Big Crowd Pleasers Mary Berry Everyday

I'm Mary Berry

and in this series, I'll be celebrating the very best

of my everyday cooking.

Day-to-day cooking needn't be mundane.

Even the simplest recipes can be a joy.

I want to show you easy ways to transform dishes

into something really special.

From my indulgent and delicious ideas...

It's sheer heaven on a plate.

Mm!

..to recipes that stir fond memories...

Welcome home, Mary.

I'm here to stay!

..and my surprisingly easy show-stoppers

for when you really want to show off.

Oh, wow!

How about that, then?

In this programme,

the everyday dishes I love to whip up into fabulous crowd-pleasers.

How about sorbet?

I think we've got enough for everyone.

To me, there's nothing more enjoyable

than sharing our garden with everyone in our village.

Today, our local church are having an event in the garden

and there are loads of helping hands making cakes, tarts and scones.

So, Alex, where would you like me to put them?

-Oh, if you could just put them here, please. Lovely.

-Right.

-Yeah.

-Lovely and fresh.

It's wonderful to see everybody tucking in.

-That was very good.

-Mm!

I have so many exciting recipes to feed a crowd,

though perhaps not quite as big as this one.

Here's my very own version of one we all love to share.

A little something that's perfect to get them in the mood.

A fruity number that gets plenty of oohs and ahs.

And a cheesecake elevated to the spectacular.

But first, a rich mouth-watering stew

I've served up to hungry hordes for many a year.

I've always been a fan of food that's easy to make for a crowd.

So I'm making a timeless classic -

beef and ale stew.

And this one is really special.

Good-quality braising beef makes all the difference.

And I'm going to fry it, first of all,

until it's a gorgeous golden-brown colour.

SIZZLING

Because I have got it hot,

I know it's making an awful noise and an awful lot of spitting,

but this is just what I want.

Look at this pan - it's browning beautifully quickly.

Once all the meat is beautifully browned,

keep the same pan to fry off the vegetables.

I'll have to have just a little drop more.

Pickling onions or small shallots go perfectly.

In they go.

Then it's two carrots and 200g of little button mushrooms.

And I've left the stalk on.

They're nice and small.

I love making stews. You can always do them ahead.

It really is a winner.

Now for the star ingredient, this wonderful ale.

That's what's giving it the flavour.

I'm going to use a whole bottle, that's 500 mil.

My secret to make a smooth, velvety stew

is to slowly whisk 50g of flour with the ale.

If you sprinkle the meat with flour,

often it gets in the crevices and doesn't really thicken it well.

Whereas, if you do it this way,

every little grain of flour is used to thicken the casserole.

Don't worry, all the bubbles will go!

So pour it in all at once.

In goes 150ml of beef stock

and then, for a full flavour, some rich onion marmalade.

Now, I've got to add the meat back into there.

Finally a splash of Worcester sauce, seasoning and a few bay leaves.

Now this is a really gorgeous golden-brown colour.

My grandmother, I just remember her in the kitchen,

and she would take an old spoon and she'd put a little sugar on it

and hold it over a naked flame

and just watch it bubble to a dark caramel.

She would then stir it in with the liquid

and it would add a lovely golden-brown.

Well, mine's a lovely colour, so I'm not doing anything to it.

So that's ready for a long, slow cook,

two-and-a-half hours at 140 fan,

until the meat is soft and tender.

What livens up a stew more than dumplings?

Not just plain, round dumplings, but spiral dumplings

with the wonderful flavour of parsley and horseradish.

This is a light dough made with suet and self-raising flour

and it's good to remember a wet dough is a lighter dough.

All these things will give you fluffy dumplings.

Just like scones, it doesn't need a lot of kneading.

It feels a nice, wet dough. Look, it's sticking to my fingers.

I know that's a good dough.

To make the spiral, the trick is to roll it out on a nonstick sheet.

Then roll that out...

..into an oblong.

So imagine we're going to do a Swiss roll.

And to make them really flavoursome,

I'm using lashings of hot horseradish.

What goes better with beef than horseradish?

And fresh parsley?

Not only does the parsley add to the flavour,

you can imagine, in the spirals, you get a green layer, which is lovely.

Rather like a Catherine wheel.

And just like when you're doing a roulade,

let the paper do the work

and then make a tight roll in the middle.

Can you see? I'm tucking that in.

For perfect results,

firm it up in the fridge

before you slice it into even spirals.

The stew has had its time. Let's see how it is.

And I might say, it's quite a weight.

Give the dumplings plenty of space on top of the stew,

so they can spread as they cook.

And then, back in the oven, lid off, for 25 minutes

with the temperature up to 200 fan.

It looks pretty good to me.

That's just what I wanted.

I promised you that they would spread out.

