0:00:03 > 0:00:05Sometimes there's no place like home
0:00:05 > 0:00:07and few things are more comforting and delicious
0:00:07 > 0:00:09than real home cooking.
0:00:09 > 0:00:12Living in this beautiful country with great produce
0:00:12 > 0:00:17right on our doorstep, we really are spoilt for choice.
0:00:17 > 0:00:21So, in this series I am inviting you into my kitchen to share with
0:00:21 > 0:00:24you some of my tasty home-cooked treats,
0:00:24 > 0:00:28the dishes I turn to whether entertaining friends and family
0:00:28 > 0:00:30or just relaxing on my own.
0:00:46 > 0:00:49We Brits love a great takeaway.
0:00:49 > 0:00:51And even though I'm a chef, like everyone else
0:00:51 > 0:00:54I am sometimes tempted to grab one on my way home.
0:00:56 > 0:01:00If you've got the ingredients and a little bit of know-how it is simple
0:01:00 > 0:01:04to create your takeout favourites in the comfort of your own home.
0:01:04 > 0:01:08And when you cook them yourself your taste buds will rediscover
0:01:08 > 0:01:10how great these fast-food classics can be.
0:01:10 > 0:01:13It's crunchy, it's sticky, it's spicy.
0:01:13 > 0:01:16They're old favourites, given a new twist
0:01:16 > 0:01:19so they burst with fresh flavour, texture and colour...
0:01:21 > 0:01:26..dishes which are quicker, healthier and cheaper to cook than deliver.
0:01:26 > 0:01:29British tastes in takeaways are adventurous
0:01:29 > 0:01:33and we seem to have endless appetite for new flavours.
0:01:33 > 0:01:35So it's time to ditch the takeaway menu
0:01:35 > 0:01:39and take a home-cooked look at the takeaway.
0:01:39 > 0:01:40Sometimes I love my job.
0:01:46 > 0:01:51Apparently each and every Brit forks out £110 a month on takeaways
0:01:51 > 0:01:56and eating out and a Chinese is one of the most popular.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59So if you have a yen for a Chinese but are short of cash,
0:01:59 > 0:02:03my home-cooked Oriental dinner will satisfy your hunger as well
0:02:03 > 0:02:04as your wallet.
0:02:04 > 0:02:09I am serving up chicken in a fragrant black bean sauce,
0:02:09 > 0:02:13a Chinese classic with a few secrets to its culinary success.
0:02:13 > 0:02:16And I am pairing it with crunchy stir-fried bok choy
0:02:16 > 0:02:18and home-made egg fried rice.
0:02:21 > 0:02:24So, first thing we're going to do is velvet our chicken.
0:02:24 > 0:02:27For that we use chicken breasts.
0:02:27 > 0:02:30Cut these into decent-sized pieces.
0:02:30 > 0:02:33Velveting is a technique in Chinese cuisine for preserving
0:02:33 > 0:02:36the moisture of the meat while it's cooking.
0:02:36 > 0:02:40It helps give it a distinctive velvety texture.
0:02:40 > 0:02:43And then we actually just leave it to marinade a little bit
0:02:43 > 0:02:45and we are going to use some of this xiao xing wine.
0:02:48 > 0:02:53And two tablespoons of sesame oil.
0:02:53 > 0:02:55And then this is the velveting part of this which is done with
0:02:55 > 0:02:59cornflour and this is where you get the distinct texture
0:02:59 > 0:03:02with chicken that you can't quite understand how they do it.
0:03:02 > 0:03:04This is the secret.
0:03:04 > 0:03:08Just allow this to sit in this mixture...
0:03:09 > 0:03:12..for about ten, 15 minutes really.
0:03:16 > 0:03:20While the chicken sits in its marinade, chop lots of garlic,
0:03:20 > 0:03:24chilli, ginger and spring onion. You're going to need it.
0:03:24 > 0:03:28I think this is what puts a lot of people off Chinese food.
0:03:28 > 0:03:30When you break it down, the actual cooking of it is
0:03:30 > 0:03:33one of the fastest forms of cooking out there.
0:03:33 > 0:03:36Now we are going to cook the chicken and to do that
0:03:36 > 0:03:39we don't grab sesame oil, we grab some of this,
0:03:39 > 0:03:42normal vegetable oil, sunflower oil, groundnut oil, something like that.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45Just use a small amount.
0:03:45 > 0:03:47Get the wok nice and hot.
0:03:47 > 0:03:49And then throw the chicken in.
0:03:50 > 0:03:53You just get a little bit of colour on it. That is all we want.
0:03:53 > 0:03:55CHICKEN SIZZLES
0:03:55 > 0:03:57Almost seal it on the outside.
0:03:57 > 0:04:01What this cornflour will also do is actually thicken our sauce
0:04:01 > 0:04:04slightly as well. You can then tip it out.
0:04:04 > 0:04:06Turn our attention to the black beans.
0:04:06 > 0:04:09These are unusual little fellows.
0:04:09 > 0:04:12These are actually soft as well. These have been fermented
0:04:12 > 0:04:16so rather than being dried you can squeeze them, they break open.
0:04:16 > 0:04:17They've got a unique flavour
0:04:17 > 0:04:22but it's the smell that you will instantly think of black bean sauce.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27You can find black beans and other Asian ingredients
0:04:27 > 0:04:30by visiting your nearest Chinese supermarket
0:04:30 > 0:04:32or simply order them online.
0:04:32 > 0:04:36Now to make this you want some garlic.
0:04:37 > 0:04:39You want some ginger.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43You want some chilli. The three essential ingredients
0:04:43 > 0:04:47in Chinese food. At the same time we can throw in our black beans.
0:04:49 > 0:04:51We start to bring all those flavours together.
0:04:54 > 0:04:58Keep the heat on high, especially when using a wok.
0:04:58 > 0:05:01This metal's really thin on this which enables it to get very
0:05:01 > 0:05:05hot but also it will lose its temperature extremely quickly
0:05:05 > 0:05:08if you turn it down so keep it on as high as you possibly can.
0:05:08 > 0:05:12At the same time we'll add some of this.
0:05:12 > 0:05:15This is this xiao xing wine again. Just a little bit.
0:05:17 > 0:05:18Some soy sauce...
0:05:20 > 0:05:24I use a light soy sauce for this one. And then some chicken stock.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27We take our chicken,
0:05:27 > 0:05:29pop that back in.
0:05:29 > 0:05:32Remember we have got that cornflour in there which will start to
0:05:32 > 0:05:35sort of thicken our sauce while it cooks as well.
0:05:35 > 0:05:38While that is cooking, we can turn our attention to the bok choy
0:05:38 > 0:05:42and these are fantastic. They grow really well in my garden.
0:05:42 > 0:05:46They really are delicious but we take the same ingredients again,
0:05:46 > 0:05:49ginger, garlic...
0:05:49 > 0:05:50chilli...
0:05:51 > 0:05:54Again in the oil.
0:05:54 > 0:05:55Fry these off.
