vital part of our heritage.
0:01:17 > 0:01:20We've done it for over 500 years, and for centuries,
0:01:20 > 0:01:23potatoes have played an important part in the British diet.
0:01:23 > 0:01:29But shockingly, over the past 40 years, 97% of potato farmers have left the industry,
0:01:29 > 0:01:33and heritage varieties have all but disappeared from our supermarket shelves.
0:01:33 > 0:01:37In my campaign to revive the ailing British potato, I'll be meeting
0:01:37 > 0:01:40the unsung heroes who are striving to secure our heritage varieties.
0:01:40 > 0:01:44That is the maddest thing I have ever seen!
0:01:44 > 0:01:48I'll be showing you what you can do to save our great British spud.
0:01:48 > 0:01:52The fun of digging them up is you never know what you're going to get underneath.
0:01:52 > 0:01:59And I'll be wowing you with three mouth-watering recipes, including potato dauphinoise.
0:01:59 > 0:02:02That's the closest you'll get to a snog on a plate.
0:02:07 > 0:02:12Because I'm a greengrocer, I often get asked what my favourite vegetable is,
0:02:12 > 0:02:16and I think people are really disappointed when I tell them it's the humble potato.
0:02:16 > 0:02:19But it's the most versatile thing I know.
0:02:19 > 0:02:22I've got lovely memories of my grandmother's roast potatoes.
0:02:22 > 0:02:25I can remember the first time I tasted a Jersey Royal.
0:02:25 > 0:02:29I can also remember my first batch of Pink Fir Apples I sold to the restaurants.
0:02:29 > 0:02:31Where would we be without mash?
0:02:31 > 0:02:33Where would we be without chips?
0:02:33 > 0:02:37It breaks my heart to think we are not making the most of this beautiful crop.
0:02:37 > 0:02:42Here in Britain, we know how to grow great spuds.
0:02:42 > 0:02:48We produce over six million tons of them every year, and most of the spuds we do eat are homegrown.
0:02:48 > 0:02:52But our tasty tubers have taken a bit of an image battering in recent years.
0:02:52 > 0:02:56One in ten adults think they don't contain any nutritional benefits,
0:02:56 > 0:02:59and the younger generation are turning to foreign rivals.
0:02:59 > 0:03:03I prefer rice or pasta, because they're a lot easier to cook.
0:03:03 > 0:03:06They take less time to cook. Potatoes take a lot longer.
0:03:06 > 0:03:12And I also think you can kind of jazz up pasta and rice a bit more interestingly than potatoes.
0:03:12 > 0:03:14They tend to be quite boring, I suppose.
0:03:14 > 0:03:18Healthy? Absolutely not! Not the way I coat them!
0:03:18 > 0:03:23I put so much olive oil in them that I don't think you'd call that healthy.
0:03:23 > 0:03:27I think potatoes do have an image problem.
0:03:27 > 0:03:29My children definitely seem to think so.
0:03:29 > 0:03:35If I give them a choice and I say, "Do you want mashed potato or baked potatoes?" They go, "No! Pasta!"
0:03:37 > 0:03:42I want to find out how the industry is combating this huge threat.
0:03:42 > 0:03:46So I've come to this commercial potato farm at Aberlady in East Lothian,
0:03:46 > 0:03:50where the owner also happens to be the chairman of the Potato Council.
0:03:50 > 0:03:54What is happening to potato growing in this country?
0:03:54 > 0:03:55One of the challenges is that
0:03:55 > 0:03:58we have structural decline in demand for potatoes.
0:03:58 > 0:04:03Some people think potatoes can be unhealthy, but also some people feel that
0:04:03 > 0:04:09there are more convenient and immediate ways in which you can cook a meal, using rice and pasta.
0:04:09 > 0:04:13How can that be right, that people are turning their back on the British spud?
0:04:13 > 0:04:16Well, people don't necessarily want to have to peel a potato.
0:04:16 > 0:04:23But we are able to offer now a whole range of potato products, from fresh to processed, that provide
0:04:23 > 0:04:31immediate convenience, just as easy and quick to cook as rice or pasta, but much more nutritious.
0:04:31 > 0:04:36There's as much vitamin C in a potato as in a glass of tomato juice. People don't realise.
0:04:36 > 0:04:40Are people just going for all-rounders, and is it making potatoes a bit dull?
0:04:40 > 0:04:42It's a challenge, yes.
0:04:42 > 0:04:48There are many people who don't know one potato variety from another, and it's up to the industry to
0:04:48 > 0:04:53make sure we show consumers how to make the best use of potatoes.
0:04:56 > 0:05:02Now, the best way to fall back in love with the potato is to get cooking with it.
0:05:02 > 0:05:07I've got here one of my favourite potatoes in the world, and that is the King Edward, OK?
0:05:07 > 0:05:11It's a really good mixture of waxy and floury, and I'm going to prove
0:05:11 > 0:05:17that the only starch that you need in your cupboard is the spud.
0:05:17 > 0:05:20I'm going to make the Italian classic potato gnocchi.
0:05:21 > 0:05:27I've boiled the potatoes in salted water for about ten minutes.
0:05:27 > 0:05:33Now, I'm going to leave those to cool, and I'm going to start my sauce.
0:05:36 > 0:05:40Gnocchi is no different to any other potato dish in that,
0:05:40 > 0:05:45once you've learnt how to make it, like mash,
0:05:45 > 0:05:48or chips or boiled potatoes, once you've learned how to
0:05:48 > 0:05:52do them probably, they will go with any flavours you like, OK?
0:05:52 > 0:05:57Tomato I'm doing now, because I think everyone should know how to make a good tomato sauce.
0:05:57 > 0:06:00Pasta and rice is not part of our heritage.
0:06:00 > 0:06:03They're nice things, but that's not what we grew up with.
0:06:03 > 0:06:06That's not what our culinary tradition is built on.
0:06:06 > 0:06:09We are northern Europeans. We don't grow rice.
0:06:09 > 0:06:11We grow spuds, it's what we do! Right.
0:06:13 > 0:06:16Onions in.
0:06:18 > 0:06:22I'm going to lightly flour this surface.
0:06:25 > 0:06:28I've got here one of my favourite contraptions...
0:06:29 > 0:06:32..a potato ricer. Look.
0:06:32 > 0:06:35Stick that in there...
0:06:35 > 0:06:39..and then you just squeeze, gently squeeze,
0:06:39 > 0:06:43onto the floured surface.
0:06:44 > 0:06:46More flour,
0:06:46 > 0:06:48lightly...
0:06:49 > 0:06:51..over the top.
0:06:51 > 0:06:54And now, all you're doing is bringing this together
0:06:54 > 0:06:57like a dough, and work it.
0:06:57 > 0:07:00Work it and work it,
0:07:00 > 0:07:02like a lump of Play-Doh.
0:07:02 > 0:07:04Look.
0:07:04 > 0:07:09And all we've got is the moisture in that potato and flour. It's light.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12Look at it. Beautiful thing.
0:07:13 > 0:07:21To my base of tomato sauce with onions and garlic, I'm adding some puree to give the flavour more depth.
0:07:21 > 0:07:23You take your gnocchi dough. That's still warm.
0:07:23 > 0:07:27Break a bit off and roll it.
0:07:27 > 0:07:30Now look, that's perfect.
0:07:30 > 0:07:33It's up to you, the size of your gnocchi.
0:07:33 > 0:07:37I just want to break the end bits off.
0:07:37 > 0:07:40I reckon about there, OK?
0:07:40 > 0:07:42That's about the size of it.
0:07:42 > 0:07:46And then you just press your fork into it like that.
0:07:47 > 0:07:52If it starts to come apart on you, put a little bit of flour to hold it.
0:07:53 > 0:07:56Feel it. Get to know it.
0:08:01 > 0:08:03So it's all coming together.
0:08:03 > 0:08:06Before I cook the gnocchi, I need to add herbs to the sauce.
0:08:06 > 0:08:11If it's a soft, leafy herb, it goes in at the end.
