Weekday Supper Mary Berry Cooks

'I'm Mary Berry, and I want to share with you my very favourite recipes -

'the sort of food I cook at home for my family and friends.'

When I started my career, we didn't have anything like

the variety of ingredients we've got today.

How times have changed!

I'm giving you ideas for afternoon tea, posh dinners,

Sunday lunches, celebration buffets and a summer party.

But today, it's a weekday supper

with a few close friends.

I love weekday suppers -

relaxed and informal food round the kitchen table.

Food you can rustle up at short notice and is made for sharing.

A hearty meal you can make in advance -

cottage pie with a topping of dauphinoise potatoes.

When time's really short, a penne pasta with Parma ham and mushrooms,

which takes just 15 minutes to make from start to finish.

A refreshing elderflower posset, using a home-made cordial.

And my Mediterranean sharing platter,

with a selection of dishes full of different textures and tastes.

The first is a simple tomato and mozzarella salad.

These little mozzarella pearls

are very convenient, shaped to pick up on a fork.

Then I've got these lovely vine tomatoes.

First of all, I'm going to cut the tomatoes in half.

I do this across the middle.

This tomato salad makes you think of Italy.

And I shall never forget, I walked from Siena to Florence -

all that long hill before we got there -

then you stand at the top and you look at Florence and you think,

"The journey was well worthwhile. What a beautiful view."

And that's just what I would like to have as I entered the town.

A sit-down with a glass of red wine.

When the tomatoes are halved, add an equal amount of mozzarella

and splash over two tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil

and one of balsamic vinegar.

Finally, chop up a handful of basil leaves.

Wonderful basil smell!

I keep changing which is my favourite herb.

It's usually the one that I'm using at the time.

Things don't have to be complicated.

You can get this lovely, sort of Italian salad in no time.

The colours go so well.

And immediately you look at it, you think of Italy.

Next, some breadsticks.

Prepare a dough from 250g of seeded grain flour,

a teaspoon each of salt, sugar and yeast,

and two of olive oil.

Then roll out on semolina.

The reason why I'm rolling it out on semolina

is because it gives a nice crunch to the outside.

And this mixed-seeded flour I find very delicious

and it gives a lovely texture to it.

Cut the dough into centimetre strips,

then roll out into pencil shapes.

Next, dust a baking tray with semolina

and place the breadsticks across.

So I've only just mixed the dough at this stage,

then I'm going to prove it.

And that means the yeast will grow

and they will puff up and become light.

Sprinkle again with semolina,

set aside to prove for around 20 minutes

and start on the next dish - roasted vegetables.

I've got a lovely Mediterranean selection here.

Red onions, red peppers.

I've got some aubergine, some courgettes and some garlic as well.

With the vegetables all cut to the same size,

to ensure they cook evenly,

drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper,

then roast in the oven at 200 degrees fan.

While that's happening, you can get on with the hummus.

Pour two cans of chickpeas into a processor,

along with the juice and rind of two lemons,

one clove of crushed garlic,

a good pinch of ground cumin and some olive oil.

This is an occasion that you want to have real virgin olive oil.

And you can tell by the colour - it's a lovely deep colour.

I don't use virgin olive oil when there's heat applied to it,

cos you lose that lovely flavour.

Pour in five tablespoons of the oil and three of Greek yogurt,

then blitz to a paste.

Right, let's turn it into a bowl.

You can do all sorts of varieties of hummus.

A great favourite is putting a couple of dollops of pesto in it.

And, of course, that gives it a different colour.

If you like hot things, some finely chopped chilli is good in it -

red chilli - and that would look appealing.

After 20 minutes, remove the vegetables from the oven

and add 200g of char-grilled artichoke hearts,

which will only need a quick warming-up.

And then on to those breadsticks.

They have risen just to be, sort of, puffy

and, as you touch them, they feel soft.

Place the breadsticks on the top shelf with the vegetables below

and cook for 10 minutes at 200 degrees fan.

And now for the final dish.

Roast 200g of blanched almonds in an oiled pan over a high heat.

This is an occasion when you really have to watch.

Almonds, like pine nuts, catch as easy as winky.

Sprinkle over two teaspoons of sea salt

and two tablespoons of finely chopped rosemary needles.

Then, once the pan has cooled a little,

half a teaspoon of smoked paprika.

When the ten minutes is up,

everything in the oven will be ready.

The last job - a liberal splash of balsamic vinegar

over the vegetables.

And to serve, present the dishes together on a wooden board

to show off the different textures and colours.

This is a very modern style of eating and I absolutely love it.

This is a vegetarian platter but, of course,

you could add some Parma ham, you could add some smoked fish.

But I think everybody would enjoy this.

And doesn't it look colourful?

When I set up home in the '50s,

I cooked very traditional British food for supper.

Nowadays, I'm much more adventurous.

You might be surprised but a real favourite is curry.

My lamb dhansak is perfect for a weekday supper.

You can cook it in advance - so on the night just warm it up,

boil the rice and you're ready to serve.

So I've got some lovely lamb here.

You can use either leg

or you can use shoulder.

Shoulder is a little bit more fatty but it is much cheaper.

Start off by searing a kilo of lamb in a frying pan.

Split it into two batches to make sure it browns properly.

MEAT SIZZLES

It makes an awful noise when you have it on high heat,

but it does mean that it gets sealed and you get a lovely colour.

Once both batches have browned, remove the meat,

then finely chop two onions and leave on a low heat to soften.

Meanwhile, chop four garlic cloves,

slice two red chillies and remove the seeds.

How popular have chillies become?

There are chilli farms, chilli festivals,

and a lot of people like chilli dishes very hot.

This curry is not very hot.

Next, chop 25g of ginger,

then put it into a blender along with the garlic and chilli.

Now for the spices.

Just going to get my pestle and mortar.

I've got three to choose from over there.

These originally were in Paul's - my husband - father's window

and he was a chemist. And when we got married, we had them given to us

and I use them all the time.

Bash ten cardamom pods, removing the husks to leave the seeds behind.

Once you've smelt cardamom, it is so distinctive, so aromatic.

But it is much better when you actually grind your own.

Add the cardamom and chilli mixture to the onions,

along with 1½ tablespoons of both cumin and coriander

and ½ a tablespoon of turmeric.

Pour in 400g of chopped tomatoes,

then add 200mls of beef stock

and 75g of red lentils

before returning the lamb.

Now, it does need just a little bit of sweetener,

so I'm going to add a little honey.

Bring the dish back to a simmer, cover with a tight-fitting lid,

place in an oven at 130 fan and cook for about two hours.

Then serve with basmati rice, fresh tomato relish

and a cooling cucumber and mint raita.

What an amazing colour!

And the smell is marvellous.

I like the idea of having lentils in curry.

It's a sort of natural thickener.

But the meat looks beautifully tender, so let's try it.

It just looks so tempting, that colour.

The lamb is as tender as can be.

I just love those spices!

For me it's on the hot side,

but the whole of the crew tasted this earlier

and they said they'd like it hotter - so you have the choice.

Over the last few years, I've become a very keen gardener.

I like to grow my own fruit, vegetables and herbs.

One thing I've always wanted is to keep my own bees

and have home-grown honey -

but I've never dared do it.

Today I'm meeting someone who,

nine years ago, decided to set up her own bee colony.

And now Jules Moore has over 157,000 bees.

I started keeping bees with a little swarm I picked up from my uncle.

Popped them in the boot of the car and drove back up the motorway at high speed,

and haven't looked back since.

So you've got 157,000 bees.

How much honey do you get from that number of bees?

Well, if you had one hive at full strength

it would be about 50,000 bees in there.

How much honey? How long's a piece of string?

If the weather's all perfect,

you could get 100lb of honey off a hive.

It's good. Oh, it's got pockets, look!

'Before I can see the hives close up,

'there's the small matter of a bee suit.

'Functional with a touch of elegance, too, don't you think?'

Let's go and meet some bees!

Do they know we're coming? JULES CHUCKLES

They're just coming out to have a look at us. Look at them.

Wow. That's honeycomb!

Yep. Isn't that beautiful?

And you can see,

where it's glistening here, that they've put honey in it.

They're all quite peaceful, aren't they?

Oh, they are. Bees are extraordinary. People expect them to go berserk but they really don't.

-You feel they've got a job to do - they're working.

-Yes, they're busy.

-They're busy bees.

-Yes.

-And there's this gentle buzz around us.

They're fabulous. These are all...

Actually, I think there's one... There he is - can you see? -

he's a little bit larger with big eyes.

-That's the male bee.

-Oh, in the middle?

-Yes.

There's very few. He can't sting and he is absolutely useless.

He only has one job in life, which is to mate with the queen,

and he'll spend the rest of the summer waited on hand and foot

by all the workers, who are females.

-So what's new?

-Yeah.

-SHE CHUCKLES

-And they put up with it!

-So all the work is done by the women?

All those bees you see there are all female workers.

-They are very efficient little people, aren't they?

-They are.

The interesting thing is that a bee only lasts six weeks in the summer in its lifetime.

It'll wear itself out in that time.

And only three of those weeks do they actually do honey collection.

So a bee will produce about a quarter to a third of teaspoon of honey in its life.

'With so little honey produced by each bee,

'this is truly precious stuff.'

It comes off in a real crust, doesn't it?

Yes, it does. This is basically like a little lid on it.

And we'll put it in the extractor

and the centrifugal force will pull all the honey out.

Look at that. Isn't that just fabulous?

-You feel as though you want to dip your finger in it!

-Yes, absolutely.

It's very satisfying when you think -

-all those lady bees have made all this.

-Yes.

OK, when you're ready, if you'd like to start turning the handle...

-It's a bit like a mangle, isn't it?

-It is, very much so, yes.

If you look straight down there,

you can see it spitting around the edges.

-Oh, yes.

-Like little blobs of gold.

-It's fabulous, isn't it?

-Dripping down the side.

When it starts you think, "Gosh, there's nothing in the bottom,"

and then as it drips down it gradually builds up and up and up.

So what's the difference about the honey we're doing now

and the one that perhaps I'd buy in the supermarket?

Well, if it's commercially produced honey

then it's going to have been pasteurised, for a start.

So you won't get that wonderful natural pollen

and the distinctive nature of each of the different flowers.

Ooh!

-I know, isn't it wonderful?

-Liquid gold.

Now, when you're cooking with honey

have you special recipes that you use it for?

Yes, I've got a recipe for honey and vanilla ice cream.

I make your honey and banana tea bread.

Honey and carrot cake.

Quite often, I will just substitute honey for sugar

cos I love the flavour of it.

All we need to do now is just pop these filters...

out of the way into the bucket,

and there we have it!

-Can I taste?

-Absolutely. Please do!

I'm going to do this with great respect.

Because a third of a teaspoon is the life's work of a bee.

Mm! Gosh, that's special.

When it comes to midweek suppers with friends,

my husband Paul likes the old favourites best.

And top of the list is cottage pie.

But I've given it a twist,

swapping the usual mash for dauphinoise potatoes,

which transforms it into something really special.

Start off by browning 900g of minced beef.

Cottage pie means different things to different people.

When I was young, Mum would make cottage pie

with left-over Sunday roast and she would mince it.

I like to do it with fresh mince because if I've got left-over roast

it's an expensive cut - I want to have it cold on Monday.

Once it's brown, set the meat aside and fry two finely chopped onions

and four sticks of celery for about three minutes.

Then return the mince and pour in 300mls of beef stock.

Now for a thickening paste.

I need 50g of flour and that is two rounded tablespoons.

One...

..two.

Then I need 250mls of wine.

And I'm just going to add a little bit to start with.

I'm keeping an eye on the level of the bottle.

I know exactly how much is 250mls,

cos that's about what I allow myself during the evening.

Never that second glass unless it's a party!

That is runny and absolutely smooth.

You've got to be quick about this.

If you just put it in and let in boil,

you'll get a thick sauce in the middle of the pan.

Pour that in, all over in one go, and then give it a good stir.

I find that a very good way of thickening

and you don't get any white lumps.

Next, add two tablespoons of light muscovado sugar,

two of Worcester sauce and one tablespoon of fresh thyme.

Then slice 250g of chestnut mushrooms.

Nowadays, these sort of mushrooms are grown in sterilised soil

and so you don't need to wash them.

In fact, if you do wash them and you're frying them,

you'll find that you'll get a very wet result.

Now stir them in and leave to simmer.

In the meantime, cut 1½ kilos of potatoes into 4mm slices

before boiling them for four minutes.

Then arrange over the meat.

Now, the first layer needn't be all neat and tidy.

But the top layer - it looks nicer if it all overlaps.

Next, take 150mls of pouring double cream.

Drizzle half over the potatoes, season well,

then add the remaining layer of potatoes and cream.

If you're doing this ahead of time,

just put a little of the cream over the first layer of potatoes.

Keep the rest and pour it on just before you pop it in the oven.

I'm cooking this one now, so it's on with the remaining cream

and 100g of grated mature Cheddar.

Then into the oven at 200 degrees fan for about 30 minutes.

When the top has turned a lovely golden brown, it's ready to serve.

I can see the celery, the onion.

A big piece of mushroom there.

I love those flavours

and I think it's just a little bit different from having mashed potato.

I love the cheesy topping, too.

It's, in fact, my new favourite.

When you need supper in a hurry,

this dish can be made in 15 minutes

and uses ingredients you can

pick up on your way home.

Penne pasta with mushrooms and crispy Parma ham.

I bet you've never fried Parma ham.

It's pretty unusual to do that.

And frying it makes it all crispy and it's lovely to come across.

I mean, you could... If you had a lot of bacon left in the fridge,

you could do it with bacon.

But, really, I think it's much nicer with Parma ham.

Fry 160g of the ham, stirring continually.

And the aroma from here is lovely!

I'm going to take half of this out to put on the top of the pasta.

And I'm going to put that to one side there.

Time to get the pasta cooking.

For six people, that's 350g.

Then add 250g of chopped chestnut mushrooms to the remaining ham.

I'm just stirring that so that the surplus fat from the Parma ham

is going all over these mushrooms and giving them a good flavour.

After about six minutes, the pasta will be done.

Drain it, then set it to one side.

Now add 200g of creme fraiche to the mushroom-and-ham mixture,

stir well and leave to simmer while you grate 100g of Parmesan.

I can remember when we first had Parmesan cheese.

It came in nasty little tubs

and it was powdery, a bit like sawdust,

and had very little flavour.

And then we were lucky enough in the early '70s

to be able to buy a block of Parmesan cheese.

And you also had to buy alongside that a special grater,

cos it was so old, the cheese, we couldn't do it on a normal grater.

For the final ingredient, a handful of roughly chopped fresh parsley.

Now take the pasta, tip it into the creamy sauce and mix well.

So we're nearly there.

In goes half the cheese, most of the parsley,

a bit of pepper and salt...

..and then just mix that all together.

When you're ready to serve,

sprinkle generously with the remaining ham and Parmesan.

And there you have it - an easy supper in no time at all.

The summer is a great time

to go foraging for tasty ingredients to bring home.

And in May and June,

the hedgerows are full of one of my favourites - elderflower.

When it's in bloom, it's hard to miss.

So this is a perfect flower to make elderflower cordial.

It's fully out except for the odd bud

and when I shake it, none of the flowers drop.

Here's one that has yet to come out.

And, of course, when it's brown it's spent

and that doesn't give the flavour and it makes a dark cordial.

I always look for elder trees well away from the road,

as the flowers become tainted with petrol fumes.

You can, of course, buy elderflower cordial

but it's so easy to make your own.

It's such a shame that elderflowers are in season for such a short time

because elderflower cordial is quite one of my most favourite drinks.

Add 1½ kilos of caster sugar to 1½ litres of water

and leave on the heat to dissolve.

In the meantime, finely slice two lemons.

The great joy about making elderflower cordial

is that it's free.

And the children love it and, you know, you give them a basket

and say, "Go and find 25 heads," and they manage jolly well.

Once the sugar has dissolved and the syrup has turned clear,

set to one side to cool.

Now place the lemons into a 3½ litre container.

Pips and all - doesn't matter. Then in goes the elderflowers.

Now, you may not have time when you pick the elderflowers

to actually make the cordial,

cos it does take a little while and you may pick more than you need.

So take the heads, squeeze them into a bag

and put them straightaway in the freezer exactly as they are.

No blanching, no nothing.

Then when you want to make the cordial,

you drop them frozen, crispy, into that jug.

If you thaw them first, they will go brown.

So in goes the elderflowers.

That's it.

And then I'm going to add citric acid. And I've got 50g.

Elderflower cordial will only last about a month,

but I've got a little trick that'll make it keep for a good long time.

You add Campden tablets.

This is something they use in wine making and in beer making,

and it kills the bacteria and the natural yeast.

So a couple of tablets...

Once the sugar syrup has cooled a little, pour it in.

That's it.

Then give it a good stir, cover and put in a cool place to steep.

After 24 hours, all those lovely flavours will have blended together.

The aroma from this is amazing!

It really smells just like the flowers that we picked.

And look at those elderflowers -

they've darkened in colour but the aroma is...so strong.

Lovely!

Once the liquid has been strained,

decant the cordial into sterilised bottles.

Now, I usually dilute this with sparking water

and it makes the very best summer drink.

But sometimes I use it for my recipes.

And one of the simplest is my frozen elderflower posset -

a perfect pud to round off a weekday supper with friends.

Whip up 150mls of double cream.

Then gradually add 150mls of the elderflower cordial. And that's it.

When it's all combined, put the mixture into the freezer

in an airtight container.

Then once it's frozen solid, pop it into the processor.

That's beautifully smooth. No ice crystals.

And I'm going to serve it in these four glasses.

It looks like a thick smoothie at this stage, but you serve it frozen.

Place the possets in the freezer until required,

then serve with fresh strawberries.

A naughty rich pud made from just two simple ingredients.

Fruit crumble is a pudding you can serve all the year round.

Depending on the season, I use blackcurrants, plums or rhubarb.

And in autumn, it's apples.

Apple crumble is very traditional but this version has a real crunch -

with oats, walnuts and sunflower seeds.

Apple season comes with mixed blessings for me.

Paul comes in, you know, first thing in the morning,

with a huge trug of fallen apples

and he thinks he's done so well and he looks so pleased.

But I've got to deal with them!

Place 1½ kilos of chopped cooking apples into a pan,

along with the juice of half a lemon,

100g of muscovado sugar and six tablespoons of water.

Then leave to simmer.

Next, for the crumble, start by mixing 100g of butter

with 50g of flour.

Now, a normal crumble is just flour, butter and sugar -

but I've got lots of other ingredients, too.

So I'm putting in 50g of porridge oats,

150g of light muscovado sugar,

150g of chopped walnuts...

..and 50g of sunflower seeds.

So that's quite a different crumble.

Do you know, I'm often asked, where do I get my recipes from?

Well, of course, a lot of them are family recipes

but sometimes very good friends give me recipes.

And on this occasion, I was having lunch with Shirley,

who used to be my next-door neighbour in London when we lived there,

and she gave us this delicious crumble and she said,

"I bet you haven't had this before,"

and indeed I hadn't and I thought it was so good.

This is why I'm showing it to you today.

By now, the apples will have started to soften.

Stir, then place them in the oven at 160 fan.

Cook the topping separately

to ensure that it remains nice and crispy.

After 20 minutes, it should all be ready.

Oh, that looks good.

The apple wants to be soft and still have its shape.

So you've got a few little pieces and some lovely soft stewed apple.

Break up the crumble mixture,

spread evenly over the apple and it's ready to serve.

Now, the joy of this is,

you can cook the apple separately to perfection,

you can make a very crispy crumble and then assemble them together

and you know that it's going to be perfect.

So there you have it -

my collection of British classics and dishes from further afield

to serve for a kitchen supper.

I hope you'll try these recipes when your friends and family come round.

Next time, it's a summer lunch -

luxurious beef fillet with a garlic-and-mustard cream,

fiery red rice salad to add some colour,

and a summer pudding packed with fruits of the season.

Perfect food for any summer celebration!