Speedy Suppers 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 is 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.

Like most people, my greatest battle in the working week is with time.

There just never seems to be enough of it.

But over the years, I have learnt the secrets of

getting great-tasting food on the table quickly.

I'm going to show you some recipes that are guaranteed to

make your midweek suppers a breeze.

So, today, I'm turning up the heat on a fast tomato salad.

People often look at me as if I'm a bit mad when I do this,

but trust me, it works.

And old classic gets a turbo-charged makeover.

Now, I know what people are thinking.

This is just cauliflower cheese. It's not finished, by a long way.

And who says that speedy suppers can't be romantic?

Gennaro!

They certainly get Gennaro Contaldo in the mood.

If you were a woman, I would marry you. Lucky me.

But for my first dish, a much maligned vegetable

is taking centre stage.

So many people look at this fella - the humble cauliflower -

and just use it as a side order.

But, in actual fact, it's great as a main meal,

and I'm going to show you cauliflower cheese with a difference.

Forget overcooked, stodgy school dinner cauli-cheese -

this is my ultra-quick crispy-crumb twist on a classic,

topped with syrupy, sweet pancetta.

It takes longer to say it than it does to make.

I think the key to this is the cooking of the cauliflower.

Straight on the stove first of all. And get this water boiling.

The key to this also is, people cut the cauliflower too small, so if you

keep the florets quite large, they actually cook nice

and sort of firm, as well. They don't break up,

and you end up with this horrible mess in the bottom of your dish.

Pop the florets into boiling water for roughly five minutes.

While they cook, you can start your sauce.

And for the basic sauce, we just use some butter,

we use plain flour and milk.

And the best way to do this, the speedy way,

is to add the butter straight into the pan.

45, 50g of butter maybe,

and we are just warming this up first of all.

One thing you do not want to be doing is boiling this.

Because this is where people always go wrong

when they are making a white sauce. It always goes lumpy.

It should be nice and light. The best way to do that...

is to use this. And these two.

Because you will know straightaway if you add too much flour.

It's going to go thick and really heavy.

'Add the flour just as the butter is melted. Whisk in as you go.'

You see, there is no lumps at this stage.

And then, gradually, we add our milk.

Some people will tell you to add warm milk, some people cold milk.

For me, I like to add it cold. You can keep a much better eye on it.

See, the minute I add this milk, watch what happens.

It starts to thicken.

Gradually add the milk, little by little.

All the time keeping your eye on that cauliflower.

'Once you have added the last of the milk, bring it gently to the boil.

'Now for the topping.'

The cheese I like to use is a Cheddar cheese.

It is entirely up to you what cheese you want to put on for the top.

If you grate it like that,

it actually melts into the sauce much easier.

Add it to the pan along with a spoon of Dijon mustard

and a pinch of salt and pepper.

You see how quick this is.

Cauliflower cheese is one of

the ultimate speedy suppers in my mind, really,

but it's made in the same time as that cauliflower takes to cook...

you've got the sauce done.

This is now cooked nicely. It's not dropping to bits.

It's certainly not how my poor nana used to do cauliflower.

It used to take about two-and-a-half hours

to get to Sheffield from my mum's house.

And I reckon the cauliflower went on as we left the house.

I don't think my nana ever plunged her cauliflower

into a bowl of ice-cold water afterwards either,

but I do, because it stops it cooking any further.

Now, lay the florets into a baking dish,

pour over the sauce and top with the remaining cheese.

I know what people are thinking.

They are thinking, "This is just cauliflower cheese.

"I'm stood here watching this on TV - what is he doing?"

It's not finished by a long way - watch.

This is going to go under the grill, underneath there,

for about two or three minutes.

The same time now, we are then going to make this

on a different level, on a different planet, this will be.

So we get this nice and hot.

What we are going to do is grab some brioche.

This is a bread loaf made with butter really.

It's just the best.

MUFFLED: And you take this and you put it in the blender.

'Once you have blended what is left of the brioche into breadcrumbs,

'melt some butter into a frying pan and began to toast them.'

If you're doing anything with veg

and you want to really bulk something out,

make it taste on a different level, little bit of brioche

toasted off with some butter... makes things taste fabulous.

And now...

comes the best bit. Cos we're not finished yet.

That's the crumb bit, the best bit is pancetta, which is

like a cured Italian belly pork.

It tastes amazing, we are producing it in the UK now, it is delicious.

If you just pan-fry this in a nonstick pan,

and pile it up in the pan as well.

When the pancetta is golden and crispy,

pour some maple syrup into the saucepan.

Soak up all that lovely flavour in there.

And then what we are going to do it just finish off and top

our lovely cauliflower cheese.

Ho-ho-ho!

You have got these wonderful breadcrumbs,

which you can put over the top.

Which is made out of that delicious brioche, full of flavour.

Take the bacon with that maple syrup and just drizzle it over the top.

And of course, the best bit...

I love cauliflower cheese, but this just takes it to another level.

It's so quick, so speedy, the entire lot is done in about 15 minutes.

The maple syrup, the crumbs, you just get different layers

and textures in there. That is a proper dish.

'I said this is definitely nothing like the old-school version,

'so you can believe me when I tell you this, as well -

'this is the tastiest and fastest

'cauliflower cheese you'll ever eat.'

Picking veg straight from my garden means I always have

a quick supper to hand.

And these freshly gathered flavours are unbeatable in any recipe.

But you don't need a garden to get your hands on

the freshest ingredients.

Because there are a host of British food producers growing them for you.

Gary Griffiths is more specialised than your average fruit grower.

He and his family dedicate themselves entirely to producing

just one thing.

Tomatoes.

Just name a variety

and they are probably growing it in their market garden.

The traditional San Marzano. It's good for cooking.

Lemon Boys, that's a new introduction.

This tomato is known as a Pineapple.

Pineapple tomatoes are very exotic compared to the fruit and veg

that Gary's dad sold years ago in his shop.

But as a boy, Gary was inspired by seeing

that simple produce being grown.

When I was about 15 years old,

I was invited down to the nursery for a day,

and it was a fascinating experience.

Just one year later, an opportunity came along to buy that very nursery.

Gary jumped at the chance, despite his tender age.

When I first started growing here, I was 16,

and I grew a lot of different crops.

I have grown runner beans outside, I have grown leeks in the winter,

and then, many years later, we specialised in just tomatoes.

We are growing 30 different varieties of tomatoes

here on this site.

There are hundreds of other varieties,

and Gary travels the world in his quest to find them.

This is one new variety that we have brought in this year,

which is called Lemon Tiger.

It is acidic to start with,

with a strong tomato flavour coming through afterwards.

It's almost two flavours in one.

Gary grows his well-travelled tomatoes hydroponically -

without any soil.

The plants are grown in rock wool,

spun out of molten basalt and chalk.

A bit like candyfloss.

All the water and nutrients the plants need are piped through it.

That is a good root system. Lots of young roots.

Holds the nutrients and water perfectly,

and the plant is very, very healthy growing in this system.

The plants might be getting 21st-century help at the roots,

but up top, all the care is painstakingly done by hand.

We have to do training of the plants every week,

on approximately 16,000 plants. Regardless of weather conditions.

And when it's extremely hot, it is hard work.

Twist in the head...and remove the sideshoot growth.

All of that energy will then be focused purely on one single stem.

Well, that's one done, only 15,999 to go.

I do enjoy the challenge of the job really.

I think if I didn't enjoy it, I probably wouldn't be doing it still.

In the 35 years Gary has been here,

the tomato plants are not the only things that have grown.

So has Gary's family.

This business has my wife, my son, and at the moment,

my daughter, working within the business, as well.

So, each stage of the production, the packing

and the distribution is overseen by a family member.

Gary even delivers the tomatoes to the customers himself,

to make sure they arrive in tiptop condition.

And today, he's heading to

the exclusive Goodwood Private Members' Club,

where head chef Adie Howes loves to feature Gary's tomatoes on his menu.

It is a pleasure to work with such fantastic produce

such as the tomatoes that Gary supplies us with.

We pride ourselves on using local ingredients

with great provenance, and these completely fit the bill.

We just keep them nice and simple and let them

speak for themselves.

It seems as though Gary's quest for the perfect tomato

has definitely borne fruit.

OK, I might not be quite as dedicated to tomatoes,

but I do love growing and eating them.

They are perfect ingredients when you want to rustle up something

quickly, and this next dish is absolutely packed with them.

# Ain't nothing like the real thing, baby. #

The great thing about using fresh tomatoes,

when they are bang in season,

for speedy suppers - they're full of flavour -

and because of that, you have to do so little to it.

I'm going to do a simple little tomato tart with

a burnt tomato salad. Sounds complicated, but it is so, so easy.

The first thing we are going to use is some puff pastry.

This is all-butter puff pastry.

The reason for that is, it is full of flavour, again.

What you mustn't use is the one that is made out of margarine.

So roll this out.

The thing about this tart is, you can actually freeze it.

So once you have made the base -

and you can make a few of these - you can pop them in the freezer

and they freeze and cook from frozen really, really well.

You can actually freeze them with the tomatoes on it.

And then, just using a bowl, you can use a plate,

we're going to cut out some discs.

To create our little tartlets, it's really simple, this.

I like to cut a little frame around the edge. To do that,

put your finger against a table knife.

You don't really want a chef's knife.

otherwise it cuts all the way through the pastry.

But you cut about halfway through the pastry,

using your finger as a little thickness gauge of the frame.

What this is going to do, it's going to rise separately to the inside.

It's going to keep all the flavour of the tomatoes inside

and allow none of the liquid to leak around the edge.

Once you have made the pastry border,

prick some holes in the base and brush with beaten egg.

And now, for our tomatoes...

I'm going to use two different types of tomatoes for this.

Just your standard tomatoes, these are wonderful,

that you get from the supermarket.

But I am also going to use these, these are San Marzano tomatoes,

these wonderful Italian-style tomatoes which just taste delicious.

They are amazing for sauces,

beautiful and sweet, they contain less seeds.

These are the ones that I really like to grow at home in the garden.

These are fantastic. But they also come in tins, they taste delicious.

Slice the tomatoes thinly and grate some Gruyere cheese

and lay over the pastry bases.

The key to this is to keep all the cheese inside that framework.

Because what will happen is, as that pastry cooks,

the weight of the filling in the middle will stop it

from rising, but the outside that you cut will release

and hopefully trap in all that nice flavour of the fresh tomatoes.

When you have covered both pastry cases, season with salt and pepper.

You can also add some herbs.

What I like is a lovely bit of fresh thyme.

Because I grow this stuff in the garden,

often in the summer you can chop the stalks all the way through.

In the winter, you need to pull them off the stalks,

because the stalks become a little bit woody.

A little bit of oil on top.

Keep it inside the framework again,

and I have set the oven at about 210 degrees centigrade.

That is about 420 Fahrenheit.

And this is going to cook for about 12 to 15 minutes.

If you're cooking these from frozen,

they will every take about 15 minutes.

While the tarts cook, I can get on with the side salad.

Lay more tomatoes on a baking tray, along with thickly sliced

red onion, and some would say controversially, a lettuce.

I'm going to serve this tomato tart with a burnt salad.

This really can taste fantastic.

It's not just go and stuff an iceberg lettuce on a barbecue,

it is basically just take your lettuce like this...

Now, people often look at me as if I am a bit mad when I do this,

but trust me, it works.

Touch of veg oil over the top, and then a blowtorch.

This is where you have got to go to a hardware store

and get a proper blowtorch.

No good with these fancy little cigarette lighter things -

proper blowtorch. This comes free with a mask.

And then we, basically, blowtorch the entire lot.

What this does, it puts a lovely charred flavour,

almost barbecued flavour, to these tomatoes.

It is very, very different in a salad,

but one that tastes really, really nice.

We are not burning it, we are caramelising it,

that is all we are doing.

'If you don't have a blowtorch at home,

'you can do this very carefully under a preheated grill.

'Once the salad has been charred,

'simply dress with a classic French vinaigrette.'

So, white wine vinegar.

And then you use some plain veg oil.

Three to one. It's much easier when you do it in a glass jar,

like that, because you can see it separate.

So you've got the oil there.

And you've got the vinegar at the bottom.

Then what I do is just add some mustard.

Then I'm going to add an egg yolk.

Now, the egg yolk is purely optional. You don't have to add it.

Salt and pepper.

Good amount of black pepper as well.

I often find it's good in a jar like this

because when you put the lid on,

you can quickly shake it up.

But there you've got a classic, simple, French-style dressing

that's brilliant for this tomato dish.

This is great just on its own,

you could put a little bit of feta cheese crumbled over the top,

little bit of halloumi, something like that, you've got

a wonderful little salad. However, don't forget...

we have got these amazing tomato tarts in the oven.

HE CHUCKLES GLEEFULLY

Look at these! You see, the puff pastry has risen.

None of the liquid from the tomatoes has seeped out.

You can see all of that liquid has stayed in the tart itself.

The pastry is cooked underneath, so it is exactly what we want.

What I love about dishes like this is its simplicity.

You've got all-butter puff pastry, little bit of cheese,

fresh tomatoes out the garden.

It is just full of flavour. It's like a cheese and tomato sandwich.

Just a little bit better.

These crisp and delicious tarts will definitely be

the talk of the supper table.

And you don't need to tell your guests

how quick and easy they were to make.

When it comes to speedy cooking at home, I like to rustle up

rapido Italian suppers. And I love anything that involves pasta.

Today, I'm getting some help from a legendary chef

and world-record-holding ravioli maker.

LILTING: Gennaro!

Hello, big boy.

'Gennaro Contaldo has agreed to share some of his pasta tips.'

Nice to see you. But you live ever so far,

if I tell you I have been walking all the way from London,

you believe me. You've walked all the way?

Yeah. Do you know what? I am starving.

'But first, he wants a few ingredients from my garden.'

We've got some herbs, some beans, all these are mulberry trees.

Can I just taste some? Look, I can't resist. Yes, they're nice.

Look at this one. Ah! A wasp!

JAMES GIGGLES

What are you after? Some marjoram. Marjoram we've got here.

Let me just get this tender one.

OK. Basil, shall we get some basil? Yeah, basil.

You've got it in pesto, yeah.

I need mint, mint, mint. Mint is over there.

We are turning these gardens spoils into a very special type of ravioli.

It's our ricotta and chive stuffed cappellacci

with pea, bean and wild herb pesto.

Right, so what we are going to do

as I make this pasta, always 00 flour.

Always 00 flour. Double zero, double fun.

And so simple, because to make pasta you need about

100g of 00 flour.

I'll guess this is 100 here. Guess 100. Yeah. You need one egg.

My village, in my hometown Minori. You've been in Minori.

I have been in Minori.

It's like Whitby. Have you ever been to Whitby?

Of course I've been in Whitby.

It's part of your world. It's like Whitby, you've got that coastline.

It is, indeed. It's just like Whitby, without the weather.

HE LAUGHS

Minori is beautiful, I cooked for your family when I was out there.

Yes, you did, so good. Look at that, once it is done, that is fantastic.

You grab it... Look, test it, have a look.

Now you need to knead.

Isn't it supposed to feel like your cheek, I got told?

So, like that...

You're supposed to pull it, aren't you?

Was that something that I was...? No, I wasn't told that.

Anyway. HE LAUGHS

I just thought you had. So... Yeah.

You knead it.

So you must remember your, your family making it like this,

exactly the same. My father and my mother, as well.

My father was...a master chef. He was not a chef.

But making pasta, he loved to make pasta.

But there was one trouble and my mother had to finish it off.

Right, OK.

Because he always insisted that you have to buy the grain itself

and they have to mill itself. Oh, really?

Yeah. But actually it was not very good.

He made it. Because it was not super fine.

Yeah. It was super thick.

My father, he couldn't really make pasta. My mum used to make it.

When you've kneaded the pasta, wrap it in clingfilm

and pop it in the fridge for half an hour,

giving you enough time to pod your peas and wash up.

Aargh! This water is hot. Aargh!

What, do you make the tea out of that? Eh?

HE LAUGHS

After 30 minutes, take the pasta dough out of the fridge,

and then we need to make the filling for the ravioli.

So, we've got buffalo ricotta here.

Buffalo ricotta. Oh, look at that.

Now, tell us about this, then. What is this?

Well, this one is...come from Campagna,

it come near where I come from in Minori and it's pure, pure buffalo.

So, you mash this one all up. So, so easy.

What I want you to do now, I want you to chop some chives.

You're in the record books - The Guinness Book Of Records -

aren't you, for the world's fastest ravioli maker, is that right?

Ravioli. Yeah. You know I'm in the record books, as well?

For what? The world's fastest carrot peeler and chopper.

This is how fast you can cut it? Yeah. I've got older since then.

We put about three, four spoons of chives inside, which is so good.

You've got some different herbs here.

Yeah, of course. You've raided my garden.

What are you going to use, a bit of mint? A bit of mint.

Not too much mint because it's quite strong.

A bit of marjoram? And oregano.

It combines so well with chives, the ricotta and Parmesan,

so cut up very fine. You're good.

Now you've become the fastest mint and marjoram and oregano cutter.

You do well.

Mix the herbs into the ricotta,

along with a good grating of Parmesan and a pinch of salt.

For the pesto, tear up some basil, marjoram and mint.

Add some chopped garlic and then mash everything together in a pestle

and mortar with some salt, grated Parmesan and a glug of olive oil.

I've got the pasta here.

Look, you can see it's relaxed a little bit,

and without the flour I start to roll it.

So the key to this is not to have too much flour.

No. Because if you put too much flour you dry it up a little bit.

This is also bring memory back because my poor mother,

once a week she used to make fresh pasta. OK.

She didn't need to because actually pasta was not expensive

and there was very good pasta there.

Why she was making it? Because she was so used to it.

Her mother, her grandma used to make pasta.

Do you now what it...? Do you know what it is? Love.

This is supposed to be a speedy supper, so...

Oh, it is a speedy supper. Look, let's roll the pasta out.

Let's roll out the pasta, it's so good. Here it goes.

There it goes again.

And now, at this stage, you need a little touch of flour,

just dry underneath.

Roll it out one way or the other just a little bit. Start to roll it.

Look at that.

You need to keep rolling it until your pasta is thin enough.

To test it, blow it from the side and it should lift off the surface.

Right, look what I've got inside here.

# Ta-ta-tan-ta! # It's to make everything for pasta.

Oh, it's like an Italian toolkit for a car.

This is the way they make a Ferrari.

Look all these gadgets.

So what is this, all your old school...?

Well, I could...yeah. This is...look at that.

OK. This make all different shape.

With this one, you make perfect pasta. Look.

Oh, my goodness me. Why I'm so good.

OK, you've got it? Yeah.

Again. Come on!

I can't believe I make this pasta, it's so good.

Now pop your peas and beans on to simmer, brush your ravioli

with water and place a small bowl of ricotta into the middle.

Then fold it into a traditional cappellacci.

Just a little ball.

You put them on the middle and you roll it.

OK? You've got it? Yeah.

Then you press here on the middle, you roll it. OK?

You pull in one side, pull in the other side, and look at this.

Hey! Can you do that? No, you can't.

OK, go on.

No! What? No! No! What? No. Look...

This way? No. OK. This way.

OK, you've done... No, you've done it. OK. Press it.

Close on top, roll this one. It's like ironing a shirt.

If you do it really badly, then... OK. Press it...

..you never have to do it again. Don't worry if a little bit...

I'm pressing there. No, here. Let's see?

Roll it. Turn it. Pull it.

Close it. There it goes.

Hallelujah, you've done it. Right. We're there.

Do you want me to put this in the pan? Yeah, yes.

So how long do you cook these for? No, not very long.

Around three minutes should do it.

While you're waiting, mix together the herbs, the hot peas

and a good glug of olive oil.

Before adding your perfectly cooked pasta,

with a little of the water from the pan.

James, if you was a woman of the age of 55, 60, I would marry you.

Unfortunately, you're not a woman, you're not 55, so I can't marry you.

Lucky me(!) Yeah. Add more Parmesan.

Come on, let's do it. Go on, then, dive in.

Mmm! Mmm-mmm-mmm!

That ricotta is delicious.

The combination of the paste, the beans

and the broad beans with the mint is incredible.

What I love about Italian food, it is simple. Great flavours.

I mean, it is quick, even if you decide to make your own pasta,

it is quick. Hallelujah.

Now, all the time you've been here... Tell me.

How many times you've been to this place,

you've always wanted to drive a car. Do you know what...?

So, I'm going to let you drive one of my cars. Can you?

Do you know what? You always wanted this one.

I'll do you a swap. I'll do you a swap. You do...

I'll take this and I'll let you borrow...let you drive one of my cars. That's good.

I want a car, drive a car. I want the big one.

The big one, not the small one.

And there you have it, a super-speedy Italian supper,

and super cheap, too.

As long as Gennaro doesn't lose his no-claims bonus.

You wanted to drive one of my cars?

Off you go. I want to drive the Ferrari.

Come here. Look, you'll look good on it. Here. Sit on it.

But I want to drive a sports car. Get on it.

Listen, it goes about as quick as you need it to go. All right?

Come on, gadget!

Move away!

Precisely the reason why he doesn't drive my cars.

These speedy suppers prove that fast food can be great food.

Now, if only I could teach Gennaro how to cut a corner.

Move away! Out the way!

You can find all the recipes for the series at bbc.co.uk/food.

Get away! Move away! I'm here!

Hit it! Over on CBeebies,

our mission is discovering more about the world.

ALL: Wow!

We've got a rocket ship, we've got a unicorn,

and we're off on a global adventure.

Geographic! Go wild for Niagara Falls.