Episode 6 Mary Berry's Absolute Favourites

I'm Mary Berry and this series

I'm going to be showing you some of my absolute favourites.

Not too difficult to make, not too many ingredients

and the sort of recipes that the family are going to say,

"Oh" and "Ah" and, "Please can we have them again?"

These favourites have been inspired by the places I love.

The countryside, by the sea, markets and gardens.

And, of course, my home.

I'll be sharing with you some brand-new ideas

and some recipes that I never, ever tire of.

Tonight...

You're enjoying it, aren't you, darling?

..it's my favourite dishes inspired by my family.

One of my joys in life is spending time with my grandchildren.

However busy I am, top priority is to have

all the family round for a meal whenever I can.

And there's nothing I enjoy more

than when one of the dishes becomes a family favourite.

Tonight - an easy pasta dish that my grandsons can't get enough of.

A spiced lamb casserole that's a real family pleaser.

Easy biscuits that are such fun for small hands to make

and a cheat's pudding that they'll love every time.

But first, a rice dish that's always the top of my husband's list.

My husband Paul's absolute favourite is Malaysian fried rice.

He would have it every day of the week and I bet that he'll

be popping in when he smells it because you get that wonderful aroma from all the spices.

The reason why Paul likes this so much

is because before I married him, he worked in Malaya, as it was then called,

and I gather that he used to have it once a week, always.

So when I married him, I had to look up recipes for it and I've been making it ever since.

Start the fried rice by slicing two chicken breasts into strips.

Season and fry on a high heat.

There is a real tendency to overcook chicken and what I do is put

some honey in the pan and the honey makes it go golden brown

in no time because each little strip is only going to take about a minute to cook.

That has been cooking fast.

I'm going to turn it over now and you've got a nice bit of brown.

Look at it. That's what I wanted.

Doesn't that look tempting when it's a gorgeous golden brown colour?

I'm going to just tip that out on the plate.

Now for the vegetables.

Add two large chopped onions to the same pan.

I'm going to put a lid on that and let it partly fry, partly cook.

Roughly chop a red pepper and crush three cloves of garlic.

Bit of brute force.

Fry for five minutes and then add 200 grams of sliced button mushrooms.

Mix all those together.

Now the spices that go in.

I've got some mild chilli powder here and I've got some curry powder.

You can buy a mixture of Malaysian spices to make this,

but I just use curry powder because that's what I've got on my shelf.

So I'm going to have half a teaspoon of mild chilli powder

and then a level tablespoon of the curry powder.

It's at this stage that, if the doors are open in the house,

and you get that sort of spicy smell,

Paul comes round the corner and just wonders what I'm up to.

I wouldn't change my husband for the world,

but in the kitchen, he doesn't become involved.

If I'm poorly, which is so rare, he can do two things -

boil eggs and make an excellent omelette.

And even then we argue about the omelette

because he said his French godmother taught him

to put milk in the omelette and I always put water,

so I don't think we'd be very compatible in the kitchen.

I think I like being there and just having him come in to enjoy it.

I've already cooked 250 grams of long-grain rice with 150 grams of frozen peas.

Now it's cool, I can add it to the mix.

It will fry and become crispy if it's cold.

If it's warm it will be soggy. So cold rice, cold peas and give it a good fry.

Mix it all together, add four tablespoons of soy sauce

and fry on a high heat until it's lovely and crispy.

Put the chicken on the top to warm through

and fry one egg for each person who's eating.

That's it, it's ready. It didn't take many moments.

So, I'm going to stir in the chicken.

I know that familiar tread.

-Yeah.

-Have a try.

I'll take mine straight from the pan. See what you think.

Delicious. This is very, very nice.

Well up to the standard, I would say.

-Tuck into the rest and I'll pinch more from the pan.

-OK.

So I do hope that you have a go at home.

It's our great family favourite

and I hope it'll become one of yours.

With five grandchildren who are always on the move,

I'm never short of hungry visitors or helping hands in the kitchen.

This next dish is a perfect way to get them cooking.

Pasta in our house is always the first choice for supper.

They started off with pesto with pasta

and now they have much more exciting things.

But this time it's going to be chicken.

And, as you can see, I've got a bit of help.

This is Hobie and Louis and we're all going to do it together.

Wish us luck.

Start by cooking 250 grams of dried penne pasta

and add one roughly chopped onion to the boiling salted water.

You must be wondering why I put onion in with the pasta.

I find it's much easier to cook the pasta with the onion,

they cook at the same time, rather than frying it,

which sometimes it catches, sometimes it's not even tender.

While the pasta cooks, move on to the chicken - for six people,

use three chicken breasts cut into little strips.

If you've got a bag there, Louis, if you put one tablespoon of

paprika pepper in the bag first and that makes it really, really brown and crispy.

That's it. And then a little bit of pepper and salt.

That's it.

And then put the chicken in there, all of it.

Well done.

And then if you hold the top of the bag

and rub until you've coated,

rub it like that with your hands. That's right, that's it.

Give it a good rub.

Heat one tablespoon of oil and in goes the coated chicken.

Now, it goes in in a lump, but I'm going to divide all that up and then each piece will get browned.

While Louis chops and deseeds two tomatoes,

Hobie and I make a start on the white sauce.

Melt 50 grams of butter and add 50 grams of plain flour.

Sprinkle it in.

Now when you stir that, just like you... What did you make for Grandpa this morning?

-Porridge.

-And you were stirring it with that,

so left hand on the pan to steady it and just stir it to start with.

Now add 750ml of hot milk in two lots.

-That's right. Now would you say that was getting smooth?

-Kind of.

Kind of, I think that's pretty good.

Add most of 100 grams of Parmesan to the pan.

That's it and we'll keep that for the top.

-And then one teaspoon of Dijon mustard.

-So all of it or half?

Just one level one. That's it, in it goes.

Give that a bit of a stir.

Finally, season, then add the cooked pasta and onion.

Pour half the mix into a three-pint buttered ovenproof dish.

Then we're going to put the chicken in.

I'm going to do that in one layer like that. Then all the rest of the

pasta over the top and well done, it's not a bit burnt on the bottom.

You stirred it all the time. That's it.

Sprinkle the rest of the cheese and the chopped tomatoes on top.

That's still warm so I'm going to put it in the oven at 200 degrees fan

and it will be all bubbling and crispy on top in about 20 minutes.

How about going out and having a bit of a play till it's done?

When it's ready, leave it to cool down a bit and then dig in.

-Who wants a taste?

-Me.

-Me.

-OK, are you going to have some, Atalanta?

Yes.

Look at all these crunchy bits on top there. That's for you two.

I need to get that bit.

This has always been one of my favourites.

I think it's going to be one of their favourites too.

There's nothing I love more than a fun and relaxed Sunday lunch.

With three generations around the table, there's always plenty to catch up on.

-Wow, what have we got here?

-Mashed potato.

-Mashed potato?

Is that all there is?

Family meals really mean time where everyone can stop what

they're doing and just be together.

Ta-da.

It just gives us all a chance to have a good chat, talk about what's been

going on in the day and I love it.

I love weekends when we're all there too.

-Tastes good.

-I can taste the flavour, yeah!

I love my granny's cooking

because she never overdoes it or never underdoes it.

And it's always really yummy.

I love coming to Granny's to have a meal with all my family.

And I like...

Falling over.

..eating all the food.

You're enjoying it, aren't you, darling?

Look at Hobie, he's away.

'My next recipe is a fantastic alternative to the Sunday roast

'and always has them coming back for more.'

It's a great family dish, it's aromatic, it's also spicy

but not too hot.

To feed six, use one kilo of lamb neck fillet cut into small pieces.

Coat with two tablespoons of ground cumin

and two tablespoons of ground coriander.

Then just turn the meat in those spices.

Heat two tablespoons of oil and start browning the meat.

With this much, it's best to do it in two batches.

Now just look at that - a gorgeous golden brown colour.

Now that takes time, but keep a single layer

in the bottom of the pan and keep turning it.

That's it.

Then I'm going to put a little more oil in there, only a little,

just enough to stop it from catching the bottom.

Add two sliced onions and around a tablespoon of freshly grated ginger.

Give that a good stir.

Now looking in the bottom of the pan there, you see that the onions

have in fact cleaned all of that lovely brown crusty

bit of flavour and it's now on the onions.

Now I'm going to add the other ingredients.

First of all, the wine - 250ml of white wine.

Exactly.

Two tablespoons of tomato puree

and one of mild rose harissa paste.

Two tablespoons of runny honey.

A 400 gram tin of chopped tomatoes.

Season and add the zest of a whole lemon and the juice of half.

So there's the meat all beautifully browned and

if there's any little bit of juice in the bottom, that'll go in too.

Give that a good stir.

Gosh, doesn't that look good?

Beautiful lamb and all those spices and tomato.

On with the lid.

So that goes in the oven at 140 fan for about one and a half hours -

just until it's tender.

So here it is, straight out of the oven. It should be hot

and bubbling. Oh, that's what I was hoping for.

A gorgeous colour, looking really tempting.

All I've got to do now is add the cannellini beans.

I'm using a 400 gram tin of beans, rinsed.

And very often I add a couple more cans if everybody is starving.

If the children are very young, you can just put baked beans in there.

So, there it is. You've got beautifully soft, tender meat,

the onion is tender.

It just smells all spicy and aromatic

but they'll be a bit of a kick to it.

This dish is great to serve with rice or couscous

and I always finish mine with a good dollop of sour cream.

Mmm, that is so good.

Do you know, the sour cream really makes it because it's a little

spicy and a little bit on the hot side and that cools it down.

It's just lovely.

I've been baking with my granddaughters,

Abby and Grace, ever since they were small.

And this is a simple biscuit recipe with a great twist that

I know they will love.

We're going to make a mixture that makes quite a lot of biscuits.

We're going to divide the mixture in three

and we're going to make almond biscuits and chocolate chip

and lemon biscuits. So we've got a variety of biscuits all from one mixture.

So, shall we start off with the butter? How much have we got there?

175.

175 grams of softened butter.

Then 175 grams of flour.

That's it, no sieving either.

And then 75 grams of caster sugar

and to give the biscuits a little bit of crunch, 75 grams of semolina.

Now mix it all together.

That looks about ready.

As you sort of squeeze it, it comes together like a biscuit mixture

-so, Abby, you're going to get that together.

-Yep.

So how long have we been baking together?

Well, I remember in the kitchen there is this one photo of

me and Abby when we were about four and we were making little cupcakes

and we were putting the sweets on the top.

And do you remember eating all those little bits

and far more important than making the cakes.

That's come together really well.

Now, make it into a sausage shape and divide it into three.

-Can I make the almond ones, please?

-There's your almond things.

-Thank you.

-Can I make the chocolate ones, please?

I knew you were going to ask for the chocolate, that's good.

Abby's chosen 50 grams of milk chocolate chips to mix into the dough.

You need to get it everywhere

because when you separate it into different biscuits you don't

want to have one with all the chocolate chips in and one with

none of them in, so you have to get it everywhere.

Well, the person with all the chocolate chips would be quite lucky.

Grace is adding a teaspoon of almond extract

and most of the 40 grams of flaked almonds to her dough.

-Do you enjoy helping?

-BOTH: Yes, it's really fun.

-What's the best part?

-Knowing that you can eat it at the end.

And also the mixture is really nice to eat as well.

-Do you like raw mixture?

-Yeah.

Each mixture is divided into 20 even rounds.

For the lemon biscuits,

add the finely grated zest of one lemon to the dough.

Years ago I used to work for the Dutch Dairy Bureau

and their favourite Dutch biscuit were botermoppen

and what you do is you made a sausage and then you took

demerara sugar and sprinkled it on the table like this.

Then all you do is you roll that in it.

So if you can imagine, if you cut slices from this,

you'll get a lovely crunchy outside.

Wrap it in clingfilm and put it in the fridge to firm up.

Put the rounds on baking trays lined with nonstick baking parchment.

For the almond biscuits, gently press the balls flat

and top with a few flaked almonds.

Press the chocolate chip rounds evenly.

Finally, slice the firm lemon biscuit dough into 20 rounds.

-Would they last long in your household?

-BOTH: No way.

-Dad would eat them.

-He's always poking around in the fridge.

Wherever we try and hide them, he's always there.

Cook all the biscuits at 160 fan for 10 to 12 minutes

until they're a lovely pale golden brown around the edges.

I'm going to leave you two in charge. Keep your eye on them.

Granny, we think they might be ready.

Oh, good, I'm coming.

-Let's have a look, then.

-They look ready.

You're absolutely right. There we are.

And those are perfect too. Well done.

Once the biscuits cool, it's the bit that we've all been waiting for.

Come on, let's have a taste.

Which would you like?

Now, who's going to pass it to Granny? Because I can't reach that far.

That's lovely. Now I'm going for the lemon one.

-Mmm, they're really nice. Can I have another one?

-Mmmm.

My family have always loved my cooking

and there's nothing they like more than a delicious pudding -

especially my take on an old classic.

There's nothing more popular than lemon meringue pie,

in my family anyway. It is so impressive.

But I've got a cheat's one.

It's using a crumb crust and it's so simple to make.

For the crust, add 12 crushed digestives to melted butter.

I like a little sugar in that and I'm going to use some demerara sugar - about a tablespoon.

That's it. Then you just mix that together.

It's all so simple.

I mean, some other crumb crusts I do, I use ginger biscuits,

but for lemon meringue pie, it has to be digestive.

Pour the mixture into a 23-centimetre, eight-inch flan dish.

And then just level it in the middle and work it round the sides.

I really enjoy this crumb crust

and I find I make it so often because it's so easy.

You know, I do think twice about, if you've got to make a pastry,

bake it blind, it all takes time.

But this is really very, very quick.

There's my crumb crust, done, finished.

Put it there just ready to have the filling in.

Add one 394 gram tin of full-fat condensed milk.

They used to be in tubes when I was a child

and you used to have this tube and take it out like toothpaste.

It was absolutely delicious.

Add three egg yolks.

I'm just going to combine that for a moment

and then it gets this lovely colour.

Next you'll need the zest and juice of two lemons.

You know, this is a real showstopper.

Anything with meringue, my lot absolutely love.

We've often had it for a birthday pud,

just putting sparklers in the top and walking in with it.

It all makes it very, very special if it's a birthday.

And so add the lemon juice

and you'll notice instantly it's beginning to get thick, can you see?

It's almost like magic.

That's it.

Just level it.

Right into the edges, like that.

Leave it in the fridge to set and start making the meringue.

Whisk three egg whites on full speed until stiff.

And then slowly add 175 grams of caster sugar.

I think that will just about be right.

Now let's have a look at that. I want it to be shiny,

standing up in peaks, that's a perfect meringue.

Once the pie has set, carefully spread the meringue over it.

And the aim is to cover all the crumb crust and the middle as well.

So you have to put it on and just push it to the side.

It's not easy.

I find it best to go round in sort of blobs

and then into the middle.

So press it down.

That's it.

Now you can do little swirls all the way round.

Make it the sort of same mountain in the middle

and I think that's far nicer than piping.

I think it looks home-made

and I love making these little swirls and peaks.

All right, stop playing with it - it's perfectly all right.

Cook at 190 fan for 15 to 20 minutes,

then set aside for at least half an hour before serving warm.

I think it looks very special but, I do warn you,

the first slice is always difficult to get out.

Have a little prayer and hope for the best. How does that look?

I think it looks delicious.

Mmm. Oh, so good. I think everybody's going to enjoy that.

Who's got room for my favourite pudding?

-'So there you have it.'

-Wow.

-Tom, you won't want any of this.

-No.

'Recipes to bring your whole family together.'

Is that meringue?

-This is meringue.

-Mmm.

'I hope you'll enjoy them as much as we do.'

Atalanta, is it nice?

What does it taste like?

-Strawberry.

-Strawberry?