They've got a lovely crispy round top.

So there it is,

an everyday favourite transformed into a hearty crowd-pleaser.

It's a perfect dish.

I love having people round.

But the first rule is make it simple, be organised

and get as much as you can done ahead.

My next recipe is the perfect thing for a sharing platter.

A heavenly dip that's blissfully easy to make.

So, all I'm going to do is put all those ingredients into a processor,

season it, have a little taste and it's done.

The only thing that's low-fat in this

is 200g of light mayonnaise.

The rest is jolly rich, starting with 150g of sour cream.

Then, I've got Cheddar cheese grated

and it's a really nice mature one.

In goes 100g of that and, for a really full flavour,

25g of grated Parmesan.

I'll only need a quarter of an onion

and then just sort of it cut it up roughly.

In goes the onion.

I love onion and garlic together.

So I'm adding a couple of cloves into the mix.

And all that remains is for me to add the artichokes.

Now, I have strained those.

You've got the sort of the base of the artichoke here

and just a little bit of the leaf.

In France it's called the foin.

All that will go into a puree and give it a flavour.

And just put them in all at once.

All the ingredients are in there.

Yes, it is a bit rich, but we're serving with it crudites,

raw vegetables, so they're very good for you.

Don't forget, a little pepper and salt

and then whiz it into a fine puree.

Like magic, it's done.

It's really scrumptious!

I'm serving this alongside quail's eggs,

marinated prawns and beetroot hummus.

I'm going to let everybody enjoy that now.

So I'll take it down.

This artichoke dip is a huge hit with friends and family.

Sometimes, it's the simple pleasures we all love most

and there's one sharing plate that never fails to please.

I've called for my first-ever pizza delivery

in the form of brothers James and Tom from Dorset,

who love it so much that they went all the way to Naples

to discover the secret of the very best pizza in the world.

-Ah...

-Hello, hello.

-Hello! Now, it's Tom and James.

-James.

I've got a big confession.

I've never had a home delivery of a pizza.

I've made lots for my children in my time,

but I have never had a delivery.

Well, we're slow getting here, but we're quick once the oven's on.

I was expecting two Italians.

We did a pizza pilgrimage through Italy.

In fact, we bought this van just over the water from Sicily

and we drove it back from Italy.

We budgeted one week to do that and it took six

because the lovely van, as great as she is,

she has a top speed of 18mph.

And where does the best pizza come from?

Well, it comes from one-third of the way up - Naples.

-Right.

-We didn't even need to do the rest of the trip.

Once we landed in Naples and we tasted this pizza,

it was a no-brainer.

So what's so special about a Neapolitan pizza?

In Naples, it's all about the dough.

This... This is the dough.

And if you have a feel of that, it's really soft

and that's just four ingredients.

That's 00 flour, water,

salt and fresh baker's yeast.

But the key to it is to allow a long prove

-to really develop the flavour.

-Right.

And for that, you use an incredibly small amount of yeast.

With pizza, we want this really soft

kind of melt-in-the-mouth kind of chewiness.

-It's very, very elastic, isn't it?

-Yeah.

Do you know, I can almost see you through it.

You can make it three times the size. It's amazing how strong it is.

If you look at this... So this is the gluten here

and when you mix it, you develop the gluten

and then that is what holds the whole thing together.

In the same way that we were taught, shall we just have a go?

I'm not experienced at it. We've got one dog underneath here.

-Anything that drops, Milly is ready to eat.

-He looks ready.

We're going to take a dough ball each.

Neapolitan pizza has quite a raised crust. It's quite characteristic.

So what we do is we press, leaving a crust around the outside like that.

So next is the theatre bit.

Basically, you want to take the pizza dough on your hands like that,

then you just pass it between your hands and keep stretching.

-And the weight is pulling it down.

-Very little effort and it's done.

That's it.

We thought we'd do a classic Margherita today.

It's the most simple.

It's the only pizza they'll actually recognise in Naples as a pizza.

Anything else is not pizza.

It's simplicity itself.

It is just tomatoes blitzed down with some salt.

These are called San Marzano tomatoes,

which are deemed the best tomatoes in the world

because they grow in the foothills of Mount Vesuvius

and its volcanic soils and the sun.

So then the next most important rule with pizza

is to put on the ingredients in order of which way they burn.

So basil burns very easily. So it needs to sit on the bottom.

Quite a lot of basil and a little pinch of Parmesan.

-Only that little bit?

-Just a little pinch.

Now, you see, I think we're being a bit mean with that,

but this is the right amount?

If you want more Parmesan, you go for it.

And then, the last ingredient. This is fior di latte mozzarella,

which is a special kind of mozzarella

that came from the Naples region - Campania.