0:08:11 > 0:08:15And I've heard chefs say that you shouldn't cut basil,
0:08:15 > 0:08:17you should rip it, cos you lose flavour.
0:08:17 > 0:08:21Well, I'll give any blindfolded chef 50 quid if he can tell me
0:08:21 > 0:08:25the difference between a cut and a ripped basil.
0:08:25 > 0:08:26Stir that in there.
0:08:26 > 0:08:29Then, cook the gnocchi.
0:08:31 > 0:08:35Remember, we've already cooked the potatoes, OK?
0:08:35 > 0:08:39So when they start floating up to the surface, they are done.
0:08:40 > 0:08:42Come on, baby.
0:08:43 > 0:08:47Drain off the excess water, then add the gnocchi to the tomato sauce.
0:08:51 > 0:08:52Mmm.
0:08:53 > 0:08:56OK, one last bit of basil.
0:08:56 > 0:08:59There it is - my great British potato gnocchi.
0:09:03 > 0:09:05It's firm, the potato, yet it's soft.
0:09:05 > 0:09:08You may have never had potato like this before.
0:09:08 > 0:09:11I told you, you don't need pasta.
0:09:11 > 0:09:13Go on, please, just have a go.
0:09:18 > 0:09:23On my campaign to revive the ailing British potato, I've found that
0:09:23 > 0:09:28it's not just farmers who are working hard to produce great-tasting spuds.
0:09:28 > 0:09:30This is the unseen world of potato growing.
0:09:30 > 0:09:34Most people think to grow potatoes you throw seeds in the ground,
0:09:34 > 0:09:37but it's a lot more complicated than that.
0:09:37 > 0:09:40Here in Edinburgh, at Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture,
0:09:40 > 0:09:44there's a whole department devoted to potatoes.
0:09:45 > 0:09:51Some are researching new ways of combating crop-threatening diseases, such as potato blight,
0:09:51 > 0:09:53whilst others test the properties of new varieties
0:09:53 > 0:09:57to make sure we have the very best chippers and boilers.
0:09:57 > 0:10:04But what gets me really excited is there's a massive data bank of heritage potatoes.
0:10:04 > 0:10:10OK, so in here we have our living genetic resource collection of over 1,000 potato varieties.
0:10:10 > 0:10:12About 1,000 varieties of potatoes growing here?
0:10:12 > 0:10:14Every year we grow 1,000 varieties of potato
0:10:14 > 0:10:18so that we can keep maintaining the right trueness of type.
0:10:18 > 0:10:20So, are they all stored here?
0:10:20 > 0:10:22Yep. We can see something you might ask for.
0:10:22 > 0:10:26- So is there any particular variety you haven't had?- Really?- Yep.
0:10:26 > 0:10:28Do you have any Pentlands?
0:10:28 > 0:10:32- Yeah, sure. Heather will bring one up for us.- This is mad!
0:10:32 > 0:10:37This machine is like the Noah's Ark of potatoes, and it houses
0:10:37 > 0:10:41some varieties which are no longer grown anywhere else in the world.
0:10:41 > 0:10:43Here at the front we've got Pentland Falcon...
0:10:43 > 0:10:47- Loads.- Pentland Hawk, Pentland Ivory, Pentland Raven.
0:10:47 > 0:10:52So, all Scottish-bred varieties which aren't very much grown any more.
0:10:52 > 0:10:56Beautiful potatoes, but these probably haven't been on the shelves for 20 years.
0:10:56 > 0:10:57That's right. That's right.
0:10:58 > 0:11:01- Can I have another go? - Of course.- A game!
0:11:01 > 0:11:02Salad potatoes - a Roseval?
0:11:02 > 0:11:05Yeah, we should have a Roseval for you.
0:11:05 > 0:11:06Ha-ha!
0:11:08 > 0:11:11That is the maddest thing I have ever seen!
0:11:15 > 0:11:18- Roseval.- There it is. There you go.
0:11:18 > 0:11:23It's a little bit sad that you can't access these anymore. You can't get 'em.
0:11:23 > 0:11:26Not in supermarkets, but if people want to grow them,
0:11:26 > 0:11:29they're here, ready for us to supply to people.
0:11:29 > 0:11:34One of the reasons we've lost so many of the old-fashioned heritage potatoes
0:11:34 > 0:11:37is that they were prone to the dreaded disease, potato blight,
0:11:37 > 0:11:40which is exactly what happened with this particular potato,
0:11:40 > 0:11:44which contributed to the deaths of over a million people from starvation
0:11:44 > 0:11:46in Ireland in the 19th century.
0:11:46 > 0:11:51- This is Lumpers, and this is the potato which is famous for the Irish potato famine.- You're kidding!
0:11:51 > 0:11:54And it's now fallen into complete disuse.
0:11:54 > 0:11:58Was the blight that great because they were all growing the same variety?
0:11:58 > 0:12:02- Yeah, that was one of the main reasons.- I didn't know that. Crikey!
0:12:02 > 0:12:04I kind of want to keep one!
0:12:04 > 0:12:05No, you can have it.
0:12:05 > 0:12:08Incredible. And what is that thing that looks like a turnip?
0:12:08 > 0:12:13This is a new variety bred by a Scottish breeder,
0:12:13 > 0:12:17which is a general-purpose variety called Apache.
0:12:17 > 0:12:21Obviously, it's got a particular look to it,
0:12:21 > 0:12:24and it's a very flavourful potato.
0:12:24 > 0:12:26Mate, that is just weird.
0:12:26 > 0:12:29That's true, but it's eye-catching, though.
0:12:29 > 0:12:32But at the end of the day, it all comes down to taste,
0:12:32 > 0:12:36and I can't be in a room full of spuds without wanting to eat them.
0:12:36 > 0:12:42This is the Apache, which is the new one. You can see already the colour of the flesh.
0:12:42 > 0:12:46And here's the Lumpers, which is much paler flesh colour.
0:12:46 > 0:12:49- Dig in?- Yeah, go for it. Apache.
0:12:52 > 0:12:54I have to say,
0:12:54 > 0:12:56that is really nice.
0:12:56 > 0:13:01Firm but slightly creamy, really earthy flavour. I really like that.
0:13:01 > 0:13:04And what the potato breeders try and do, is blend
0:13:04 > 0:13:09the best of the old flavour with new disease-resistant characteristics.
0:13:09 > 0:13:10Go for the Lumpers.
0:13:10 > 0:13:14See if it was worth all the angst of the famine.
0:13:14 > 0:13:18The Lumpers has got nowhere near the flavour...
0:13:18 > 0:13:20..of the Apache.
0:13:20 > 0:13:23It's almost slightly watery.
0:13:28 > 0:13:30Whoa! The science of it!
0:13:30 > 0:13:32You know, I had absolutely no idea.
0:13:32 > 0:13:36I find that comforting, that people are working really hard to make sure
0:13:36 > 0:13:40we've got the best chippers, the best boilers, the best roasters.
0:13:40 > 0:13:43I tell you, this has got to help potato sales. It's got to.
0:13:43 > 0:13:46The new varieties, they're just cousins of the old ones.
0:13:46 > 0:13:48The old ones are still living.
0:13:48 > 0:13:51They're living inside the new varieties. They are great.
0:13:51 > 0:13:57If you want to get the most from your spuds, you have to remember that different potatoes do different jobs.
0:13:59 > 0:14:03If you want to make perfect mashed potato, you want a floury potato.
0:14:03 > 0:14:07And the one I've picked here, that you'll be able to get, is the Arran Victory.
0:14:07 > 0:14:11For chips, you want something really, really starchy.
0:14:11 > 0:14:14I've picked the King Edward. It's one of my favourite chippers, OK?
0:14:14 > 0:14:18And for boiling, you want something really waxy.
0:14:18 > 0:14:20This is a beautiful, nutty potato. It's a Charlotte.
0:14:20 > 0:14:22That's a really good salad potato.
0:14:22 > 0:14:25Boils really well. It also roasts really well.
0:14:25 > 0:14:29For my second recipe, I'm going to cook a good, old favourite of mine.
