Summer Scorchers James Martin: Home Comforts

'The heart of my home is the kitchen.

'And it's here that I love to cook delicious meals

'for my nearest and dearest.'

LAUGHTER ALL: Cheers!

'There's no better way to celebrate everything good in life

'than sharing some great food

'with the people you love.

'These are the dishes I cook when I want to bring people together.'

These are my Home Comforts.

'There's something magical about the British summertime.

'And when the sun is shining, there's nowhere else I'd rather be

'than here, in my little corner of Hampshire.'

For me, the ideal way to make use of those hot summer days

is to combine it with some great grub.

'This time of year is all about eating outdoors.

'So I'll be going rustic in the garden.'

Don't worry about the pips, we call that fibre where I was brought up.

'I'll be following a family tradition. Well, almost.'

My poor granny and auntie

had to prepare 30 tonne of strawberries. That's a lorry-load.

'And my good mate Pierre Koffmann does his best

'to restart the Hundred Years' War.'

Never use English mustard.

What do you mean, it's bad?!

It kills the food.

But because nothing says "summer" quite like a barbecue,

I'm starting off by firing up mine.

And I'm using it to make my veal escalopes with salsa verde.

Now it's often a type of meat that you wouldn't necessarily choose,

but one that works brilliantly over the hot coals.

And I've got a cushion of veal here.

Now you can use the cushion or a loin of veal.

Anything that's nice and tender, that's what you want.

Start off by cutting the veal into slices.

Then put the meat between two sheets of clingfilm.

Now what you want for this is a piece of meat that's nice and lean,

because the minute you then put that on the barbecue,

that fat then just melts straight onto the coals and creates smoke,

which then usually, on a British barbecue, catches fire.

That's why it's important

whenever you're doing barbecues is to get the best-quality meat

you can find, particularly with sausages and burgers.

Next, bat the veal out into escalopes.

Now not only will this tenderise it,

but it'll mean it'll cook very, very quickly.

Now bat it out nice and thin.

They could be barbecued like this,

but to turn them into something really special,

I'm going to create a quick and simple marinade.

Put the zest and juice of a lemon into a bowl, then add mint,

parsley, dill, some chervil and my favourite, tarragon.

I love this stuff.

So often we just stick this with chicken,

but it's so good with meats.

A nice glug of extra virgin olive oil.

And then some garlic. Literally just chop through, straight in.

Now, toss the escalopes in the marinade

until they're thoroughly coated.

I call this a quick marinade.

You've got lemon in there as well,

and you don't want this acid from the lemon to actually cure the meat

as well, so it only wants to sit in there for about five to ten minutes.

This gives me enough time to make the salsa verde,

which I do by chopping up some shallots and garlic,

along with parsley, mint and dill.

I've got some basil in a pot as well.

Just fresh basil, like this.

And then what I love - it's purely an option, it's entirely up to you -

some anchovies, but you've got to get them in really good-quality oil.

Then loosely bind everything together

with some French mustard and capers.

The whole lot just gets chopped together.

Some salt.

Freshly ground black pepper.

'While I'm at it I can season the veal as well.'

I always season it after it's been in the marinade,

because that salt, like the lemon juice,

will cure it as well.

And then we can just put this straight on the barbecue.

Flames this high - perfect.

Flames that high - no good.

While that's cooking, I'm going to wilt some home-grown spinach,

with a bit of olive oil.

The veal, you treat it like steak.

You certainly don't want to overcook it,

particularly a nice piece of veal like this.

You want it to keep nice and moist.

It will only take two to three minutes on each side to cook,

by which time the spinach will be ready as well.

I love food like this.

It really is seasonal to the T, really.

It's everything that you want on just one plate.

Just the salsa verde to finish off now.

Create a little well in the middle, and pour in some olive oil.

Grab a spoon, mix it all in.

It'll take a little bit more, actually.

Just sprinkle this over the top.

Finally, some nice chunks of lemon.

Don't worry about the pips, we call that fibre where I was brought up.

But just let everybody dive in, squeeze the lemon over the top

and fill your boots.

You see, this makes such a nice change from chicken or beef,

particularly when you're outside...

..and the barbecue's out.

Mm!

And it's not burnt, for a change.

A barbecue on a hot, sunny day is pretty much my idea of food heaven.

That is until it's all run out

and I'm on the hunt for dessert.

Then only one thing will do - strawberries.

British strawberries.

The Cheddar Valley in Somerset has been producing these fabulous

summer fruits for over 100 years.

For local father and son Andrew and Chris Seager,

it's a lifetime labour of love.

We're here growing strawberries in our 12 polytunnels.

That keeps the rain off the fruit when it's red and ripe like this.

In the olden days, the season was just six weeks long.

Now we've prolonged that to about 20 weeks.

This variety will go on till late November.

The valley's climate is perfect for growing sweet

and juicy strawberries,

but the Seagers have two other great advantages

when it comes to cultivating flavour.

Mineral-rich water from boreholes on their farm,

and generations' worth of experience.

My grandparents were in strawberries back in the '40s.

When my grandad left the war, he come out and started the farm,

with my gran.

The Cheddar Valley was very famous for its strawberries

in the...after the war.

My father grew them as a part-time job, which many growers did.

I sort of took on from him and we were growing them

under glass cloches and polythene small tunnels.

In its strawberry-producing heyday,

the valley was home to around 250 growers.

There were extra-special efforts

to transport their fruits to the rest of the UK.

There was a train - it was called the Strawberry Line,

and it would travel through the bottom of the village, through

some of the fields and we could put strawberries on the line,

and they would send them anywhere in the country.

The whole community was making a living from the strawberries.

It was a different life.

The Strawberry Line operated for nearly a century,

but its closure in 1963 signalled the end of an era.

The train stopped, the market got competitive

and imports were coming in and there's only, what,

three or four of us left here now in the Cheddar Valley.

The Strawberry Line may be a thing of the past...

..but there's no sign of local demand hitting the buffers.

The Seager family continue to sell their fruit outside their farm,

just as they have since the 1940s.

35 years ago they built a shop here,

and today overheated motorists are still stopping off

to pick up a punnet or two.

We sell quite a few of these when the sun shines,

when it's nice and warm.

People like a nice, round, red, ripe strawberry.

But the shop's most demanding customer is much closer to home.

My boy, who is three, will eat probably one of these a day.

Like we all do on the farm.

We enjoy our strawberries here.

They also respect their roots, which is why Andrew and Chris

are keen to carry on with this great family farming tradition.

I feel proud about the fact that my grandad was here before me,

stood on these fields doing what we're doing now.

Thank you.

I took it over from my father, so, Christopher's taking it over from me

and he's got a son coming on, so who knows, maybe he'll take it on.

Yeah!

For most people,

British strawberries signal the start of summer.

Today, I'm using some from my own garden

to make one of my favourite desserts.

I'm going to go back to my childhood, really, for this one

and do peaches, ice cream with strawberries and jelly,

but kind of like a grown-up version.

But I'm going to use this amazing elderflower presse to make

this wonderful little jelly - it's really simple to make.

Start by putting 100ml of the fizzy presse into a pan.

Then add a tablespoon of caster sugar.

I'm not adding too much of the presse.

Because we've got the bubbles in there, I don't want to lose

that sort of fizz, that zing you get in this jelly.

So that's why I'm only going to put a small amount in at this stage.

And while it's heating up, I can prepare the gelatine.

Now, for me, making your own jelly is really great,

but you've got to be careful with the amount of gelatine that you use.

Too much, you can throw it off the wall and it's horrible.

Too little, and you end up eating it with a straw.

So you've got to get the quantities absolutely bang on,

and for this I'm just going to use five leaves

of this sort of smaller leaf of gelatine.

So we soak that in cold water, and make sure the water is cold.

When the gelatine goes soft,

add it to the pan and then stir it until it all disappears.

Now the good tip with this is to use a spoon,

and just mix the gelatine really carefully.

Now if I whisk this up too much,

you're going to get loads and loads of bubbles in there.

You can't tell whether the gelatine's mixed in enough.

When it's completely dissolved,

add another 350ml of elderflower presse to the mixture.

It has to be exact,

otherwise the jelly won't be the right consistency.

Then, you need to stick your head in the fridge

to avoid spilling the jelly,

as you gently transfer it into a shallow plate,

being careful not to lose too much fizz.

You get these lovely bubbles

appearing in the jelly, which is exactly what we want,

and that's all that elderflower presse

that's coming out in this jelly.

Now you can glam this up a little bit, you could put

a bit of vodka or maybe a bit of gin in there, which is really nice.

Obviously keep that jelly away from the kids.

'Which, of course, means more for the adults.

'Now in my house, you can't have jelly without ice cream,

'and this is my foolproof way to whip some up.

'Start by cutting the tops off some bang-in-season British strawberries.

'Doing this always reminds me of the Martin family's

'distant connections with royalty.'

Now before my family were pig farmers, they were actually

publicans and landlords, and at one particular time the Queen visited -

not to the pub, obviously, but for a jubilee, and visited up in York.

And how on earth my family decided to do the catering for it -

and 3,000 people for a sit-down meal - I dread to think,

when the pub only sat about 60 people.

But they did, and they ordered strawberries and cream for dessert,

and my poor granny and auntie were put on dessert duty

and they had to prepare a lorry-load of strawberries,

and hoping that the Queen would eat them.

She ate one.

Now I'm sure each one of them

argued as to who prepared the one that the Queen ate

but it's a story that went through our family for years and years and years.

When you've prepared all the strawberries,

put them into a bag and chuck them into the freezer.

And I've got some in here that I did last night,

so they're rock-solid frozen.

Now to just add to the flavour of this, I'm just going to use

some vanilla pod.

Just a tiny little bit of vanilla in your machine.

It doesn't want too much.

And then throw in the strawberries.

Next comes some really thick double cream.

So you just put a little bit in first.

Now, put the lid on...

And this is where you need to keep the hand on the machine.

It needs to blitz for about 30 seconds.

The cream freezes

as it comes into contact with the cut-up frozen strawberries.

The first dollops will solidify very quickly.

And at this point, add a touch more cream.

In fact, let's put the whole pot in.

Now it's got to be said,

this is almost the summer right here - strawberries and cream.

What more do you want?

Lid on, and blitz it again.

There's no need to put any sugar in here,

cos the strawberries are lovely and sweet.

So you just keep mixing it.

As you can see, it just grabs hold of it.

Everything just churns into an ice cream.

It looks pretty good to me.

You've now got your own ice cream.

Perfect.

With the ice cream ready and the elderflower jelly set,

I can now put everything together.

I'm serving mine with some finely diced peaches...

and a few strawberries, cut in half.

And then finally, of course, you've got this amazing ice cream.

I'm doing what chefs call a little quenelle.

But you could just do a dollop.

And the problem is with this ice cream, though,

once you've made it, you've got to eat it,

because this doesn't freeze well, the second time round.

But when it tastes this good...

Nothing wrong with that.

Then one last garnish - Greek basil.

It's lovely and sweet.

And in a dessert like this, it kind of works.

So there you have it -

you've got fresh peaches, you've got this lovely elderflower jelly,

some delicious strawberry ice cream, and the whole lot served together.

Everything that's great about the summer, on one plate.

I loved having jelly and ice cream as a boy,

but this grown-up version is definitely a favourite dessert of mine now.

Some of my greatest childhood memories are of summer days

at the seaside.

Fish and chips were always on the menu

and covering it with tomato ketchup was the best bit.

But now Graham Ainslie from Hastings

has come up with a zesty alternative to the nation's favourite chip dip.

Inspiration came when he moved here from London with his young family.

For us, we were looking to have a bit more space,

looking for a traditional town, I guess,

that could provide us with a future home.

And, I mean, it sounds, perhaps, a bit trite,

but as soon as I stepped off the train,

I had a very strong feeling that this would be

the town we'd bring the boys up in and not look back.

The family enjoy coastal life with plenty of fresh seafood to eat,

and these fishy flavours got them thinking

about how they could be enhanced.

I'd been experimenting with various sauces for a number of years

when the kids were quite small.

I was sat with Truman, my son, and we were having fish and chips.

I asked my dad if he wanted ketchup. He said, "No,

"I kind of fancy some lemon ketchup."

Then, the next day, we tried to make it.

This concoction was an instant hit with the kids and his wife Jo.

The flavour is a savoury flavour.

Whenever I taste it,

just the freshness of the lemons that comes out,

it just feels very wholesome because it feels so fresh and zingy.

Their business has been growing

and more orders mean more pots on the go in the family kitchen,

which is where Graham creates his secret recipe.

This will be a batch of lemon ketchup.

There are some chunky general ingredients -

lemon, ginger...

the shallots, the lemon zest

and then the sort of background flavours,

which come in the form of spices.

But you've got warm, peppery flavours

and you've got a secret ingredient,

which adds a lovely sort of zing

that complements the lemon really well.

When we add the spices, the whole thing starts to take character

and you do smell the smell that I'm familiar with

and I think the people of Hastings are slowly becoming familiar with,

which is the smell of the lemon ketchup.

Having escaped the rat race,

Graham was determined his new venture

wouldn't drag the family back to the pressures of city life.

I love making it, it's certainly therapeutic.

I think one of the goals, or the rules,

that I had from the start, really,

was that it should never cause anybody any real stress

or there shouldn't be a moody day around the ketchup.

When Graham launched his sauce on the people,

he needed a name,

so he chose that of his adopted home town - Hastings.

It was interesting to see how the town would buy into it or not,

but it's given us an ability to interact

with the town in a fun way, you know,

both for me - myself - Jo and the boys.

And it seems the locals have embraced it with open arms.

Graham is now supplying a range of delis,

fishmongers and restaurants, all around Hastings.

-Andy.

-How are you doing, all right?

-Yeah, good. Yourself?

Yeah, good, thanks, mate.

It's great. We use it in our salads here,

so we use it for salads, we use it on chicken

and just as a general dipping sauce as well.

It's like a bottle of sunshine, it's beautiful.

Sometimes we fry up a bit of fish here in the shop,

and we'll put a dollop of Hastings Ketchup on the side

and it's lovely.

If you count the lemons in the sauce as one of your five a day,

maybe it'll even help to get kids

eating the other four.

I eat it with, like, vegetables,

because I don't really like broccoli,

so I'd eat it with that.

It's really quite nice with that.

I'm not a big fan of ketchup,

so it's good for there to be another ketchup that I can actually have.

But Graham isn't content to keep his sauce hidden away in Hastings.

I am ambitious for it.

It's exciting to think that the name Hastings is on there,

and that's a positive reflection on the town,

and that people will come to see Hastings in the way that I do,

as a fantastic place to live,

and come and visit and just generally enjoy.

Long summer days are for sharing

as well as cooking, so today I've invited

my Michelin-starred mate Pierre Koffmann around,

to help me with the culinary duties.

-Ah! How are you doing, buddy?

-How are you, how are you doing?

We're going to rustle up a dish that reminds me of summer,

no matter what time of year I make it.

Luckily it's one of Pierre's all-time favourites.

-So, I know you love roast chicken.

-Yes.

With my grandmother at the farm, you know,

every Sunday there was two chicken on a "spitzer",

and that was my grandfather's job, he was to sit next to the fire

sweating like a - like a pig, if you want -

turning, turning the machine.

But we weren't allowed to touch the chicken.

My grandmother would cut a piece of the string

so you'd put it in your mouth and chew it for 15 minutes.

It was full of juice and salt and...

-Yes.

-It was, it was fun, it was very nice. Good memories.

Well, before I get some string for Pierre to chew on,

we're going to make a marinade for the poussin.

Chop up some lemon grass and coriander,

then some garlic, red chillies and ginger.

Cooking side by side with Pierre feels natural now,

but as a shy, spotty teenager,

I desperately wanted to work for him.

I remember coming to London, and I...

-Seriously, I've got old cookbooks of yours.

-Yeah.

I remember thinking, "Right, where do I go and work in London?"

I remember thinking, "Well, it's no good writing to you

"and asking for a job."

The best way to do that is to knock on the door.

It's always better to show your face, you know?

I remember knocking on the door with my knife kit.

I couldn't afford any knife kit.

It was a tea towel rolled with three knives,

and I just put it under my...

-You'd get arrested walking round London like that now.

-Yeah, yeah.

I remember just knocking on the door and you walking through the restaurant.

-I remember legging it.

-Yeah.

That's the one regret I have in my career.

Anyway, before I embarrass Pierre or myself any more,

I'll finish off the marinade with the juice of two limes

and some veg oil.

Once I cover the poussins with this,

they're ready to spit-roast.

Now these have been soaking in the bath overnight.

-That's what you have.

-A broom handle. Right?

Then what we're going to do

is basically just going to put the chicken through the broom handle,

-through here.

-Sure.

Get the little space there.

Straight through there.

That is like camping, you know, where you go to a...

What, like camping with a broom handle?

Or you can find a branch, you know, it would be the same.

I'll stick this through here as well.

I'll let you season it up.

I'm not taking control of the seasoning on this one.

Before roasting, secure them onto the pole with some string,

just like Pierre's grandmother once did.

Right. Happy with that?

That...it looks good.

How does that look?! Right.

Stick it on the fire.

When preparing any raw chicken,

always have a good wipe down afterwards.

Now, to go with the poussin, we're making a very simple salad.

For the dressing start with an egg yolk

and a good spoonful of mustard.

Never use English mustard. I think, English mustard...

-What's wrong with English?

-..should be banned,

you know, it's so bad. So bad.

What do you mean, it's bad?!

-Yeah, it's burning, it's not, you know...

-Eh?

It kills the food.

OK. English viewers, please direct any complaints to Pierre, not me.

Next add walnut vinegar, some water, and season.

The difference between good food and bad food is a pinch of salt.

Then whisk everything together while adding 300ml of veg oil.

Don't use olive oil, olive oil is not good.

I don't like olive oil mixed with mustard.

It's a strange taste.

The salad is only a chopped-up red cabbage,

it doesn't get any simpler than that.

Then mix it together with the dressing

and leave it for about 20 minutes,

by which time the poussin will be done.

Oh, it looks good, actually. You have done a good job.

I'm going to regret you didn't come to work for me, you know.

JAMES LAUGHS

-Can you put me on pot wash?

-To start, yes.

-Oh!

-And peel. Peel potatoes.

THEY CHUCKLE

Now, the best way to check the chicken, I always find,

particularly on a spit like this, is just using a carving fork.

The thickest part, which is generally in by the thigh.

Right in. Touch your lip.

If it burns your lip, which that's done, it's cooked.

As always, Ralph just knows when something tasty is ready.

-That looks pretty good, that.

-Yeah.

I can see the juice running on top of the vegetables,

the top of the salad. It's beautiful.

And the last one.

Now to try Pierre's speciality - roast string.

Chew it for the next 10-15 minutes like a...

It was full of salt and juice and...

You've got to remember when you were six or eight or ten,

you know, it's a different thing now, you know.

-You prefer, you prefer the leg, you know. It's OK, and I agree.

-Yes.

-Right. Do you want a piece?

-Yes. I would love one, yes.

British summer time, cooking on an open fire...

..I'm sorted.

Yes, it doesn't get much better than this -

fantastic food with great company.

Next time the sun shines, get out there and cook,

and share it with friends and family.

It's what summer is all about.

You can find all the recipes from the entire series at:

-MUMBLING:

-Now I will eat a piece of chicken

that has meat attached to it, so it's much better.

-We'll put that bit in subtitles.

-Yeah.