Peak District Nadiya's British Food Adventure

'I'm a busy mum and I cook every day.

'So I try to keep my food exciting.'

-Anybody hungry?

-Look at that!

-Ooh!

I like to experiment with new flavours and ingredients.

Is that yummy?

But I've always wanted to find out

more about the food I feed my family.

So in this series, I'm travelling the length and breadth

of the country to meet the fishermen...

There's a Dover sole.

We've got a fish! We've got a fish!

..the farmers...

-Has anyone ever gone in?

-Yeah. I have!

..the chefs and the producers who go the extra mile to make British food

some of the best in the world.

Come on!

I'll explore some familiar foods...

That is so pretty.

I feel totally inspired.

..and try some that are totally new.

I mean, you have to be completely bonkers to cook like this.

And I'll be creating brand-new recipes...

Mmm. So sweet!

..inspired by their produce...

-I hope you're hungry.

-It smells amazing!

..as I go on my British food adventure.

Today, I'll be in and around the Peak District.

With its breathtaking views...

..bustling market towns

and rich heritage of food production,

I'll be going back in time...

-I'm not feeling the flow!

-Oh, gosh!

..with the people preserving flavours

from the past for the future.

-Oh, smoky.

-Smoky.

I'm already seriously impressed.

But before I head off, I'm already feeling inspired

to do a spot of baking.

When I think about the Peak District, what I should be imagining

is rolling hills, but actually what I'm thinking about

is a Bakewell tart.

I'm going to take the key ingredients

of the classic Bakewell tart - almonds, jam and pastry -

and make my own quick version of this confectionery classic.

Now, you could make the shortcrust pastry yourself

but I quite like just buying it because it saves on so much time.

The shortcrust pastry isn't sweet, so I'm just dusting the surface

with a little bit of icing sugar.

If you're going to have a sweet treat,

let's get sweetness everywhere.

Roll it out and try and keep it as rectangular as possible.

Cut right down the middle.

This recipe is great to do with children, big and small.

It's safe to say that when I've done this recipe at home,

I've got everybody involved.

The Bakewells we all know and love are crowned with a cherry,

so I'm using a cherry jam with my own special trick to spice it up.

Nutmeg.

Cherry and nutmeg, they just work so well together.

It's lifted it, given it a completely different flavour.

Now, to fill our little pastries.

A teaspoon, maybe a teaspoon and a half.

It really does depends on how big or small your rectangles are.

And this is just the glue

that's going to stick the pastries together.

Look at that one. Look at that one.

The jam always finds a way of seeping out,

so use the back of a teaspoon

to crimp the edges and keep all that goodness inside.

If there's one thing I've learnt...

..it's that pastry and egg are best friends.

You get that gorgeous, glisten-y top.

I always chill the pastry to stop the butter melting

too quickly during baking.

So the pastries have been chilling in the fridge for about 15 minutes.

And now I'm getting them straight in the oven at 180 for about 20 to 25

minutes until they're lovely and golden and in the meantime I'm going

to get started on the icing for the top.

This is simply icing sugar and water.

What we're looking for is something that just coats

the back of the spoon.

And now for the all-important almond essence.

To me, that is the smell of a cherry Bakewell.

As well as the icing,

these pastry parcels will be topped off with crunchy almonds.

So, these are nicely toasted and then get them

straight back into your pot to stop them from cooking any more.

That smells amazing.

Instantly, I'm getting that nutmeg.

And that pesky jam, it's leaked out.

But we know we've got lots of it still inside.

You can see how hot that jam is.

You do not want to put that anywhere near your mouth, believe me,

I've learnt the hard way.

You need to leave these on the tray for at least ten minutes.

When they're cooled completely,

you can pop that glorious almond icing on top.

This isn't about being exact.

They're unique, completely random and that just adds to their charm.

And I've got my toasted almonds.

And there you have it, cherry and almond tarts.

Delicious.

Now it's time to explore some age-old food traditions

in and around the Peak District.

My first stop is a farm in the village of Combs,

where I hope to learn more about one of the region's most famous recipes.

I'm here to meet Ian Barrett,

a man who's keeping the Peak District's unique version

of an oatcake alive.