0:14:32 > 0:14:38I've got here a beautiful red Duke of York. And the reason I've picked it is it's slightly waxy.
0:14:38 > 0:14:42I need it waxy, because I don't want it soaking up loads of liquid.
0:14:42 > 0:14:45Start by peeling the potatoes.
0:14:47 > 0:14:51The dauphinoise is a buttery, garlicky, absolute delight.
0:14:51 > 0:14:53I don't know anybody who doesn't like it.
0:14:53 > 0:14:56You bring one of those steaming out of the oven...
0:14:56 > 0:15:03Basically, it's layers of potatoes with pepper, salt, butter and garlic. I mean, who wouldn't love that?
0:15:05 > 0:15:08Would you like me to tell you a story?
0:15:08 > 0:15:11When potatoes were brought to Europe, people wouldn't eat them.
0:15:11 > 0:15:13They were scared of them. The reason is,
0:15:13 > 0:15:20they grew underground and the leaves are related to deadly nightshade, which is poisonous.
0:15:20 > 0:15:25Parmentier said to Louis XVI - the last French king who had his head cut off -
0:15:25 > 0:15:27"I can get the poor to eat potatoes.
0:15:27 > 0:15:33"I'm going to grow some outside the walls of Paris, and would you lend me the Royal Guard?"
0:15:33 > 0:15:36People thought they were valuable because they were being guarded,
0:15:36 > 0:15:39and like all good, blue-collar city dwellers like me,
0:15:39 > 0:15:42they came out at night and nicked 'em.
0:15:42 > 0:15:46And they caught on really quickly, as clever Parmentier knew they would.
0:15:46 > 0:15:50And his name is still celebrated in France with a cut-up potato.
0:15:50 > 0:15:54Peeled 'em, they're clean, we now need to slice 'em.
0:15:54 > 0:15:55Get yourself a mandoline.
0:15:55 > 0:15:59Which is one of these, not a musical instrument.
0:16:01 > 0:16:03You want them about that thick.
0:16:03 > 0:16:05Any thicker, they take too long to cook.
0:16:05 > 0:16:10Any thinner, and they might actually dissolve into mush.
0:16:12 > 0:16:15Keep these in water.
0:16:15 > 0:16:19Can you see how the water's changed colour? That's the starch coming off the potatoes.
0:16:19 > 0:16:21Starch is what makes them sticky.
0:16:23 > 0:16:26Now for the other main ingredient - garlic.
0:16:26 > 0:16:29Sprinkle with some sea salt and crush together.
0:16:31 > 0:16:33I don't know how much you use garlic.
0:16:33 > 0:16:36I'm going to do a dish that big,
0:16:36 > 0:16:39and I'm going to do probably three cloves, OK?
0:16:39 > 0:16:41But I really like garlic.
0:16:41 > 0:16:46There's an old cooking adage which is, you can put in, but you can't take away.
0:16:46 > 0:16:48So if you're not sure, do a little bit.
0:16:48 > 0:16:52And then next time, do a little bit more.
0:16:52 > 0:16:58Drain the potatoes, dry them off, and then you can begin to build your potato layers.
0:17:00 > 0:17:06Once you've covered all the holes in the first layer, OK, finer salt now,
0:17:06 > 0:17:08twist of pepper...
0:17:10 > 0:17:13..little knobs of butter scattered in there.
0:17:13 > 0:17:16It will melt and cook and all ooze in, don't worry.
0:17:16 > 0:17:21And then little bits of garlic that you crushed up, smeared over it.
0:17:21 > 0:17:25It's a messy job. You're going to have it all over your hands.
0:17:25 > 0:17:27That's the beauty of it.
0:17:27 > 0:17:29On MasterChef,
0:17:29 > 0:17:33everybody has to get everything done at breakneck speed.
0:17:33 > 0:17:37It's not like that, cooking at home. If you're late, pour your guests another glass of wine.
0:17:37 > 0:17:42You don't have a bald bloke behind you shouting, "You've got ten minutes!"
0:17:43 > 0:17:48For the sauce, I'm mixing milk and double cream.
0:17:49 > 0:17:51Yum, yum, yum.
0:17:51 > 0:17:56Then pour the liquid over the potatoes until it just covers the surface.
0:18:00 > 0:18:04Stick it in the oven at 180 degrees for about an hour.
0:18:10 > 0:18:12'Ave a butcher's!
0:18:12 > 0:18:14Look at that.
0:18:14 > 0:18:18Oh, baby, baby!
0:18:18 > 0:18:21Mmm!
0:18:21 > 0:18:24A few more little crispy ones on top.
0:18:25 > 0:18:28One of my favourite ways of serving this dish is with
0:18:28 > 0:18:32a good, old-fashioned British pork chop and succulent red cabbage.
0:18:38 > 0:18:42Mmm! Mmm, mmm, mmm!
0:18:42 > 0:18:46It's getting through that crunch to that beautiful softness underneath.
0:18:46 > 0:18:50There's a little hint of garlic there, but the main flavour there is of
0:18:50 > 0:18:55good, British, earthy potatoes, straight out of the ground.
0:18:55 > 0:18:57It's our heritage. It's beautiful.
0:18:58 > 0:19:02That's the closest you'll get to a snog on a plate.
0:19:07 > 0:19:12The past 40 years have been tough for potato farmers, and for many,
0:19:12 > 0:19:16the only way to stay in business was to concentrate on growing
0:19:16 > 0:19:19just one or two varieties, such as the Maris Piper or King Edward.
0:19:19 > 0:19:23But there are some brilliant growers out there who are actually bucking the trend,
0:19:23 > 0:19:26and they are keeping some amazing heritage varieties alive.
0:19:26 > 0:19:29Carroll's Heritage Potatoes in Northumberland
0:19:29 > 0:19:32is a relatively small 50-acre farm,
0:19:32 > 0:19:35but amazingly, they grow 20 different types of heritage potato,
0:19:36 > 0:19:40including this very rare Red King Edward, which dates back to around 1900.
0:19:40 > 0:19:46What's special about them? What would people get from heritage varieties they can't get from the big shops?
0:19:46 > 0:19:49Some of the conventional varieties, Maris Piper,
0:19:49 > 0:19:50they're fine, nothing wrong with them,
0:19:50 > 0:19:54but they tend to be Jack of all trades, master of none.
0:19:54 > 0:19:57If you want a fantastic roast potato, use something like Arran Victory.
0:19:57 > 0:20:00You can have yellow mashed potato out of Yukon Gold.
0:20:00 > 0:20:05You can have some absolutely snow white out of Witch Hill.
0:20:05 > 0:20:08So there's a whole series of things you can do with these
0:20:08 > 0:20:12heritage potatoes that you can't do with the more modern varieties.
0:20:13 > 0:20:17Anthony's lifting his last crop of the season, and now,
0:20:17 > 0:20:20they'll be cold stored, ready to be shipped to customers when they're required.
0:20:20 > 0:20:22Ooh!
0:20:23 > 0:20:26We have some Red King Edward that we were harvesting today.
0:20:26 > 0:20:30Fantastic potato. It's a red potato with the white eyes.
0:20:30 > 0:20:34The opposite to the King Edward that you are probably familiar with,
0:20:34 > 0:20:37which is basically pink eyes with a white skin.
0:20:37 > 0:20:41We think a slightly better taste, but then we would say that!
0:20:41 > 0:20:42- Still a good all-rounder?- Fantastic.
0:20:42 > 0:20:44Ooh!
0:20:44 > 0:20:49What you have with you is some Shetland Black and some Highland Burgundy.
0:20:49 > 0:20:56I'll just cut through this one here, and you see that it has some blue flesh through, which is fantastic
0:20:56 > 0:21:00if you want to saute potatoes, which keeps the colour.
0:21:00 > 0:21:02And are these ones the equivalent in red, then?
0:21:02 > 0:21:06Yeah, these are Highland Burgundy Red you have in your left hand there.
0:21:06 > 0:21:09And that's it there. So, again, you could call it
0:21:09 > 0:21:14a novelty potato, but it does produce a wow factor on the plate.