It's a cow's milk mozzarella

with a really high moisture and fat content.

-We just want little pools.

-Oh, I like that.

The last thing is just a little drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

-Right, we're ready for the oven, are we?

-Are you ready? Let's do it!

So the oven is really hot.

It's about 500 degrees Celsius

and the idea is that you can't cook pizza quick enough.

If you want to keep it soft and chewy,

you need to get it cooked and get the colour on it

-and get it out before it goes crispy.

-Right.

You take this.

You put it down so that the front of the pizza is touching like that.

It's all about speed.

Oh...

-Perfect.

-In here?

In.

How long are you going to leave it in this at 500 degrees?

It'll be in there for a minute. No more.

What you do is, it's called doming.

So now, you take that and you just show it up to the flame.

-There you go.

-That's it.

-That's enough!

And that just puts a little bit more colour on the top.

That's it. Look at that. Perfect pizza!

Gosh, it's all melting over the top.

It's all crispy-brown on the outside

-and, of course, the mozzarella is runny in the middle...

-Yeah.

..and they look so tempting.

So we're going to show you how to eat pizza Naples style.

So you take a slice like this

and you fold the corner point into the middle

-and then the other corner point into the middle, as well.

-Like that?

And then you just catch the end

like that and fold that over

and you create what's technically known as a pizza boat.

-Straight in.

-I've waited for this for a long time!

-Now, that's what I like - the crunch.

-Get in there.

Mm! CRUNCHING

Do you know something?

-It's the best pizza I've ever had.

-Oh...!

It's quite different

and yet the ingredients, themselves, are so simple.

It's really good. Well worth trying.

I can see it now, look - a pizza oven just there by the pond.

Perfect.

Above dog height, please!

-Yeah.

-THEY ALL LAUGH

There's nothing quite like authentic Italian pizza.

But I'm going to show you

how to make a really special version at home,

even without that wonderful pizza oven.

Just as Tom and James said,

a good pizza is all about the dough.

And don't be afraid, this is very simple to make.

First of all, I'm going to start with the flour, strong flour,

the sort that you use for bread makes it best.

Then, I'm going to add the yeast.

And this is dried yeast - a teaspoonful.

I know the boys used fresh yeast,

but they're making mountains of pizza every day.

This dried yeast has the advantage that it will keep, too.

Always put the yeast on the opposite side of the bowl to the salt.

If you add them together,

the salt can stop the yeast from doing its job.

And my idea for a bit of extra flavour is fresh garlic.

A little unusual to put garlic actually in the dough,

but I like it.

Now slowly add around 175ml of cold water

until it forms a dough.

A splash of olive oil,

then knead it slowly for about four minutes.

If you're doing it all by hand, it'll take about ten minutes

to get a nice, smooth dough.

It's a slightly wet dough, which I like.

You get a better rise.

And then I'm going to do the last bit of kneading by hand.

And it's very manageable and it'll be very easy to shape.

Pop the dough into a greased bowl

and let it rise for a couple of hours,

until it's doubled its size.

Once it's risen, knock it back

and give it a quick knead before you shape it.

So, I've got my nonstick paper here.

Here's the dough.

And I'm going to be just like James and Tom

and not use a rolling pin.

Very Italian.

I love pizza when it's thin and it's home-made

and I know exactly what's gone into it and this is just...

perfect.

Now, down to business.

Season some passata...

..scatter on some delicious caramelised onion...

..pile on the Parma ham...

..and I just love a mild goat's cheese to finish it off.

I really like doing this.

It's great fun to do

and it makes a special everyday meal, for me.

Delicious!

A perfect pizza needs to cook as quickly and evenly as possible.

What I'm trying to recreate is that wonderful hot surface

that Tom and James had in their little van.

Slip it onto a hot baking tray

and into an oven, as hot as it will go,

for about 12 minutes.

Well, I'm pretty proud of that. It looks good, doesn't it?

Now, it needs a little bit of fresh basil.

Basil goes so well with tomatoes.

A few leaves.

Now, what it needs is some good olive oil just over the top.

Just helps to give it a nice flavour and shine.

Now, who can I get to share a slice of this?

-There we are, boys, what you've been waiting for.

-Oh, my goodness!

How does that look?

-That is a picture.

-That is amazing.

-It is so nice to eat someone else's pizza for once.

-I know!

-That's a nice feeling.

-Thank you very much.

-That's delicious.

-That mild goat's cheese is really nice.

-It is.

-It's kind of almost like mozzarella. It's perfect.

-It's a good family recipe and great for a crowd.

-Mm!

Everyone loves pizza. That's the thing.

Over 1,000 people have come to the garden today,

raising lots of money for our local church.

There were crowds going past the vicarage heading this way,

which is fantastic.

This year we've got two lots of teas and still we've got a queue.

Thankfully, I'm not in charge of all the baking,

but I do have a lovely idea you can whip up in no time

that makes a simple cheesecake a great centrepiece.

So good, this cheesecake, because there's no cooking.

No gelatine.

Just put all the ingredients together

and let it set in the fridge.

First, I've got an easy crumb crust

of digestives and melted butter.

That's the base.

The coulis is ready to go over the top.

All I've got to do now is to make the actual cheesecake itself.

Take 250g of delicious full-fat mascarpone.

If you use low-fat, it won't set.

A teaspoonful of vanilla extract and 300ml of double cream...

..and whip them together until beautifully smooth.

To make it really special,

add 200g of molten white chocolate.

I'm very fond of white chocolate and I often use it in recipes.

It's very decadent, just like this cheesecake.

I love it.

Now, at this stage, take great care.

If you go on beating it for a long time it could separate.

And it's a beautiful, smooth mixture.

Very delicious.

Now, to create the cheesecake.

Now, I'm going to put half the mixture in.

I'll tell you why in a moment.

I'm going to spread that evenly across the base, like that.

Right to the edge.

Now, I'm going to do something a little secret.

So, if you take a spoon and you make about ten incisions

and then spoon a bit of the coulis into it.

As you come to serve it,

you'll get a little streak down it.

You want your friends to think you've made a lot of effort.

Complete with the rest of the topping

and it's ready to go into the fridge to chill until firm.

There it is, beautifully set firm.

I'm just going to very gently free the press here.

I'm doing it very, very slowly...

That's it.

And then I'm going to turn that upside down.

One, two, three...

There's the lovely crust that we made on top like that.

A wing and a prayer.

Peel that paper off there

and that's perfect.

All that remains is to give it a layer of lovely raspberries.

Just room for one more in there.

And my special finishing touch.

There it is.

I think that's a very beautiful pudding.

I can't wait to get in there.

In you come. In you come. In you come.

Beautiful!

It's wonderful to have a bit of fun with the food you share.

So here's a recipe that ticks all the boxes -

an exotic mango and passion fruit sorbet

you can serve up in style.

This sorbet is really easy to make.

You don't need a special machine or anything like that.

Start with a simple sugar syrup,

made from caster sugar and water

and stir until the sugar has dissolved.

I'm going to leave that to gently bubble away until it's a syrup,

a little bit thicker,

and then I'm going to dilute it with more water.

I'm using the juice of six delicious passion fruit...

I love passion fruit.

..and three limes.

Everyone's got their favourite lemon or lime squeezer.

I've had this all my married life.

So it must be 50 years old. And I remember seeing it.

There used to be something called The Design Centre

just off Piccadilly.

And it won a Design Centre award and I've had it ever since.

Then the flesh of two large, ripe mangoes,

which need a quick whiz.

Now, I'm going to add the juice from the passion fruit.

The lime juice.

Just give that a quick whiz

and all we've got to add then is our sugar syrup.

Now, the sugar syrup is cold.

I'm going to put the whole lot in.

So in it goes...

Give it a whiz and then it's ready to be frozen.

That's made.

Wasn't that simple?

But it's got to be frozen twice

to get a beautiful texture for our sorbet.

Doesn't it look an amazing colour?

That fills right to the top.

After six hours or so, the sorbet has formed.

But I'll show you how to make it beautifully smooth and velvety.

So, I'm going to cut that into squares.

And actually, you can see it's all in lots of crystals

and this will become a smooth sort of froth

and it will be nice and aerated once we've frozen it again.

Push those lumps down

and you'll get a change of noise

and it'll suddenly go zhoom and it'll all be smooth.

That's absolutely perfect.

It's going through in a lovely light mush.

And it's lovely and creamy, but we want it to set again.

So, back in the freezer to freeze solid

and it's ready to serve.

And that's the secret to a sorbet.

This is an easy one to scale up

and a good trick is to double the quantity

and freeze it in balls,

ready to bring out at the last minute.

This is where the fun begins.

I've got to be really, really quick.

It's a little bit like building a croquembouche

and my daughter had one of those for her wedding.

And to top it off,

flavours that bring out the best of mango -

a sugar syrup made from fresh mint and passion fruit.

And then just a little bit of mint here and there.

It's light. It's exotic.

It's perfect for a crowd on a lovely summer's day.

How about sorbet?

Do you enjoy it?

I think we've got enough for everyone.

I think it's girls first.

Who's... There we are.

Thank you.

You must tell us just what you think of it.

-There we are.

-Thank you.

It's really nice.

Next time...

How to turn the everyday into something truly indulgent.

It's sheer heaven on a plate.

I think it's my most favourite hot pudding.