-Hi, Ian.

-Hi there. Pleased to meet you.

What an absolutely stunning place.

You must never get bored looking out the window.

-Never.

-But you know I'm here to eat oatcakes.

-Yes!

-LAUGHTER

Would you like to try some with a brew?

-That's why I'm here, let's go.

-Come on, this way.

What Ian didn't tell me is that we have to make the oatcakes first.

Derbyshire oatcakes date back 400 years.

With poor agricultural land,

wheat was scarce and oatcakes were an alternative to bread.

So, we use lukewarm water, fresh yeast.

Smells beautiful...to some people.

Oh, no, I love the smell of fresh yeast.

We'll be sticking to the tried-and-trusted recipe

Ian's family have been using since 1942.

-Starting at the top.

-Right.

Just beat the hell out of it.

That is the best whisk ever!

Surely there's some sort of machinery for this!

No, there's nothing like the hands.

We then add in fine oatmeal.

I'm going to fall in here, this is quite deep!

You're going down under!

Yes!

Bye, Ian!

After leaving the oatmeal to ferment,

flour, salt and sugar are blended in.

How come Ian gets to use the power tools?

The batter is rested for four hours before being pressed out onto this

custom-built cooking machine.

That is a big old hotplate, that!

It is!

-How do you know they're ready?

-They start to dry round the outside.

Ian's mum Eileen has been flipping oatcakes for near on 60 years.

You do make it look very easy, Eileen.

I've been doing it a long while.

-Do you want to have a go?

-Yes!

She's trusting me with these!

When you're ready, Nadiya.

Oh, OK.

Oh, dear!

Oh. Is it meant to do that?

Yes, sometimes it will splash.

You need to just throw it down flatter.

Faster. Time's money.

You might lose a few pennies today.

Whoa. Oh, no!

Oh, disaster!

You'd think I'd made enough pancakes in my life to be able

to get this right!

Every oatcake you damage is a pound.

I can see Eileen looking at me thinking, "Hurry up!"

-Would you hire me, Eileen?

-When you've had a bit more practice.

-OK!

Not... OK.

When I'm not around to slow them down, Ian, his mum and their team

can make, bake and flip over 3,500 oatcakes a day.

Are you going to have a go at this, Nadiya?

I'm slightly nervous about that because you might end up

with one really big oatcake because of me.

-No worries, I'll hold your hand all the way through it.

-OK.

-Go for it.

OK, so... Oh, that's...

-Right to the top.

-OK.

Then feel it going down.

-That's it.

-I think, I think...

-Oh!

-Yeah. That's so hard!

Oh, my goodness!

How do you make that look so easy?

-Oh, my goodness me!

-We've got continuous ones!

Oh, I'm so sorry.

I told you you'd get a whole pancake.

Go for it now, all the way, faster, a little bit faster, that's it.

Oh, gosh!

Last chance, come on.

I'm not feeling the flow!

-It's there somewhere. Oh, super.

-Yes, look!

Brilliant, the last three perfect!

This family affair supply fresh oatcakes

to local shops and eateries,

although today there'll be a few less leaving the bakery.

You've got egg, an oatcake and chocolate spread.

See what you think of the Derbyshire oatcake.

They are absolutely delicious.

It works so nicely with the runny egg.

So people might mistake them for a pancake.

Yeah, that's true, yeah,

they're very much a cross between a crumpet and a pancake sort of thing.

I'm going to try the chocolate-spread one.

That's definitely my favourite! It's delicious!

How many people around here make Derbyshire oatcakes?

There's nobody in this area that does them other than me.

So it's a tradition that's disappearing?

I hope it doesn't but, you know, who's going to follow

in my footsteps?

Maybe people don't know how versatile they are.

Exactly.

I can think of loads of ways to serve these Derbyshire oatcakes and

there's one twist I can't wait to try out.

When I thought Derbyshire oatcakes, I thought,

"Hello, that's a samosa casing if ever I saw one."

I'm going to take these Derbyshire oat cakes to the Indian subcontinent

to create my potato and dill samosas.

And like so many good things, it starts with an onion.

I'm going to add my onions straight in.

A teaspoon of salt.

It just releases moisture and helps it to cook quickly and softens it.

So potato and dill is a real classic street food in Bangladesh,

but my mum still makes it,

so I'm never too far away from a potato and dill samosa.

When the onions are soft and golden, add two teaspoons of ground cumin.

It's the only ground spice I'm going to use.

Just cook it out for about a minute.

And then the peas, 150g.

And now for some fresh dill - and lots and lots of it.

And I'm keeping the stalks.

That's where most of the flavour is.

Dill and potatoes are a match made in heaven, so don't be shy.

Just warm the herb through...

..and it's ready for my creamy mashed potato.

Now I just have to try not to eat it all before it gets into a samosa.

The filling needs to cool, and thankfully

there's plenty to distract me.

I'm swapping the car for one of those next!

Once cool, the filling is ready for casing.

These Derbyshire oatcakes are the only thing to use round these parts,

but you can make my quick samosas with shop-bought pancakes

or tortillas.

So I've cut my oatcakes in half, so I've got a semicircle, happy face!

Pop a heaped teaspoon of the filling in the centre of your oatcake.

Just fold it over and what I'm trying to create

is that triangle shape.

Then seal it with a glue of equal parts plain flour and water.

It's so important when you're making samosas to plug in any holes because

what'll happen is, when you fry them,

all that oil's going to get in and then it's going to burst open.

Nobody wants a samosa explosion.

More horses coming.

Once you've finished filling your samosas,

you'll need to pop them in the freezer for half an hour

so the glue has time to set.

So the samosas are chilled and I've got a pan of hot oil.

Just drop them away from you.

If any oil flicks, it'll flick outwards.

So the oatcakes are cooked, the filling's cooked.

All I want is to just brown the outside,

just make it lovely and crisp.

And you're just a couple of minutes away from delicious samosas that are

completely irresistible.

Oh, I can feel it, they're crisp on the outside and soft in the middle.

And there you go, potato and dill oatcake samosas.

I like to serve these with a little bit of mango chutney.

Can't wait to see what Ian and his mum think.

Seeing their oatcakes dressed up as samosas will be a first.

-There you go.

-Wow!

They look absolutely delicious.

-Almost unrecognisable.

-Yeah, yeah!

Oh, wow!

That is the future.

It's absolutely delicious.

Not too spicy, either, are they?

-No.

-The amount of different fillings you could put inside.

Tell you what, you make the oatcakes and I'll make the fillings.

I reckon we'd make a killing. Can we shake on it?

We just shook on it, remember!

For the next stop on my food travels,

I'm taking a short hop outside the Peak District to Hale,

on the outskirts of Greater Manchester,

to check out another ancient food tradition - pickling.

Preserving food as pickles dates back around 4,000 years.

And Jules Goddard has made her pickle passion her living.

She runs a gourmet pickle stall in a nearby market.

I'm heading to her home and believe me,

I am literally following my nose.

SHE KNOCKS

Hello, Jules.

Hi, Nadiya. Nice to meet you.

-How are you?

-Come on in.

You really are pickle crazy.

I can smell it all the way down the street, there is a very acidic,

strong acidic smell in here.

I know! My kids are like, "Are you pickling today?"

Or on the way home from school they can smell it.

I can take pretty much anything.

No smell is too strong for me.

You see, I grew up on a diet of fermented fish

and my grandma would take bamboo sticks,

stuff all the fish in, get all the air out, plug both ends,

dig a hole in the ground, stick it in the ground for three months.

I'm just saying, fermented fish, use your imagination.

What have you got here? Talk me through everything.

I will talk you through it.

This is a chipotle carrot, so it's like a smoky flavour.

Oh! Smoky.

-Smoky!

-And still crunchy.

-So, do you want to try?

-Let's try the cauliflower.

-Oh. It is really tart.

-Really tart.

But it's really good with cheese.

I've only had two and I'm already seriously impressed.

Have you always loved this sour flavour?

I have. My nana was Italian and she just pickled everything

because that's what she was used to when she was younger

and then my mum pickles as well

and makes really spicy pickles, so I've just grown up with this

and then I thought,

"I think I might start experimenting with a few things."

Jules has promised to show me how to make one of her more

unusual-sounding recipes.

We are making bread and butter pickle.

You're pickling bread and butter?

No bread and butter in it.

It was during the Great Depression in the States.

They had gluts of cucumbers that they pickled and preserved them

and then had them between bread and butter

-because it was the cheapest thing to eat.

-Ah!

Jules' recipe starts with a sliced onion, then cucumbers.

-Lots of them.

-Sprinkle some in there.

The cucumbers go into a sterilised bucket.

Then, a tablespoon of salt, a layer of onions on the top.

So we keep going with cucumbers, salt, onion, until it's all done.

It's like making a trifle but out of pickles.

-It is! A pickle trifle!

-Hmm...

I might not try that one!

So, I'll pop these in the fridge.

OK.

Our pickle trifle is left to stand for a few hours to allow the salt

to soak up the moisture from the cucumbers.

So, the vinegar smells are about to begin.

The brine is made up of vinegar boiled with water and sugar.

So what's going in there, turmeric?

Turmeric, and this is a sweeter pickle,

so there's a bit more sugar in this.

Let's get this brine on.

Now for the pickling spices.

-Just half a teaspoon?

-Yeah.

We're using chilli flakes,

peppercorns, mustard seeds and coriander.

The cucumbers are drained,

added to the spices and submerged in the brine.

As the brine is acidic...

Look at that colour.

..bacteria can't survive.

Before refrigeration, pickling was one of the few ways to preserve food

for any length of time.

So, any fruit and veg you can pickle,

put in a, you know, a vinegar,

a brine and they all change flavours.

And so begins the five-day transformation

from common garden veg to amazing gourmet pickle.

As Jules' pickles are infused with Indian spices,

I'm feeling inspired to marry them up

with a favourite in my household -

my tandoori cod burger.

For one day only, I'm taking over Jules' stall.

Let's get going.

Here in the historic Altringham Market,

Jules showcases her fantastic pickles in gourmet sandwiches.

So I've got a reputation to maintain.

First thing I want to do is make a quick tandoori marinade for the cod.

So I'm going to start with some plain Greek yoghurt.

And then to that, I'm going to add tandoori masala.

Now, when I hear tandoori, I think about that neon-red stuff

that my dad used to sell at his restaurant.

You can get really good tandoori masala mixes

and they're not bright red, but they taste amazing.

Good pinch of salt and then a really good glug of oil.

So although it's missing that fluorescent red colour,

it's not missing any of the flavour.

I've got two chunks of boneless cod

and I'm going to throw that straight in there.

Coat generously with that lovely tandoori yoghurt.

So, to go with the cod I'm doing a really tasty red onion mint salad

and using some of Jules' pickles to go with it.

First off, the red onion.

Slice it really nice and thin.

And then grab some mint and I'm not even going to chop this,

I'm just going to rip it straight in.

If I were to chop it up it would have a really,

really minty flavour, but what I want is, when you bite

into the burger, to get a little bit of that raw onion,

a little bit of the mint and then a little bit of the pickle.

These are Jules' pickled cucumbers, so these are going to work so well

with the tandoori cod.

Just give them a quick stir around now.

Now for the bread part of my burger.

I'm going trendy and using a brioche loaf.

Just let them warm through and get a lovely crusty edge.

Our brioche is toasted perfectly.

Let's stick that on there.

I want to get the griddle really,

really hot because if you put fish on a cold pan, it sticks.

SIZZLING That's the sound.

I mean, these only take a few minutes -

maybe two or three minutes on each side.

The temptation is to move them but they need to sear on one side

properly before I can even think about turning them.

But I have no patience!

They're looking good!

Oh, I'm getting tempted - don't touch it!

I'm not going to touch it!

It's time. So the cod has had a couple of minutes on this side

and I'm just going to flip them over.

I'm just being really careful because when you start cooking cod

it becomes quite delicate.

Perfect. Now to assemble my burger.

Start with a dollop of Greek yoghurt.

Add the fish and the tangy cucumber pickles.

Then squish on the top layer of brioche and there you have it -

tandoori cod burgers with delicious hand-pickled cucumbers.

Yum!

I'm hoping the good people of Altrincham agree.

-Thank you.

-Tandoori cod burgers.

-Oh, wow.

-With Jules' cucumber pickle.

-Have a go.

-Thank you very much indeed.

Good pickle. It's nice, very nice.

-Hi, Nadiya.

-Good timing.

Good. Are we eating?

Yeah, I thought that's why you're here!

I'll give you the bigger one.

It's the crunch with the soft fish and the sweet brioche.

Mm-hm.

-Lovely.

-Thank you so much, Jules, for letting me take over,

which I have, and letting me taste some of the best pickles ever.

You are more than welcome.

I'm feeling inspired by the food that's stood the test of time in and

around the Peak District.

But I couldn't complete my journey back in time without a nod

to another of its ancient ingredients.

The Peak District isn't just famous for its Bakewell tarts

and Derbyshire oatcakes.

Those rolling hills produce some of the best lamb,

and that is exactly what I'm cooking today.

I'm going to rustle up a recipe that's become

somewhat of a tradition in my family.

Sumac spiced lamb with caramelised onion potatoes.

I'm going to get started on these beautiful lamb chops.

This is a really good way to get the meat lovely and tender.

Any angry thoughts you've got, this is the time to

get...

rid...

of those.

When I go back to my parents' house and we're having a barbecue

and we're making chops, my dad knows this is my favourite job.

But this is also HIS favourite job.

So we're always fighting for the mallet.

And that is the last one.

Now to get the chops frying on a high heat.

SIZZLING

And that's what you want to hear, a sizzle as soon as it hits the pan.

Cook for about three minutes on both sides.

Don't agitate them too much, let them get that lovely crust.

You might need to stand back a little bit - they do like to spit.

I'm staying back.

My potatoes have been gently boiling.

Yep.

They're tender, so I'm draining them

and putting them back in the pan to dry out.

Oops, did I drop one?

Never mind.

He didn't make it.

When your chops have cooked,

it's time to add the special ingredient that takes this dish

to a whole new level.

This is my favourite way to flavour and season chops and it's

just a simple thing - sumac.

This is a Middle Eastern berry that's dried and then crushed

and it's used as a seasoning.

It's a really good replacement for lemon.

And it's quite mild - you can afford to give your chops

a generous sprinkling.

And that is beautiful - look at how red that is.

If I were to put this sumac on top of the chops

before they were cooked,

it'd just burn it and you really wouldn't get

how delicious this spice is.

While the meat absorbs all that amazing seasoning,

I'm going to make the rest of my potato dish

using the same pan I cooked the chops in,

because that's where all that flavour is and I am not getting

rid of any of that flavour.

I'm using lots of onions in these potatoes.

Because when they're cooked, they are so sweet.

They make you cry, but they're so delicious.

These need cooking for about 15 minutes

until they're golden and caramelised.

And now a quarter of a teaspoon of salt - and this is going

to draw all the moisture out from the onions -

and a teaspoon of light brown sugar.

And that's just going to enhance the sweetness of the onions.

And just cook those through

just enough to warm the potatoes back up again.

What's lovely about crushing some of the potatoes is that you get little

clumps of potato with onion stuck together and then you get

bigger chunks of potato.

And that's my sweet caramelised onion potatoes done.

I think it's time to plate up.

These look great.

There's a little bit of something in here for everybody.

Now let's get our chops on.

Look at those.

As they've sat there,

it's created this beautiful sumac-y red crust on top.

Sumac lamb with caramelised onion potatoes.

A marriage made in heaven.

I'm going to put these right in the centre of the table for everybody to

dig in. These lamb chops are bound to put smiles on people's faces.

This is a family tradition worth tucking into any day of the week.

Just as it was handed down to me and my brothers and sisters,

now I'm passing it on to the next generation.

Shall we give him one?

Is it yummy?

Next time, I'm crab fishing in East Anglia...

So exciting!

..and meeting the king of crisps.

I'm very excited.

And it's still warm!

That might have just made my crisp obsession worse.