0:21:14 > 0:21:18The reason I love heritage spuds is that they have better flavour,
0:21:18 > 0:21:21better texture, colour, and a real taste of history.
0:21:21 > 0:21:26So before I leave, I want to sample Anthony's wife's Union Jack potato recipe.
0:21:26 > 0:21:28Wonderful! Wonderful!
0:21:28 > 0:21:30- For you, Gregg.- Thank you.
0:21:30 > 0:21:36You've got Salad Blue, Yukon Gold, Red Duke of York and Highland Burgundy.
0:21:39 > 0:21:40Mmm.
0:21:42 > 0:21:45Smashing my way through these. These are delightful.
0:21:45 > 0:21:50This is delicious, which is quite surprising, as I've never been a fan of the Salad Blue potato.
0:21:50 > 0:21:55I thought they were hopeless, the only thing to recommend them was their colour. That's not right.
0:21:55 > 0:21:59Well, they don't yield very well, but they are pretty brilliant potatoes.
0:21:59 > 0:22:01Mmm.
0:22:01 > 0:22:05The fact is, it produces something which gets people thinking, looking,
0:22:05 > 0:22:09discussing food, which is really what we're about.
0:22:14 > 0:22:16I've got to say thank you.
0:22:16 > 0:22:20If it wasn't for people like Lucy and Anthony, we'd lose loads more varieties.
0:22:20 > 0:22:23They've got this wonderful potato, the Arran Victory.
0:22:23 > 0:22:24Beautiful heritage variety.
0:22:24 > 0:22:27The reason I've chosen it, it's light and fluffy.
0:22:27 > 0:22:30It makes wonderful mash, which means it's perfect for
0:22:30 > 0:22:35my last recipe which is the good old British traditional shepherd's pie.
0:22:35 > 0:22:39First thing, get the potatoes on, and I'm starting with cold water,
0:22:39 > 0:22:43no salt, and I'm leaving the skins on.
0:22:43 > 0:22:47And the reason I'm going to do this is the nutrients, the flavour of these beautiful potatoes...
0:22:47 > 0:22:51They're not everyday potatoes. I want to treat them with love and care.
0:22:51 > 0:22:55All the flavour is just under the skin. I don't want them waterlogged.
0:22:55 > 0:22:59I don't want them absorbing loads of water, so we're going to boil them up
0:22:59 > 0:23:01with their skins, and peel them afterwards.
0:23:02 > 0:23:05Whilst they're cooking, slice up the veg.
0:23:05 > 0:23:12Just rough, OK? Because we're going to put them all in a blitzer.
0:23:13 > 0:23:15Blitz the living daylights out of it.
0:23:15 > 0:23:18I still think the best thing about the shepherd's pie...
0:23:18 > 0:23:23And, you know, I'm a very enthusiastic carnivore. The best thing about it is the mash.
0:23:23 > 0:23:30Mash - soft, buttery, white mash - I think is probably the ultimate comfort food.
0:23:30 > 0:23:33It just goes with absolutely everything.
0:23:33 > 0:23:37Onions and potatoes. An absolute marriage made in heaven.
0:23:37 > 0:23:40They're very similar because they're both sort of humble.
0:23:40 > 0:23:45Always the backing singer, never the star. We'll make it into a star.
0:23:45 > 0:23:48Right. Pulse the vegetables in a blender.
0:23:51 > 0:23:57Then fry the veg on a medium heat until they go soft, but don't let 'em go brown.
0:23:57 > 0:24:03For shepherd's pie, of course, I'm using lamb, and I think there's nothing better than leftovers.
0:24:03 > 0:24:05As I slice this, the temptation to just
0:24:05 > 0:24:09stick it between two slices of bread is almost overpowering. Cor!
0:24:10 > 0:24:11Mmm!
0:24:11 > 0:24:16Medium-sized chunks are OK, as they're also going to be blitzed in the blender.
0:24:18 > 0:24:19Voila...
0:24:20 > 0:24:23..as they say in Lambeth. Now...
0:24:25 > 0:24:26Can I just make a plea?
0:24:26 > 0:24:32If you don't cook, just learn how to do this, cos it's wonderful, and everyone will love it.
0:24:32 > 0:24:36Can you see now, look, the colour it's taking on, the little speckles?
0:24:36 > 0:24:42Now, I've got some pretty sexy flavourings I want to stick in there.
0:24:42 > 0:24:45Anchovy sauce, OK?
0:24:45 > 0:24:49Now, all of these things are big, distinct flavours. Taste as you go.
0:24:49 > 0:24:51Redcurrant jelly next.
0:24:51 > 0:24:55Anyone who watches me knows I've got a really sweet tooth!
0:24:55 > 0:24:58Mmm!
0:24:58 > 0:25:01Mushroom ketchup, right? You may not have used it.
0:25:01 > 0:25:03Readily available. Quite sour.
0:25:05 > 0:25:12Add Worcester sauce, tinned tomato and a few sprigs of thyme.
0:25:12 > 0:25:15And remember, these herbs are powerful.
0:25:15 > 0:25:18Don't go putting a whole bush in.
0:25:21 > 0:25:24So, the potatoes have been boiling away for about 20 minutes.
0:25:24 > 0:25:26Wow! Just look at those beauties!
0:25:26 > 0:25:29Now they're ready to be peeled.
0:25:29 > 0:25:36Now look, the skin just comes away really easily, and we've protected all that lovely flesh underneath.
0:25:36 > 0:25:38The water hasn't gone near it.
0:25:38 > 0:25:45And using the ricer again, press the flesh through to get that light and fluffy consistency.
0:25:45 > 0:25:48You want them to be like that - I'll get milk
0:25:48 > 0:25:53and butter in there in a moment, and you want 'em to incorporate that liquid.
0:25:53 > 0:25:55And that's what fluffy potatoes do.
0:25:55 > 0:25:57Waxy keeps the liquid out.
0:25:57 > 0:25:59Look at that.
0:25:59 > 0:26:02Not a lump anywhere.
0:26:02 > 0:26:06Apart from in my throat at the beauty of the mashed potato.
0:26:08 > 0:26:13So, back on the heat. Butter. I'm going to put a big knob of it.
0:26:13 > 0:26:14Ta-da!
0:26:14 > 0:26:17A little bit of milk.
0:26:17 > 0:26:20Who was the first man to decide to mash a potato?
0:26:20 > 0:26:23I want to give him a kiss.
0:26:26 > 0:26:28Done.
0:26:28 > 0:26:31Done. Perfect, absolutely perfect.
0:26:31 > 0:26:33And let's put the whole thing together.
0:26:33 > 0:26:40Place the lamb in an oven-proof dish, followed by a liberal helping of mash.
0:26:43 > 0:26:45In the oven.
0:26:45 > 0:26:49Right. Depending on the size of your shepherd's pie, between 20 minutes
0:26:49 > 0:26:53and 30 minutes at 180. Pour yourself a beer.
0:26:56 > 0:26:58You know what?
0:26:58 > 0:27:02I've got an oven full of childhood memories!
0:27:03 > 0:27:07Oh, my word! Oh!
0:27:08 > 0:27:11Bubbling, singing to you!
0:27:11 > 0:27:13Mmm!
0:27:14 > 0:27:17Don't be stingy.
0:27:17 > 0:27:19Nice, big helping.
0:27:19 > 0:27:24Served with some green cabbage, lightly cooked, still got its crunch.
0:27:24 > 0:27:27And there you have my traditional shepherd's pie,
0:27:27 > 0:27:32topped off with those truly wondrous Arran Victory heritage potatoes.
0:27:32 > 0:27:36If the British potato is to stand any chance of being revived,
0:27:36 > 0:27:40we've all got to play our part, and that includes growing our own.
0:27:40 > 0:27:44The great thing about potatoes is they only need a small container,
0:27:44 > 0:27:48so you can grown them in soil on a balcony, or an allotment.
0:27:48 > 0:27:50Best to plant your seeds around April.
0:27:50 > 0:27:54It'll take roughly five months, and then you'll be cooking your own spuds.
0:27:54 > 0:27:57The fun of digging them up, you never know what you'll get.
0:27:57 > 0:28:02So far, I've been getting some really good results. You know, a good couple of kilos per plant.
0:28:02 > 0:28:07It really is that simple, and I promise you, you will love the results.
0:28:09 > 0:28:11Mmm!
0:28:12 > 0:28:13That tastes delicious.
0:28:13 > 0:28:16That is truly wonderful.
0:28:16 > 0:28:21I've been on a bit of a journey here and, yeah, I'll admit that
0:28:21 > 0:28:24bog-standard potatoes, they do do a decent job,
0:28:24 > 0:28:28but if you want something truly lovely - I mean, outstanding -
0:28:28 > 0:28:31then you have to track down some of these old heritage varieties.
0:28:31 > 0:28:37Look, right now, why don't we just start a great British spud revival?
0:28:37 > 0:28:42Now you've heard from me, but here's someone else who is just as a passionate
0:28:42 > 0:28:45about reviving the fortunes of a great British meat.
0:28:52 > 0:28:56My name's Clarissa Dickson Wright and I'm going to introduce you to
0:28:56 > 0:29:00an ingredient that you may very well never have tasted,
0:29:00 > 0:29:03rare-breed British pork, and you are going to love it.
0:29:03 > 0:29:07From the humble bacon sandwich to the glorious Sunday roast,
0:29:07 > 0:29:10pork is one of the most popular meats in Britain.
0:29:10 > 0:29:12That looks lovely.
0:29:12 > 0:29:16I'm passionate about pork, so join me on a sumptuous odyssey
0:29:16 > 0:29:20through the forgotten world of our traditional British breeds.
0:29:20 > 0:29:26As part of my revival, I'll be meeting one of our rarest pigs, the British Lop.
0:29:26 > 0:29:31Our breed secretary described them as being more rare than the giant panda.
0:29:32 > 0:29:38I'll be finding out what you think of some of our traditional pork dishes.
0:29:38 > 0:29:42- Can I offer you a piece of Lincolnshire chine?- No, that's all right.- I'm a vegetarian!
0:29:42 > 0:29:48And I'll be using pork lard in the revival kitchen to make a wonderful pudding for Sunday lunch.
0:29:48 > 0:29:51You only get pastry like this using lard.
0:29:51 > 0:29:55As well as revealing my secret for the perfect crackling.
0:29:55 > 0:29:56CRACKING
0:29:56 > 0:30:01Hear how lovely the crackling is.
0:30:01 > 0:30:03Hey! Off we go!
0:30:06 > 0:30:13I first fell for pigs when I was really quite small and I came to love pigs,
0:30:13 > 0:30:17both for the pleasure of their company and the joy of their flesh.
0:30:17 > 0:30:20Here, piggy, piggy, piggy. I'm not going to eat you yet.
0:30:20 > 0:30:24Yes, I love pigs. Pigs are wonderful. Piggy, piggy, piggy.
0:30:24 > 0:30:33Go out and meet the pigs, look at the pigs, talk to the pigs, but eat them, by all means eat them.
0:30:35 > 0:30:39There is no question that we are a nation who loves our pork.
0:30:39 > 0:30:45But 98% of all the pork we eat is from commercial pigs,
0:30:45 > 0:30:48bred to suit the demands of the supermarkets.
0:30:48 > 0:30:53In our drive for profits, have we forgotten our heritage?
0:30:53 > 0:30:59Some of these handsome, traditional breeds have been brought back from the edge of extinction
0:30:59 > 0:31:06by a few brave farmers. And now it's up to us to safeguard their future.
0:31:07 > 0:31:11For the first stop on our revival of rare-breed pork,
0:31:11 > 0:31:16I want to discover a little more about rich pig heritage,
0:31:16 > 0:31:18so I'm meeting Richard Lutwyche,
0:31:18 > 0:31:22a wonderful pig historian.
0:31:22 > 0:31:25You've got to think that everything was dominated by the
0:31:25 > 0:31:27local lord of the manor, the squire,
0:31:27 > 0:31:32and he would be the only one who kept a boar for breeding purposes.
0:31:32 > 0:31:36Whatever boar type he had, if he had a black pig, then gradually in that area,
0:31:36 > 0:31:41all the pigs were dominated by the genes and they became black. And so it spread out.
0:31:41 > 0:31:43But everybody kept pigs, didn't they?
0:31:43 > 0:31:49Oh, they did, certainly in the country. I mean, people had a very close relationship with pigs.
0:31:49 > 0:31:54And that shows up in our folklore and our English language, very much so.
0:31:54 > 0:31:59My father kept pigs in St John's Wood on a bit of land in Hamilton Terrace.
0:31:59 > 0:32:01People said, "Who killed them for you?"
0:32:01 > 0:32:04and he said, "I'm senior surgeon of St Mary's, Paddington.
0:32:04 > 0:32:08"Who the hell do you think killed them?" So they're our heritage.
0:32:08 > 0:32:09We should be proud of them.
0:32:09 > 0:32:15It was a government publication in 1955 that would change the fate
0:32:15 > 0:32:18of our traditional breeds forever.
0:32:18 > 0:32:21Ruddy government, interfering again.
0:32:21 > 0:32:22I mean, this...
0:32:22 > 0:32:24the Howitt Report,
0:32:24 > 0:32:28makes me so angry. Listen to this.
0:32:28 > 0:32:33"In the first place, we have formed the view that one of the main handicaps facing
0:32:33 > 0:32:36"the British pig industry today is the diversity of the type of pig
0:32:36 > 0:32:39"which is found throughout the country.
0:32:39 > 0:32:46"The pig industry will, in our view, only make real progress when it concentrates on a few main types
0:32:46 > 0:32:53"and, if it were at any time found possible, on a single type of pig for commercial production."
0:32:53 > 0:32:54Absolutely.
0:32:54 > 0:32:57How angry does that make you?
0:32:57 > 0:33:01The sort of pigs they were going for are the ones that
0:33:01 > 0:33:04we've now been blighted with in our commercial life,
0:33:04 > 0:33:08which are very fast growing, very, very lean and taste of nothing at all.
0:33:08 > 0:33:11A single type of commercial pig!
0:33:11 > 0:33:15All our heritage, all those delicious pigs. That's what they're asking for.
0:33:15 > 0:33:20That's what they wanted. Just one dull, dull type of commercial pig.
0:33:20 > 0:33:22Makes me so angry.
0:33:22 > 0:33:27After the Howitt Report came out and there was all this move to intensification,
0:33:27 > 0:33:31we actually lost four unique, distinct breeds from this country.
0:33:31 > 0:33:33Once it's gone, it's gone. It's extinct.
0:33:33 > 0:33:36Gone forever. There are people who say you can recreate them,
0:33:36 > 0:33:39but it is really just science fiction, it will never happen.
0:33:42 > 0:33:45So that was lesson number one.
0:33:45 > 0:33:48A history lesson. How we got to where we are now.
0:33:48 > 0:33:55If you're still not convinced, stick with me and watch this space.
0:33:55 > 0:34:00One of the best ways to get rare-breed pork back on our food map is to cook it.
0:34:00 > 0:34:04For my first recipe, I'm going to cook...
0:34:08 > 0:34:15The great thing about rare-breed pigs is the fact that they have a good covering of fat on them.
0:34:15 > 0:34:20Between the skin and the fat there is a little line of muscle
0:34:20 > 0:34:25which raises the skin and just gives the most perfect crackling.
0:34:25 > 0:34:30And you won't find that in a commercial, numbered breed pig.
0:34:30 > 0:34:34Start by making the walnut and caper stuffing that will soak
0:34:34 > 0:34:39up any extraneous fat and really bring out the flavour of the pork.
0:34:40 > 0:34:45Put the garlic and onion on to a gentle heat until they are soft.
0:34:45 > 0:34:51I'm now going to add these morsels of bread, day-old bread, so they're not too fresh.
0:34:51 > 0:34:53Otherwise it just falls apart.
