Sonia Harwood Lorraine Pascale: How to Be a Better Cook

I'm Lorraine Pascale. I'm always hearing from people

who tell me they would love

to be better cooks, but they don't know where to start.

So, I want to help.

I've never cut up a chilli, at all, in my life, before.

-Have you made a dressing for a salad before?

-No.

I didn't start cooking until my thirties,

so I wanted to prove that, with some easy tips...

Lots of flavour, that's what it's all about.

..and a few simple recipes...

Mmm.

..even if you haven't cooked before, it's never too late to learn.

-That's really good!

-You sound surprised!

I'm going to teach six unconfident cooks

how to pull off a special meal for family and friends.

-Hello! Whoo!

-Hello!

-Lorraine's not cooking tonight. I am.

-No!

I'll be creating dishes that anyone can cook,

from simple family suppers, to unbelievably-easy party pieces.

All it takes is a bit of enthusiasm.

-Mmm, that is yummy.

-Mmm.

-And some confidence.

-Well done, Mummy.

-Thank you, darling!

See, we're cooking. This is cooking.

I'm heading off to meet Sonia Harwood, a busy mum of three,

who is also a foster carer. Despite having a house full,

Sonia has never cooked a home-made meal from scratch.

My speciality is frozen food and that's all my family

would live on, if it wasn't for my other half, who can cook.

So, for the sake of my children, please can you help?

You want to learn how to cook.

-Is that right?

-I do, yes. I want to build my confidence up.

I just get into a kitchen and freeze, to be honest.

Mum normally cooks stuff like noodles or chicken nuggets

or fish fingers. Normally, frozen stuff.

And why now? Why have you decided that now is the time?

My dad died last year and he was a very good cook.

My dad spent a lot of his childhood over in Italy.

He always put the garlic and the rosemary and the olive oil.

It was all the Italian influences, from when he was a kid.

When I think back, as a child, I can remember sitting down

-and having these tasty meals.

-Yes.

And I would like my children to be able to look back and think

-of something other than chicken nuggets.

-Who cooks at the moment?

My other half, Dave.

If I do ever try and do something, he is looking over my shoulder

-and making helpful comments, which...

-Helpful?

-Kind of. Yeah, yeah!

I think Sonia needs a bit of guidance with cooking,

even for basic meals. She has no idea where to start.

I'm quite looking forward to being able to say,

"What's that like, David?" "Is that better children, than Dad?"

-Cos they are always - "Who's the best cook?" "Daddy."

-Oh!

-It'd be quite nice to get Mummy, as an answer.

-Let's do it.

-Yeah!

I've got one day to teach Sonia how to make an Italian-inspired

three-course meal.

But first, I need to see

if Sonia is really as bad as she thinks she is.

So I've asked her to cook something for me.

She's opted for an omelette.

Erm, help!

-This isn't like a horrid test or anything.

-Right.

I'm just really keen to see how I can help you.

-OK.

-There's onion.

-There's an onion. You have to excuse me. I'm not...

Because I don't use the kitchen that much, either,

I don't know where everything is. I'm probably going to end up...

I don't even know where to cut the... If I take that end off.

'Like lots of people new to cooking, Sonia seems to think

'even the basics are a bit overwhelming.'

-Garlic.

-Garlic in.

-Which is what your dad used to do.

-Put garlic in first.

-Going along with...

-You're going well.

I'm going with flavours that I remember.

Are you supposed to flip omelettes?

-I want you to do what you think is the right thing.

-Oh, I don't know.

I'm going to try and just cook the other side. Oh, God.

They look like a pancake day.

I think the omelette's light, I think it's fluffy.

I think it's got a lot of texture in it.

-I think it's a really good omelette.

-Oh, good. OK!

'I think Sonia is a classic newbie and expects cooking

'to be more complicated than it really is.'

So what we just need is to get Sonia cooking and practising and getting

that confidence up and I think she's going to be a pretty good cook.

I've come up with an Italian-inspired menu

that's perfect for any busy parent looking for some quick and adaptable

meal ideas.

A simple kid-friendly starter that's a great alternative to frozen meals.

A main course

that proves beautiful-looking food really isn't that hard to make.

And a show-stopping, indulgent baked cheesecake that even

a novice cook can master.

For the starter, I've chosen courgette fritters,

to prove how easy it is to make great fast food

from scratch.

Flour, egg and cheesy breadcrumbs make an easy, healthy batter.

And it really is as simple as that.

I know you like fish fingers and the kids like fish fingers,

so these are like that. They're breaded and they're baked.

-A little more healthy.

-OK.

-How many children do you have?

-I've got three.

I also foster, as well, so...

And how many do you have at the moment, in addition to yours?

I've got two extras at the moment.

So, we've got five children in the house, which is interesting.

I remember, when I was in foster homes,

-the bit I liked the most was the eating.

-Yes!

Because you always got quite fabulous food -

-big meals and things like that.

-Yes.

We'd all be round the table and that's the one time

we'd all sit together and I think it would be really good

-to leave some of the children with memories.

-Yeah, definitely, I agree.

This whole thing about dipping. We've got the seasoned flour,

the egg and the breadcrumbs. You could do it with chicken,

-make chicken goujons.

-Yeah.

-Fish fingers.

-So, make your own, yeah.

Yeah. Get a nice piece of fish, chop it up

into sticks and dip it and then bake it.

I always have one wet hand and one dry hand.

I always do that with that one and this with that

and then this with that again.

Otherwise, you get, like, claggy fingers.

'This is such a fun recipe to involve the kids in.'

'Having a production line is a great way to speed up the process, too.'

So, they can be all here on their little stools, helping you.

-Can you picture the mess now?

-I can picture the mess!

I like to serve these with a dipping sauce.

A classic marinara is the perfect match.

-So, it's like your dad's sauce.

-OK.

With the onions, the garlic, the rosemary, the tomatoes.

-Right, OK.

-So I want you to have Sonia's tomato sauce, OK?

-Yeah.

So we start off with the onion. The best way to do this is

-to cut it that way first.

-OK.

And this is the root, so it holds it all together, and then just

take the knife and just cut, so about half a centimetre apart

and up to about there on the onion, so it stays together,

-and we then turn it this way.

-OK.

-Right.

This is much easier. Oh, this is really good!

Why has nobody even shown me this before?!

'One trick to making a good sauce is to chop all the ingredients

'roughly the same size and cook slowly over a gentle heat.'

So, you can make a big pot of this, with loads of onion,

loads of tomatoes, and maybe freeze it

and then use it throughout the week for different dishes.

-Oh, that's good, yeah.

-Yeah.

'It makes a great pasta sauce that you can change up with things

'like capers or olives and you can add it to meat

'to make shepherd's pie.'

If it dries out a bit, we can add some stock - some wine or water.

-You did put salt and pepper in, but I want you to taste now.

-OK.

That's the only way you can ever see if there's a right amount.

-Maybe a little bit more salt?

-And that's it, that's the answer.

'A little pinch of salt can make a world of difference.'

BEEPING

They're looking a bit... Are they... Do you think...

-What do you think?

-I don't know!

Would you be happy if you were served those in a restaurant?

I'd be very surprised, especially if I knew I'd cooked them!

OK, let's do it.

Oh, it's really nice.

I'm surprised at how easy it is. It doesn't look something

-that I'd usually do or that...

-Yeah.

-..the kids would be faced with.

How does it feel to have achieved your first real meal?

I'm pretty chuffed, actually!

'I think Sonia is beginning to see that using fresh ingredients

'doesn't always have to be a faff.'

You look at that and think it's going to be really complicated,

even though, deep down, you know it probably isn't,

it's just that fear that stops you making that first step to doing it.

Now I've done it, I look forward to another go!

A busy family lifestyle shouldn't mean you can't make tasty food.

Keeping your cupboard stocked with a few key ingredients

is the secret to turning out speedy recipes like this one.

Using the tortilla as the dough, you can start building the pizza.

Pecorino is a hard, salty cheese, similar to Parmesan.

Sweet roasted peppers go really well with cheese,

but you can swap these for any topping you fancy.

That's it. Home-made pizza on the table in under ten minutes.

Tasty family food.

For the main course, I've chosen a gorgeous seafood linguine.

It's quick, full of fresh Italian flavours and it's pasta,

so I hope it's a hit with the kids!

Using onions, garlic and chilli will introduce Sonia to the classic

building blocks of this pasta sauce.

Learning how to cook linguine will take the mystery out of getting

the perfect pasta.

Adding prawns is a nice way to make a pasta dish feel special.

This will show Sonia that cooking with seafood can be easy.

Look at that. Got that green of the parsley,

the coral pink of those prawns

and the smell is outrageous.

Really, really beautiful seafood smell.

This is a dish that I hope Sonia will be proud of.

So, first the shallots. These are just like mini onions.

-Are they a similar flavour or are they...

-Shallots are sweeter.

-Right.

And they cook much more quickly.

Do most people in the family eat prawns?

I think only the younger two have never tried them.

But they taste like chicken.

-That's what my mum used to say to me.

-Taste like chicken!

-Yes.

That gets kids eating. "Just like chicken."

-Right, chillies.

-I've never cut up a chilli at all in my life before.

-No?

-No.

-Just cut the top off. And a little bit of the bottom.

-Do you get the seeds out?

-Yeah, get the seeds out.

-That's where most of the heat is - the seeds and the veins.

-Oh.

So you want to get those out.

'Using fresh chilli is simple way to add a fiery kick and colour

'to many dishes. It gives a completely different taste

'than dried chilli.'

This is one of my favourite, favourite ingredients, Marsala.

-Have you used it before?

-No, I haven't.

-I know my dad used it.

-Did he?

-Yeah.

-Oh, it's lovely.

-Yeah. I love it.

'Marsala is a fortified wine from Sicily, kind of similar to sherry.

'It's a key ingredient in some Italian dishes,

'giving a deliciously-rich flavour, once the alcohol content

'has burnt off.'

And if we could have the prawns, please. Throw them in.

-Have you cooked with prawns before?

-Nope.

-Not including scampi?

No, I haven't. I haven't even done that, actually to be honest. Just chuck 'em in, yeah?

-Yeah.

-And they go pink as they cook, do they?

-Yeah.

So you put the pasta in, I'll put the tomatoes in

and then just heat the tomatoes through a bit.

We'll add some basil and we're done.

Hopefully this dish has shown Sonia that posh nosh is actually

easier to cook than she thinks.

OK, so let's try it.

-And what do you think of the look?

-It looks great.

it doesn't look like anything I would have even attempted.

If I'd have seen a recipe with a picture of that,

I'd have probably turned the page and thought, "Oh, no, it's a bit scary."

-No more.

-No.

-Let's have a taste.

-Mm, that's nice.

-Mm. Yeah and the chillies, it's, you can taste it

but it's not going to put the children off. It's not in your face,

-it's really nice.

-So do you think you'd make this on your own?

Definitely, now.

-Yeah?

-Yeah. I'm quite keen.

-You got the confidence to do it on your own?

Yeah, I'm thinking, I'm trying to think, you know, I could do that cos you,

I suppose you could put things other than prawns in there, couldn't you?

Oh, you can add things, yeah.

This dish is also great with chicken, vegetables or clams,

but for novice cooks, it's good to start simple.

It's really nice to hear you saying

and thinking that you could make this yourself and add other

things to it, cos you're developing into this very competent cook.

It's like I don't know why I'm scared, to be honest, it's daft.

-Do you think that's gone a bit, the fear?

-Definitely, yeah.

Now Sonia is realising that cooking isn't as tricky as she thought,

I want to bring some fun into the equation.

So I'm taking you to a traditional pizza place cos

I want you to make traditional Italian pizza and put all the flavours on yourself

-and to get really imaginative and to have a really good time and have fun with it.

-OK.

-OK.

-Yep.

Sonia is going to be cooking alongside renowned pizza chef Giuseppe Mascoli.

What would you say is the most important thing about Italian cooking

-as regards flavour and things?

-It's the ingredients.

-Yeah.

-Only have the ingredients.

-So the ingredients have to be the best,

-there's nowhere to hide.

-Absolutely, there's nowhere to hide.

-You start with tomato.

-Is that, it's just fresh tomatoes.

-Yeah.

-Just, these are like...

-Pureed.

-Just tomatoes then squeezed. Squeezed

by hand, and that's it and there's nothing else in it.

I want Sonia to realise that it's OK to make mistakes.

Cooking is about experimenting with ingredients

and seeing what works with what.

I've gone for some mushrooms on it, I like mushrooms

and the red onions cos I think they bring a nice sort of flavour to it.

-Good.

-Yeah.

-You're thinking through

-what you're putting on.

-Sort of, yes!

She's got it, she's got it down.

She's got it down pat, Giuseppe.

You can sit back and have a cup of tea.

-We should go now.

-Yes.

-And just leave Sonia making pizzas all day.

Goodbye, Sonia!

I'm thoroughly enjoying this.

Is it helping, the more you cook things?

Yeah, definitely. The more, the more that I'm sort of doing it, it feels more natural.

Yeah.

That is brilliant, Sonia.

-Hm, it's lovely.

-Is there anything that you'd have done differently to that pizza?

Make another one and do it all again?

I could never imagine myself doing that,

but it was great seeing how Giuseppe did it and just sort of seeing

how it all comes from the ingredients and if I mess it up,

I mess it up, I can start again, it really doesn't matter. It was, it was great.

Today's experience is just what Sonia needed.

I think she's finally starting to relax around food

and sees the kitchen as a fun family place to be.

Sonia said that one of the reasons she wanted to learn how to cook

was so she could create special memories for her family.

So I wanted to come up with a dessert that her children

would really remember when she put it down on that table.

My ricotta cheesecake is baked, giving it a lovely velvety

and creamy texture.

There are just two stages to this cheesecake. First stage is the base,

this starts with melting butter over a medium heat.

This cheesecake has a ginger nut biscuit base.

And then blitz.

If you don't have a fancy food processor like this one,

just put the biscuits into a large sandwich bag,

grab a rolling pin and bash like mad!

Press the mixture in nice and tight before sitting it in the fridge for 20 minutes.

Stage two, the creamy filling.

In goes 150ml of double cream,

and 450g of cream cheese.

Now I did, to try and be really healthy,

experiment with low fat cream cheese and it didn't work,

so I'm afraid for this, you've got to go full whack, full fat.

I'm sticking to the Italian theme and using 200g of rich ricotta.

And there's two and a half tablespoons of corn flour.

Now I put corn flour in, cos it really stabilises the cheesecake

and thickens it slightly, too.

Give it a little bang to make sure that the filling has gone

right nicely down on to the base.

Cheesecake ready.

Now this goes into the oven at a very low heat, about 150 degrees,

for 40 to 45 minutes

and when it's ready it should just have a little wobble in the centre.

Then you turn off the oven and let it cool completely.

That way, it doesn't crack and the reason baked cheesecakes

crack, is because when they cool down too quickly, they just split.

So, let's hope that that turns out well.

Look at that, smooth top, golden brown, perfect.

I like to add berries and figs to my baked cheesecake but again, with

this recipe, you can personalise it with your favourite topping.

And I just hope Sonia's kids are going to be

so proud that their mum, who has never baked anything for them

in their lives, has pulled off this fabulous cheesecake.

Sonia's big day has arrived.

When I first met her she couldn't even chop a chilli

and panicked over cooking an omelette.

But she has been practicing really hard and for the last few weeks,

she has been using her mum and friends as guinea pigs.

Sonia's children are yet to experience her newfound cooking skills.

In a few hours' time the family will be joining us and

she will be serving her very first three course meal made from scratch.

I am excited that Sonia learning to cook a meal, actually cooking a meal for me. Nice surprise.

I'm going to be Sonia's sous chef and she'll be taking the lead.

I hope Sonia feels that this meal would have made her late father proud,

and of course, her children, too.

Yeah, it's really exciting that she's going to cook with Lorraine.

Because, like, normally it's Dad, I mean,

and normally we don't really help Dad out,

so it'll be nice, cos I think Mum would let us join in more.

-How are you feeling about it all?

-Nervous, very nervous, yeah.

-But are you excited at all?

-I am, yeah, I'm looking forward to it.

Do your family know what you're cooking?

David knows about the cheesecake.

He tasted it afterwards and was very impressed, I must say,

-and there was a little bit left over in the fridge..

-Yeah.

..which my elder daughter found and said, "Can I have some of this cheesecake?"

and so we basically said that David had cooked it and she basically tasted it, said how lovely

it was, looked at me and said, "Why can't you do things like this, Mummy?"

-Ah!

-So we just didn't tell her I'd made it.

So I think she'll be quite chuffed when she realises what she had.

So do you think that you'll reach your goal of creating

the memories that you had with your dad?

-I think so, definitely, yeah. I think once that, you know, I'm able to show them that I can do it.

-Yeah.

I think knowing my children, they'll probably put pressure on me to do it again.

Sonia wants the kitchen to become a place for all the family,

so for the first course the kids are going to get involved too.

-Hello. Are you all right?

-Yeah.

-Is it nice to see Mummy in the kitchen?

ALL: Yeah.

Well, we thought it'd be a really good idea if you could help us today.

-What do you think?

-Yeah.

It's a little bit big, isn't it? OK. Whizz you round.

That's it. And now we're going to make some very special chips.

Pop it in the flour, right in.

Cover it all up, pick up the flour and then when you've done that, like that,

you pass it to Taylie, Taylie's going to roll it around in the egg.

Sonia didn't even have the confidence to cook herself

and now she's showing her children basic cooking skills.

What a transformation.

So who do you think's the better cook?

-Daddy.

-Daddy at the minute.

-At the minute.

-Thank you, Macy.

Exactly, Macy, that was a good thing to say, because Mummy's been practising lots and lots and lots.

Would you like Mummy to cook some more meals for you?

-Yeah.

-Yeah, it would be nice, wouldn't it?

That's it. Done quite well!

Yeah, you should do more cooking together.

It is, I think it's, this is what they're going to remember,

isn't it, doing this?

I don't know why I haven't done it before, it's just oh...

First time with me.

-There are courgette chips in there?

-Yeah and you helped, didn't you?

-Yeah.

Time to see whether those courgette fritters taste as good as they look.

There you are, Macy, Taylie, there you go.

I think it's going to taste nice.

You think it's going to taste nice? I think so too.

-Ooh, yummy.

-Did you just say yummy to a courgette?

-Well done. And you helped do that.

-It's very nice.

-They are nice, aren't they?

-Very nice.

I think my biggest shock is seeing Cameron eat it, to be honest.

With the sauce that was with the courgette dip, when Lorraine said you could use it for other things,

because they all liked the sauce, I'm already starting to think of other things that I can do.

The starter has been a success and now on to the main.

This is Sonia's real test to make a flavoursome dish packed full of fresh ingredients from scratch,

without going anywhere near a freezer.

Shall we go and see what Mum's doing? Come on then.

This is for the main course, this bit here.

Oh, it smells nice. What's that in there?

That is my cheesecake. It hasn't got its topping on it yet.

I know how important it is for Sonia to get this right

so lets hope her family love the result.

There you go. OK?

-It's really nice.

-Do you like it?

-I really like it, yeah.

It's got a little bit, a tiny little bit of chilli in it.

Pasta with the basil.

-It's lovely.

-You like it?

-It's very nice.

-It is nice, isn't it?

-Very nice.

You like chicken, don't you? That taste a lot like chicken, Cameron?

What do you think?

-Yummy.

-Yummy!

And finally, Sonia's amazing dessert.

She has never even baked a birthday cake before and now

she has pulled off this fantastic cheesecake.

Wow. Sonia!

I made that.

-That is amazing.

-Yes, it looks quite nice, doesn't it?

Imagine, if your dad could see what you've just made.

He'd be proud, wouldn't he? You've done so well. Done really well.

-Yeah.

-Come on, let's serve this up.

Woo!

There you go. Look at that. Aren't you proud of Mummy?

-Yeah. Really proud.

-So Mummy's cooked an amazing three course meal, first time ever.

Thank you so, so much for your help. I'm really looking forward to getting involved in doing

something like this for them on a more regular basis. It'll be brilliant. Thank you so much.

Yummy!

I think it went really well. It was actually really rewarding cos they were all quiet,

enjoying the food and her family are just so proud of her

and I really am as well.

I never thought, right at the beginning, when I started this, that I would actually be able to achieve

doing a three course meal and I did it and I'm pretty chuffed, actually.

So I'm really, really grateful to Lorraine, for giving me the confidence to have a go.

It's given me a new interest in food

and it's really ignited a passion sort of, for it.

It's really, really pushed me to go for it.

Since filming, Sonia's confidence in the kitchen has continued to grow,

and she now shares more of the cooking with her partner, David.

She's mastered lasagne and also discovered a love for baking.