Simple Classics Lorraine's Fast, Fresh and Easy Food

I'm Lorraine Pascale and this is all about fast, fresh and easy food.

Delicious meals don't have to take a long time to make.

And for me, cooking from fresh ingredients, is the way to go.

Great food can be fast and delicious with these effortless recipes

and a few simple shortcuts.

Follow my tips and, hopefully,

you will never want to reach for a ready-made meal again.

Making quick, tasty food for everyday meals

and last-minute entertaining, it can all be so easy.

I love tried-and-tested classic recipes,

but that doesn't mean they can't be tweaked.

I'm going to be making some simple classics with a little twist

that always go down a storm in my house.

I'll perk up a classic Sunday roast with my peri-peri chicken...

..whizz up some pesto for my modern version of a traditional

Italian gnocchi...

..show you an easy tear-and-share bread.

For dessert, I'm changing some old favourites.

Warm apple pie, preserved cherries...

..and a neat and tidy take on that old classic -

Eton mess.

And I'll be taking to the streets to meet a vendor who is also

serving up a twist on another favourite.

It's tender and juicy, and that hot sauce warms you from the inside out.

Gorgeous.

But first, I've got a fast,

fresh and easy take on a Mediterranean classic.

So, this next dish is salmon saltimbocca.

Now, saltimbocca is a traditional Italian dish normally cooked

with veal, but I'm doing it with salmon - salmon, sage,

wrapped in pancetta and fried. Beautiful.

First up, wrap salmon fillets in pancetta,

a tasty air-dried Italian bacon that has been cured in salt and spices.

Just lay it on the end like that and get some sage leaves.

A classic saltimbocca has to have the punchy flavour of fresh sage.

A bit of pepper, a touch of salt.

I'm going to roll it up like a Swiss roll.

Pop it on the plate there and I'll get on with the other three.

Perfect.

Right, the oil is lovely and hot in the pan and in goes the salmon.

Just put them sage side down.

Oh! That sizzle we know and love.

Now, a traditional saltimbocca is often veal or pork

and it's braised in red wine.

When you want a quick meal, this is the way to make it.

The pancetta will crisp up,

protecting the delicate salmon, which will get steamed inside.

Right, they're going to take about ten minutes.

And I'll just keep turning them over so each side is nice and crisp.

That gives time to make the gremolata.

Grab a handful of parsley,

two garlic cloves,

a splash of olive oil

and a hit of lemon zest.

And then blitz.

Now, I'm serving this with some baby new potatoes.

I want them to have a little bit of give. Perfect.

Crush them a bit and toss in the gremolata,

along with a handful of pine nuts.

OK, I think these are going to be

crisp on that side, so I'll just

flip them over.

Look at that,

just the colour you want.

You just want to get every single side perfectly crisp.

Right. I'm going to plate this up.

To finish off, a tangy salad of spinach leaves

and sun-dried tomatoes.

Mmm.

And there you have it, a fishy twist on a classic dish. Delicious.

The simplest things are often the best.

So, with that in mind,

I'm going to show you a really easy

tear-and-share bread with a definite twist.

Mix 550 grams of strong white bread flour...

..with 100 grams of wholemeal bread flour.

Add two teaspoons of salt,

and a seven-gram sachet of fast-action dry yeast.

Squeeze in a couple of squidges of runny honey

and 350ml of warm water.

Then knead using the heals of your hand for around ten minutes.

To test if the dough is kneaded enough, form it into a ball,

prod the side and it should spring back all the way.

Roll the dough into a large rectangle

and brush it with some sesame oil.

Sprinkle over some poppy seeds...

..and cut the dough into six long strips.

Twist each strip.

And then twist the whole lot all together.

Make the whole thing into a circle, squish the ends together

and seal with water.

Leave to prove for 30 minutes.

So, this has been rising for about half an hour

and I'm going to test to see if it's ready.

I just need to prod it very gently,

and then the dough should spring back about halfway.

It goes into the oven at 200 degrees

for about half an hour. What I've done is, I've put

a tray of water in there, and that's going to create

a steamy atmosphere

so that the bread can rise nice and high before a thick crust sets.

Simple to prepare and guaranteed to taste great.

There's a reason that some recipes become classics.

Sometimes, I come across

unusual flavour combinations

that really work.

Here are some ideas I reckon will definitely stand the test of time.

Onions, balsamic and sugar.

Put everything in a pan, sweat it down for about 20 minutes

and you'll have the tastiest onions ever.

Great with burgers.

Mashed potatoes and nutmeg.

Mix the mashed potatoes with loads of butter, salt and pepper,

and then grate over some fresh nutmeg.

Absolutely beautiful.

Avocado, bacon and blue cheese.

Now, I'm not going to pretend this is the healthiest thing

in the world, but, my goodness, it tastes good!

Basil, lemon and vanilla.

Take some lemon zest, vanilla, and mix it with some Greek yogurt.

Then pop it in the freezer until it's almost firm, bring it out,

rip up some fresh basil and pour over some limoncello.

Delicious.

These fresh and easy combinations

bring together some of my very favourite flavours.

Classic.

I love a good old apple pie.

But in my recipe, I can't help spicing it up.

Sometimes, there's nothing better than the classic combination

of apples, brown sugar, ginger and cinnamon.

And I'm using all of those in my little warm apple pies.

For my easy apple sauce, chop up four Bramley apples.

Gently cook in some melted butter.

Sprinkle in a pinch of

ground cinnamon and ginger,

a handful of soft brown sugar,

add some lemon zest...

..and cook down until it's all soft and sticky.

I'm going to use shop-bought puff pastry.

So, I just want to roll it out into a large rectangle,

like that.

So, I've got my pizza wheel.

I just want eight rectangles of equalish size.

Very roughly.

And that's it.

Now, this egg is going to act as a glue so that when I...

put the parcels together, the edges will all stick together nicely.

And then the rest of this egg, I'll use as a glaze

for the top to make the parcels lovely and shiny.

OK, now the apples.

And it's good to wait until they've cooled down.

Otherwise, as soon as they hit the pastry,

the pastry is going to melt and go all gooey.

And just smell that cinnamon... Oh!

Just fold it over, like that,

and then I use my thumb and forefinger and just press down...

..all the way around, like that.

Now these little beauties go into the oven for about 25 minutes

at 200 degrees.

So, just a little bit of icing sugar over these,

for presentation purposes, really.

And then I'll just choose one that no-one else can have.

Mmm!

I believe that good food is one of life's simplest pleasures,

and I'm always in search of

the freshest ingredients to use in my cooking.

Grab them when you can!

So, I'm here in East London and there is this gorgeous wall,

which is the brainchild of Paul Griffiths.

It's an edible wall, full of beautiful herbs and strawberries

and what-not that you can pick to take home for your dinner.

Now, here is this gorgeous Greek basil.

They're tiny, teeny-weenie leaves,

but still smell fabulous.

And the way I like to use basil is in my pesto.

I'm serving a speedy,

fresh pesto, with a completely new way to make gnocchi.

So, gnocchi are these little pillowy Italian dumplings

and you can make them with boiled potatoes or semolina flour,

but that does take a little bit of time.

This way is so much quicker.

I've got 100 grams of grated parmesan in here.

I'm going to add 350 grams

of mascarpone cheese.

And then I'm going to add two eggs,

300 grams of plain flour...

..and then thyme. And then a little bit of salt and pepper.

A quick mix,

and then just plop it down onto the board.

So I've got my ball there.

I'm just going to divide it into three...

really rough pieces

and then roll it into a sausage.

And then just cut it into these little pillow shapes.

And at this stage, if you don't want to cook them,

you can actually put them on a piece of baking parchment in the freezer,

make sure they're all separated, and freeze them,

which is really good. And then just cook them from frozen.

These need to cook for about two to three minutes on each side.

I'm just going to flip these over.

They're a lovely golden brown, look at that.

I'm just going to add a little bit of butter to finish them off.

OK, so these are ready.

Just pop some in here.

And, you know, the good thing about cooking them this way

is that they're nice and crispy on the outside,

and inside, they're all gooey.

Really tasty.

Now, a quick homemade pesto.

A bit of parmesan, a splash of olive oil,

a few pine nuts and a handful of fresh basil.

I like to serve this with rocket.

Not on the side, but just mix it all up together, and then you get

that pepperiness of the rocket as an extra flavour hit.

And then toss it all together.

Nothing quite matches the flavour of fresh pesto.

And the gnocchi, with its crunchy exterior and soft, gooey inside,

for me, is a winning combination.

Just divine!

One of the best places to find fast,

fresh food right now is on the streets.

One of the most popular vendors in and around London is Mark Gevaux.

He's a former butcher who has taken a simple classic to new heights -

baby back ribs.

The best thing about ribs is just pick it up with your hands,

rip off the meat. Love it.

Most ribs are eaten on the bone, but the simple trick here

is slow cooking until the meat just falls off on its own.

-Hi, I'm Lorraine.

-Nice to see you.

-Nice to see you.

Mark's stall serves one dish and one dish only -

rib meat with a superhot chilli sauce.

The succulent pork is just stuffed in a bun.

But packed with flavour, Mark's grub goes down a storm with the punters.

-All right, these are the ribs.

-I'll put my gloves on

-so I can help you out.

-Basically, it was cooked quickly

once on the barbecue to get the colour.

Then they were wrapped up, cooked again,

kept on turning, baked on the bone.

Then they're going into the hot box and they rest until they're ready.

And, basically, they should just fall apart like that.

That's awesome.

Who would like Lorraine to serve them?

-Sir, would you like something to eat?

-A roll, please.

-A roll.

-Love the spicy one.

-So, one of these.

'The juicy pork comes with a choice of toppings -

'barbecue sauce...'

There you go, sir.

Anyone else?

'..or Mark's specialty - hot sauce.'

-Tell me when to stop.

-Yeah, that's good.

Some like it hot. There you go.

'A chilli-packed crowd pleaser that I've come here to learn about.'

Now, I've heard that your sauces are pretty legendary.

They're getting that way. They seem to be, anyway.

-Olive oil.

-Yep.

In here, we've got Naga Bhut Jolokia.

'The spiciness of chillies is measured on the Scoville scale,

'and the varieties Mark uses are right up there.'

They was the hottest chillies in the world

until about six months ago.

-So, I wouldn't do that, would I?

-You can, but I wouldn't.

'Mark blitzes some fiery Naga chillies with Scotch bonnets.'

-And now, we're going to add your magic spice mix?

-Yes, we are.

-Right, how much goes in?

-Just tip about half of that in.

OK.

'As if the fresh chillies weren't enough,

'in goes a mix of cayenne, paprika and more herbs and spices.'

-Try it.

-Shall I?

HE LAUGHS

-He's laughing, that's not a good sign.

-Go ahead.

See you on the other side!

It's very hot...indeed.

'It's his classic combo of juicy ribs

'contrasting with a hit of hot chilli

'that keeps the punters coming back.'

-Yeah!

-Go on, how good is it? How good?

All right, it is beautiful.

It's tender, juicy,

packed full of flavour - and that hot sauce

warms you from the inside out. Gorgeous.

-Thank you very much.

-Thank you.

Cultivated all over the world,

there are literally thousands of

varieties of chilli.

And I'm going to use a pretty fiery chilli

to spice up a simple classic -

roast chicken.

It starts with a bit of salt and pepper,

drizzle of oil.

So, not much prep.

And then half an hour in the oven.

And now, I'm going to prepare the baste.

It starts off with 50ml of oil

and 25ml of white wine vinegar.

About three tablespoons of Tabasco.

I like it to be nice and spicy.

And three tablespoons of soy sauce.

So you've got all these layers of flavours going in here.

Paprika. Smoked. Beautiful.

Look at that colour.

So we need three tablespoons of that.

And oregano, dried.

Roughly a tablespoon of that.

And then sugar, just to give a nice balance of sweetness.

And then the zest and juice of one lime.

And then I've already chopped up some fresh ginger.

About a two-centimetre piece.

And garlic, five cloves. And chilli.

Piri piri chillies are what give this dish its name

and spicy flavour.

They are grown all across Africa

and will give the chicken just the pep I'm after.

Right, that is the baste done.

Now I'm going to get the chicken.

It is smelling very good.

Right, so, the baste goes on

and I'm going to save

about a quarter of it

back for later,

cos I'm going to make a sauce.

There.

All right, I'll just get my onion.

And it just needs to be cut into wedges.

And then these go in with the chicken.

I'm leaving the skins on, but you can take them off if you fancy.

Now, these are prewashed. I'm just going to throw them straight in.

Lovely. They're going to soak up all that flavour, get nice and crispy.

A bit of salt and pepper.

And then, back in the oven for an hour.

Five minutes before the chicken is done,

I add a splash of water to the peri-peri mixture

and bring it to the boil, making a tasty sauce,

ready to transform a regular roast into something rather special.

Oh, this looks great.

My whole roast perky peri-peri chicken.

Just beautiful.

My next recipe mixes up the classic,

fresh taste of summer with some warming winter flavours.

Cherries preserved in port, cinnamon and orange.

Pour 150ml of port into a small saucepan.

Add 300g of soft, light brown sugar and a spoonful of cinnamon.

Zest the skin of an orange into the pan,

then halve and juice the same orange

and pour this in, along with the 150ml of water.

Stir slowly and bring everything to the boil...

..till it all turns thick and syrupy.

After about three minutes, remove the pan from the heat...

..and leave to cool.

Meanwhile, wash the ripe and juicy cherries in a colander

and tip them into a sterilised jar.

Drizzle the cooled syrup over the cherries

and leave overnight for all the flavours to soak in.

They will keep for a couple of weeks in an airtight jar,

but I doubt they'll last that long.

Summer cherries in a winter syrup - a delicious and easy twist.

For my final dish, I'm opting for

one of my all-time favourite puddings.

And once again, I'll be serving up a fresh alternative

to this well-known favourite.

So, I'm making the very classic Eton mess,

but I like to take simple classics and give them a little twist,

because my Eton mess is actually neat and tidy.

So, I just need 125ml of egg whites.

Now, I'm using this liquid egg white that I got from the supermarket.

All right, so, I'm just going to get these whisked up

to a medium peak.

Add the sugar now, slowly, whilst it's whisking.

Tiny bit of lemon juice.

And then a teaspoon of cornflour.

Now, this makes the meringue nice and mallowy and chewy in the middle.

And give it a final whisk.

Let's have a look and see if this is a stiff peak.

So, I'll just dab it in there.

And it's just completely upright, it's perfect.

That means we're going to get a really nice stiff,

shiny meringue once it's cooked, with a chewy centre.

So, the bag's ready. Now I'm going to pipe.

I just put a blob in the centre

and then just pipe round in circles.

Keep going round till you get that nice edge.

Great.

And then these go into the oven at 130 degrees

for about half an hour.

Now it's time to dollop on my delicious whipped cream.

Right, so I've got 300ml of double cream in here,

the seeds of one vanilla pod and some stem ginger.

I use fresh vanilla.

Vanilla extract is good to use too,

but it doesn't have quite as good a flavour.

And then blackberries.

Now, I could not resist these big, fat, plump, juicy berries.

But blueberries will work, raspberries, strawberries, bananas.

Just simply put the lids on like this.

Loads of flavour, loads of crunch.

My neat-and-tidy Eton mess.

From a simple pesto to a spicy sauce for livening up roast chicken,

these are classics that you can turn to again and again

for fast, fresh and easy meals every time.

So, simple, classic recipes with a twist

that I hope will stand the test of time in your kitchen.

Right, who wants some?

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