0:34:53 > 0:34:58For texture, I also use walnuts in the stuffing
0:34:58 > 0:35:02and then, for flavour, some capers and lemon juice.
0:35:02 > 0:35:07These ingredients will offer a sharp contrast to the sweet meat.
0:35:08 > 0:35:15Then take the pan off the heat and bind the stuffing by mixing in two eggs.
0:35:16 > 0:35:19Leave it to cool and start to prepare your meat.
0:35:21 > 0:35:25In order to get the crackling to crackle, you need to score it
0:35:25 > 0:35:29and for that you really need a craft knife.
0:35:29 > 0:35:37The whole point of scoring your skin is so that it can rise up into crackling.
0:35:37 > 0:35:40If you were doing this with a commercial pig,
0:35:40 > 0:35:44you'd be straight through to the meat because there's not enough fat.
0:35:44 > 0:35:48Once scored, rub the fat with oil and salt.
0:35:51 > 0:35:57And then take your stuffing and put it into the pocket in your meat.
0:35:57 > 0:36:01Then tie up the shoulder as tightly as possible.
0:36:03 > 0:36:07So not only will you hold your stuffing in, but you will also
0:36:07 > 0:36:15form a cohesion in the meat, so that when it's cooking, it'll be tightly bound together.
0:36:15 > 0:36:17You may say, "Oh, it's too much trouble!
0:36:17 > 0:36:21It's too much to go out and "find rare-breed pork.
0:36:21 > 0:36:24"It's a little bit more expensive."
0:36:24 > 0:36:32Well, put your children in expensive trainers and watch them grow up without the benefit of good food
0:36:32 > 0:36:36and the better the quality of the food we eat, the healthier we will be.
0:36:36 > 0:36:44Good food takes effort and time, and this shoulder will roast in the oven for almost three hours.
0:36:45 > 0:36:47But the results are spectacular.
0:36:47 > 0:36:53Remove the crackling to reveal one of the many advantages of rare-breed pork.
0:36:53 > 0:36:59You see the little ridge of muscle that runs under the fat
0:36:59 > 0:37:02and raises the crackling up so you get really good crackling?
0:37:11 > 0:37:17And there again you see how lovely and crisp the crackling is.
0:37:17 > 0:37:19And let's have a little bit of kale on this
0:37:19 > 0:37:20for colour.
0:37:22 > 0:37:24And there you have it.
0:37:29 > 0:37:30Really nice stuffing, too.
0:37:30 > 0:37:33That's very satisfactory.
0:37:37 > 0:37:41I don't only want you to enjoy the taste of rare-breed pork.
0:37:41 > 0:37:44I want you to fall in love with the pigs themselves.
0:37:44 > 0:37:48So I'm taking you to Oakham in Leicestershire.
0:37:48 > 0:37:55Here we are at Northfield Farm and I'm here to meet a dear friend of mine, Jan McCourt,
0:37:55 > 0:37:59who is almost as passionate about saving rare-breed pigs as I am.
0:37:59 > 0:38:05Jan McCourt was once a high-flying City banker, but now he invests in
0:38:05 > 0:38:08one of our rarest breeds of pig, the British Lop.
0:38:08 > 0:38:10I'm really excited about seeing the Lops.
0:38:10 > 0:38:14We've got quite a few more from the last time you saw them.
0:38:14 > 0:38:19We've had a couple of litters born and we've brought in a few from the rare-breed sale at Melton,
0:38:19 > 0:38:21including a very smart, young, new boar.
0:38:21 > 0:38:23Oh, very exciting!
0:38:23 > 0:38:27So it's all aboard as we start our rare-breed safari.
0:38:28 > 0:38:30Hey! Off we go!
0:38:35 > 0:38:37When you took over the farm, presumably,
0:38:37 > 0:38:42it would have been a lot easier for you just to have ordinary breeds.
0:38:42 > 0:38:46When I left the City, I was made redundant and I decided this was
0:38:46 > 0:38:51an opportunity, so I opened the farm shop within a very short time.
0:38:51 > 0:38:54And the biggest challenge was finding pork, rare-breed pork.
0:38:54 > 0:38:59So I thought the only obvious thing to do was to start them ourselves.
0:38:59 > 0:39:00There's a couple of our Saddlebacks.
0:39:00 > 0:39:03- Yes.- Good old girls.
0:39:04 > 0:39:11It's wonderful to see these pigs in so much space, a world away from most commercial pig farms.
0:39:13 > 0:39:16- Look, British Lops, surely. - There you go, yep.
0:39:16 > 0:39:20There's our new boar in with one of his girlfriends. Do you want to have a look?
0:39:20 > 0:39:22Yeah, why not?
0:39:23 > 0:39:25Ah! Look at them.
0:39:25 > 0:39:28You can see why they're called "Lop". Look at the ears on her.
0:39:28 > 0:39:29Yeah, they're absolutely fantastic.
0:39:29 > 0:39:32- Amazing.- Some of them have even bigger ears.
0:39:32 > 0:39:35They'll end up the size of the average, decent-sized kitchen table.
0:39:35 > 0:39:39And his ears will be probably twice the size of that.
0:39:39 > 0:39:43How rare is the British Lop? I know it's one of the very rare ones.
0:39:43 > 0:39:47Well, our breed secretary, in the latest newsletter,
0:39:47 > 0:39:50he described as them as being more rare than the giant panda.
0:39:50 > 0:39:52More rare than the giant panda!
0:39:52 > 0:39:57- Think of it.- A colourful character in his own right, I don't know whether that's statistically correct,
0:39:57 > 0:40:02but when you think that this breed was saved from extinction by just three families in Cornwall,
0:40:02 > 0:40:03it's still very delicate.
0:40:03 > 0:40:08You're talking in the hundreds of breeding females, not thousands or tens of thousands.
0:40:09 > 0:40:13If people understood that the most simple way to save these breeds
0:40:13 > 0:40:17is to encourage and the support the farmers that are rearing them.
0:40:17 > 0:40:21And you do that by saying, "I want to eat rare-breed pork,"
0:40:21 > 0:40:24and taking as big an interest as you possibly can.
0:40:24 > 0:40:27This is all about passion first. Because one of the things...
0:40:27 > 0:40:29- it certainly isn't making money.- No.
0:40:31 > 0:40:33What a lovely rub.
0:40:33 > 0:40:36That's a fantastic image of a happy pig, isn't it?
0:40:38 > 0:40:42If I can get you to eat more rare-breed pork, then together
0:40:42 > 0:40:46we will be safeguarding the future of these beautiful animals.
0:40:46 > 0:40:49But before you eat it, you need to buy it
0:40:49 > 0:40:54and for that you will need to find a good butcher or farm shop.
0:40:54 > 0:40:59Most people will never see this. They're afraid of this.
0:40:59 > 0:41:03They are afraid of it and I think the simplest way to distinguish it,
0:41:03 > 0:41:06go and buy a piece of pork,
0:41:06 > 0:41:08particularly a leg of pork from a supermarket.
0:41:08 > 0:41:10You might as well chew on that block.
0:41:10 > 0:41:13You might as well chew on cardboard or a paper bag
0:41:13 > 0:41:16for the comparison.
0:41:16 > 0:41:21Once people discover quite how good it is, do they mind the extra cost?
0:41:21 > 0:41:24No, I've found they don't, because people that understand,
0:41:24 > 0:41:27what they can't afford, they'll reduce the amount.
0:41:27 > 0:41:31Because eat less and eat better is fundamental to the whole thing.
0:41:31 > 0:41:36You can see the marbling that runs through and that is all important.
0:41:36 > 0:41:37No fat, no flavour.
0:41:37 > 0:41:40If you cook it with the fat on,
0:41:40 > 0:41:45cut the fat off and give it to me, if I happen to be sitting at the same table,
0:41:45 > 0:41:47it's the flavour, it's the taste.
0:41:48 > 0:41:56Pig fat has a variety of uses, not least in pastry and, in particular, pork pies.
0:41:56 > 0:42:01This is the hand-raised Melton Mowbray pork pie with our own pork
0:42:01 > 0:42:07and, of course, with lard, which is the pig ingredient as well, even in the pastry.
0:42:09 > 0:42:10Very good.
0:42:10 > 0:42:12It's delicious.
0:42:12 > 0:42:16So there you are, the end of lesson two.
0:42:16 > 0:42:19What have you learnt from this?
0:42:19 > 0:42:26Passion and good husbandry make perfect pigs and farmers make food for you.
0:42:26 > 0:42:28You must be convinced by now.
0:42:31 > 0:42:34For my second recipe I'm going to make...
0:42:37 > 0:42:40Now this type of pastry
0:42:40 > 0:42:46is made by heating together lard and water to a rolling boil.
0:42:49 > 0:42:56As the lard and water begin to boil, add a pinch of salt to the flour
0:42:56 > 0:42:58and then pour in the boiling liquid.
0:42:58 > 0:43:06Begin by stirring the mixture, but as soon as it is cool enough to handle, it is time to knead the pastry.
0:43:06 > 0:43:12It cools quite quickly and it's quite important to do it as soon as you can, so that the
0:43:12 > 0:43:18fat doesn't cool too much, otherwise it won't mix in well with the flour.
0:43:21 > 0:43:25Now do you see? It's a very soft, malleable crust.
0:43:25 > 0:43:29And what I have here is a dolly.
0:43:29 > 0:43:31This is a traditional implement.
0:43:31 > 0:43:35It comes in all sorts of different sizes for raising a pie crust round.
0:43:35 > 0:43:41You just want to mould your pastry up the dolly.
0:43:42 > 0:43:48As well as the pie crust, it is vital to remember to shape a lid for the pie at this point.
0:43:49 > 0:43:54Once the pastry has been prepared, allow it to cool in the refrigerator.
0:43:54 > 0:44:00The lard solidifies and it will help the crust to hold its shape for the damson pie filling.
0:44:00 > 0:44:04So here is a ready-chilled raised pie.
0:44:04 > 0:44:07I'm something of an authority on raised pies,
0:44:07 > 0:44:13because I have judged the great Yorkshire pork pie contest on three separate occasions
0:44:13 > 0:44:17and, I have to say, it was one of the most terrifying things
0:44:17 > 0:44:23I ever had to do in my life, because I could have lost all my reputation in Yorkshire if I'd got it wrong.
0:44:24 > 0:44:31Layer the pie with quince paste, a thick jam that will turn to liquid in the heat of the oven.
0:44:31 > 0:44:32Then the damsons.
0:44:32 > 0:44:37These have been stoned and frozen to give them a delicious texture.
0:44:37 > 0:44:44A sprinkle of sugar will help to sweeten the filling, but the pie should still have a sharp kick to it.
0:44:44 > 0:44:51And finally, all I have to do is put the lid on and crimp it.
0:44:51 > 0:44:56And then make a little hole in the top to let the steam out.
0:44:56 > 0:45:02It takes only 25 minutes for the ingredients to melt together and make the perfect pie.
0:45:02 > 0:45:06So the "moment critique".
0:45:06 > 0:45:09You see how it's sunk down on itself
0:45:09 > 0:45:14and has gone into this rather nice sort of medieval look really, hasn't it?
0:45:14 > 0:45:16And...
0:45:16 > 0:45:20See, look at that. Look how lovely and gooey and sticky.
0:45:20 > 0:45:25And you only get pastry like this
0:45:25 > 0:45:26using lard
0:45:26 > 0:45:32and you only get really good lard from old-breed, rare-breed pigs.
0:45:39 > 0:45:41Mm. Lovely acidity with the damsons.
0:45:41 > 0:45:44The real crunchiness of the pastry.
0:45:44 > 0:45:46There you are, you see? Terribly simple.
0:45:46 > 0:45:48Nice little pie for your pudding.
0:45:48 > 0:45:50What could be more delicious?
0:45:55 > 0:46:02The great tragedy of my revival campaign is that we are too late for some our rare-breed pigs.
0:46:02 > 0:46:05They have already died out.
0:46:05 > 0:46:08I'm heading to Louth in Lincolnshire
0:46:08 > 0:46:13to find out about a massive beast of a pig that is sadly extinct...
0:46:13 > 0:46:15the Lincolnshire Curly Coat.
0:46:15 > 0:46:20Is it true that you remember the Lincolnshire Curly Coat as a boy?
0:46:20 > 0:46:21Yes, I do.
0:46:21 > 0:46:26When I was a lad, almost everyone kept a pig down the garden
0:46:26 > 0:46:27and traditionally
0:46:27 > 0:46:31they were unhappy unless the pig reached 40 stones at least.
0:46:31 > 0:46:3340 stone!
0:46:33 > 0:46:35And the fat on the back would be that deep.
0:46:35 > 0:46:41It's sad, isn't it, that today's youngsters will never have the chance to sit on the back of a
0:46:41 > 0:46:44Lincolnshire Curly Coat and never see a pig like that?
0:46:45 > 0:46:53Although the Curly Coat has gone, its legacy lives on through the work of local butchers like Jim Sutcliffe.
0:46:54 > 0:46:57In Lincolnshire, we used to butcher our pigs very differently,
0:46:57 > 0:47:02because the Lincolnshire Curly Coat was so fat that they couldn't get in
0:47:02 > 0:47:05very well with a saw to cut down the middle of the spine.
0:47:05 > 0:47:08So they had to go through the rib bones,
0:47:08 > 0:47:12and that then produced a cut that is exclusive to Lincolnshire.
0:47:13 > 0:47:19This exclusive cut follows the line of the pig's backbone and includes the meat on either side.
0:47:21 > 0:47:27The chine, when it is released, is a long meaty cut, perfect for curing.
0:47:27 > 0:47:34Jim uses the cured meat to make Lincolnshire stuffed chine, a traditional regional dish.
0:47:35 > 0:47:40Given that this was a dish that was associated with the Lincolnshire Curly Coat,
0:47:40 > 0:47:44was it ever in danger of going out because there wasn't a suitable pig?
0:47:44 > 0:47:48I think there was a possibility that it would have done had
0:47:48 > 0:47:53certain people not carried on curing a chine no matter what.
0:47:53 > 0:47:58And, luckily, there's been quite a good number of rare-breed pigs in the county
0:47:58 > 0:48:00to fall back on a substitute.
0:48:00 > 0:48:03But I'm quite sure that the stuffed chine probably
0:48:03 > 0:48:09isn't a patch on what it used to be when it was made from a Curly Coat and matured for months.
0:48:09 > 0:48:15The pork is stuffed with fresh parsley, before being steamed in an oven for eight hours.
0:48:15 > 0:48:19Only then is it ready to eat.
0:48:19 > 0:48:20That's lovely, really lovely.
0:48:20 > 0:48:25I think you should cut me a few slices and I can take it out
0:48:25 > 0:48:30- to the people of Louth and see what they think about it.- Certainly.
0:48:30 > 0:48:34And if you can give me a meat cleaver in case they don't like it.
0:48:38 > 0:48:40Hello. Can I offer you a piece of?
0:48:40 > 0:48:44Chine! Do you know, we were teaching this to children the other day,
0:48:44 > 0:48:45all the products of Lincolnshire.
0:48:45 > 0:48:48Yes, please. My mother always used to buy chine. Thank you.
0:48:48 > 0:48:52I would offer you a piece of chine but I think you've got your hands full.
0:48:52 > 0:48:54I've got a spare hand now.
0:48:54 > 0:48:57- Well, done. - Oh, that's lovely.- Isn't that good?
0:48:57 > 0:48:59It is. Chine's lovely.
0:48:59 > 0:49:04- Can I offer you a piece of Lincolnshire chine?- No, it's all right.- I'm a vegetarian!
0:49:04 > 0:49:06Yes, I can do that with this.
0:49:06 > 0:49:10It's great to see that most of the people of Louth
0:49:10 > 0:49:14still have a healthy appetite for their traditional food.
0:49:15 > 0:49:19Before I leave, I want to investigate one farm
0:49:19 > 0:49:25which claims to have brought back the Curly-Coated pig to Lincolnshire.