0:05:55 > 0:05:57In we go straightaway with this.
0:05:57 > 0:06:01A common mistake when you're doing this at home is to add oil to this.
0:06:01 > 0:06:06It starts to dry out. What you now do is add water.
0:06:06 > 0:06:10And this actually partly steams it as well.
0:06:10 > 0:06:11If we keep adding oil to
0:06:11 > 0:06:15this the garlic will actually burn and go very bitter,
0:06:15 > 0:06:19so a little bit of water will help it nicely. And then our chicken.
0:06:19 > 0:06:24What we will do is finish this off with spring onions.
0:06:24 > 0:06:26Of course, just a little sprinkle.
0:06:27 > 0:06:28Some coriander...
0:06:31 > 0:06:35And now, keeping the pace up, we can do our egg fried rice.
0:06:35 > 0:06:36Same oil...
0:06:36 > 0:06:38garlic, chilli...
0:06:40 > 0:06:43..in. At the same time, we've got
0:06:43 > 0:06:45some cooked, cool basmati rice.
0:06:45 > 0:06:47One egg.
0:06:47 > 0:06:51Straight in the centre. Now the same time you can season this.
0:06:51 > 0:06:53This needs a little bit of sesame oil, this is the only time
0:06:53 > 0:06:57you use sesame oil, just to season it right at the end.
0:06:57 > 0:06:59Spring onions go in.
0:06:59 > 0:07:02Coriander in.
0:07:02 > 0:07:03Mix this together.
0:07:06 > 0:07:09Keep the rice on the heat and as you're mixing together this egg will
0:07:09 > 0:07:13actually cook while the rice warms up as well.
0:07:13 > 0:07:16But almost the rice chars on the edge of the wok as well
0:07:16 > 0:07:18which gives it a unique taste.
0:07:18 > 0:07:21So easy to cook egg fried rice.
0:07:24 > 0:07:25Onto the plate.
0:07:27 > 0:07:30And it just tastes so different.
0:07:30 > 0:07:34Then you have got this lovely black bean sauce with the chicken...
0:07:35 > 0:07:37..that we're all sort of familiar with.
0:07:39 > 0:07:41And those black beans and that cornflour...
0:07:43 > 0:07:45..thicken up that wonderful sauce.
0:07:45 > 0:07:46So there you have it.
0:07:46 > 0:07:49A harmonious dish of Oriental tastes
0:07:49 > 0:07:54and textures that's easy to prepare and even quicker to cook.
0:07:54 > 0:07:56Take that, takeaway.
0:07:56 > 0:07:58It's been done for hundreds of years, thousands of years,
0:07:58 > 0:08:02probably, but it's just that double cooking of it.
0:08:03 > 0:08:05Makes all the difference.
0:08:05 > 0:08:07So next time, think about it before you pick up the phone
0:08:07 > 0:08:09and order that Chinese.
0:08:11 > 0:08:13Well, the phone number many of us
0:08:13 > 0:08:16have on speed dial is our local Indian takeaway.
0:08:16 > 0:08:19Our palates have grown to love the heat of chillies
0:08:19 > 0:08:23and now this far-flung flavour is being home-grown in the UK too.
0:08:27 > 0:08:31This might look like your classic English countryside but on this
0:08:31 > 0:08:37farm, James Sythes grows a bumper crop of this exotic fiery fruit.
0:08:37 > 0:08:39I own the Wiltshire Chilli Farm.
0:08:39 > 0:08:42We grow over 30 different varieties
0:08:42 > 0:08:45and harvest around five to six tonnes of chillies.
0:08:45 > 0:08:49We sell fresh chillies, we sell dried chillies and we process the chillies
0:08:49 > 0:08:54and turn them into chilli sauces, chilli jams and chilli chocolate.
0:08:54 > 0:08:56I love the flavour of chillies.
0:08:56 > 0:08:58There are thousands of varieties of chillies,
0:08:58 > 0:09:00so I thought I'll have a go at growing some myself.
0:09:00 > 0:09:03I grew some, had a bumper harvest and I thought, "What do I do
0:09:03 > 0:09:05"with these chillies?" We made some sauces
0:09:05 > 0:09:08and they seemed to work quite well.
0:09:10 > 0:09:14Over the last several years we have won various prizes.
0:09:14 > 0:09:18We've won the Perpetual Challenge Award at the Bath and West.
0:09:18 > 0:09:22We recently entered the Taste of the West, we entered four products
0:09:22 > 0:09:25and we got four awards, so we're very pleased with that.
0:09:25 > 0:09:27And for success like that you need a real
0:09:27 > 0:09:29understanding of the ingredients.
0:09:29 > 0:09:32There are so many different colours,
0:09:32 > 0:09:35flavours, varieties, heat levels.
0:09:35 > 0:09:38You can change your food so much.
0:09:38 > 0:09:41So chillies are measured in Scoville units.
0:09:41 > 0:09:45The basics of it is you mix one part chilli and one part water
0:09:45 > 0:09:48and you taste it. If you can still taste the chilli,
0:09:48 > 0:09:49then you add more water.
0:09:49 > 0:09:53A jalapeno for example, which is 5,000 on the Scoville units,
0:09:53 > 0:09:57means you need 5,000 parts water to one part chilli
0:09:57 > 0:09:58so you can't taste the chilli.
0:09:58 > 0:10:01So here we have a traditional Scotch bonnet.
0:10:01 > 0:10:05These are around 300,000 on the Scoville scale. Pretty hot.
0:10:05 > 0:10:08If you don't like your heat too much... But these have a lovely flavour.
0:10:08 > 0:10:12A little tip to cooking with these is stab it with a knife,
0:10:12 > 0:10:15a couple of pinpricks, and put it into the cooking whole,
0:10:15 > 0:10:18and before you serve up, take it out of the cooking.
0:10:18 > 0:10:20There you get not all of the heat of it,
0:10:20 > 0:10:22but you will get the flavour of it.
0:10:22 > 0:10:25Here we have a Trinidad Moruga scorpion,
0:10:25 > 0:10:28the hottest chilli in the world at the moment. These measure two million
0:10:28 > 0:10:30- on the Scoville scale.- Ouch!
0:10:30 > 0:10:32You take your life in your hands with that one!
0:10:32 > 0:10:36But with so many others to choose from, it's picking
0:10:36 > 0:10:39the perfect chilli that gets James fired up.
0:10:39 > 0:10:42This is the very last of the season.
0:10:42 > 0:10:46We've had some frost and the chillies are a tropical
0:10:46 > 0:10:51plant and the frosts come and kill them, basically.
0:10:51 > 0:10:54They just can't handle anything below five, ten degrees.
0:10:54 > 0:10:58We've got enough chillies here for what we want? What's that?
0:10:58 > 0:11:02- You've got a seven pot there. We need some more ghost peppers.- Yeah.
0:11:02 > 0:11:04And some more seven pots. We'll get them dried.
0:11:07 > 0:11:10Once harvested, the chillies are graded and sorted.
0:11:10 > 0:11:13Some are dried, some sold fresh
0:11:13 > 0:11:16and some go into James' famous chilli jam.
0:11:16 > 0:11:19He uses surprisingly few ingredients.
0:11:19 > 0:11:23Just chillies, fruit, sugar and vinegar.
0:11:23 > 0:11:25We've picked the habaneros.
0:11:25 > 0:11:28We've added some apricots, some other ingredients
0:11:28 > 0:11:31and we're cooking one of our bestselling habanero gold
0:11:31 > 0:11:35chilli jams. It's got a lovely sweetness, it's got a nice flavour
0:11:35 > 0:11:38and then a bit of heat comes in afterwards and builds gradually.
0:11:38 > 0:11:43I am completely obsessed. This is completely a hobby gone wrong.
0:11:43 > 0:11:46I love growing the plants, I love looking at the different
0:11:46 > 0:11:49coloured chillies, the varieties and flavours as well.
0:11:49 > 0:11:54It's become overwhelming, I suppose. It's taken over.
0:11:54 > 0:11:58But it's not just us Brits who have a taste for the hot stuff.
0:11:58 > 0:12:01# When the moon hits your eye
0:12:01 > 0:12:03# Like a big pizza pie
0:12:03 > 0:12:06# That's amore... #
0:12:06 > 0:12:10The Italians have got a kick out of chilli for hundreds of years
0:12:10 > 0:12:14so I am going to heat up one of my favourite takeaways - the pizza.
0:12:14 > 0:12:17My classic margherita comes via Naples,
0:12:17 > 0:12:20but I am spicing things up with a little chilli.
0:12:20 > 0:12:23And for the poshest pizza around I'm stuffing one
0:12:23 > 0:12:25with fresh lobster too.
0:12:25 > 0:12:28So I have invited Simon and Jamie round to my home
0:12:28 > 0:12:31so they can help me pick out which chilli to use.
0:12:32 > 0:12:35You brought with you a selection of chillies over here.
0:12:35 > 0:12:38Now I was intrigued to know the hottest chilli in the world.
0:12:38 > 0:12:41- It's a Trinidad scorpion. - Which one?
0:12:41 > 0:12:44- Like this one here.- That's the one we stay out of.
0:12:44 > 0:12:47We don't really want to eat that one. It's all crinkly
0:12:47 > 0:12:48and pretty hot.
0:12:48 > 0:12:52So what do you do with this? What's the point of it?
0:12:52 > 0:12:54So the guys in Trinidad, the way they cook with them
0:12:54 > 0:12:55is they put some pinpricks in them
0:12:55 > 0:12:58and they use one chilli to spice seven pots of stew.
0:12:58 > 0:13:00You would never eat this as is.
0:13:00 > 0:13:03I've tried it. It's not something I'd do again.
0:13:03 > 0:13:05JAMES LAUGHS
0:13:05 > 0:13:08We are going to cook an authentic margherita pizza
0:13:08 > 0:13:10but with the addition of some of your chillies,
0:13:10 > 0:13:13and then do a nice little lobster calzone,
0:13:13 > 0:13:15with whatever you fancy putting in really.
0:13:15 > 0:13:19The first thing I want to do is make that pizza dough.
0:13:19 > 0:13:21I use 00 flour for this. It's a combination...
0:13:21 > 0:13:25The best pizzas come from a place called San Michele, which is
0:13:25 > 0:13:29in Naples. It's an amazing pizzeria. There's a queue a mile long.
0:13:29 > 0:13:30They do about 2,000 pizzas.
0:13:30 > 0:13:33They only do two different types of pizzas. They do with cheese
0:13:33 > 0:13:35and without cheese. That's it.
0:13:35 > 0:13:40This is the pizza dough that I got from there. 00 flour, 800g.
0:13:40 > 0:13:44200g of semolina flour. A pinch of sugar. A pinch of salt.
0:13:44 > 0:13:47Then, they use dried yeast as well.
0:13:47 > 0:13:51So basically what you do is you take the dried yeast and chuck it in.
0:13:51 > 0:13:55So, for this one, there's about 14g of dried yeast.
0:13:55 > 0:14:00The key to this really - it's a bit like the stove behind me -
0:14:00 > 0:14:03you need to prepare this in advance. So what you need to do is
0:14:03 > 0:14:06stick it onto a machine and in we go with the warm water.
0:14:06 > 0:14:09You need to make this into a dough.
0:14:09 > 0:14:12What you are creating is a little sort of sourdough really, for this.
0:14:15 > 0:14:17If you don't have a fancy mixer,
0:14:17 > 0:14:20this dough is easily kneaded by hand. And that is the sort of
0:14:20 > 0:14:23texture that we're looking at for our dough.
0:14:23 > 0:14:24Mould it up into little balls
0:14:24 > 0:14:28and then we're going to make our sauce to go with this.
0:14:28 > 0:14:30Now, many people, when they're making pizzas,
0:14:30 > 0:14:34cook tomatoes down with onions and garlic and things like that.
0:14:34 > 0:14:38But when you actually see this made properly and for real,
0:14:38 > 0:14:41in Italy, they use San Marzano tomatoes.
0:14:41 > 0:14:45San Marzano are a type of Italian plum tomato, sweeter flavoured
0:14:45 > 0:14:48and less seeds than other varieties.
0:14:48 > 0:14:51You don't need to add anything else to make your margherita sauce.
0:14:53 > 0:14:57Just blitz this into a puree and you've got your finished article.
0:14:57 > 0:15:00Then what you need to do with the dough is leave it to prove
0:15:00 > 0:15:02and leave it to prove in the fridge.
0:15:02 > 0:15:06This is where you get that sort of sourness, crisp on the outside.
0:15:06 > 0:15:08It will be nice and crispy but also soft in the middle.
0:15:08 > 0:15:10I need you to pick a chilli then.
0:15:10 > 0:15:13What are we going to go for with this? This one's a little margherita.
0:15:13 > 0:15:16- How hot do you like it? - Not that hot really.
0:15:16 > 0:15:18I'll give you a choice of two here.
0:15:18 > 0:15:20You've got a lovely Caribbean flavoured habanero,
0:15:20 > 0:15:23quite hot, or a standard garden centre Apache.
0:15:24 > 0:15:27I will try one of your habanero ones then. We'll try that one.
0:15:27 > 0:15:29Tell me about the seeds in chilli then.
0:15:29 > 0:15:32Do we take these out or leave them in?
0:15:32 > 0:15:34The seeds give a kind of bitterness taste.
0:15:34 > 0:15:38In terms of the heat, the heat's in the tissue surrounding the seeds.
0:15:38 > 0:15:41When you take the seeds out, you're taking that tissue out as well.
0:15:41 > 0:15:44It's making the chilli slightly less hot, more bearable
0:15:44 > 0:15:48and you get much more of the flavour of the chilli than just the heat.
0:15:48 > 0:15:51'A classic margherita pizza needs mozzarella
0:15:51 > 0:15:54'but I like to add another great Italian cheese
0:15:54 > 0:15:57'to the mix, pecorino.'
0:15:57 > 0:16:00It's like a salted Parmesan really.
0:16:03 > 0:16:06It's quite unusual but you can buy it from the supermarket.
0:16:06 > 0:16:09It is unusual but it's actually... It's the salt
0:16:09 > 0:16:12that benefits the pizza, I think, more than anything else.
0:16:12 > 0:16:15We need to grate a little bit of this.
0:16:15 > 0:16:18'Lightly cover your pizza base with the tomato sauce,
0:16:18 > 0:16:23'roughly torn mozzarella and some of that habanero chilli.
0:16:23 > 0:16:26'Grated Pecorino and fresh basil next.
0:16:26 > 0:16:30'Finally, finish with some peanut oil. Why peanut?
0:16:30 > 0:16:33'Well, that's what the old guy used in the Naples restaurants
0:16:33 > 0:16:35'so who am I to argue?'
0:16:37 > 0:16:39So, you get plenty of flour on your pizza shovel.
0:16:39 > 0:16:41You can do this at home.
0:16:41 > 0:16:43You don't need a fancy pizza oven that I've got
0:16:43 > 0:16:45but a pizza stone is really good.
0:16:48 > 0:16:50Put that on the pizza shovel. This is a bit of DIY, this,
0:16:50 > 0:16:53and I learnt this from that old boy in that Italian restaurant.
0:16:53 > 0:16:56It means when you throw it in the oven, you just pull it back
0:16:56 > 0:16:58and the pizza should, in theory, just slide off.
0:17:02 > 0:17:05I mean, this oven is hotter than hell, trust me.
0:17:05 > 0:17:08You think those chillies are hot, this is about 500 degrees
0:17:08 > 0:17:12and when it's fully hot, this will cook in about 20 to 30 seconds.
0:17:12 > 0:17:16At home, use a pizza stone, put your oven on as high as possible,
0:17:16 > 0:17:17as hot as it will possibly go.
0:17:25 > 0:17:29Pizza done, it's time to cut a slice and I have the perfect tool.
0:17:29 > 0:17:33This is the random sort of gift... When you get a chef that has
0:17:33 > 0:17:37got all the gadgets in the world... Thanks, sis.
0:17:37 > 0:17:40I get a pizza cutter in the shape of a car.
0:17:40 > 0:17:42You can use it for the very first time.
0:17:44 > 0:17:46Unlike a lot of things I get from my sister for Christmas,
0:17:46 > 0:17:49this actually works, which is a first for me.
0:17:49 > 0:17:51Dive in. Tell us what you think.
0:17:51 > 0:17:54That tastes good. You can really taste that cheese.
0:17:54 > 0:17:57The cheese is really good. What about your chilli?
0:17:57 > 0:17:58Lovely flavour of the habanero,
0:17:58 > 0:18:01a little bit of afterheat coming in. Definitely worth a try.
0:18:01 > 0:18:05'My next pizza is a calzone, a folded pizza which you can
0:18:05 > 0:18:07'stuff with different fillings.
0:18:07 > 0:18:11'And the boys have a perfect sauce to go in it.'
0:18:11 > 0:18:17For fish dishes, I'd pick my mango sauce. It's quite sweet.
0:18:17 > 0:18:21We've got some mustard in there. We've got some onion and vinegar.
0:18:21 > 0:18:23We've got some yellow habaneros. Very good flavour.
0:18:23 > 0:18:26- Works very well with fish. - I'm going to have a bit.
0:18:26 > 0:18:27You can actually taste this as it is really.
0:18:27 > 0:18:30- It's not going to blow my head off, is it?- No, no, not at all.
0:18:30 > 0:18:33It's about a moderate heat. You'll be fine.
0:18:33 > 0:18:36- It's quite hot though, isn't it? - You wouldn't use too much.
0:18:38 > 0:18:41Then we've got the lobster here which we are going to chop up.
0:18:42 > 0:18:45You put lobster, lobster tail.
0:18:45 > 0:18:49You see, this is a fancy calzone. And then grab loads of basil.
0:18:49 > 0:18:51Get in some of this peanut oil
0:18:51 > 0:18:54because I think this makes a difference as well.
0:18:54 > 0:18:58Then we will put more of this pecorino cheese...
0:18:58 > 0:19:01over the top. That is quite warm, isn't it?
0:19:01 > 0:19:03You don't need too much of it.
0:19:03 > 0:19:05JAMES COUGHS
0:19:05 > 0:19:10- That's as hot as I go.- Now you tell me! Now I've put it in here.
0:19:10 > 0:19:14'Once all the ingredients are on the pizza, fold it in half
0:19:14 > 0:19:15'and pinch around the edges to seal.'
0:19:15 > 0:19:18Hot oven. In there.
0:19:20 > 0:19:23About five minutes. I need a drink.
0:19:25 > 0:19:30Look at that. For anybody that's just turned on...a Cornish pasty.
0:19:30 > 0:19:33'Now, will this one be too hot to handle?'
0:19:35 > 0:19:37You are wary now, you see!
0:19:37 > 0:19:40The mango works really well with that, doesn't it?
0:19:41 > 0:19:43- Lobster in there as well.- Lovely.
0:19:45 > 0:19:47Tastes really good though, doesn't it?
0:19:47 > 0:19:50'I think those two pizzas with the chilli kick could grace
0:19:50 > 0:19:53'the menu of any pizza restaurant in Napoli.
0:19:53 > 0:19:56'And they definitely knock the crusts off any takeaway.
0:19:56 > 0:19:59'Just remember to avoid that Trinidad scorpion,
0:19:59 > 0:20:01'because it's got a bit of a sting.'
0:20:01 > 0:20:05Don't go near it. You've been warned. Trust me.
0:20:08 > 0:20:10But of all the takeaway dishes, there is one
0:20:10 > 0:20:14that has a special place in our hearts, the curry.
0:20:14 > 0:20:17And this love affair has been going on through the ages.
0:20:19 > 0:20:21Food historian Dr Annie Grey
0:20:21 > 0:20:25runs traditional English cookery workshops at Essex stately home
0:20:25 > 0:20:30Audley End, the perfect place to explore how this spicy dish
0:20:30 > 0:20:33got 19th-century cooks all fired up.
0:20:34 > 0:20:37Curry is phenomenally popular in Victorian England.
0:20:37 > 0:20:41Queen Victoria declares herself Empress of India in 1877
0:20:41 > 0:20:46and has curry for breakfast. She even has her own Indian chefs cooking it.
0:20:46 > 0:20:48But we've eaten it for far longer than that and it goes back at
0:20:48 > 0:20:52least as far back as the 18th century in terms of our history with it.
0:20:52 > 0:20:55There's at least one curry house in Britain by the 1820s.
0:20:56 > 0:21:00'The Empire had a huge influence on our taste buds and soon,
0:21:00 > 0:21:04'every home cook had their own version of a curry.'
0:21:04 > 0:21:08The recipe that I'm cooking today comes from a manuscript cookbook.
0:21:08 > 0:21:09I don't know who wrote it.
0:21:09 > 0:21:12I don't know anything about where it comes from.
0:21:12 > 0:21:14But it was obviously written by somebody with
0:21:14 > 0:21:17a connection to the Raj. I presume it's mid 19th century.
0:21:17 > 0:21:21The recipe I'm doing is called bhaji curry and it involves shrimps,
0:21:21 > 0:21:25spinach, onion and curry powder, along with ginger and cayenne.
0:21:25 > 0:21:29It really is dead easy, very simple and absolutely delicious -
0:21:29 > 0:21:32perfect for your Victorian middle-class family to cook at home.
0:21:32 > 0:21:35So, we are going to start this recipe with shrimps.
0:21:35 > 0:21:38You can use prawns, anything you want, if you're doing it at home.
0:21:38 > 0:21:41'When Victorians fancied something quick
0:21:41 > 0:21:45'and convenient, reaching for takeaways was not the done thing.
0:21:45 > 0:21:49'Street food was seen as the preserve of the working classes
0:21:49 > 0:21:52'and in polite circles, it was all about home cooking.'
0:21:53 > 0:21:57Normally, Victorian recipe books are quite specific about how you
0:21:57 > 0:21:58cook spinach.
0:21:58 > 0:22:02They suggest that once you've rinsed it,
0:22:02 > 0:22:06you should cook it with simply the water that hangs about the leaves.
0:22:06 > 0:22:09'Cookery writing really took off in the Victorian era
0:22:09 > 0:22:13'but just like today, each home cook had their own secrets.'
0:22:13 > 0:22:16I think one of the really nice things about books like this,
0:22:16 > 0:22:19especially when they are books that have been written by somebody
0:22:19 > 0:22:22and aren't just part of the printed repertoire of books,
0:22:22 > 0:22:25is that they are a written record of someone's experience
0:22:25 > 0:22:29and what we're doing here is bringing it back to life,
0:22:29 > 0:22:32literally tasting somebody in the past's experience.
0:22:32 > 0:22:34There is something a little bit magical, I always think,
0:22:34 > 0:22:36about that as well.
0:22:36 > 0:22:39Once my butter has melted and it's starting to bubble away,
0:22:39 > 0:22:40I'm going to fry my onion.
0:22:42 > 0:22:44So, there we go.
0:22:44 > 0:22:49'Once they are softened, it's time to add the all-important spices.'
0:22:49 > 0:22:52In a kitchen like this, quite a big country house,
0:22:52 > 0:22:55spices would have been used quite frequently and even
0:22:55 > 0:22:58among the middling sorts, they weren't that expensive by this era.
0:22:58 > 0:23:01You could buy mass-produced curry powder, which was very popular
0:23:01 > 0:23:04in the Victorian era, and that is what I've got here.
0:23:04 > 0:23:06So I'm going to add in a bit of that.
0:23:06 > 0:23:10Looks about right, doesn't it? Then I'm going to grab some cayenne.
0:23:10 > 0:23:13Cayenne is a spice which is phenomenally popular
0:23:13 > 0:23:16in Victorian England. It adds a really nice, spicy back note.
0:23:16 > 0:23:19The last spice I'm going to use is ginger.
0:23:19 > 0:23:21I'm just going to use a little bit of that.
0:23:23 > 0:23:25This is a really quick dish to prepare
0:23:25 > 0:23:28and it's one of the reasons that these dishes were so popular,
0:23:28 > 0:23:32because you could just turn them out in minutes.
0:23:32 > 0:23:35They are one of those things that comes under the heading of made
0:23:35 > 0:23:39dishes, so something that's a bit fancier than just a lump of meat,
0:23:39 > 0:23:41something to show off the skill of your cook,
0:23:41 > 0:23:44but they also have this strange position of leftover dishes.
0:23:44 > 0:23:47They are one of those dishes that actually could have been served
0:23:47 > 0:23:50at any time of day, for any meal and any occasion.
0:23:50 > 0:23:52The final ingredient is coconut.
0:23:52 > 0:23:55I'm using desiccated coconut which was extremely
0:23:55 > 0:23:57popular for the Victorians.
0:23:57 > 0:24:00They put it in everything, including cakes.
0:24:06 > 0:24:09Now, obviously, we could just schlep this on a plate,
0:24:09 > 0:24:11but that would not be terribly Victorian.
0:24:11 > 0:24:14The Victorian middle classes tend to regard dinner
0:24:14 > 0:24:18as a form of warfare, so just chucking this on a plate and putting it
0:24:18 > 0:24:19in front of your honoured guests,
0:24:19 > 0:24:22you're not going to win any battles like that.
0:24:22 > 0:24:25So, of course, we are going to decorate the hell out of it.
0:24:30 > 0:24:33'And Annie's weapons of choice are a ring of rice,
0:24:33 > 0:24:36'topped with chopped spinach and a ring of walnuts.
0:24:36 > 0:24:38'I think I'd rather have a poppadom.
0:24:40 > 0:24:42'And there you have it.
0:24:42 > 0:24:45'An authentic Anglo-Indian curry,
0:24:45 > 0:24:48'exotic convenience food Victorian style.'
0:24:50 > 0:24:53You can have this throughout the day, throughout the night,
0:24:53 > 0:24:56no matter what you are doing, any time, any place,
0:24:56 > 0:25:00any ingredient, anything in a cupboard, chuck it in.
0:25:00 > 0:25:01Lovely!
0:25:03 > 0:25:06'Well, if Indian curries are one of the oldest exotic dishes
0:25:06 > 0:25:10'we now enjoy as a takeaway, then Thai is a relative newcomer.
0:25:13 > 0:25:16'Although famous for their red and green curries,
0:25:16 > 0:25:19'Thai cuisine often takes food from its neighbours
0:25:19 > 0:25:22'and adapts it using their own unique flavours.
0:25:24 > 0:25:27'And I'm going to do the same with my next takeaway treat,
0:25:27 > 0:25:31'as I add my own Thai twist on that classic Chinese dish,
0:25:31 > 0:25:35'crispy chilli beef, served with my sticky rice omelette.'
0:25:40 > 0:25:43I use fillet of beef for this but you could use sirloin. You can use rump.
0:25:43 > 0:25:46It's entirely up to you. The meat needs to be nice and tender.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49So, the first thing we are going to do with our fillet is cut it
0:25:49 > 0:25:53into thin strips. To do that, use a really sharp knife,
0:25:53 > 0:25:56and the idea of this is obviously deep-fried crispy chilli beef.
0:25:56 > 0:25:59You get that when you cut it quite thin.
0:25:59 > 0:26:03It's important with this that you take your time
0:26:03 > 0:26:05and get this nice and thin.
0:26:05 > 0:26:09So the crispy part of this comes in the form of a mixture
0:26:09 > 0:26:12of several ingredients really, Szechuan pepper being one.
0:26:12 > 0:26:15What we are going to do with this - you can toast this,
0:26:15 > 0:26:18but we are going to grind it down in a pestle and mortar.
0:26:21 > 0:26:24Throw in...the Szechuan.
0:26:24 > 0:26:29Then we use a combination of fruit for this, really, but the zest of the fruit.
0:26:29 > 0:26:32I'm going to use orange and lime for this.
0:26:32 > 0:26:36What I'm going to do now is combine this with some of this stuff.
0:26:36 > 0:26:38This is rice flour.
0:26:38 > 0:26:42It actually almost looks like cornflour but a lot whiter really.
0:26:42 > 0:26:46What this is going to do is crisp up in our fryer.
0:26:47 > 0:26:52'If you don't have rice flour, cornflour will do the job too.'
0:26:52 > 0:26:54Before I add the beef into the mix,
0:26:54 > 0:26:58what you do need to do is combine that with a touch of oil.
0:26:58 > 0:27:02Take the beef and just roll...the beef in the oil.
0:27:03 > 0:27:09What this is going to do is help this rice flour stick to the meat.
0:27:10 > 0:27:13Now, this is actually cooked in two parts.
0:27:13 > 0:27:15Firstly, it's deep-fried, and then secondly,
0:27:15 > 0:27:18a sauce is what you need to finish it off.
0:27:18 > 0:27:20What we are going to do is deep-fry these in batches,
0:27:20 > 0:27:23because if we deep-fry it too quickly, it's going to reduce
0:27:23 > 0:27:25the temperature of the oil, which is really, really hot.
0:27:25 > 0:27:28This oil is set at 180 degrees - as hot as it will go.
0:27:30 > 0:27:34'Now it's time to get some Thai flavours in this dish.
0:27:34 > 0:27:39'Finely chop some lemongrass, chilli, lime leaves and ginger.
0:27:39 > 0:27:42'Heat the sugar and rice wine together in a wok
0:27:42 > 0:27:45'and add all the chopped ingredients.
0:27:45 > 0:27:49'As I like this dish hot, I'm adding chilli flakes for good measure.'
0:27:49 > 0:27:52Now, the key to this is bringing this to the boil...
0:27:53 > 0:27:55..and reducing it down.
0:27:55 > 0:27:57As it reduces, it cooks all the ingredients
0:27:57 > 0:28:00but also goes lovely and sticky, almost like a syrup.
0:28:02 > 0:28:05Now, what you can see now is actually the texture starts
0:28:05 > 0:28:08to change with this, it starts to get sticky.
0:28:08 > 0:28:12You can see it's starting to get syrupy.
0:28:12 > 0:28:14This is the texture that we want,
0:28:14 > 0:28:18and all that sort of rice wine has evaporated away
0:28:18 > 0:28:21and reduced it down to a syrup.
0:28:21 > 0:28:23So at this point, throw the beef in.
0:28:25 > 0:28:28Then you need to work quite quickly really,
0:28:28 > 0:28:30and what you do is shake the wok.
0:28:31 > 0:28:33Take it off the heat.
0:28:33 > 0:28:36What you're doing is coating this in the sauce.
0:28:36 > 0:28:40You can see now this beef is almost brought back to life.
0:28:41 > 0:28:44Then all we do is pour that...
0:28:45 > 0:28:46..into the bowl.
0:28:48 > 0:28:52I'm going to serve that with a sort of equally quick rice dish -
0:28:52 > 0:28:54even quicker, really, with this one.
0:28:54 > 0:28:56This is where you can use any leftover rice.
0:28:56 > 0:28:58I've got some sticky rice here.
0:28:58 > 0:29:02Sticky rice is made from a glutinous grain that becomes sticky
0:29:02 > 0:29:03once it's cooked.
0:29:05 > 0:29:09What you need to do is get the wok really hot. A little bit of oil.
0:29:10 > 0:29:14And about four eggs. It's more, really, like an omelette.
0:29:15 > 0:29:19A little bit of soy sauce. No need for any seasoning in here.
0:29:19 > 0:29:22You want to get the wok nice and hot.
0:29:24 > 0:29:27Grab some plain oil, not olive oil, just a bit of veg oil in there.
0:29:27 > 0:29:30In we go with the eggs, and at the same time, swirl it around.
0:29:34 > 0:29:37All around the edge. You've almost got a massive omelette.
0:29:37 > 0:29:39Then what you do is you take your rice.
0:29:41 > 0:29:43Place that in the centre.
0:29:43 > 0:29:47Then gradually... bring the omelette...
0:29:49 > 0:29:53..into the centre of the pan. Fold it over quickly like that.
0:29:53 > 0:29:56So, really, with this you've got like a massive omelette cake.
0:29:56 > 0:30:00Then what we do is we cut this into pieces,
0:30:00 > 0:30:03and there you have it, a takeout at home, really.
0:30:05 > 0:30:10It's crunchy, it's sticky, it's spicy and it's so simple.
0:30:10 > 0:30:15Could you get better from your local takeaway? Don't think so.
0:30:23 > 0:30:27If Asian and Mediterranean flavours dominate our takeouts,
0:30:27 > 0:30:31thousands of artisan and table-top producers are introducing
0:30:31 > 0:30:35brand-new, exciting ingredients to the British palate.
0:30:35 > 0:30:38One couple in north London are passionate about bringing
0:30:38 > 0:30:42the vibrant flavours of African cuisine to a much wider audience.
0:30:45 > 0:30:50I'm Bim, one half of Bim's Kitchen, which is me and my wife Nicola.
0:30:50 > 0:30:53We're based in Palmers Green in north London.
0:30:53 > 0:30:58We make a range of handmade, African-inspired sauces and condiments.
0:30:58 > 0:31:02This little kitchen is where all the magic happens.
0:31:02 > 0:31:05We have won eight Great Taste awards,
0:31:05 > 0:31:08which are awarded annually by the Guild Of Fine Food.
0:31:08 > 0:31:10That gave us the confidence that, look,
0:31:10 > 0:31:13if, against all these thousands of products that were submitted
0:31:13 > 0:31:16for these awards annually, ours actually stood out as being
0:31:16 > 0:31:21good enough to get these, maybe they are as good as people are telling us.
0:31:21 > 0:31:24A lot of people I suspect still don't believe this is all made
0:31:24 > 0:31:26from a small home kitchen, which is what it is,
0:31:26 > 0:31:29especially when we say to them, actually, it isn't just the cooking
0:31:29 > 0:31:32that's done at home. We literally do everything.
0:31:33 > 0:31:38We're just about to start making some baobab chilli jam,
0:31:38 > 0:31:40which involves boiling some hibiscus petals.
0:31:40 > 0:31:43It's got a wonderful, vibrant red colour,
0:31:43 > 0:31:47which really enhances the look and the taste.
0:31:47 > 0:31:53You will start to see a very nice red colour almost immediately
0:31:53 > 0:31:54as it hits the water.
0:31:54 > 0:31:59That really intensifies as the water gets hotter.
0:32:02 > 0:32:05Hibiscus petals can often be found in fruit tea blends.
0:32:05 > 0:32:07They're used to add an extra layer of flavour
0:32:07 > 0:32:10and a vibrant colour to the brew.
0:32:10 > 0:32:13This is the fruit from the baobab tree,
0:32:13 > 0:32:15which grows all over sub-Saharan Africa.
0:32:15 > 0:32:20Inside, you have seeds, surrounded by this naturally dry pulp, which,
0:32:20 > 0:32:24when rubbed off the seeds, looks like that.
0:32:24 > 0:32:29This powder has got more vitamin C than oranges,
0:32:29 > 0:32:33more calcium than milk, more antioxidants than goji berries.
0:32:33 > 0:32:36It tastes a little bit like old-fashioned sherbet.
0:32:36 > 0:32:38Slightly sweet, slightly sour.
0:32:38 > 0:32:41We just thought, God, this is such a unique African ingredient,
0:32:41 > 0:32:43we had to find something to do with it.
0:32:43 > 0:32:46Locally in Africa, the tree itself is most popularly known
0:32:46 > 0:32:48as the upside-down tree,
0:32:48 > 0:32:52and just such a unique part of the African landscape.
0:32:52 > 0:32:56Baobab is very high in pectin, so it's perfect for jam making.
0:32:56 > 0:32:59The next ingredient is Demerara sugar,
0:32:59 > 0:33:03which acts as a natural preservative as well as sweetening the jam.
0:33:05 > 0:33:08I went to live in Nigeria when I was about ten, 11 years old,
0:33:08 > 0:33:13and I kind of went from normal English cuisine over here to
0:33:13 > 0:33:16being thrust into this completely different cuisine,
0:33:16 > 0:33:18things I'd never heard of, never seen before.
0:33:18 > 0:33:22I learned how to cook a lot of traditional recipes
0:33:22 > 0:33:25and that's how I found out about a lot of the things which may
0:33:25 > 0:33:29seem more obscure over here but which we use an awful lot in Africa.
0:33:30 > 0:33:33The final ingredients are added to the jam,
0:33:33 > 0:33:36including chilli flakes, ginger and salt.
0:33:36 > 0:33:39When the consistency is just right,
0:33:39 > 0:33:41the jam is ready to put in sterilised jars.
0:33:43 > 0:33:46Scientifically, turning it upside down helps
0:33:46 > 0:33:53the vacuum in the jar to form more quickly as the product goes down,
0:33:53 > 0:33:56and that's what gives you that reassuring pop
0:33:56 > 0:34:00when you open the jar for the first time.
0:34:00 > 0:34:03You know everything is as it should be.
0:34:03 > 0:34:07Superstition has it that if you do make anything with
0:34:07 > 0:34:12the baobab fruit that is left over, you should store it upside down,
0:34:12 > 0:34:16just like the name of the tree suggests, the upside-down tree.
0:34:16 > 0:34:20So whether it's for scientific purposes or superstition,
0:34:20 > 0:34:23we're hopefully covered either way.
0:34:23 > 0:34:25It's very important for us to do tastes as we like doing them.
0:34:25 > 0:34:28Every week, we're somewhere doing a tasting,
0:34:28 > 0:34:30or doing something to basically
0:34:30 > 0:34:33get people to know more about our products.
0:34:33 > 0:34:36Baskervilles Tea Shop is a local business that
0:34:36 > 0:34:38stocks Bim's range of sauces.
0:34:38 > 0:34:41Bim and Nicola are always keen to introduce customers
0:34:41 > 0:34:43to their new flavours.
0:34:44 > 0:34:47Even the less spicy one is beautiful,
0:34:47 > 0:34:51they've got a lovely kind of delicate flavour to them.
0:34:54 > 0:34:57Delicious. And it's got a little sweet tang to it.
0:34:59 > 0:35:02Our products complement a lot of very common takeaway food,
0:35:02 > 0:35:04be they burgers or sausages -
0:35:04 > 0:35:07our ketchup and barbecue sauces work well with that.
0:35:07 > 0:35:09I hope some of the things we do
0:35:09 > 0:35:12with baobab and all these other ingredients we use
0:35:12 > 0:35:14do inspire people to experiment,
0:35:14 > 0:35:18to try new things, go and explore the food Africa has to offer as well.
0:35:22 > 0:35:26Well, so far our takeaway express has visited Africa, India, China
0:35:26 > 0:35:28and Thailand.
0:35:28 > 0:35:30So it's about time we headed back home.
0:35:35 > 0:35:38They say Britain's most popular takeout meal is curry,
0:35:38 > 0:35:41but I don't know what's going on with us all,
0:35:41 > 0:35:43it's got to be fish and chips for me.
0:35:43 > 0:35:47And that great British takeaway has to regain the top spot
0:35:47 > 0:35:49with my take on this classic.
0:35:50 > 0:35:53Beer-battered hake with all the trimmings.
0:35:53 > 0:35:55Crispy onion rings, home-made mushy peas,
0:35:55 > 0:35:57and chunky tartar sauce.
0:35:59 > 0:36:03First thing I'm going to do is do our mushy peas.
0:36:03 > 0:36:05For these, you need these fellows.
0:36:06 > 0:36:09These are little dried marrow-fat peas,
0:36:09 > 0:36:12but what you do need to do before you start to cook them
0:36:12 > 0:36:16is just soak them. For that, just cold water,
0:36:16 > 0:36:19sit them in cold water for about an hour, an hour and a half.
0:36:19 > 0:36:23They will just sit there nicely, gradually starting to expand
0:36:23 > 0:36:24while we can make our batter.
0:36:24 > 0:36:27The batter for this - there's loads of different versions
0:36:27 > 0:36:30of batter nowadays, but this one is mine.
0:36:30 > 0:36:34I use plain flour, but it is a beer batter. Plain flour first of all.
0:36:34 > 0:36:38A pinch of salt and a little pinch of sugar.
0:36:38 > 0:36:43Sounds weird, but it's one of the things that feeds the yeast
0:36:43 > 0:36:45that I'm going to put in there as well.
0:36:45 > 0:36:47And then this is the yeast.
0:36:47 > 0:36:50Instead of using dried yeast, I always use fresh yeast.
0:36:51 > 0:36:54It's actually quite simple to get hold of.
0:36:54 > 0:36:57If you're friendly with your supermarket bakers,
0:36:57 > 0:36:58they will use this stuff.
0:36:58 > 0:37:01They won't use the dried yeast, they will use the fresh one.
0:37:01 > 0:37:05You just want a little bit in the mix.
0:37:05 > 0:37:08Although it has less shelf life, fresh yeast for me
0:37:08 > 0:37:12is always better than dry. I keep mine stored in the fridge.
0:37:14 > 0:37:17A little bit of vinegar, going to use cider vinegar for this,
0:37:17 > 0:37:19this helps crisp up the batter.
0:37:19 > 0:37:21And then some proper beer.
0:37:21 > 0:37:24When I say proper beer, I mean proper beer,
0:37:24 > 0:37:26not that fancy lager stuff.
0:37:26 > 0:37:31It's got to be really good-quality Yorkshire bitter.
0:37:31 > 0:37:33We mix this together.
0:37:33 > 0:37:36Now, one thing you do have to do with this is just
0:37:36 > 0:37:40put enough beer in it so it's slightly loose.
0:37:40 > 0:37:43You're almost looking I suppose like a pancake batter.
0:37:43 > 0:37:46Cover it over and just leave it to one side.
0:37:46 > 0:37:49That will just gently prove. It wants a good hour,
0:37:49 > 0:37:53or something like that, just to gently, as the yeast starts to work
0:37:53 > 0:37:57and warms up in the room, it starts to puff up the batter
0:37:57 > 0:37:59and create it nice and light.
0:37:59 > 0:38:01Now, for our peas, you want to drain these.
0:38:03 > 0:38:05A little bit of water in here.
0:38:08 > 0:38:11You need some of this stuff, this is bicarb soda.
0:38:11 > 0:38:15What will happen is, as that cooks, it will start to puff up and rise.
0:38:15 > 0:38:19You need to keep your eye on it, keep stirring it,
0:38:19 > 0:38:22and after about 20, 30 minutes, we end up with some mushy peas.
0:38:22 > 0:38:27Gives us enough time to make our little tartar sauce.
0:38:27 > 0:38:30Start your tartar sauce by making a classic mayonnaise.
0:38:32 > 0:38:35First, blend together egg yolks and Dijon mustard.
0:38:37 > 0:38:39Then slowly pour in your oil.
0:38:39 > 0:38:42I like to use rapeseed oil, which gives it a great colour.
0:38:42 > 0:38:47Once it begins to thicken, you can pour the oil in faster.
0:38:47 > 0:38:49See how quickly it can be done, like that,
0:38:49 > 0:38:52and how lovely it is. You should have a go.
0:38:54 > 0:38:57To turn the mayonnaise into tartar sauce, add chopped shallots,
0:38:57 > 0:38:59capers and gherkins.
0:39:01 > 0:39:05Then add chopped parsley and dill, lemon juice, salt and pepper
0:39:05 > 0:39:07and finally mix together.
0:39:07 > 0:39:10It doesn't look anything like bought-in tartar sauce.
0:39:12 > 0:39:16Believe me, it tastes a lot better. Look at that. Proper chunky.
0:39:17 > 0:39:18That's how it should be.
0:39:21 > 0:39:23Now, really, after about 20 or 30 minutes,
0:39:23 > 0:39:27you end up with the great mushy peas that we all know and love, and
0:39:27 > 0:39:32then just finish this off of course with just a little piece of butter.
0:39:34 > 0:39:35Just let that sit there.
0:39:35 > 0:39:38Our batter, you can see all these lovely bubbles, that is
0:39:38 > 0:39:42the yeast and the beer working together as it warms up.
0:39:42 > 0:39:44All those bubbles are going to basically explode
0:39:44 > 0:39:48when it hits the fryer, and create this lovely crisp batter.
0:39:48 > 0:39:50The secret of a great crispy batter
0:39:50 > 0:39:52is to make sure your oil is hot enough.
0:39:52 > 0:39:56The best way to test it also gives you another treat for the plate.
0:39:58 > 0:40:01I know this is a bit weird, putting onion rings in here to go
0:40:01 > 0:40:05with fish, but it's actually a good way to test the oil.
0:40:06 > 0:40:09Let's face it, who doesn't like onion rings?
0:40:09 > 0:40:13This beer batter seems to coat the onion rings really well
0:40:13 > 0:40:15and get it nice and crisp.
0:40:17 > 0:40:21While those onion rings fry, we turn our attention to the fish.
0:40:21 > 0:40:23Now, you can use a variety of different fish out there,
0:40:23 > 0:40:27there's loads to choose from. This is one I'm going to use.
0:40:27 > 0:40:30It's called hake, and it's often... Particularly in France,
0:40:30 > 0:40:31they use it a lot.
0:40:31 > 0:40:35I actually find it easier if you do it out of the basket, because
0:40:35 > 0:40:38when you drop the fish in you've got to do this quite carefully.
0:40:38 > 0:40:41Always do this away from you, a little bit at a time,
0:40:41 > 0:40:44because if you drop it in too soon, it will stick to the bottom,
0:40:44 > 0:40:47and it certainly will stick to the basket.
0:40:48 > 0:40:51If you actually go round the corner and watch the guy
0:40:51 > 0:40:53manning the fryers in your local fish and chip shop,
0:40:53 > 0:40:54this is how you do it.
0:40:54 > 0:40:57Right at the last minute you just drop in the tail.
0:40:57 > 0:41:00This next bit really depends on where you come from, but...
0:41:02 > 0:41:07You've got to have scraps with it. Scraps should be free.
0:41:07 > 0:41:12For some reason, south of Watford, they are 49p a bag,
0:41:12 > 0:41:13which is a sin.
0:41:18 > 0:41:20Then we take our fish...
0:41:27 > 0:41:29Check that out.
0:41:29 > 0:41:32A little sprinkle of the old salt over this.
0:41:35 > 0:41:38Got to have a wedge of lemon. Cut the lemon.
0:41:39 > 0:41:44remove this part of the lemon. Then, when you squeeze the lemon,
0:41:44 > 0:41:48it comes out the bottom and doesn't fly into the next person's face.
0:41:48 > 0:41:51There is a tip. We've got our mushy peas.
0:41:54 > 0:41:57Sometimes I love my job.
0:41:57 > 0:42:01Bread and butter, deep-fried fish, mushy peas, tartar sauce,
0:42:01 > 0:42:03wedge of lemon.
0:42:04 > 0:42:08Proper grub. With this dish, I think I've saved the best for last.
0:42:08 > 0:42:11It will definitely save you a trip to the fish and chip shop.
0:42:11 > 0:42:14And I'm sure you'll agree, it tastes just as good.
0:42:14 > 0:42:18I was always taught as a young kid never to eat anything that is
0:42:18 > 0:42:22as big as your face, but this is definitely one exception.
0:42:22 > 0:42:24Crew, you've got to try this.
0:42:27 > 0:42:30'There's no need to ask this lot twice.
0:42:30 > 0:42:33'They are on this fish supper like seagulls following a fishing boat.
0:42:35 > 0:42:37'I believe we order so many takeaways
0:42:37 > 0:42:41'because we think we can't make them any better at home.
0:42:41 > 0:42:46'But with the right ingredients and a little know-how, we easily can.
0:42:49 > 0:42:52'So the next time you think of having some takeaway,
0:42:52 > 0:42:56'remember you can deliver the goods in the comfort of your own home.'
0:43:00 > 0:43:03If you'd like to know more about how to cook any of the recipes
0:43:03 > 0:43:07featured on today's show, you can get all of them on our website: