Episode 4 Mary Berry's Foolproof Cooking

I'm Mary Berry and in this series,

I'll be sharing some of my best foolproof secrets with you.

I think it's really important

to have a selection of trusted recipes

that you know will never let you down.

No matter what the occasion, I'll show you how to make it simple,

from my ideas for delicious comfort food...

-Oh, another one - definitely!

-Another one.

..to something more stylish for those special moments.

And dishes for those days when you just want to show off.

There's absolutely no calories in here, whatsoever.

Tonight, it's scrumptious goodies to thrill the family.

There. Oh, thank you very much! A spoon!

For years, my home was the centre of our family life

but, as my grandchildren grow up...

..I find myself spending more time in their homes.

Family is key to Mum.

She has always instilled that with us.

-You pick the top ones, I'll pick the bottom ones, how about that?

-OK.

'And it's come through the generations so, yes.'

Isn't that what life's all about?

For your first time with sweet peas, you've done very well.

I've had a good teacher.

'Tonight, I want to show you how to make foolproof recipes

'that keep my family coming back for more.'

A delicious pie that's perfect to make ahead.

A salad that pleases even the fussiest of eaters.

Golden sweet treats that never fail.

A foolproof Sunday lunch that the whole family will love

with a cheat's ice cream and a secret that's guaranteed to please.

But first, a simple and easy bread that everyone can muck in with.

I'm always looking for ways to get the children involved with cooking

and flatbreads are the perfect thing,

especially for my youngest grandchild, Atalanta.

Flatbreads are so easy.

It's just yeast, flour, a little bit of salt, water, a dash of oil.

'Measure 175g of strong white flour, along with a pinch of salt

'and a teaspoonful of dried yeast.'

-I'll just mix that together.

-Mmm-hmm.

-There.

Oh, thank you very much! A spoon!

-Can you stir when I put the water in?

-Mmm-hmm.

-OK, stir away.

Very gently cos it will go all over Granny.

'Gradually pour in 150ml of water.'

It's coming along, isn't it?

-Have you made cakes as well?

-Mmm-hmm.

-Which is your favourite cake?

-I don't know.

-You don't know.

Do you like making bread, Atty? Do you?

Is it nice having Granny Cocoa here? Yes?

That's fairly sticky. Let's just put a little drop more in.

Get a good rise from it. Now, look, that's nice.

And really a little bit on the wet side which makes a good dough.

Now, put some flour on the table and knead it.

-Can I try, by the way?

-By the way, you CAN try.

'A good trick is to flour your hands first.'

Rub your hands together. That's it.

-Would you like to knead this one?

-Mmm-hmm.

-There you are. Off you go.

When I was a little girl, I used to sit here just like you

and my mummy, who is Granny,

used to make pizzas with me and bread and biscuits.

Can we have some more flour for Atty?

Yes. Atalanta, now your hands. Rub your hands.

Wait a minute. Rub your hands together like that.

-Granny's got a magic way of doing it.

-Have I?

THEY LAUGH

'To make these flatbreads extra special,

'we're mixing in some parsley and basil,

'but you can use any herbs that you like.'

-That looks fantastic.

-Just go on working it

and if you want, you can put a bit of oil in it.

It enriches it more. So, we just knead that in.

There we are. Pop it in the bowl.

'Leave the dough for about an hour and a half.

'It should double its size.

'Flatbreads are so much fun for a family outdoor adventure.

'Everyone can make their own.'

Here we are. There's one for you.

'Of course, you can cook these indoors too.

'Just heat a little oil in a pan

'and cook for about four or five minutes

'until lightly browned on each side.'

That one looks ready.

My family love to fill them with cheese, ham,

sun-dried tomatoes, spring onions and sweetcorn.

The flatbreads are delicious.

They're so crispy on the outside and the idea of splitting them in half

and packing as much as you can get in, I think they really enjoy.

That's the best thing I've had all day!

-What do you think about it, crew?

-Very nice!

I've been cooking with my granddaughters, Abby and Grace,

since they were small.

This delicious chicken pie is perfect

for their more experienced hands.

So, let's get on with it.

The first thing we've got to do is to cook the chicken itself.

'You need to poach six skinless legs in 300ml of chicken stock

'and 200ml of white wine.'

It's no good saying use leftover white wine

because there's never any left in our house,

especially when your mummy and I are together.

'Season, add a chopped head of celery and a few bay leaves.'

On with the lid.

'And cook at 140 fan for about 30 to 35 minutes.'

Let's have a look.

Now, that should come away from the bone.

There you are. It's pulling off very nicely.

'Strain the stock. Then it's time to make the unctuous pie sauce.

'Fry seven slices of smoked back bacon in a dry non-stick pan.'

That will all add flavour to the sauce.

-Smoky.

-Smoky? Does it smell of breakfast?

-Yes.

'When the bacon is nice and crisp,

'add a large chopped onion and cook until soft.

'Thicken with a good knob of butter and 60g of plain flour.'

The secret for a smooth sauce is to sprinkle it in,

so all the bacon and the onion is really well-coated.

Go on stirring till you can't see any flecks of flour.

Then we add the stock.

That's it.

And don't add the rest of the sauce until it's one thick consistency.

'Finish with a nice dollop of full-fat creme fraiche

'and wholegrain mustard.

'Pick the chicken off the bone and add, along with the celery.'

That's it. Stir all that in.

-So, that's our pie filling made and it looks pretty good.

-Can we try it?

Yeah, course you can! Take a bit of meat as well, if you want.

There is plenty there.

-Mmm, that's really good.

-Mmm.

'Now for the spectacular lattice pie lid.

'Don't let it scare you. Here's the way to do it.

'Cut two sheets of puff pastry into three-centimetre ribbons.'

Abby and Grace are being very meticulous

and are measuring it exactly.

'Lay half of them lengthways

'onto a circular sheet of baking parchment,

'slightly larger than your pie dish.'

The one thing that they have to do is get them very close together

because, otherwise, the sauce from the chicken

will bubble up through the holes and it won't look beautiful.

'Now take another strip

'and carefully weave it through, horizontally.

'Next, fold back all of the strips that were lying underneath...

'..lay the next strip across, fold back over.

'And repeat with the rest of the pastry.'

This really is like weaving a basket, isn't it?

Well done! That looks absolutely perfect

and you've done it very quickly.

'My other foolproof tip is to chill the pastry pie lid

'for an hour in the fridge.

'This will help it slide smoothly on top of your filling.'

Press down with your hands all the way round

and then just trim the edge with a knife.

-Do you feel proud of that, girls?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

'Bake the pie for around 30 minutes

'at 180 fan until golden.'

Oh, it's a good colour, isn't it? Lovely!

Right.

Don't want to drop it. It's very precious. There we are.

-So, what do you think of that?

-It looks delicious.

-I can't wait to eat it.

-Good.

There we are.

We'll just pop that there and then take some of this chicken.

It smells so yummy.

-That's delicious.

-Mmm.

-I'm definitely making this again.

-Are you?

-Mmm.

Do you like them as black as that?

Sometimes, my family prefer something light and scrumptious.

And the one dish they always request is my delicious tuna salad.

My salad is sort of first cousin to a nicoise salad.

There are certain things that I absolutely love

and they're avocados - I'm putting those in -

and I've got a wonderful lemon mustard dressing too,

which is something that goes so well with tuna.

Everybody loves crunchy croutons and I like to make my own.

I don't like them too big. I think the smaller ones are nice.

Also, you get more crisp edges.

My secret to making sure they always work

is to pop them into a polythene bag with some olive oil.

Just drizzle it over.

Good pinch of seasoning and a good old shake.

As you can imagine, it really coats every surface.

If you try and do it in the pan, you end up by having far too much oil.

Then simply fry the cubes in a hot, dry pan.

Don't burn them. It's as easy as winking,

especially if you do them in the oven.

Those look pretty good to me. Off with the heat.

The secret of a tuna salad, I think, is the dressing

and I've got a cracker of a dressing here.

Whisk 8 tablespoons of olive oil

with two each of wholegrain mustard and runny honey

and three of white wine vinegar.

And the other ingredient in the dressing

is the juice of half a lemon.

I don't have the muscle that all those chefs have.

They just catch hold of it, don't they,

and they go "phtt" and somehow or other, all the juice comes out.

I do that, and very little comes out. So, I use a lemon squeezer.

Pour half of the dressing over 250g of freshly boiled new potatoes.

It's a really good tip I learnt in France

to toss the potatoes in the dressing.

They absorb it while they're warm

then, when you add them to the salad,

they'll be full of flavour right down to the middle.

I like to serve this salad on a nice big sharing platter...

..with blanched green beans, tomatoes

and a couple of chopped avocados

tossed in lemon juice to keep the colour.

I think they look lovely, these potatoes.

They're lovely with the dressing.

Don't be stingy with the tuna. A couple of tins should do it

and the children will love it.

Finish with three hard-boiled eggs.

And that's that lovely mustard dressing.

I think that's just the right thing for Saturday lunch. Perfect.

'My grandsons, Hobie and Louis love looking after all their ducks.'

We have five Indian Runners and two Calling ducks.

The Indian Runners are the brown ones.

How many eggs do you think there's going to be here today?

I'll count them.

-One, two...

-Right.

'But now and again, I can drag them into the kitchen...'

-We've got eight now!

-Eight now.

Well, come on, we'll take them back to mum.

'..especially when it's a recipe

'that will satisfy their sweet tooth.'

Let's get cracking.

'Heat 100g of syrup...'

What are we up to, Hobie?

95...

-100.

-Well done.

'..with 200g each of light muscovado sugar and butter.'

-It's melted.

-Can you get that big bowl there?

I'm just going to pour all those ingredients in there

cos it's easier to mix in a cold bowl.

-Yum.

-It looks yummy.

'Add 150g of porridge oats

'and 100g each of puffed rice and sultanas.'

Now, I've got some ingredients here

which you might not know what they are.

What do you think that is? Taste it.

I know what it's called but it's on the tip of my tongue. Um...

-Coconut.

-Coconut.

-Well done. That's coconut.

So we've got 50g of coconut. Pop that in.

And then those.

Some people grow this plant and it grows rather tall and it's yellow.

-Is it poisonous?

-No, or I wouldn't be putting it in.

-Sunflower?

Well done! It's a sunflower!

Just taste one of those so you remember what it is.

So put sunflower seeds in.

'You'll need about 50g,

'along with the same amount of dried cranberries

'and then give it all a good mix.'

-Whoopsie!

-We don't mind about that.

-That could have gone better.

Yes, well, there's plenty of people to taste it.

'These are failsafe if you follow the next couple of tips.'

It's important to compress it so that all the air is out,

so that when we cut it into squares, it doesn't all fall apart.

'Also, chill the mixture for at least an hour...'

Voila!

'..and it will make slicing so much easier.'

Come on!

Whoo!

THEY SHOUT AND SCREAM

There! We've got a wonderful batch

of my cranberry and coconut energy bars.

I can hear, from the noise outside, they are playing hard.

They'll love these.

THEY LAUGH AND SHOUT

Look what I've got!

There we are. Come on, Atty, you come next door.

Shall we say, "Girls first"?

-Atalanta, I think you could make these.

-Mmm.

-Thank you.

-It's usual to take the one nearest to you.

What do you think it tastes like?

-Coconut.

-That's right.

-Really yummy and there's really nice raisins.

-All gone.

-All gone.

My final two dishes are perfect for a family Sunday lunch,

when you don't want to spend all morning in the kitchen.

A sumptuous butterflied roast leg of lamb,

followed by the ultimate foolproof pudding.

So, here is my boned leg of lamb.

At the moment, it looks like a leg but when you open it up

and you take out the two bones, it vaguely looks like a butterfly.

But what have you got?

Real lean meat inside and when you marinate it then roast it,

you just take slices so easy to carve.

To feed my family, I'm using 2.5 kilos.

What makes this dish so special is the delicious lemony marinade.

Roughly bash four cloves of garlic and chop up two preserved lemons.

Preserved lemons are very popular in North African cooking

and they really do instil a wonderful flavour.

Next, take 4 tablespoons of roughly chopped fresh thyme.

So, I'm just going to open up that meat and I want maximum flavour.

If you just take some of the garlic

and rub that all over, leaving some of it

and leaving some of the lemons over there, like that,

some of the thyme.

I'm not going to put any salt on that at this stage,

but I will put a little bit of pepper.

That's it.

Then I'm going to close that up,

put it in the bag and then add the other ingredients. Right down there.

The reason for not putting the salt in with the meat -

if I put the salt in, it would bring the natural juices of the meat out

and I'll get far too much bleeding in the bag.

Add the rest of the preserved lemon mix,

along with 4 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of runny honey.

If you get that honey all over the skin,

with the marinade, as I turn it,

when we flatten it out to roast it,

it just gives a film of honey on the top

and it means that that skin, when it's roasting,

will become beautifully crispy brown.

So, make sure it goes all the way round.

And you can imagine, that is going to be absolutely wonderful.

So, that is now going into the fridge, ideally overnight,

if not two or three hours.

So, there's the lamb

and tuck any of those bits of garlic and the lemon

and put it underneath so the flavour comes right up into the lamb.

So, into the oven.

Cook at 200 degrees fan for 35 to 40 minutes.

What will really bring your lamb to life is the lemon salsa.

Mix 4 tablespoonfuls of parsley with two chopped preserved lemons,

a clove of crushed garlic and 2 tablespoons of fresh thyme.

I've got 6 tablespoons of olive oil to go in there

and 1 tablespoon of honey.

Why am I not adding vinegar? Because, of course,

a lemon is acid and it's taking the place of the vinegar.

And then, to make it even more piquant, a few capers -

just a good teaspoon.

There we are. Just a little pepper and salt.

Then I'm just going to mix that together

and it's a lovely, chunky dressing.

It's piquant, it's fresh...

..and very good.

That looks magnificent. Cover with foil, leave to rest for ten minutes.

This will keep the meat juicy and tender and make it easier to carve.

So, remember, this had 35 minutes and it is pink in the middle

but another five or ten minutes in the oven,

it would all have been well-cooked, so just up to you.

I think the family are going to devour that

in absolutely no time and enjoy every mouthful.

Now for a truly delicious dessert to finish off the meal perfectly.

My family simply love ice cream.

They'll have it at any time of the day

and this one is dreamy and simply scrumptious.

But good news - it's incredibly easy to make.

The honeycomb is nothing to be scared of.

Add 4 tablespoons of golden syrup...

..and 150g of caster sugar to a deep saucepan and place on a low heat.

Then, I need to stir that

and just do it very carefully

until the sugar has dissolved.

You'll know when it's done when there's no grit at the bottom.

Now allow the mixture to bubble

until it turns a golden caramel colour.

I think that's perfect.

Turn off the heat, add 2 level teaspoons of bicarbonate of soda.

One, two.

And as soon as I stir it, it's going to foam up.

That's it.

It's almost like magic, isn't it?

Don't be tempted to touch it. It is burning, burning hot.

While the honeycomb cools, you can get on with making the ice cream.

And you don't even need a machine to do it.

Whisk 600ml of double cream to soft peaks.

Then add one tin of condensed milk.

When I was young, we had a den

and if we could get hold of a tube of condensed milk and some bread,

we used to make sandwiches of it and it seemed heaven to us.

I don't exactly fancy it now.

If this isn't foolproof, I don't know what is. It's so, so easy.

Now for the fun bit. CRACKING

Quite easy, wasn't it?

HONEYCOMB CRACKS

Looks as though I'm really strong.

It's taking absolutely no effort whatsoever.

Set a third of the honeycomb aside and fold the rest in.

If you like, you could also use nuts or chocolate chips.

Simply freeze for six hours or overnight.

Top with the honeycomb or any sweet treat you like

and, voila, it's done.

-How's your appetite?

-Good.

'So, there you go.

'Foolproof recipes to cook for the whole family time and time again.'

Louis, what do you think about the lamb?

It's very good and very tender.

There's none on his plate, so he must have liked it!

-Guess what's for pudding.

-Hokey-pokey ice cream.

-Correct!

-Can I have some more, please?

-No, this is mine.

'Next time, it's my foolproof recipes for busy days.'

Mmm, maybe I should have chosen a bigger spoon.

It really is absolutely delicious.