0:49:25 > 0:49:29- Good morning. Brian Codling.- Hello. - And this is my wife, Sylvia.
0:49:29 > 0:49:32- Welcome to the Old Rectory, Clarissa. It's lovely to meet you. - Lovely old rectory.
0:49:32 > 0:49:36So this property would have known the Lincolnshire Curly Coat?
0:49:36 > 0:49:41They used to have some here and just at the farm, across the road. Do you want to see some?
0:49:41 > 0:49:44I'd love to see some of your pigs.
0:49:45 > 0:49:48- Walk this way.- Thank you.
0:49:48 > 0:49:51Well, they're certainly curly coated.
0:49:51 > 0:49:54- Hello.- These three are very good examples of Curly Coats.
0:49:54 > 0:49:56They've got lovely thick coats.
0:49:56 > 0:49:58So what are these pigs?
0:49:58 > 0:50:01These are pure-bred Mangalitza curly-coated pigs.
0:50:01 > 0:50:04They're native to Austria and Hungary.
0:50:04 > 0:50:10And you have a theory that they are related to the Lincolnshire Curly Coat?
0:50:10 > 0:50:13There's some of the Lincolnshire Curly Coat genes in.
0:50:13 > 0:50:17We don't know how much, but definitely Lincolnshire Curly Coats
0:50:17 > 0:50:24were exported from this country to the Austro-Hungarian area and cross-bred with the Mangalitza.
0:50:24 > 0:50:29- And so now you think they've come back to Lincolnshire? Well, they have come back to Lincolnshire!- Exactly.
0:50:29 > 0:50:33It's nice to have curly-coated pigs back in Lincolnshire.
0:50:33 > 0:50:34Yes. Very good.
0:50:34 > 0:50:37- Delilah's next door to these... - Oh, right.
0:50:37 > 0:50:40Oh, look.
0:50:40 > 0:50:42Now there's a magnificent pig.
0:50:42 > 0:50:43Hello, Delilah.
0:50:43 > 0:50:45My, my, my, Delilah.
0:50:45 > 0:50:49Wonderful, and look at the size of her. Magnificent.
0:50:49 > 0:50:53Like the Lincolnshire Curly Coat, the Mangalitza is bred for its fat.
0:50:53 > 0:50:58It's a tallow pig, but it produces a very agreeable meat.
0:50:58 > 0:51:04Although, technically, not a British pig, it is interesting to see them where the Curly Coats once stood.
0:51:06 > 0:51:10For my third and final recipe I'm going to cook...
0:51:14 > 0:51:20Start by pouring some anchovy oil into a baking tray with a dash of olive oil.
0:51:20 > 0:51:25Into this, place chopped onion and garlic.
0:51:25 > 0:51:32The trick with not crying when you peel onions, or chop onions,
0:51:32 > 0:51:39is to leave the pointed end intact, cos that is where the gland is that causes you to weep.
0:51:42 > 0:51:45There you are, not a tear in sight.
0:51:45 > 0:51:50Once the onions begin to simmer, crush the garlic.
0:51:50 > 0:51:55One of the advantages of being my sort of weight
0:51:55 > 0:51:58is that when you lean on a garlic clove...
0:52:00 > 0:52:02It stays leaned on.
0:52:02 > 0:52:08There was a time in my life when I used to get rugby forwards to come and roll out my pastry for me.
0:52:08 > 0:52:11I don't need to do that any more.
0:52:11 > 0:52:13One met a lot of nice rugby forwards.
0:52:15 > 0:52:19When the onions have softened, add the anchovies
0:52:19 > 0:52:21and the chestnuts.
0:52:22 > 0:52:24Then score the meat.
0:52:26 > 0:52:32The secret to good crackling is to rub salt and oil deep into the fat of the belly.
0:52:32 > 0:52:34As Fanny Craddock used to say,
0:52:34 > 0:52:39rub it as if into the face of your worst enemy.
0:52:39 > 0:52:44And then take your piece of pork and just put it on top
0:52:44 > 0:52:46of everything that's in there.
0:52:46 > 0:52:54Then add some beer to the bottom of the pan, making sure not to cover the skin.
0:52:54 > 0:53:00This is providing some liquid just to help cook the pork and to stop things
0:53:00 > 0:53:04sticking to the bottom, cos it's going to cook for quite a long time.
0:53:04 > 0:53:07It's going to have half an hour in a hot oven just to
0:53:07 > 0:53:12set the crackling and then it's going to have about three hours
0:53:12 > 0:53:17in a cooler oven just to gently cook away and bring out the flavours.
0:53:18 > 0:53:25This pork belly is so simple to prepare, but the results are magical.
0:53:27 > 0:53:29Look at that. Doesn't that look lovely?
0:53:31 > 0:53:39The extra fat, the texture of the meat and that indescribable sound of Sundays.
0:53:39 > 0:53:40CRACKING
0:53:40 > 0:53:43Hear how lovely the crackling is.
0:53:47 > 0:53:51Look at that. You see how soft and lovely it is now? See that?
0:53:51 > 0:53:55The knife just goes straight into it as though it were butter.
0:53:55 > 0:54:01And, of course, the advantage with rare-breed pork is that it will hold together
0:54:01 > 0:54:07until it's soft as butter, rather than just fall apart as it would if it was a horrid commercial pig.
0:54:08 > 0:54:16Excellent accompaniments to this delicious meat are celeriac puree and wilted spinach.
0:54:16 > 0:54:22The final touch is to flambe the sauce with a ladle of brandy.
0:54:22 > 0:54:27Brandy, of course, will not ignite until it's hot enough, as those of you who've failed
0:54:27 > 0:54:30to ignite your Christmas pudding will have learnt the hard way.
0:54:30 > 0:54:32So there we are, you see?
0:54:32 > 0:54:35Just pour it into the pan
0:54:35 > 0:54:43and it burns off not only all the alcohol but any extraneous fat that you might have.
0:54:43 > 0:54:51A few chestnuts and the beer sauce with melted anchovy complete the plate.
0:54:51 > 0:54:55So there we have it, belly of pork with anchovies and chestnuts.
0:54:55 > 0:54:58And what more could you ask in life really?
0:55:03 > 0:55:05Scrumptious.
0:55:10 > 0:55:17I would hope that you are now ready to jump up from your sofa and hunt down your local rare-breed supplier.
0:55:17 > 0:55:23Of course, you could always keep rare-breed pigs yourself, like these pig fanatics.
0:55:23 > 0:55:28As long as you register with DEFRA, anyone can do it.
0:55:28 > 0:55:32Tony York runs a one-day pig-keeping course for the hobby farmer
0:55:32 > 0:55:37and he thinks there will be a big increase in the number of us keeping pigs.
0:55:37 > 0:55:40I think over the next five to ten years,
0:55:40 > 0:55:44we're going to see such a dramatic increase in rare-breed
0:55:44 > 0:55:48pig keeping and people keeping pigs on a small scale that we will almost
0:55:48 > 0:55:55be getting back to those days around the end of the Second World War when so many families had their own pigs.
0:55:55 > 0:55:56It's not difficult to keep a pig.
0:55:56 > 0:56:01It's very easy. Probably almost the easiest farm animal to keep.
0:56:01 > 0:56:03But don't think you have to work alone.
0:56:03 > 0:56:09You could form a co-operative, like this group of friends in Staines.
0:56:09 > 0:56:13We were all a bit fed up with the quality of the pork we got in supermarkets
0:56:13 > 0:56:19and, for me, the biggest benefit of keeping my own pigs is knowing the provenance of the meat.
0:56:19 > 0:56:26I know exactly what they've eaten and I know therefore that the meat is going to be good quality.
0:56:29 > 0:56:32So there we are, the end of the journey,
0:56:32 > 0:56:37and I hope you are now convinced to eat British rare-breed pork
0:56:37 > 0:56:43and that you will save lots of species from extinction and enjoy the journey. Have fun.
0:56:46 > 0:56:49Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:56:49 > 0:56:53E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk