0:00:02 > 0:00:07You know, we believe that Britain has the best food in the world.
0:00:07 > 0:00:10Not only can we boast fantastic ingredients...
0:00:10 > 0:00:13- Welsh lamb and Welsh leeks.- Hey!
0:00:13 > 0:00:16- 'Outstanding food producers.' - That's impressive.
0:00:16 > 0:00:20'And innovative chefs.' Oh, man!
0:00:20 > 0:00:23- 'We also have an amazing food history.'- Brilliant!
0:00:23 > 0:00:25Oh, wow!
0:00:25 > 0:00:29Don't eat them like that. You'll break your teeth.
0:00:29 > 0:00:35During this series, we're going to be taking you on a journey into our culinary past.
0:00:35 > 0:00:40- Everything's ready, so let's get cracking.- 'We'll explore its revealing stories.'
0:00:40 > 0:00:45Wow! 'And meet the heroes that keep our food heritage alive.'
0:00:45 > 0:00:48It's a miracle what comes out of the oven.
0:00:48 > 0:00:54'And we'll be cooking up a load of dishes that reveal our foodie evolution.'
0:00:54 > 0:00:56Look at that! That's a proper British treat.
0:01:00 > 0:01:03We have a taste of history.
0:01:03 > 0:01:05Quite simply...
0:01:05 > 0:01:08The best of British!
0:01:31 > 0:01:37You know, we're a nation of gardeners. Over a quarter of us grow our own fruit and vegetables.
0:01:37 > 0:01:42Nothing tastes better than a potato freshly dug from the ground
0:01:42 > 0:01:44or a hot-house tomato.
0:01:44 > 0:01:48- You see, our climate suits so many crops.- It does.
0:01:48 > 0:01:51- From strawberries in Scotland... - To rhubarb in Yorkshire.
0:01:51 > 0:01:54From Jersey Royal potatoes...
0:01:54 > 0:01:56To asparagus in the Vale of Evesham.
0:01:56 > 0:02:00- Isle of Wight tomatoes. - Do you know what? We've got the lot.
0:02:00 > 0:02:02- We certainly have.- Dig on.
0:02:05 > 0:02:10# Can you dig it? Oh, yeah Can you dig it...? #
0:02:10 > 0:02:15'Over the course of the last decade, we Brits have increasingly reached for the trowel
0:02:15 > 0:02:17'to provide food for the table.
0:02:17 > 0:02:20'Sales of seeds for tomatoes, courgettes,
0:02:20 > 0:02:24'beans and other vegetables outstrip those for flowers by a mile.
0:02:24 > 0:02:28'So today we're celebrating marvellous British veg
0:02:28 > 0:02:32'and our passion for cultivating the land and growing our own.
0:02:32 > 0:02:38'We'll be digging into the surprisingly exotic past of some of our communal garden veg.
0:02:38 > 0:02:45'And paying tribute to the wartime growers who kept the nation fighting fit at such a difficult time.
0:02:45 > 0:02:51'We'll also be cooking up some fantastic food in the Best of British kitchen.
0:02:51 > 0:02:56'Starting with our first dish, a recipe perfect for a green-fingered gourmet.
0:02:56 > 0:02:59'Fresh garden vegetable risotto.'
0:02:59 > 0:03:01- Say that again.- Riso'-oh.- Riso'-oh.
0:03:01 > 0:03:05- We're cooking a... - BOTH: Risotto!
0:03:07 > 0:03:10'We love Italian food in this country,
0:03:10 > 0:03:15'so this fusion of the Mediterranean with all the best vegetables Britain has to offer
0:03:15 > 0:03:18'creates a perfect family dish.'
0:03:18 > 0:03:24There's loads of TV chefs that have shown you how to do a risotto on the telly,
0:03:24 > 0:03:29but this is slightly different because it's us that's showing you and we're not chefs.
0:03:29 > 0:03:35When a risotto is done properly, it can be as simple as you like, it's one of the best things to eat.
0:03:35 > 0:03:40'Add a glug of olive oil to the pan, a large knob of butter and grate in a clove of garlic,
0:03:40 > 0:03:43'then finely chop an onion.'
0:03:43 > 0:03:49What we're going to do is we're going to cook this... We're sweating the garlic and the onions.
0:03:49 > 0:03:55We'll sweat them down. We don't want any colour on them. They just want to be slightly translucent.
0:03:55 > 0:04:02- There's nowt wrong with British onions and we grow good varieties of garlic in Britain now too.- Yeah.
0:04:02 > 0:04:08The dressing for the top of the risotto is minted olive oil, so I'll get that on now to infuse.
0:04:08 > 0:04:12Just chopped mint in olive oil. Apart from the colour side of it,
0:04:12 > 0:04:17I'll just drizzle the mint oil on top of the risotto and we've got peas and green beans in this,
0:04:17 > 0:04:20it'll bring those veggies to life.
0:04:20 > 0:04:22Oh, it's only my nail!
0:04:22 > 0:04:24- Try and keep that out of there. - I know.
0:04:24 > 0:04:29- It is a vegetarian dish after all! - After all! - FORCED LAUGHTER
0:04:29 > 0:04:33Oh, the fragrance coming off that mint is fantastic.
0:04:33 > 0:04:37A great fan of the fragrance of mint was Pliny in Ancient Rome.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40He made his students wear a wreath of mint around their neck.
0:04:40 > 0:04:44He thought the aroma stimulated their minds and made them brainier.
0:04:44 > 0:04:49I tell you what. Chop some more mint. We'll need more than that.
0:04:49 > 0:04:54'Pop the mint in a bowl and pour over loads of lovely olive oil and let it infuse.
0:04:54 > 0:05:00'Next, we want to add some building blocks of flavour to the onions and garlic.
0:05:00 > 0:05:04'Four sprigs of thyme, a bay leaf and some lemon peel.'
0:05:04 > 0:05:08We're going to remove this, so just do it like a potato peeling
0:05:08 > 0:05:13and amuse yourself and try and get this strip of zest as long as possible.
0:05:13 > 0:05:17- And look, we are using the Amalfi lemon!- Yeah.
0:05:18 > 0:05:20Pop it in.
0:05:20 > 0:05:26Before we finish it off with the veg, we'll remove the lemon zest, lift the bay leaf out and stalks.
0:05:26 > 0:05:32- A few leaves of thyme are nice. - By then, they've done their job and there's no need to have them in.
0:05:32 > 0:05:36- Rice time?- I think so. - This is the other must with risotto.
0:05:36 > 0:05:42You must fry the rice in all this to glaze it with the oil and butter before you start adding the stock.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45Watch what happens when we put it into the pan.
0:05:45 > 0:05:51Now, as soon as the heat hits that rice, the grain will open up slightly
0:05:51 > 0:05:57- and it will just get covered with that beautiful, beautiful, oily loveliness.- It goes like pearls.
0:05:57 > 0:06:00- It does.- You know what I love about this dish, Si?
0:06:00 > 0:06:05We tend to cook meat and fish and they're the backstage players, the vegetables.
0:06:05 > 0:06:10On this, the veggies are given the respect and importance they deserve.
0:06:10 > 0:06:16'Pour over 150 millilitres of dry white wine and simmer it until the liquid has reduced by half,
0:06:16 > 0:06:20'then it's time to start adding the stock.
0:06:20 > 0:06:26'Make up 750 millilitres of stock. You can use vegetable or chicken and make it fresh or from a cube.'
0:06:27 > 0:06:31When you're making your risotto, you have your working pan
0:06:31 > 0:06:35and next to it you have your stock pan with the stock just at a simmer,
0:06:35 > 0:06:41with a ladle standing by ready, one to the other, one to the other. The result is epic risotto.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44Look at the consistency. That's reduced by half.
0:06:44 > 0:06:49The rice has absorbed some of that liquid and now we can start to add the stock,
0:06:49 > 0:06:52about half a ladle at a time.
0:06:54 > 0:06:56'Now for the veg.
0:06:56 > 0:07:00'Chop a generous bunch of asparagus to add, along with a handful of runner beans,
0:07:00 > 0:07:04'some peas and one of my favourites - broad beans.'
0:07:04 > 0:07:08One thing we do like to do with beans... These have been blanched.
0:07:08 > 0:07:10We skin 'em, double pop 'em.
0:07:10 > 0:07:15I think this is what puts people off broad beans - that tough outer skin.
0:07:15 > 0:07:19It's a bit of a faff, but look at that beautiful thing.
0:07:19 > 0:07:25The best thing about going to my Uncle George's house was popping the beans straight off,
0:07:25 > 0:07:31literally pulling your peas straight off and popping those pea pods... Oh, fabulous!
0:07:31 > 0:07:34When I was a kid, we used to get peas in their pods.
0:07:34 > 0:07:37Me mam sat me down to pod the peas for dinner.
0:07:37 > 0:07:42She made me whistle cos she knew if the whistling stopped, I was eating the peas.
0:07:42 > 0:07:44You can't rush a risotto, can you?
0:07:44 > 0:07:47No, it's done when it's done.
0:07:47 > 0:07:52It says on the back of the rice packet, "Cook for 12 minutes." It takes longer.
0:07:52 > 0:07:58It takes about 20 minutes to cook the rice in a risotto and you've got standing time as well.
0:07:58 > 0:08:02You just want it to relax and that's when you should eat it.
0:08:02 > 0:08:06The rice is getting slightly softer, but it's still quite hard,
0:08:06 > 0:08:11so just keep letting it absorb and let it absorb slowly.
0:08:11 > 0:08:14Look at those, fresh as a fresh thing!
0:08:14 > 0:08:21Look at all the different hues of green. It's just building up into something really lovely.
0:08:21 > 0:08:26'When you only have a couple of ladlefuls of stock left, remove the thyme and lemon zest
0:08:26 > 0:08:32'and stir in the asparagus, peas and broad beans, then pour over the remaining stock.'
0:08:32 > 0:08:34Look at that!
0:08:34 > 0:08:38And then just... nice and gently fold it over.
0:08:38 > 0:08:44Cook this for three minutes, then put the lid on and leave it to stand for five.
0:08:44 > 0:08:51- That looks fabulous. It looks a really attractive dish.- That's like St Patrick's Day on a plate.
0:08:51 > 0:08:58Since we're handling vegetables, I'm finding a new-found calmness and gentility.
0:08:58 > 0:09:01- You know what I mean?- No.
0:09:01 > 0:09:05I feel more centred, more part of the earth. I look at those beans.
0:09:05 > 0:09:09You haven't got sandals on? You'll be riding a pushbike next!
0:09:09 > 0:09:11I've got one.
0:09:11 > 0:09:13You haven't?!
0:09:13 > 0:09:17- You haven't?- I have. - Have you?- Yeah.
0:09:17 > 0:09:21- It's got 15 gears and everything. - Has it?- Yeah.
0:09:21 > 0:09:23Cycling is wrong.
0:09:23 > 0:09:26I'm fed up with beer, beef and indolence.
0:09:27 > 0:09:34I want green stuff, freshness, feel the air pouring down my lungs without the aid of Ventolin.
0:09:34 > 0:09:37This is an expose on Dave Myers' secret life.
0:09:37 > 0:09:41It's only when I'm looking at the risotto. I don't think it'll last.
0:09:41 > 0:09:44Are we ready for the "fet-AH"?
0:09:44 > 0:09:48'You'll need 100 grams of feta, but be careful, it's quite salty,
0:09:48 > 0:09:52'so when you season, you should only need pepper.'
0:09:54 > 0:09:57Gently fold that in.
0:09:57 > 0:10:00Oh, you see, you're calming down now.
0:10:00 > 0:10:04I can feel your anger's going out as you stir that risotto.
0:10:04 > 0:10:09Every time you breathe out, green love goes in and anger goes out.
0:10:09 > 0:10:11- See?- Look at that...
0:10:12 > 0:10:16..and tell me that wouldn't be fantastic
0:10:16 > 0:10:22with some freshly barbecued spring lamb.
0:10:23 > 0:10:28- That'd be great.- It would. - Little cutlets just charred in a little olive oil.
0:10:28 > 0:10:34Yeah, but if you didn't have lamb, it's still nice. Just cover that and let it steam in its own steaminess.
0:10:34 > 0:10:38The pan's off the heat now. Look, I've turned it off. Look.
0:10:39 > 0:10:42No heat. Let it sit.
0:10:43 > 0:10:49'Now bring a pan of salted water to the boil and blanch the green beans for a couple of minutes.
0:10:49 > 0:10:53'While you're waiting, shave some nice, big curls of Parmesan
0:10:53 > 0:10:56'to pop on top of the risotto when it's finished.
0:10:56 > 0:10:59'Once you've drained the tender runner beans,
0:10:59 > 0:11:05'pop them back in the pan and toss them with a knob of butter and a generous amount of ground pepper.
0:11:05 > 0:11:10'Stir the remaining butter into the risotto and that's it, time to dish up.'
0:11:12 > 0:11:14Oh, look at that!
0:11:14 > 0:11:19- That's the texture you want, isn't it, Si?- That's absolutely perfect.
0:11:19 > 0:11:22Now, to the top of that...
0:11:22 > 0:11:26- Oh, yes!- ..some of these lovely, buttered, peppery beans.
0:11:28 > 0:11:31And some lovely Parmesan shavings.
0:11:32 > 0:11:37And they're just going to relax down on to the risotto.
0:11:37 > 0:11:41- I think that's enough.- I'm going to put a little drizzle of mint oil...
0:11:45 > 0:11:49All that mint oil is just going to be so fresh with the veg.
0:11:49 > 0:11:51It looks great, doesn't it?
0:11:52 > 0:11:56And there we have it - our homage to Britain's gardeners.
0:11:56 > 0:12:01A most fantastic, British, vegetable risotto. Brilliant!
0:12:01 > 0:12:04A dish that could make a vegetarian
0:12:04 > 0:12:07out of a pair of hairy 'uns.
0:12:08 > 0:12:11Well, for a short while maybe.
0:12:11 > 0:12:14'Oh, beautiful, creamy gorgeousness!
0:12:14 > 0:12:20'Risottos are the perfect way to reap the benefits of that toil in the garden
0:12:20 > 0:12:23'and make the most of your home-grown produce.
0:12:23 > 0:12:28'We Brits have a long and fruitful history when it comes to the allotment garden.
0:12:28 > 0:12:32'It could be said to go back over 1,000 years
0:12:32 > 0:12:37'to when our Saxon ancestors cleared woodland for land to be held in common for cultivation.
0:12:37 > 0:12:44'When this common land disappeared into the hands of a few wealthy landowners in the 16th century,
0:12:44 > 0:12:49'they graciously allotted small parcels of land to their tenants.
0:12:49 > 0:12:54'So the poor had something to stick their pitchforks in rather than them.
0:12:54 > 0:12:57'Hence the term "allotment".
0:12:57 > 0:13:01'During World War Two, they became very important
0:13:01 > 0:13:04'as growing your own became a necessity, a duty no less.
0:13:04 > 0:13:10'When food rationing was introduced, we were encouraged to utilise every piece of ground and grow veg.'
0:13:10 > 0:13:14You may not be lucky enough to own an ideal kitchen garden like this.
0:13:14 > 0:13:21But the flower garden will grow beetroot just as well as begonias and is more fashionable too nowadays.
0:13:21 > 0:13:26There may be room for vegetables on top of your Anderson shelter or in the back yard
0:13:26 > 0:13:28or even on that flat bit of roof.
0:13:28 > 0:13:33'So we patriotically picked up our shovels and did our bit
0:13:33 > 0:13:37'in the 1.4 million allotments up and down the UK.
0:13:37 > 0:13:42'But as rationing ended, factory-produced food started to fill shop shelves
0:13:42 > 0:13:45'and interest began to wane a little.
0:13:45 > 0:13:50'But all that changed in the 1970s when applications for allotments suddenly soared.
0:13:50 > 0:13:53'I wonder why that was?
0:13:54 > 0:13:59'Like Tom and Barbara, people were buzzing with the romantic notion
0:13:59 > 0:14:03'of heading back to the land and becoming self-sufficient.'
0:14:03 > 0:14:09I hope it's going to be a family effort. This is my wife and Leonard, the father-in-law.
0:14:09 > 0:14:12'But it was harder than it looked.'
0:14:12 > 0:14:15How much experience have you had?
0:14:15 > 0:14:20So, you know, this is it, starting from rough, both the plot and me.
0:14:21 > 0:14:26'Getting an allotment is one thing, making it work quite another,
0:14:26 > 0:14:31'but luckily, there's always someone at hand who is happy to offer advice.'
0:14:31 > 0:14:35- Professor, it looks a bit weedy and rough.- It is a pretty rough plot.
0:14:35 > 0:14:38But we can get this into good fettle.
0:14:38 > 0:14:46We've got a good soil depth and, as you can see, we've got a soil that has a pH of 5.5.
0:14:46 > 0:14:49That means, Mike, it's a bit lime-deficient.
0:14:49 > 0:14:54'Yes, and getting your pH balance right is just the start.
0:14:54 > 0:14:58'If you're not careful, you can come under attack from all sides.'
0:14:58 > 0:15:03- The smell of the rotting tubers... - And the weed-infested rubbish tips.
0:15:03 > 0:15:05Cabbage root fly. Rabbit attack.
0:15:05 > 0:15:07- Coral spot.- The hoverfly larvae.
0:15:07 > 0:15:09- Slugs.- Carrot fly.
0:15:09 > 0:15:11- Moles.- Wind scorch.
0:15:11 > 0:15:13That is death.
0:15:13 > 0:15:18- Get cracking, lad, because you're on your own.- Thank you, Tom, Harry.
0:15:19 > 0:15:23'But we're a hardy and tenacious bunch, us Brits,
0:15:23 > 0:15:26'and won't let little things like that put us off.
0:15:26 > 0:15:30'Today's allotments are more in demand than ever.
0:15:30 > 0:15:33'In some places in London, you must wait up to 40 years.
0:15:33 > 0:15:36'40 years? I'd be 60 by then(!)
0:15:36 > 0:15:39'Mathematics was never your strong point.
0:15:40 > 0:15:44'Alas, neither's gardening, but thankfully for the nation,
0:15:44 > 0:15:49'a passion for horticulture runs through our veins and is deeply embedded in our past.
0:15:57 > 0:16:00'And if the Brits are a nation of gardeners,
0:16:00 > 0:16:05'then there's one corner of Coventry that has to be our spiritual home.
0:16:05 > 0:16:11'And we're here to find out more about the historical roots of our favourite veg.'
0:16:11 > 0:16:16This may look like an average garden centre, but there's something special about it.
0:16:16 > 0:16:19This is Garden Organic in Ryton near Coventry
0:16:19 > 0:16:23and it's a charity dedicated to the craft of organic gardening.
0:16:23 > 0:16:27They have a special mission here as well - to protect endangered veg.
0:16:27 > 0:16:34Not only that, they're here to protect some of our most historic varieties.
0:16:35 > 0:16:39'The centre is home to an incredible heritage seed bank
0:16:39 > 0:16:44'which safeguards those vegetables that were once the mainstay of British gardens,
0:16:44 > 0:16:47'but could otherwise have died out.
0:16:47 > 0:16:51'We're meeting Bob Sherman, the centre's Director of Operations.
0:16:51 > 0:16:55'He's going to tell us more about the work they do.'
0:16:55 > 0:16:59- Welcome to Garden Organic.- Thank you. Can we look around?- Please do.
0:16:59 > 0:17:01What an amazing garden!
0:17:01 > 0:17:06Garden Organic is like a living library of Britain's gardening heritage?
0:17:06 > 0:17:08That is a key part of what we do,
0:17:08 > 0:17:13but these gardens are all about how to look after the landscape organically.
0:17:13 > 0:17:19- They were created organically 25 years ago and have evolved into what you see now.- It's beautiful.
0:17:19 > 0:17:22- So this is clearly the herb garden. - It is, yes.
0:17:22 > 0:17:29We've just come right through the herb garden, so we've got Mediterranean plants over this side
0:17:29 > 0:17:32and where we are now is more Chinese and Asian.
0:17:32 > 0:17:36- So it's not just indigenous British plants we have here?- Certainly not.
0:17:36 > 0:17:40And if we were to rely entirely on indigenous plants,
0:17:40 > 0:17:43we'd not only be hungry, we'd be very bored.
0:17:43 > 0:17:49We have some quite good herbs here, but over the centuries, many, many plants have come into this country
0:17:49 > 0:17:52and that's where most of our vegetables come from.
0:17:52 > 0:17:56I don't know how much you like kale, but that's what we'd be eating!
0:17:56 > 0:18:01I land on these shores of Great Britain and I want to eat veggies.
0:18:01 > 0:18:04What would be here natively?
0:18:04 > 0:18:06Wild cabbage, quite tough.
0:18:06 > 0:18:10- Right.- Sort of celery, leafy stuff. - Yeah.
0:18:10 > 0:18:12- Bit of wild garlic.- Not bad.
0:18:12 > 0:18:18Little things like pignut and things you find under the ground if you know what you're looking for.
0:18:18 > 0:18:21- Some rather nasty fruit.- Really?
0:18:21 > 0:18:23Crab apples!
0:18:23 > 0:18:29We British have grabbed the craft of cultivation and really made it work for us over the centuries.
0:18:29 > 0:18:34- I think we're a brilliant nation in terms of cultivation of plants. - Yeah.
0:18:34 > 0:18:37# When you walk in the garden... #
0:18:37 > 0:18:41I sense that it's not just for food that you adore the plants.
0:18:41 > 0:18:44When we talk about them, it's their appearance as well,
0:18:44 > 0:18:49so a vegetable garden could fulfil your need for aesthetics as well.
0:18:49 > 0:18:53The idea of using vegetables ornamentally I love, it's brilliant.
0:18:53 > 0:18:56You get two bites of the cherry, so to speak.
0:18:56 > 0:18:58# In the garden of Eden... #
0:18:58 > 0:19:00It's everybody's dream, isn't it?
0:19:00 > 0:19:05- The ultimate allotment! - I mean, just look how beautiful that chard is.
0:19:05 > 0:19:08- Yeah.- Just look at these. - That is gorgeous.
0:19:08 > 0:19:14- It's so beautiful. - I've got to admit, at first glance, I thought that was rhubarb.- Yeah.
0:19:14 > 0:19:17Just look at the colour of that. Isn't that fantastic?
0:19:17 > 0:19:21There's a lovely wax on the leaf. It's so beautiful.
0:19:21 > 0:19:23Is it true that carrots used to be purple?
0:19:23 > 0:19:27Yes, and actually, wild carrots are white,
0:19:27 > 0:19:31but the edible carrots that we know were purple, from Afghanistan.
0:19:31 > 0:19:36The reason they're orange is because of the Dutch, for the House of Orange and being loyal to the King.
0:19:36 > 0:19:39Hold on, hold on.
0:19:39 > 0:19:43Carrots and Afghanistan are not two things that you put together,
0:19:43 > 0:19:45so what you're saying here...
0:19:45 > 0:19:48What you're saying is carrots aren't native to the UK.
0:19:48 > 0:19:54They're probably one of the most common vegetables we eat, but they don't come from here.
0:19:54 > 0:19:58- Being carrot-coloured is a political statement, not an accident of nature?- Yeah.
0:19:58 > 0:20:00OK...
0:20:00 > 0:20:02What about the tomato?
0:20:02 > 0:20:05OK, tomatoes are from South America.
0:20:05 > 0:20:10And the original one is a little, tiny pimpinellifolia, about that big.
0:20:10 > 0:20:13Very tasty, tiny little fruit.
0:20:13 > 0:20:16And then you look at what's there now.
0:20:16 > 0:20:22- We've got hundreds of varieties in the collection and they're all different.- Leeks! They're Welsh!
0:20:22 > 0:20:24No, I don't think so.
0:20:24 > 0:20:30- I thought they were Geordie. You've got a leek trench, haven't you?- I did have.- You did have, aye.
0:20:30 > 0:20:35- Amazing, eh?- Isn't it extraordinary? Our ancestors were great scavengers and collectors.
0:20:35 > 0:20:40It does form the foundation of what we have on our plates today.
0:20:40 > 0:20:43That's right. We have a rich culture in this country
0:20:43 > 0:20:46of people experimenting and liking to grow stuff
0:20:46 > 0:20:51and that has allowed us to develop an incredible range of different vegetables.
0:20:51 > 0:20:54# I'm gonna be round my vegetables... #
0:20:54 > 0:20:57'We've seen some great-looking veg,
0:20:57 > 0:21:03'but there's only one way of getting to grips with our food heritage and that's by tucking in.'
0:21:03 > 0:21:05Oh, brilliant!
0:21:05 > 0:21:09This is a range of stuff from the Heritage Seed Library.
0:21:09 > 0:21:13So here we've got some tomatoes. That's an American one.
0:21:13 > 0:21:17That's a French one and these are good old British ones.
0:21:17 > 0:21:19- I'd expect you'd like to try them. - Yeah.- Yeah.
0:21:19 > 0:21:23Those are Carlin peas which you'll know well.
0:21:23 > 0:21:26- Yeah.- Yes.- Pigeon peas. - They have an incredible history.
0:21:26 > 0:21:29The pea is very old, at least medieval.
0:21:29 > 0:21:32It was good peasant fare, 25% protein,
0:21:32 > 0:21:38and enough to keep them working for a few more days at dirt wages, then you'd give them a few more.
0:21:39 > 0:21:44But it gave rise to the whole idea of Carlin Sunday
0:21:44 > 0:21:47which is the Sunday before Palm Sunday.
0:21:47 > 0:21:51- That's in the north-east, isn't it, Carlin Sunday?- It is.
0:21:51 > 0:21:56When I was small, you knew you were coming into Easter when you started to have Carlins.
0:21:56 > 0:22:01We used to have them with salt, white pepper, always white pepper, and vinegar.
0:22:01 > 0:22:08It was one of those things that you looked forward to because Easter was coming. It's lovely.
0:22:08 > 0:22:14- Perhaps you'd like to try a few.- Hmm. - There's a couple of forks if you want to have a go each.
0:22:14 > 0:22:20Looking at those, it's not the sort of thing you would expect people to go wild with excitement about,
0:22:20 > 0:22:24so they wouldn't exist if we didn't look after them.
0:22:24 > 0:22:29The Carlin Sunday idea is part of our heritage and the story is as important as the seeds
0:22:29 > 0:22:33because it's all to do with the Siege of Newcastle,
0:22:33 > 0:22:35Newcastle being a Royalist town.
0:22:35 > 0:22:39The dastardly Scots had surrounded it and everybody was starving
0:22:39 > 0:22:42down to their last bottle of Newcastle Brown Ale.
0:22:42 > 0:22:48And a French ship managed to break the barricade and brought some seeds in
0:22:48 > 0:22:51and that saved the population.
0:22:51 > 0:22:53They're great, but if I was medieval,
0:22:53 > 0:22:57I wouldn't have liked to have lived on them seven days a week.
0:22:57 > 0:23:01I would have welcomed a carrot or the odd potato.
0:23:02 > 0:23:04So how about a tomato?
0:23:04 > 0:23:07This is Essex Wonder from Essex,
0:23:07 > 0:23:11so a commercial variety that was grown up until about the 1950s.
0:23:11 > 0:23:17- Again, if we hadn't saved it, it wouldn't be around.- It would just have gone.- What a shame!- Yeah.
0:23:20 > 0:23:26This reminds me of the sort of tomatoes that I would have had on a salad when I was a kid.
0:23:26 > 0:23:30The other great thing about tomatoes is there's our next crop in there.
0:23:30 > 0:23:34If you can restrain your hunger and just take some of the seeds out
0:23:34 > 0:23:38and eat the rest, you've had a meal and you've got next year's crop.
0:23:42 > 0:23:44LAUGHTER
0:23:44 > 0:23:49But if you can restrain your hunger, you have next year's crop. However...
0:23:49 > 0:23:51No more seeds.
0:23:51 > 0:23:55Well, you should have said it earlier, shouldn't you?
0:23:55 > 0:24:01This is called Darby Striped. Have one each because it'll run all down your nice shirt.
0:24:01 > 0:24:04- I don't think it'll affect it! - LAUGHTER
0:24:04 > 0:24:06That's a beautiful-looking tomato.
0:24:07 > 0:24:08Oh!
0:24:08 > 0:24:10Good shot.
0:24:10 > 0:24:13- That's the money shot. - LAUGHTER
0:24:15 > 0:24:17Straight on the lens.
0:24:17 > 0:24:21- You can't take him anywhere, can you?- Can you see now?
0:24:21 > 0:24:25- Is everybody happy? - This is how to eat a tomato.
0:24:27 > 0:24:30- Oh, that's good!- Isn't it?- Oh, aye.
0:24:32 > 0:24:39'That's got our appetite whetted and we couldn't come somewhere like this and leave empty-handed.'
0:24:39 > 0:24:42- Here, dude, have you got the seeds? - Have I got seeds?
0:24:42 > 0:24:49I've got peas, beans, lettuce, tomatoes. I've got instructions and seeds to grow our own Carlin peas.
0:24:49 > 0:24:52The future, my friend, is in my pocket!
0:24:57 > 0:25:02'Now, Si and I are merely amateurs when it comes to this gardening lark,
0:25:02 > 0:25:08'but others have achieved great things and as a nation, it's something we've always celebrated.
0:25:11 > 0:25:17'We've been showing off our home produce at village and agricultural shows for years.'
0:25:17 > 0:25:21# Talk of your beautiful meadows and fields
0:25:21 > 0:25:24# And your parks so grand
0:25:24 > 0:25:29# Talk of your wonderful gardens down at Kew... #
0:25:29 > 0:25:33'Many were first introduced around the latter half of the 19th century
0:25:33 > 0:25:39'to celebrate rural pursuits and crafts in the face of the growing might of the Industrial Revolution.
0:25:39 > 0:25:43'But when it comes to green-fingered success,
0:25:43 > 0:25:48'the shows that really matter are those hosted by the Royal Horticultural Society.
0:25:51 > 0:25:57'These days, people travel from all over the world to see their show gardens and displays,
0:25:57 > 0:26:01'but, if like us, you don't know your Dicksonia from your begonias,
0:26:01 > 0:26:05'they also offer delights of a more edible variety.
0:26:05 > 0:26:08'And in an arena where the standards are high,
0:26:08 > 0:26:13'Medwyn Williams is well ahead of the field when it comes to growing champion vegetables.'
0:26:13 > 0:26:16That's one of the longest.
0:26:16 > 0:26:22They reckon that... That's about my height from the floor and I'm about five foot eight.
0:26:22 > 0:26:24That's not bad for a July parsnip.
0:26:24 > 0:26:28These are the best I've grown for this time of year.
0:26:28 > 0:26:31It just gives you a great thrill. It's a good buzz.
0:26:32 > 0:26:38'His passion for vegetables has paid off. With 19 consecutive gold medals under his belt,
0:26:38 > 0:26:42'our best of British veg-growing hero is hoping for his 20th
0:26:42 > 0:26:47'at the Chelsea Flower Show of the North, Tatton Park.'
0:26:47 > 0:26:51I really want to win the gold medal. It's the winning thing that counts.
0:26:51 > 0:26:55We've never had less than a gold anywhere ever.
0:26:55 > 0:26:59The problem with that is there's only one way to go.
0:26:59 > 0:27:05I don't know what I'd do if I came in here on Wednesday morning and I saw a bronze or something like that.
0:27:10 > 0:27:16'But it's taken a lifetime of dedication and hard work to get to this point.
0:27:18 > 0:27:25'Back at his home in Anglesey, Medwyn will stop at nothing to grow the most perfect veg in the land
0:27:25 > 0:27:30'and it's an obsession that took root at an early age.'
0:27:30 > 0:27:35We've been growing vegetables for the last three generations, really.
0:27:35 > 0:27:41And quite honestly, it was a matter of necessity very often because we were quite poor,
0:27:41 > 0:27:45so the veg in the garden was packed just for eating,
0:27:45 > 0:27:50but after a while, my dad started getting into this exhibition game for showing his veg.
0:27:50 > 0:27:53I used to love that experience.
0:27:53 > 0:27:56It all started for me when I was in primary school
0:27:56 > 0:27:58and about eight or nine years old.
0:27:58 > 0:28:01My dad gave me three packets of seeds in my hand.
0:28:01 > 0:28:06He was very wise because he gave me radish, mustard and cress -
0:28:06 > 0:28:11three seeds that germinate very quickly, thereby catching the imagination of a young child
0:28:11 > 0:28:15when you see these green shoots coming out of the ground.
0:28:15 > 0:28:19And they harvested quickly. I invited my friend Gareth over.
0:28:19 > 0:28:22I cut the bread like gravestones with lashings of butter
0:28:22 > 0:28:27and we had a sandwich of radish, mustard and cress, six weeks after I sowed them.
0:28:27 > 0:28:31That was, to me, the start of my gardening career.
0:28:31 > 0:28:36From then on, I was hooked on what made these things grow, what made them tick
0:28:36 > 0:28:39and how I could grow them better and better.
0:28:39 > 0:28:45# Well, what do you know, he smiled at me in my dreams last night
0:28:45 > 0:28:49# My dreams are getting better all the time... #
0:28:50 > 0:28:55'He's been honing his skills for years and with the competition season looming,
0:28:55 > 0:28:59'this year, Medwyn is going for broke.
0:28:59 > 0:29:02'He has a fantastic, new, state-of-the-art greenhouse
0:29:02 > 0:29:06'which he's hoping will leave his opponents for dust.'
0:29:06 > 0:29:10This is the latest weapon in my armament.
0:29:10 > 0:29:14It's the best greenhouse you can possibly buy.
0:29:14 > 0:29:17I don't think any of my opponents have one of these
0:29:17 > 0:29:21and I hope they don't because I want to keep one step ahead of them.
0:29:21 > 0:29:24# My dreams are getting better all the time... #
0:29:24 > 0:29:30- 'Good grief! Medwyn certainly knows his onions.- The size of them are enough to make your eyes water!'
0:29:30 > 0:29:36What I'm doing at the moment is cleaning off the dead skins on these onions,
0:29:36 > 0:29:39so hopefully, they'll be on one good skin for Tatton Park.
0:29:39 > 0:29:44I'm quite pleased. They're about 18 inches and there are bigger ones here.
0:29:44 > 0:29:51But when you consider that the world record for the heaviest onion is 16 pounds, over 16 pounds,
0:29:51 > 0:29:57that is a big onion, that's nearly as big as my head and I've got a big one!
0:29:57 > 0:29:59Every show, of course, is different.
0:29:59 > 0:30:04The pressure is on. The more shows I do, everybody wants you to fail.
0:30:04 > 0:30:06And I'm determined I'm not going to fail.
0:30:06 > 0:30:12There will be, hopefully, over 40 different kinds of vegetables there.
0:30:12 > 0:30:17When I get to Tatton, we have tables in front of us and we start building dishes.
0:30:17 > 0:30:21We create a picture with the material that we've got.
0:30:21 > 0:30:25I firmly believe that vegetables are more colourful than flowers
0:30:25 > 0:30:31with the added benefit you can eat them and that is the best part of it all.
0:30:31 > 0:30:36It's the taste of growing your own veg. There's nothing quite like it.
0:30:37 > 0:30:40There you are. That's a nice bulb.
0:30:44 > 0:30:48'With his prize veg all on site now at Tatton Park,
0:30:48 > 0:30:54'it's time for the painstaking operation of showing them off at their best.
0:30:54 > 0:30:59- 'His wife Gwenda takes charge of the staging.'- We've only got two baskets of carrots.
0:30:59 > 0:31:02'While Medwyn's in charge of quality control.'
0:31:02 > 0:31:07Isn't that a little rude? I can't help it. It grew like that!
0:31:10 > 0:31:13There's too much of a gap here now.
0:31:13 > 0:31:17I strive for perfection, but settle for excellence.
0:31:17 > 0:31:22- Put it in front of the tomatoes. - I have settled long ago. She will not settle.
0:31:22 > 0:31:24She is perfection personified.
0:31:26 > 0:31:31'Can you imagine how good all that lot would taste cooked up?
0:31:31 > 0:31:36- 'Yeah, you'd certainly get more than your five a day.- More like 500!
0:31:36 > 0:31:38'Wow, it looks amazing, man!
0:31:39 > 0:31:46'After all his hard work, Medwyn can only stand back and hope the veg he's carefully nurtured from seed
0:31:46 > 0:31:48'can win him his 20th gold medal.'
0:31:51 > 0:31:58I think that people will be amazed at the absolute range of colours there are in vegetables.
0:31:58 > 0:32:04From those little packets, we've got this fabulous display - 20 foot wide, 40-plus varieties.
0:32:04 > 0:32:08What more can a man ask? Contentment.
0:32:09 > 0:32:12Well, that's it. That's good enough for me.
0:32:13 > 0:32:17'Let's hope the judges enjoy their greens.'
0:32:17 > 0:32:21OK, any other comments before we go to our first stage of the judging?
0:32:21 > 0:32:25Once the judging starts, you're not allowed in the marquee.
0:32:25 > 0:32:28I've done everything I can and it's up to them.
0:32:28 > 0:32:31I'd like to be a little fly on the wall,
0:32:31 > 0:32:35just to be there listening to them to hear what comments they make.
0:32:35 > 0:32:41- Brilliant. It's a gold medal. It's a straight gold. Very well deserved too.- Thank you.
0:32:41 > 0:32:43'Medwyn's looking nervous.
0:32:45 > 0:32:47'Time to put him out of his misery.'
0:32:47 > 0:32:49Medwyn...
0:32:49 > 0:32:54After all these years and your beautiful, beautiful display...
0:32:54 > 0:32:58- Yes?- What do you think your medal's going to be?
0:32:58 > 0:33:00Give me a Valium first.
0:33:00 > 0:33:03- It's gold!- Oh!
0:33:05 > 0:33:07Congratulations.
0:33:09 > 0:33:11- Yes!- Congratulations.
0:33:12 > 0:33:14Just the job.
0:33:14 > 0:33:16Yes!
0:33:16 > 0:33:19'That's a "turnip" for the books!'
0:33:19 > 0:33:25I started at the very bottom of the ladder and I've now been able to creep up slowly,
0:33:25 > 0:33:28dragging the vegetables up with me to the top rung.
0:33:28 > 0:33:34This very method here of staging vegetables with the leeks upright and the celery upright,
0:33:34 > 0:33:38that is a very, very old tradition going back 100 years-plus.
0:33:38 > 0:33:43This is something that I'm trying to uphold, really,
0:33:43 > 0:33:45and I'm proud of that.
0:33:48 > 0:33:51# People say a man is made out of mud... #
0:33:51 > 0:33:57'For the last recipe, we want to pay tribute to those people like Medwyn who make Britain great.'
0:33:57 > 0:34:01That's a baby one. I couldn't carry the biggest!
0:34:03 > 0:34:09'Their dedication and perseverance highlights just how magnificent vegetables can be.
0:34:09 > 0:34:14'But we're using one that doesn't normally win too many prizes when it comes to taste.'
0:34:14 > 0:34:21This recipe is a fabulous way for using up your marrow or indeed your overgrown, distended courgettes.
0:34:21 > 0:34:25I mean, marrow can be tasteless, big and boring.
0:34:25 > 0:34:31People have said that about us, but we're still on telly, so don't give up on your marrow.
0:34:31 > 0:34:34Who said that? Just folk? You should've let us know.
0:34:34 > 0:34:37I can live with it. I've got broad shoulders.
0:34:37 > 0:34:42'We're about to prove the marrow can be great by packing it with a punchy sauce
0:34:42 > 0:34:46'made of British beef and fresh British vegetables.
0:34:46 > 0:34:52'Flavoured with red wine and a bit of chilli to give this humble vegetable a bit of a kick.
0:34:52 > 0:34:56'And to top it off, we've got a lovely bit of mozzarella.'
0:34:56 > 0:35:01- I'll start with the onion.- Right oh. I'll start with the carrots.
0:35:01 > 0:35:07Basically, we're going to build the stuffing for this marrow first and it's a lovely stuffing.
0:35:07 > 0:35:10It's like a bolognese. It's got minced beef in it. It's lovely.
0:35:10 > 0:35:14'Add a good glug of olive oil to a pan
0:35:14 > 0:35:21- 'and fry the onion and carrots with two stalks of finely diced celery sticks.- Cook it over a low heat.'
0:35:21 > 0:35:27Have you seen what we're doing with this? We're just cooking it down, getting some heat through it.
0:35:27 > 0:35:33We're building the flavours up because poor old Mr Marrow hasn't got much of his own.
0:35:33 > 0:35:38'Next, add some nice minced beef to the pan and brown gently.
0:35:38 > 0:35:42'Then chop two garlic cloves and sprinkle on a bit of sea salt.
0:35:42 > 0:35:47'Using the side of your knife, blend it to a paste and then add it into the pan.'
0:35:47 > 0:35:54- Lovely. It's nice and brown. A bit of dried flavouring now. - Yes, indeedy!
0:35:54 > 0:35:56A teaspoon of dried oregano.
0:35:56 > 0:36:02Dried herbs are great for this because we want the oregano to cook in for a long time with the meat.
0:36:02 > 0:36:04And a teaspoon of chilli flakes.
0:36:04 > 0:36:09If you don't like it spicy, don't put your chilli flakes in.
0:36:09 > 0:36:13- 'And finally, a teaspoon of caster sugar.'- Give it a crush.
0:36:13 > 0:36:17'And a bay leaf.' You can smell it. It's lovely.
0:36:17 > 0:36:20And the base to the stuffing is tomatoes.
0:36:20 > 0:36:22You can use fresh or tinned.
0:36:22 > 0:36:26If you're using tinned tomatoes for this recipe, use one tin.
0:36:26 > 0:36:32If you're using fresh, it needs to be seeded and skinned and use about double the quantity.
0:36:32 > 0:36:36They're canned cherry tomatoes cos we're feeling a bit flush.
0:36:36 > 0:36:39It's up to you if you use tomato paste or not.
0:36:39 > 0:36:44If you use fresh tomatoes, you definitely will need tomato paste.
0:36:44 > 0:36:47But we'll just use a little bit of tomato paste.
0:36:49 > 0:36:51Now, the marrow is full of water,
0:36:51 > 0:36:56so the sauce that we stuff it with has to be really, really thick.
0:36:56 > 0:37:01It may look like I'm using a lot of flour, but I'm not, we need this to be like wallpaper paste,
0:37:01 > 0:37:04really claggy.
0:37:05 > 0:37:13Now what we're going to do is we're going to add about 150 ml of red wine...
0:37:15 > 0:37:19- ..which is just about a glass. - A large glass.
0:37:21 > 0:37:24And about 300 mls of good beef stock.
0:37:25 > 0:37:27Look at that.
0:37:27 > 0:37:32And then just very gently, cos our pan's a bit small...
0:37:32 > 0:37:35- DAVE LAUGHS - Just move that around.
0:37:35 > 0:37:37Put that in.
0:37:38 > 0:37:44Then what'll happen is that flour that Dave put in before will just absorb all those cooking juices
0:37:44 > 0:37:47and it'll taste fantastic.
0:37:47 > 0:37:50Now we leave that to cook for about half an hour.
0:37:50 > 0:37:56Which gives us time to prep the marrow and to make a yummy cheese sauce.
0:37:56 > 0:38:01- I'll make the sauce and you can prep the marrow.- Fantastic. Nice to get my hands on you!
0:38:01 > 0:38:05'For the cheese sauce, first make a roux.
0:38:05 > 0:38:09'Mix 15 grams of melted butter with a dessertspoon of plain flour
0:38:09 > 0:38:13'and then add 250 millilitres of milk slowly,
0:38:13 > 0:38:15'a bit at a time.'
0:38:15 > 0:38:19- Mate, listen, before I cut into this beast...- Yeah?
0:38:19 > 0:38:23The thing is, when we cook with marrow, we always give it a name.
0:38:23 > 0:38:28- Do you remember we did one in Wales and we called him Dewi?- Oh, yeah.
0:38:28 > 0:38:30This is an English marrow.
0:38:30 > 0:38:34I think... And this programme is about British gardeners.
0:38:34 > 0:38:37Shall we call him Percy?
0:38:38 > 0:38:42'Get a big, sharp knife and split it in half from top to tail,
0:38:42 > 0:38:46'then get a spoon and scoop out all of the seeds.'
0:38:46 > 0:38:52Of course, where we take the seeds out, it leaves us with a very, very convenient cavity to stuff.
0:38:53 > 0:38:56This is a good marrow.
0:38:56 > 0:38:59- Is it nice? - It's firm. It's not all water.
0:38:59 > 0:39:03Right, I'm going to add to the white sauce some Cheddar cheese.
0:39:05 > 0:39:09And to give our Cheddar cheese a little bit of zip,
0:39:09 > 0:39:12just a little bit of Parmesan.
0:39:12 > 0:39:18There we go. Now, if we put this in the roasting tin like this, it will roll about all over the place,
0:39:18 > 0:39:22so I'm just going to cut a level bottom.
0:39:28 > 0:39:32There you go. And it will sit there loud and proud.
0:39:32 > 0:39:35Now it's time to put Percy in his tin.
0:39:35 > 0:39:41You don't have to, but because I'm paranoid, I'm going to oil the bottom of the tin.
0:39:41 > 0:39:43I don't want the marrow to stick.
0:39:45 > 0:39:50You know when you do a Sunday lunch, you have to have a main event brought to the table?
0:39:50 > 0:39:55We are in tough times. A stuffed marrow is a good Sunday lunch thing, isn't it?
0:39:55 > 0:40:02- It's not quite your roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, but it is an event for the family.- Certainly.
0:40:02 > 0:40:06'Season the cheese sauce with a pinch of white pepper and salt,
0:40:06 > 0:40:10'then whisk it until it's blended to perfection.'
0:40:10 > 0:40:14That is the consistency of the cheese sauce that you're after.
0:40:14 > 0:40:20'Take the cheese sauce off the heat and cover it with clingfilm to stop it getting a skin on top,
0:40:20 > 0:40:24'then check the mince to see if it needs any seasoning.'
0:40:24 > 0:40:28That really has no seasoning at all. By golly, it needs some!
0:40:28 > 0:40:32'Add salt and pepper to taste, then it's time to stuff the marrow.'
0:40:32 > 0:40:36So with a happy heart and a cheery grin...
0:40:37 > 0:40:40We're just about to give Percy a grin...
0:40:40 > 0:40:42Hey! ..when we put the mince in.
0:40:42 > 0:40:46- We could do cookery and poetry, couldn't we?- No.
0:40:46 > 0:40:48It'd be like Pam Ayres, but butch.
0:40:50 > 0:40:53Now the time has come not to harrow,
0:40:53 > 0:40:57it's time to put our mince in that marrow!
0:40:58 > 0:41:01We're going to put the top on with cheese,
0:41:01 > 0:41:04as much as you like, if you please!
0:41:04 > 0:41:06LAUGHTER
0:41:06 > 0:41:08Then we're going to bake it...
0:41:08 > 0:41:12All right, all right, shut up and get on with it!
0:41:12 > 0:41:18'Once you've removed the bay leaf, spoon as much of the mince into the marrow as you dare,
0:41:18 > 0:41:24'then pour over a generous drizzle of cheese sauce and top with some chunks of torn mozzarella.'
0:41:24 > 0:41:28Mozzarella is good. It's like a living, breathing thingy.
0:41:28 > 0:41:34It's great. Buffalo mozzarella comes from, unsurprisingly, the buffalo and the milk of said buffalo.
0:41:34 > 0:41:41- I bet it's a swine milking a buffalo!- It's hard to catch. - Come here!- On you go.
0:41:41 > 0:41:48'Finally, cover it in foil and pop it in a pre-heated oven at 160 degrees for an hour.
0:41:49 > 0:41:53'Then remove the foil and cook for a further ten minutes.'
0:41:56 > 0:41:59- Ooh!- Percy... Perky Percy, look at that!
0:41:59 > 0:42:02The cheese is bubbling up like that.
0:42:02 > 0:42:06- Whoa!- Right... - I get excited like this.
0:42:06 > 0:42:09Look at that.
0:42:09 > 0:42:15That's it. You just put it side by side and that makes a lovely, lovely thing.
0:42:15 > 0:42:22The first thing that strikes me about this is there is a lot of good food there for very little money.
0:42:22 > 0:42:24It does look tasty.
0:42:24 > 0:42:29- You can serve it with a green salad or a great big bowl of chips. - Lovely.
0:42:32 > 0:42:36'Marrow can be a great base for lots of sauces. We used minced beef,
0:42:36 > 0:42:42- 'but you can experiment with different fillings.- Italian sausage is particularly delicious.
0:42:42 > 0:42:46'Or keep it vegetarian to make the most of your home-grown produce.
0:42:49 > 0:42:54'We British are so privileged to live in such a fertile land.
0:42:54 > 0:43:00'Throughout our history, we've cultivated edible plants from all over the world.
0:43:00 > 0:43:05'Thankfully, we'll still be able to reap the benefits far into the future.
0:43:05 > 0:43:09'There can be few things more satisfying than growing your veg.
0:43:09 > 0:43:12'Except perhaps eating them. Yum-yum!
0:43:12 > 0:43:16'If you want to find out more about the series...'
0:43:16 > 0:43:18Visit:
0:43:20 > 0:43:25You'll discover some amazing facts about the history of food.
0:43:25 > 0:43:29And you'll find out how to cook up the recipes in today's show.
0:43:49 > 0:43:53Subtitles by Subtext for Red Bee Media Ltd 2011
0:43:53 > 0:43:56Email subtitling@bbc.co.uk