Yorkshire 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?

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...

SHE LAUGHS ..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.

-Super!

-Yes! Look!

-Brilliant.

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. HE LAUGHS

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

Mmm, so sweet.

..inspired by their produce...

-Hope you're hungry.

-Smells amazing!

..as I go on my British Food Adventure.

This time, I'm in Yorkshire...

..where from the heart of the Dales to its dramatic shores,

people are keeping ancient culinary customs alive...

There you are, Nadiya. Where are you? There's a Dover sole.

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

..whilst others are creating new ones.

Are you sure you're not just doing this for fun?

As someone who used to live in Yorkshire,

I already know many of the local specialities and I'm going to share

my take on one of its most famous recipes.

I lived in Yorkshire for ten years,

I married a Yorkshireman and I had three Yorkshire babies,

so it shouldn't come as a surprise that we love a Yorkshire pudding.

Now, traditionally, we'd have our Yorkshire puddings with a big slab

of beef - but I'll let you into a bit of a secret,

we like to make a few extra and have pudding.

In my home, this sweet version of these battered beauties

are smothered in delicious home-made jam and custard.

It may sound a bit odd but this combination is a winner.

This is a very basic recipe.

Combine 70g of plain flour, a pinch of salt and two large eggs.

For years I'd bought Yorkshires and then suddenly, having married

a Yorkshireman, I felt obliged to learn how to make

a proper Yorkshire.

And the first time I made them, I remember nailing it and thinking,

"Oh, I can do this. What's all the fuss about?"

And the second time I made them, complete disaster.

So what I've learnt about Yorkshire puddings is make the most Yorkshires

you can ever make, get them right and then freeze the lot.

And then you don't have to make them for a year.

That is the trick.

So I've got some whole milk.

So you can see that is the consistency of thick milkshake,

which is exactly what you want.

The secret to getting perfectly puffy Yorkshires

is the coming together of chilled batter and hot oil.

Ten minutes in a roasting hot oven should do it.

That oil should be smoking hot and if it's smoking, you can smell it.

You want to be really fast.

The oil's hot, the batter's cold.

Those are cooking already.

And the trick is to be as fast as possible so you can get them

straight back in the oven.

They're going to take about 15 minutes.

That's not long, but luckily I have a recipe for jam that's designed to

be super quick to prepare.

So this is a no-cook jam.

It's almost instant,

so I'm really excited to share this with you.

So I've got some fresh strawberries,

halve them and just throw them into a jug.

So I'm going to take a stick blender.

And get it all over me!

SHE LAUGHS

Just blitz it to a puree.

And this is kind of where all the magic happens.

I've got basil seeds.

Now, you can find basil seeds in most continental Asian stores.

This is amazing.

It is like magic before your very eyes.

The basil seeds have an outer layer which turns to jelly when soaked in

liquid. It works like pectin but without any cooking

and the seeds won't affect the flavour.

And now the best bit is,

stick it in a fridge and come back to it in half an hour

and you will have jam. That is kind of cool.

Aw, look at those!

This is always the bit where you're never quite sure what you're going

to get... Oi! Or where they're going to go.

Right, so we've got one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine,

ten. Ten and a half.

There's always one. He's still very edible.

I mean, you can't ask for much more, can you?

By the time the Yorkshires have cooled, that jam should be ready.

This jam not long ago was just puree and basil seeds,

now it's the consistency of jam.

I haven't cooked it, it's got no sugar in it.

It smells absolutely amazing.

I've got my fast, simple strawberry and basil seed jam,

my shop-bought custard

and my gorgeous Yorkshire puddings.

And I'm ready to assemble a sweet treat,

which is sure to put me in the mood for my Yorkshire adventure.

Why restrict yourself to Yorkshire puddings for dinner?

Go all out and try them for dessert.

This works!

Time to head to Yorkshire

and to the eastern extremities of the Holderness Coast,

near Bridlington.

Here the wild cliffs meet the North Sea,

which for centuries has offered up its bounty.

I'm spending the day at the beach and, as you can see from my outfit,

there is going to be no bucket and spade action.

I'm here to catch some fish.

Frank Powell brings in his catch without leaving the shore.

This form of fishing is an ancient skill almost exclusive to this area

and Frank's one of just a handful of people keeping the tradition alive.

-Hiya, Nadiya.

-Hiya. How are you?

-I'm fine, and yourself?

-Yes, I'm really good.

-What is this all about?

-Well, it's just an inshore gill-net fishery.

-Mm-hm.

-And different times of the year we catch different fish -

from salmon, Dover sole, skate...

Sea trout are just starting.

You're maybe getting one, two a day.

Are we hopeful today?

Hopefully we'll get one or two as we go further out.

For over 200 years, people have fished here in this way

with a huge net anchored to the beach.

So how does this net work? Cos you can see that it's kind of...

-There's two layers here, isn't there?

-Right.

As the tide comes in, the floats lift up...

-Oh!

-And that's lead and then the fish come along, hit the net.

Oh, I see how that works now.

-Yeah.

-How often are you actually taking fish out of the net?

Twice a day. Each time the tide goes out, I come down.

You're back every 12 hours?

-Yes, yes.

-Wow.

So the next tide will be

one, two in the morning.

So I'll come down here at one, two in the morning.

-And do you ever sleep?

-Now and then.

But if fishing's good, it doesn't matter about sleep.

I'm looking forward to rustling up something special with Frank's catch

but every day is a lottery.

-Is this a good spot?

-Good spot one day, bad spot another day.

-Mmm.

-So, unpredictable?

-Oh, very unpredictable.

You've no idea what you're going to catch.

Hopefully we'll catch some fish for you.

Oh, I don't know how much I like this.

-THEY LAUGH

-Why?! Come on!

Ooh, I'm actually on the net.

Are you going further out, Nadiya?

I'm trying to firmly plant my feet in.

HE LAUGHS

There's something about the sea that makes me really, really nervous.

I can't see my feet.

You're all right here now cos it's flat sand, there's no rock.

If we can get ourselves a nice big sea trout, I'd be more than happy.

Here your are, Nadiya. Where are you? There's a Dover sole.

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

-Lovely Dover sole, eh?

-Uh-huh.

VOICEOVER: Lovely as it is,

this little Dover sole isn't quite the sea trout I had in mind.

Right, Nadiya, we're going further out now.

Are you coming or are you going to stay and watch?

I think I'll let you look for now.

All right!

What a waste of waders.

There's something quite scary about how forceful the sea actually is.

I can't believe he does this in the middle of the night.

You didn't miss much, Nadiya.

You're looking a bit down. What have we got?

A skate.

-We've got some skate.

-Just one.

-A Dover sole.

-Uh-huh.

That's about him.

Is that a good day's catch?

No. No, it's no good whatsoever.

Oh.

It's a tough business, this shore fishing,

and whilst these little fish will

head off to market, Frank is letting me cook up a beautiful sea trout

from last night's catch.

I'm going to take my trout from Yorkshire to the Mediterranean

by baking it with sun-dried tomatoes and lemon.

It looks and tastes impressive but it's deceptively straightforward.

I'm going to get started with the potatoes first.

I love the smell of boiled new potatoes.

I could just eat them with a bit of salt.

Growing up, as a child, fish was a staple in our house,

but not quite like this.

When we had fish at home, it was always cooked down,

stewed in a curry or in a broth, and that's the only way I ever,

ever ate fish until I grew up and realised that fish is actually

really delicious just when it's cooked really simply.

I love using sun-dried tomatoes because it kind of imparts

this tangy, tomatoey sweet flavour

that you don't quite get with a fresh tomato

and what I don't want is lots of liquid in the base of this pan.

I want the potatoes to crisp up slightly.

So these are perfect.

I'm taking the oil that's come out from the bottom of the jar

and that is packed with flavour.

Just get my hands in...

..and mix that through.

Now the lemon. I'm using the unwaxed variety, as I'm adding

the whole fruit and not just the juice.

And I'm going to cook it enough so you can eat the flesh.

I'm going to add some onion seed.

And then I'm just going to lay it all flat.

Remember, this is the bed for our lovely fish.

Nobody likes a lumpy bed.

Some people might be squeamish about keeping the head and the tail on a

fish, but my brothers and sisters,

we still fight over the head of a fish, because that is where the best

flesh is.

So I take my parsley...

..and then stuff it straight into the cavity.

And a bit of lemon thyme.

It'll create a lovely light scent which will enhance the flavour.

And then just season it with some salt and pepper

and then lay the fish

straight on top of the potatoes.

And it really is as simple as that.

Now, if I was at home, I'd preheat the oven to about 200.

But I'm not and Frank's Aga was preheated years ago.

SHE CHUCKLES

Half an hour later and my fish should be ready.

Ah, look at that. It just looks glorious.

I am so happy with that.

The fish looks great and the potatoes look lovely and crisp.

I'm sad I didn't catch this myself but I did cook it myself.

Hopefully I'll have made Frank proud.

If that's not pressure enough,

Frank's wife and her parents have also been invited to help us eat it.

Really pretty.

You've cooked it beautiful.

It's just falling off the bone.

Sun-dried tomatoes with potatoes go really well with it.

-Yeah, it is really...

-They do.

I would never have thought of doing that but it's very simple and it's

-very good.

-I'm glad you like it.

When I was on the beach, Nadiya, you were meant to come down and help me.

-Why didn't you come and help me?

-THEY LAUGH

Because I'm a wimp!

I do not enjoy the ocean whatsoever.

You had all the proper gear on.

I know. I'm awful, I'm awful.

I can cook a fish but catching one is not my thing.

THEY LAUGH

From the dramatic coast

with its ancient tradition of shoreline fishing,

I'm venturing inland to Halifax.

Here, another long-standing custom is being given a new twist.

In Yorkshire, you'd expect to find cheese.

But halloumi?

I'm in Halifax to meet a Syrian woman who felt so homesick

for the cheese she used to eat back home

that she decided to make it herself.

A fellow cheese lover -

I reckon we are going to get along just fine.

-Hi, Razan.

-Hi, how are you?

I'm very well. How are you?

-I'm fine, thank you.

-Wow, there's some great smells in here.

Five years ago, pharmacy graduate Razan Alsous and her family fled the

civil war in Syria and started a new life in Yorkshire.

When we came here by end of 2012,

I kept looking for a job for about a year and I didn't find any.

At that point, when you cannot use your qualifications,

you need to look at your talents.

Razan's talent for microbiology,

passion for food and yearning for a taste of home inspired her halloumi.

I started to come across about how British people love halloumi cheese

and UK has been classified as the second largest consumer of halloumi

-in Europe.

-That doesn't surprise me.

I am half of that population.

And I started to think, "Why not make it?"

Traditionally, halloumi is made with sheep's or goat's milk.

But Razan discovered a special Yorkshire ingredient

that sets her cheese apart.

Cow's milk here is really terrific.

Maybe I'm only saying this is the only thing you can appreciate from

the rainy weather is the nice milk.

Yeah, yeah.

So what would you recommend I try first?

Let's go for the savoury first, then sweet.

-You can try it with the tomato.

-Mm-hm.

-Ooh, that's so creamy.

-Mm-hm.

And this is halloumi cheese with fig jam.

-Mm-hm.

-Ooh, that is delicious.

Because it's salty, the salty and the sweet work really well together.

-Yeah, like salted caramel.

-Yeah.

Having tasted Razan's yummy creation,

I'm keen to see how she makes it.

Like most cheese, it begins with warm milk,

then they add vegetarian rennet,

which causes the proteins in the milk to curdle.

Is this 30 minutes after the rennet's been put in?

Yes. Feel how stable it is.

Ooh, I can tell.

You feel like you're having a panna cotta.

It is like a panna cotta.

-Oh, I could just play with this all day.

-Yeah.

-I told you, it's really enjoyable.

-It's great.

Then the curd is separated from the whey.

-It looks really nice.

-If you have good muscles...

Oh, that's great fun.

Ooh, you have to be quite strong, don't you?

-We had good muscles after we started making cheese.

-Yeah. Oh!

And to get rid of the residual whey,

Razan has introduced a more unconventional technique.

So we'd like to start with the massaging.

Yes, please.

Are you sure you're not just doing this for fun?

-No, no!

-You're not just doing this because it's lovely and warm?

You're doing really well, Nadiya.

That makes me so happy.

Once the curds are free from the whey,

they're ready for the cooking stage,

which turns it into what we all recognise as halloumi.

It's then soaked in brine and ready for eating.

Some cheese.

Well, you know what?

I'm going to take this squeaky cheese and make something

-a bit special for you.

-Great, let's see.

I've come up with a perfect light lunch for Razan and her family.

I'm taking salty halloumi and sweet watermelon

to make quick and easy skewers, served with a tangy sauce.

First things first, I'm going to start with the halloumi.

I'm chopping it into two-and- a-half-centimetre cubes.

Who knew that halloumi was massaged?

This is a really good trick to keep your cheese really gooey

and soft in the centre.

Soaking the halloumi briefly in boiling water means it won't

dry out during cooking.

Next, I'm going to start on my watermelon.

Again with this,

I want to get cubes that are about two-and-a-half centimetres.

Don't throw away any of the scraps.

I'm sure you'll find somebody to eat them.

So that's my watermelon cubes done.

And now for my bread.

Call me pedantic

but I do like it when all the cubes are the same size.

I want to say that I never get a ruler out...

..but I might sometimes get a ruler out.

So now to make up our skewers.

So I'm going to start with my bread.

And then I'm going to go with my cheese

and that's been sitting in the hot water and it's really softened.

And then the watermelon.

It seems like such a simple thing, bread, cheese,

watermelon, but once they're grilled, it works beautifully.

And to further enhance all those lovely flavours,

I'm making a dip to go with them.

And the first ingredient is tamarind.

Tamarind is a fruit that looks like a runner bean and inside, around the

seeds, there's this delicious pulp

and it's tangy and it's sweet,

and you can buy this in most supermarkets.

And then to that I'm going to add a good squeeze of honey.

It just takes away that kind of initial sharpness

that you get, that... SHE CLICKS TONGUE

..when you have something really tart.

About half a teaspoon of cinnamon.

I wanted to add some sort of a fragrance to this sauce.

And then I've got one small red onion.

And that tangy tamarind dip will go perfectly with the salty halloumi

and the sweet watermelon.

With my dip done, it's time to griddle the skewers.

I'm just going to check to see if my griddle's hot enough.

SIZZLING That's about right.

That's what it should sound like.

Instead of adding oil to the pan,

I'm brushing the skewers with oil I flavoured with garlic, onion,

fenugreek and chilli.

So, whack them on the griddle,

brushed side down.

You could do this on a frying pan but doing it on a griddle with those

lovely ridges, it chars it and then you get that lovely caramelised

flavour. That's what you're looking for.

Once they've charred on one side,

just turn them round

because we want that lovely charring all the way round.

And it's as simple as that.

You've got gorgeous salty halloumi,

sweet caramelised watermelon and crusty bread.

And to go with it, a simple tamarind dip.

-Hi, guys.

-Thank you. Hello.

VOICEOVER: I really hope Razan and her family

like what I've done with their cheese.

Mm!

Mm-hm.

-And then I've got this tamarind sauce.

-Uh-huh.

I love the sauce you are making with the halloumi cheese.

It's really terrific.

Well, the halloumi... It literally can take on any flavour.

-Yes.

-The squeaky cheese, it squeaks a lot.

-The best squeaky cheese.

-Mm!

I can see your eyes twinkle when you talk about food.

Yorkshire is a mixture of new practices and old traditions

living side-by-side.

And for my final recipe, I'm feeling inspired to combine the two...

..with a fresh take on the county's most venerable veg.

I'm raiding Yorkshire's famous rhubarb triangle to make my

delicious rhubarb and custard ice cream sandwiches.

Tangy rhubarb compote rippled in ice cream sandwiched between two crisp

custard biscuits.

I mean, why restrict yourself from eating ice cream out of a cone and a

bowl? If you haven't had it in a sandwich, you haven't lived.

So I'm starting off with some forced rhubarb.

It's really tender and it's really, really pink.

Rhubarb's quite tart.

Sugar just balances it out.

I've got a lime and this is just going to help to preserve that

gorgeous pink colour. I have to say,

I don't often admit it but I am obsessed with boiled sweets.

I want to create that nostalgic rhubarb flavour that we all remember

if you put a rhubarb and custard in your mouth.

That is such a pretty colour and no food colouring in sight.

Now for my special ingredient - natural rhubarb essence.

And this stuff is quite strong so you literally only need a few drops.

One, two - whoa - three...

..four, five. Maybe one more.

Six, seven. Oh! Eight.

I really like...

..rhubarb.

Maybe one more. Yeah, eight, nine...

Ten.

Mm-hm.

That's rhubarby.

Perfect.

Now for my amazingly simple vanilla ice cream.

Once you've made this, I don't think you're ever going to want

to buy ice cream again.

Start with double cream and condensed milk.

This is where all the sweetness comes from.

So now for the vanilla extract.

And then add liquid glucose.

The liquid glucose is so important to making a really simple ice cream.

You don't need a big old ice cream machine.

It stops ice crystals from forming, so it won't freeze solid.

Whip the cream mixture to soft peaks.

For the time it takes to whip this up,

it is not worth plugging anything in.

That is perfect.

Time for my rich, sweet ice cream

and the tart rhubarb compote to finally meet.

And now for the rippling.

Just take the back of a spoon and then just work your way through

the ice cream and create those beautiful ripples.

Look up there!

That is a sure sign that you've got ripple in your ice cream.

I'm going to pop the lid on.

And then one really good tip is to put it straight into a zip seal bag

and that'll stop any ice crystals

from going anywhere near your delicious tub of ice cream.

So what could be better with rhubarb ice cream than custard biscuits?

I'm starting by squishing together butter and caster sugar.

So this is a really basic butter biscuit recipe,

one of the first things I ever did with my kids.

I've got one egg.

Lightly whisk. Now, if you've had powdered custard,

there's a slight subtle almond flavour,

and I'm trying to enhance it slightly by adding

a little bit of extract.

So once I've mixed all the egg in, I'm going to add plain flour

and custard powder.

Bring the dough to a ball.

And it's got that distinct custard colour.

I don't know how it happens.

It's like magic custard powder and, more than anything,

it smells like custard.

Wrap the dough up and chill it for an hour.

This will allow the biscuits to keep their shape once rolled and cut.

Remember, these are biscuit sandwiches,

so for each sandwich we need two biscuits,

so always even numbers.

I'm going to get these straight in the oven for about 20 to 22 minutes.

Once baked and cooled, they're ready for the ice cream.

They smell just like custard and they look...

They've still got that lovely yellow colour.

So this is the fun bit.

Hey-hey, look at that!

Rippley and smooth.

And then put the biscuit on top.

What's better than one custard biscuit?

I'll tell you what, two custard biscuits

with rhubarb ripple ice cream in the middle.

Check those out.

The flavour of a rhubarb and custard boiled sweet

in an ice cream sandwich.

A little taste of Yorkshire with a nod to the past and the present.

And a nostalgic treat to share with my brother and sister.

I'm trying to find the right angles.

THEY LAUGH

Next time I'm in Scotland, foraging for wild spices...

Oh, my God! That's coriander.

Yeah.

..and milling my own flour.

Whoa! Going to lose the bag.