Back to Basics 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.

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 that I cook

when I want to bring people together.

These are my Home Comforts.

I always wanted to be a chef, and from the age of eight,

my goal has remained the same -

I want to cook simple food really well.

So, forget about complicated cooking because going back to basics

will deliver delicious, reliable recipes time and time again.

So often, the best recipes aren't taught.

You kind of just pick them up along the way.

And using those simple recipes can so often give you the best results.

So, today, I'm making some of the all-time greats,

like my twist on a deliciously indulgent cake...

They don't get any more simple than a classic sponge.

Not only does it look good, it tastes fantastic.

'..the ultimate fish sandwich using the freshest of British seafood...'

How good does that look?

Oh-ho-ho-ho-ho! Yes!

'..and I stroll down memory lane with my mate and mentor,

'Brian Turner.'

See, what you want to do, Brian, get a bit of this...

It takes you back to the days of dripping and bread.

It wasn't quite like this, lad, was it, eh, in Yorkshire? Yes, Dad.

But when it comes to brilliant, basic recipes,

the Victorians gave us lots and we've adapted them over the years.

The Queen herself gave us the name

for one of my favourite sweet treats - the Victoria sponge.

I've been making it for years,

and I'm going to bring it bang up-to-date by adding

a home-made compote, lashings of fresh cream and mixed berries.

Now, as recipes go, they don't get any more simple

than a classic sponge,

and I'm going to start off by measuring out the ingredients.

Now, it's so easy to remember - it's equal quantities of everything.

It's as simple as that. 200g of each.

So, 200g of sugar, 200g of flour,

200g of butter,

four eggs, which adds up, funnily enough, to 200g.

I just need to add the butter and the sugar together first.

Now, you want soft butter for this.

Not melted, but certainly butter at room temperature.

It just mixes in with the sugar nice and easily.

Now, actually, there are very, very few things left

named after Queen Victoria, apart from the sponge,

but she definitely had a sweet tooth.

Not in her childhood, but certainly made up for it later on in life

where she used to love afternoon teacakes and everything

delivered to the palace.

And this recipe has stood the test of time.

So, what I'm going to do is mix the butter and the sugar together.

Now, there's different methods of making a sponge,

in particular this type of sponge.

There's what they call an all-in-one method where you throw in all

the ingredients together, or what I'm doing now, which is

called the creaming method.

Both methods will work, but I think this works the best.

You see it's starting to come together now,

and you get this thick paste.

Creaming complete, it's time to add those four eggs, one at a time.

Now we can turn our attention to the mould tray.

Prepare the moulds by greasing with butter.

Now, I like to do this by hand, really, rather than a pastry bush,

cos you can get right into the corners.

And then dust them with flour.

So, just mould this around.

Now, it's quite important to tap off the excess, really,

cos that's going to stick to the cake if we're not careful.

I don't line them with paper

because you get little crease marks in the outside of the sponge.

Weigh out 200g of self-raising flour,

and for a richer flavour,

add a generous dollop of vanilla bean paste.

This is why I think this method makes it much lighter -

because we always mix the flour in by hand,

never with the machine, really, for a small quantity like this

cos it overworks the flour and toughens up the cake.

And this is your basic sponge cake, really,

and it's used for so many different things.

Those lovely little iced buns,

the butterfly buns that you used to make as a kid...

And it's one of the, I suppose, the first ever recipes

that a lot of people make.

Divide the mixture evenly between the two moulds.

Make sure the tops are flat and even,

and put the sponges in the oven at Gas Mark 5

or 190 degrees Celsius,

and cook for 20 to 25 minutes.

Now, classically,

this would be filled with a jam - strawberry or raspberry jam.

But over the years, people have started to put in things like cream,

which I think really benefits from this.

And the way that I'm going to make it is actually speed it up.

And by doing that, we add sugar and water together,

in equal quantities, to create a nice stock syrup.

So, just bring this to the boil. It takes about five minutes.

Meanwhile, we can prepare the rest of our fruit.

So, we've got blackberries, I've got raspberries,

I've got redcurrants and I've got strawberries.

Now, this is where I've got a bit of a chequered history with this cake.

I entered it into a WI competition

and went to see whether I'd won first, second or third.

And there wasn't a certificate there, there was a list...

of where I'd gone wrong.

And it was quite a long list.

So, if you're entering a WI competition,

don't use this recipe.

So, once you get the sugar and the water boiling like this,

to a syrup, and then we can add our fruit.

Keep the pan on the heat, keep it boiling.

Now, this isn't a classic way to make jam.

If you were doing this normally, you'd have to use some jam sugar,

but I think it just speeds up the process.

Boil down the fruit for five to six minutes to make a compote

fit for a queen,

if not the Women's Institute.

Now, one tip that I did pick up from the WI was this.

You've got your standard cooling rack,

you take the tea towel and you place it

over the top of the cooling rack,

so when you cool down your sponges, you don't end up with any lines

from the cooling rack indented into your sponge.

Smart, that.

Check that the sponges are ready by pressing your finger in the middle.

They should spring back.

If they do, take them out of their moulds.

Now, all we need to do now

is just leave that to cool for about five to ten minutes.

While the sponges are cooling, whip the cream and you're nearly done.

What I'm going to do is take just some of this compote first of all...

And it is a compote, it's not really a jam, you can see the texture.

It's not a jam that you can keep for any length of time

and certainly not a jam you go entering competitions with.

When Queen Victoria was around, she would have just had jam.

But I like it with lightly whipped double cream.

For a richer fruit hit,

spoon on another layer of compote before adding the second sponge.

Dust with icing sugar, then finish with mixed berries.

Not only does it look good, it tastes fantastic.

Now, I know what'll be happening -

there'll be certain members of the WI shouting at the TV now.

I'm sorry.

A classic sponge like this can taste spectacular with the right filling.

And if it was good enough for Queen Victoria,

it's good enough for me.

Admittedly, I do have a sweet tooth, but there's another type of food

that I'm hugely passionate about - seafood.

It's versatile, simple to cook, and since the UK has an abundance of it,

there's no excuse not to give it a try.

Ben George is a Cornish fisherman

who believes that the best British fish

is caught the slow, sustainable way.

But if he wants a good catch, he's got to get up early.

Very early.

I've just left Sennen Cove Harbour.

It's four o'clock in the morning. We've come away nice and early.

Often, we have our best fishing in what we call the golden hour,

which is the first hour of light.

It's generally the best time because fish often feed at that time.

Once the sun comes up, they go a bit dormant.

Ben bags a spot two and a half miles out at sea to catch pollock,

one of the top five selling fish in the UK.

The trick to catching pollock is to present a bait

in the most natural possible way.

So, obviously, we want our baits to look like a fish,

swim like a fish,

and you end up actually thinking like a fish to outwit them.

That's a nice pollock there. I'm quite happy with that.

Pollock is from the same family as cod and haddock, which have

both been massively overfished by fleets of net-drawing trawlers.

Ben's approach to pollock is much more sustainable.

That's quite a small pollock.

That's what we call a juvenile pollock there.

So, we can put that back now and it'll swim off to fight another day.

And that's the beauty of handline fishing - whatever you catch,

if it's too small, it can go straight back, totally unharmed.

But they're not always easy to land.

As dawn breaks, Ben has to change tactics.

So, as the sun comes up, the fish are going down.

They'll go down in the kelp and they'll have their cover.

And so we're letting out a bit more line

to get the lead in the bait down near the bottom.

I can't really remember a time when I wasn't into fishing.

I spent all my childhood messing around in rock pools,

catching small fish, and in little boats with my brother.

I actually started commercially fishing in 2004,

so we're looking at 11 years ago.

On a day like this, it's the best job in the world,

I'm 100% sure of that,

but when it's blowing a north-easterly five or six

and there's a bit of swell running and you're not catching much,

it's not quite so pleasant.

Working alone against the elements makes for a hard life,

but for Ben, moments like this make it all worthwhile.

That's a cracker. It's like a bar of gold.

Having landed his catch, Ben heads to the shore.

A good morning's fishing. I've got about 80 kilo of pollock here.

The seagulls are happy now. I think they've been waiting for their...

for their brunch all morning.

Think they're hungry?

Wait till you see the gang of famished fishermen

waiting on the quayside.

Here we are, dinner is served.

With fish this fresh,

all you need to do is cook it simply to enjoy it at its best.

Very hungry, yeah.

I had a banana first thing and a couple of sandwiches, so...

It's smelling good, it's looking good

and ready to be dished up soon, I hope.

Here we go.

Thankfully, this fish just takes a few minutes to cook.

It's good, isn't it? It's beautiful. Yeah, it's really nice.

I say, old shipmate, that's a handsome bit of cooking.

You could go a long way.

It could be the start of something new, I think.

Now, that's what I call a catch of the day.

Fresh, simply-cooked seafood is a passion of mine,

and I'm always looking for new ways to enjoy it.

Now, I could do so many different types of fancy food using

that lovely pollock, but just like the end bit there,

it's just got to be served nice and simple.

And they don't come any simpler than this -

my battered pollock baguette with home-made mushy peas and lemon mayo.

There's a seaside fish supper in every single bite.

Now, first thing we're going to do is do our batter.

Now, there are so many different types you can use for this,

but this is my sort of tried and tested, proven one, really,

cos I think the best fish and chips come from

a little bit north of the border,

and that's up in Yorkshire, of course.

To make the batter, add yeast, sugar and salt to plain flour,

a dash of cider vinegar and a great ingredient - beer.

Of course, Yorkshire beer.

But many beer batters, when you start off by making them,

they can be quite heavy and stodgy.

This, I find a much lighter version.

You just mix this together.

And what you're looking for is,

I suppose, the consistency of school custard.

Now, it depends where you went to school,

but it shouldn't have any lumps in it,

but it should resemble sort of that texture, really.

That's certainly how the custard looked when I was at school.

To give the batter a light and airy consistency,

leave it to ferment for a few minutes,

which will give you just enough time to make mayonnaise,

which isn't as difficult as you might think.

I'm actually allergic to shop-bought mayonnaise,

but it is actually really simple to make.

All you need to start off with is a couple of egg yolks.

Now, if you do it in a machine, it's much quicker and much simpler.

All you need is a touch of mustard and rapeseed oil.

Add the oil slowly so that it doesn't curdle.

After a couple of minutes, you'll see

there's this lovely, thick texture.

Now, I'm going to flavour this with the juice and zest of a lemon

cos mayonnaise always needs a little bit of acidity.

Next, add the juice of one lemon and season with salt and pepper.

And then just blitz it again.

And what we end up with is this delicious mayonnaise.

And once you really learn the art of this,

you can transform this into so many different types of sauces.

A little bit of tartare sauce is exactly what I've done here

with the addition of chopped capers, gherkins and herbs.

Now, if you wanted to make your own salad cream,

it's done exactly the same way, but using hardboiled egg yolks.

And then just the final bit, you fold in a touch of whipped cream,

and you've made your own salad cream like that.

But this is perfect. Nice and thick. Exactly what we need for our fish.

Pollock is the ideal fish for this recipe

because it's so easy to cut up into chunks.

Now, this idea of this recipe comes from actually Hastings,

which is famous for Dover sole.

And when I was walking around, I just visited a little stall,

and they used these little slip soles,

which are the smaller soles that they can't sell along the markets.

They would just fillet them - nice and simple, just fillets -

just fry them off in a little bit of flour, just with some butter,

and then put them in a bread bun, just with some lemon mayonnaise.

And you'd grab them and walk around, dodging the seagulls attacking you.

But it was just fantastic and tasted superb.

Now that the batter has puffed up, add a little more beer before

dunking in your fish fillets,

then deep-fry them in oil and dripping -

the perfect combination to get the best colour and flavour.

Now, you cannot have fish and chips without scraps,

and we just take a little bit of the batter

and drizzle this over the top.

The best fish and chips, I have to say,

definitely come from Yorkshire, in particular Whitby.

It's kind of like the South of France,

without the weather.

And I judged the Fish and Chip Shop of the Year once.

They gave it to a guy in Bournemouth.

LAUGHTER Whether you prefer your

fish and chips from Bournemouth or Whitby,

you can't have proper fried fish without proper mushy peas.

It's so easy to make your own mushy peas - you can buy them

in a tin if you want - but these are just marrowfat peas.

These are really easy to prepare. You get these generally in a packet.

They contain a little tablet of bicarb soda.

You put the bicarb and these and water together,

just leave it overnight, and just boil them, really.

Once the batter is golden brown,

take the fish out of the fryer and set aside.

Now it's time to assemble the best fish sandwich

you're ever likely to eat.

A sprinkling of salt over the top.

A nice squeeze of lemon.

How good does that look?

All I need now is just a freezing cold, minus-six gale

blasting through the door, and I'll feel at home.

Slice the baguette in half and smother it in salted butter.

Then cover the bread with a good dollop of the mushy peas.

Put the fish on the top...

..douse the fillets with the delicious lemon mayonnaise...

..and then sprinkle on the gold dust.

That's scraps to you and me.

And listen.

CRUNCHING

Mmmm, mmm-mmm, mmm!

Oh-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho! Yes!

It's a thing of beauty.

I haven't got a clue how you eat it, but it's a thing of beauty.

Remember the scraps.

This chunky sandwich is a true taste of the seaside

and is perfect for sharing.

Except in Whitby, where it'd be a portion for one.

Throughout my years in the kitchen, and on the golf course,

there's been one man constantly breathing down my neck -

fellow Yorkshireman, and my mentor, Brian Turner.

Some say he was cooking before Queen Victoria

had her first slice of sponge.

Not me, though. I wouldn't dare.

Hello, mate. You brought the weather with you, didn't you?

Yeah, at least I'm sober today. Not like last time! Come on in.

Brian's bossed me around kitchens many a time,

but today, we're in mine, so I'm choosing the dish.

Perfect rump steak with creamy brioche leeks.

Now, Brian, I thought what we'd do is griddled rump steak

cos I know you like that. I do.

Cos it is one of the basic cuts, really, I think.

A lot of people go for sirloin nowadays, fillet.

I think this is a cracking cut of meat.

I think that's a lovely piece of meat there.

This is a leek dish to go with it.

Now, I like this cos it uses a combination of cream, leeks,

potatoes, everything all in one dish,

cos I like the simple sort of stuff with steak.

Right, can you half fill that full of water for me, please?

Yes, Chef. Thank you very much.

It's the first time you've ever called me chef.

While Brian adds water to the pan,

I've got time to cube the potato for the creamy leeks.

It's been a while, really, since we've known each other.

I'd say I was eight years old when we first met.

Yeah, I don't know if you remember the whole...the whole experience.

We used to go up to a hotel,

and your father used to come with the wines

and used to speak there.

You used to go up there and do these gourmet dinners, right? Yeah.

There was a little commis chef with a necktie, a big tall chef's hat.

That was me, I was probably about this high.

Yeah. Fully, with a chef's hat on.

Your hat was a big as your ego is today, kid.

Get out! The next time we met was when you were at college,

and we were judging your end-of-term,

end-of-course examination.

You judged my end-of-year exam, you did. I did, yes, yeah.

I got it wrong.

I thought you were good in those days.

These are lovely, these induction tops, aren't they?

Do you like them?

But you've got to be in control. I can feel the power here.

It's the modern way of cooking, you see, Bri.

Yeah. We've moved on from coal.

Have they? I wish they'd told me.

Whatever you're cooking on, heat a pan

and fry a finely chopped shallot and a garlic clove in butter.

I'm going to cut these leeks, and you're going wash them for me,

all right? The easiest way to do it is cut the leek all the way through

like that, from top to tail, leaving the root on the top,

attached. And then if you wash it with the water going down this way,

none of the soil gets stuck inside the leek.

If you wash it this way, the soil in this bit gets stuck in here.

Anyway... 70 years of age, and I've just learnt something.

Get out of here! We've always washed them like this, lad.

Get it washed. Right?

Chop the EXPERTLY washed leeks finely.

Add to the pan with a drop of white wine.

And drain the potatoes.

We couldn't afford potato when I was a lad.

Oh, right, go on. Right, go on, then.

Now, a little bit fresh thyme. Yeah, lovely.

I'm going to chop that up, sprinkle that in there.

I'll put this in your pocket cos you'll only mither

if I put it in the bin. You got a stock pot?

Right, a little bit of that, and then we take some double cream.

Ah, there's my lad.

Right? So, we're going to bring this to the boil...

Right. ..and give it a quick season, salt and pepper.

Go on, then.

I know you want to do it, I know you're itching to season it.

I am, I am.

I do think, in this modern day, we have to be careful of salt

and sugar. Here we go, "When I was a lad,

"we used to rub two twigs together and..." No, shut it. Go on.

We have to be careful with salt and sugar that you add,

but you have to add it to get flavour from it,

at some stage, not always right at the beginning.

Are you a pepper man? It's lovely, isn't it?

So, did you always want to be a chef, then?

Yes. A little birdie told me you wanted to be in a brass band,

was your big thing. I've always been a brass band man.

I love brass bands today, but I would never be good enough to play.

My dad had a transport cafe when he came back from the last World War.

And I, from the age of... Actually, I was probably about eight

when I used to go down to his cafe,

cos we had four kids in five years in our house.

So, to give me mother a bit of rest, he took me down to his cafe,

and I'd make bacon and sausage sandwiches

on a Saturday morning with him.

Right. And dip the top of the Yorkshire teacake

in the bacon fat to get fried bread. And I tell you what,

I'm salivating just thinking about it.

It was really good stuff.

And so I never really wanted to be anything else.

Right. Are you going to toast off the breadcrumbs?

I am, yes, yes, yes.

There's a spoon in the pot if you want one.

And then what we're going do is we're going to take this cream

and brioche mixture, which I think is great with fish,

it's great with beef, chicken, anything. It's just brilliant.

Right, do I want to use up all these three?

Just a little bit, go on.

Cos I know you don't want to waste anything. Not at all, lad.

And of course, it's got texture as well, so... The topping.

Fill individual ovenproof dishes

with two layers of creamy leeks and toasted brioche.

Then top with grated Gruyere cheese

and pop them in the oven until they're golden brown.

Now, you don't get any more basic than cooking steak. No.

So, we've got a basic chef here,

who's now going to teach us how to do it.

So, what I'm going to do first is just congratulate you

and say that that's good... Congratulate me? Yes,

because it's not been in the fridge.

Too many people take a steak from the fridge to cook it.

So, I'm going to use a bit of rapeseed oil

cos I think it's got a lovely colour and it tastes good,

and it's British.

And just put a little bit of oil in there so it doesn't stick.

Then you need to know how much... It doesn't stick,

but you've just ruined my pastry brush.

It's not mine, it's OK. I'm not here tomorrow.

Right, fine, so that goes on there.

And when he's not wrecking my utensils, Brian keeps

an eye on his steak, but doesn't move it until one side is done.

And controversially, he doesn't season it

until halfway through the cooking.

Now pay attention, here comes the science bit.

Don't rush it.

But remember that when you take it off, it will continue to cook,

so you want to give it chance to repose.

So, it's a bit like... Repose? Repose, yes. You've changed.

R-E-P-O-S-E when you look it up.

That means rest, doesn't it? It does, yes.

I want to season this now. Now you put salt and pepper on it?

Now I want to put salt and pepper on it.

So, medium-rare, yeah?

Yeah. How can you tell when it's medium-rare, then?

I've just touched it.

It's a good question,

but the answer, as far as I'm concerned, is it's all by feel.

While Brian butters his rump...

..the brioche leeks are ready to come out of the oven.

Check that out.

I think that's a lovely dish, lad.

But what I do need to do...

Look, don't waste those juices, whatever you do.

See, what you want to do, Brian, get a bit of this... Go on, then.

It takes you back to the days of dripping and bread.

It wasn't quite like this, lad, was it, eh, in Yorkshire? Yes, Dad.

Shall we try this?

Yeah. What do you want it, medium-rare? Yeah. OK.

I tell you what, that's pretty good.

Don't sound so surprised, Mr Martin. You surprise me.

Right, a little bit of this.

Can I tell you, whoever seasoned that is a genius.

Do you know what? I'm happy with that.

Oh, me too, the simplicity... Yeah. ..and basics, very tasty,

and that couldn't be easier.

So, back then, when you gave me my little tick on my exam...

Yeah. ..think it paid off? Well, you've never paid me.

I'll buy you a golf ball later.

All right? It's just you end up losing quite a lot.

Is that right?

See, Brian gets worn out after about sort of nine holes of golf,

that's cos I keep telling him he walks 18.

Yeah. Cos to play golf, you're supposed to play in a straight line,

whereas Brian goes like that. I'm a Yorkshireman.

Whatever I pay to play golf, I get my money's worth

cos I hit it twice as much as you hit it.

I see some of the sights that you've never seen on a golf course.

I know. You're like Attenborough, you're always in the woods.

What are you doing? Right, anyway,

just buzz off now, I'm going to finish this steak off.

Right, Mr Turner, it's time to put your golf ball where your mouth is.

Two men, one hole to play for, and a buggy with very little suspension.

Oh! Mind that bunker.

If this goes in the water, I'll never hear the end of it.

Mind the water, James!

Look at that for a shot, yes!

Any time you like, James. Any time you like, I'm here.

And here we are now at the National Golf Club...

Brian, do be quiet!

And it's coming... Oh, yes.

It's not even a gimme. Go on, then.

Go on, get in, get in.

Yes! That's a boy.

I'm driving. What you saying now?

I'm driving.

So, it looks like I'm going to have to go back to basics

on the golf course as well as in the kitchen.

But at least with classic recipes like these, I've got tasty treats

to take my mind off the humiliation, food that tastes anything but basic.

I'm never going to stop hearing about this.

Nee-nee-nee... It's going to be like...

Have you got a scorecard? Here we go, just get in.

Just get in!

Next time, Turner. Next time.

You can find all the recipes from the series at...