Scotland 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...

-There's a Dover sole.

-You've got a fish! You'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.

-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'd have to be completely bonkers to cook like this!

HE LAUGHS

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

This works!

..inspired by their produce...

-Hope you're hungry.

-Smells amazing!

..as I go on my British Food Adventure.

This week, I'm going north of the border for a taste of Scotland.

This unspoiled landscape full of history and tradition

is home to some ingenious people...

-That's coriander.

-Yes.

-What?!

..using ancient methods to produce truly surprising food.

You know what, I'd happily stay here with you,

and just bake bread for ever.

But before I set off on my adventure,

I'm making a comfort-food classic with a difference,

to celebrate a staple that's kept the Scots

in fine fettle for generations.

When I think about Scotland,

one ingredient that I associate almost instantly is porridge oats.

Now I've got three small kids and I have spent a lifetime making

flapjacks, so I've taken the ingredients from a flapjack,

and used them as a topping on my apple crumble.

Cinnamon stewed apple under a chewy layer of flapjack.

Could it get any tastier?

Porridge oats are delicious as they are, but when you toast them,

they become really nutty and golden.

It's an extra step, but it's a step worth doing.

They'll need ten to 15 minutes - just enough time to make my caramel.

I've got a small pan on the hob.

Butter, muscovado sugar and golden syrup get sweet and sticky.

Whoever invented squeezy bottles for golden syrup,

I applaud them, because it has made life so much easier.

Heat until the sugar's dissolved.

I can still hear the sugar at the base of the pan

when I hit it with the spoon and I know the sugar's not melted.

So, be patient and keep stirring.

I can't feel it and I certainly can't hear it.

All dissolved. Take that off the heat.

And don't forget to whip those oats out of the oven.

I'm hit by that smell, that nutty gorgeous smell.

Now mix the oh-so-good-for-you oats with all that sugary sweetness.

And stir that,

so all that delicious hot caramel coats every last bit of oat.

I mean, that by itself is just a flapjack recipe,

so you could very easily press it into a tin and bake it,

and you'd have flapjacks.

But imagine that on top of some cinnamon stewed apples!

So I'm cracking out some Granny Smiths.

Now, I used to get my apples from my neighbour.

I say I get them -

I used to steal my apples from my neighbour,

but I've since moved, so I've resorted to buying them now.

There's nothing worse...

than skin...

that's left on. So much so that when I've chopped up my apples,

I always get my kids to check every bit of apple and make sure.

And with a kilogram of apples,

there's a lot of peel vigilance required.

Look what I nearly got in.

Don't want that. Let's just check.

Oh, this is where the kids are handy.

They're the ones who normally check.

Where are they when you need them?

No, I've got no skins in here.

In with the apples go butter, sugar, and then cinnamon.

Cinnamon can be a little bit of a bully.

You put too much in and it kind of takes over,

so you've got to be really careful, so I'm only using one teaspoon.

Apple and cinnamon - they were meant to be.

And to soak up the buttery apple juices, I have two friends -

first, raisins.

Those raisins are just sucking up that juice like a sponge.

And to finish the job, cornflour.

Now for our flapjack crumble.

Take nice big clumps.

And spread them all over the top.

And then it's a whole 45 minutes in the oven

before you can get this beauty out.

Oh, look at that.

Ooh, those smells.

Oh, I couldn't be happier with that.

Crisp, chewy, flapjack topping with the lovely stewed cinnamon

and raisin apples underneath.

If this does not warm your heart and your belly,

nothing else will.

This oaty pudding is a firm family favourite

and has given me a taste of what's to come on my Scottish adventure.

Now I'm heading to the land of heather,

mountains and lochs to discover some of the country's hidden treats.

First stop is on Scotland's west coast in Taynuilt,

where I've been told I'll feel right at home.

I've cooked curries and used spices my entire life.

One of the first things I ever ate was my mum's chicken korma,

so I'm here to meet a Scottish chef and forager

who claims he can find a wild alternative to any exotic spice

I can think of. Do I believe him?

I don't know. Have to wait and see.

-It's nice to meet you.

-Nice to meet you.

-How are you?

-Yeah, great.

-Gary Goldie makes his living from supplying locally

foraged produce to some of the country's finest restaurants.

Is foraging something you've done all your life?

It's about 20 years ago, I was a chef in a hotel up the road there.

It's a beautiful place for mushrooms all around it, so I bought a book,

and I just loved going around collecting the mushrooms around the

hotel and trying to figure out what they were.

You know, and then, I was thinking,

"Well, what else is there out there?" When you get going,

you can maybe identify a new herb every week and then

before you know it, you've got a large repertoire of herbs.

And I expected when I came to meet you that we're going to be in the

deep, dark woods somewhere in the middle of nowhere,

-but we are literally off the side of the road?

-Yeah.

This is where... The hedgerows is where it's at.

All along this area, there's salad leaves, there's spices.

-Really?

-This is a hawthorn tree.

You can actually eat these little leaves.

People used to eat them when they were on their way to school.

Oh, I used to have a bag of crisps and a bar of chocolate.

This one's called wood aven and it does have a spice flavour.

-Have a sniff of that bit.

-Oh, well done.

Oh, what is that? I want to get it right so badly!

-No, I won't...

-No, don't tell me.

-I won't.

-Don't tell me!

-I won't

-tell you.

-I'll work that one out.

-It's clove!

-Yeah.

There's another one right here.

This one's called hogweed.

Oh, my good God! That smells like a curry.

-Can I eat that?

-Yeah, you can eat that.

Like cardamom, you have too much of it, it's too perfumey.

-You know...

-Yeah, definitely, yeah.

Gary might just have given my Indian spices

a run for their money after all.

There's one right in here that will blow your mind.

I'm looking for a herb called sea arrowgrass.

That's not just grass?

-No.

-Try a nibble on that one.

Oh, my God! That's coriander.

-Yeah.

-What!

I'm absolutely stunned. I wasn't expecting it to taste something that

tastes so much like coriander.

Yeah, it's...

We might just have a curry.

Who knew there'd be so many exotic ingredients to be found right here

in the Scottish Highlands?

To convince me that these wild plants can pass muster against the

spices I know and love, Gary's putting together

a foraged mushroom curry.

So that's just the hogweed and the hogweed seeds,

and they're really strong. You need to be careful with that.

You've got the sea arrowgrass, you know.

And that's the one that smells like coriander.

-Is that the one?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

It's looking more and more like curry

now that you've added the mushrooms as well.

I think, because when you cook a curry, it's all about the stages,

-and there's...

-Yeah.

-It's almost like a ritual.

There's particular things that you do...

-Yeah.

-..to enhance the flavour of particular spices.

-OK.

So I think my mum would just think you're a wizard if she saw this.

Oh, a wizard!

Another rule in Bangladeshi households is -

one curry is never enough.

Gary, I'm going to take traditional spices and I'm going to make some

carrot and parsnip bhajis and then we can compare notes.

-Are you up for that?

-Yeah, definitely.

These bhajis are a firm family favourite,

and I am making a fresh coriander and chilli chutney to go with them.

So many vegetables go well in a bhaji,

and I've tried and tested them all.

Cauliflower, broccoli, asparagus, courgette.

I'm going through my vegetable aisle.

Did I say potatoes? Sweet potatoes.

Did I say broccoli? Don't use a cucumber.

That wouldn't work.

That's my parsnip done.

So, I've got my ground spices.

A teaspoon of coriander.

A teaspoon of curry powder.

A teaspoon of cumin.

And then we've got chickpea flour, sometimes labelled as gram flour,

and it actually has a really nutty flavour.

Make sure each little bit of carrot and parsnip is coated.

Beat in two eggs to bind the mixture together.

Yeah! One-handed egg crack.

I am always so proud of myself when I do that.

So, that's the bhaji batter done.

Fry in batches until golden.

For me, a bhaji isn't a starter,

it's always about having it with a cup of tea.

That's how my mum would have it.

That's how my grandma had it.

This is the Bangladeshi equivalent of a digestive.

Yes, there are a fair few members of my family who would have this bhaji

by dunking it in a cup of tea.

Sounds disgusting, but...

it might work.

I might be one of those relatives who might dunk a bhaji

in a cup of tea. Maybe.

Instead of tea, though,

I'm serving these bhajis with a really easy chutney.

Fresh coriander. Large handful.

Stalks and all.

The stalks are so similar to that sea arrowgrass that Gary

and I picked earlier.

I've got...

three chillies.

I hope Gary likes chilli.

And then a teaspoon of sugar.

A good pinch of salt.

Finally, add the juice of half a lemon...

..and a good glug of olive oil.

Blitz into a smooth paste.

That's perfect.

SHE CLEARS HER THROAT

Might still kill Gary, though.

SHE COUGHS

It will be interesting to see if Gary's foraged curry will be able to

stand its own next to this authentically spiced classic.

Do you like spicy food, Gary?

-I do, yeah.

-How spicy?

-Not mega spicy, but almost mega spicy.

-OK, then.

That's spice.

SHE LAUGHS

No, that's great. It's not too spicy for me.

So simple, but so nice.

And now it's his turn.

Will his curry pass the Bangladeshi taste test?

That smells absolutely beautiful and it just looks stunning.

And I can't believe I can actually recognise lots of bits

that we picked together, so that's something that

will stay with me forever.

I have to say, I am pleasantly surprised.

Wow. Absolutely delicious.

It tastes like a curry. It looks like a curry.

-It smells like a curry.

-It's more exotic here than you think.

-Yeah.

It's quite... It's insane.

That was amazing.

My first wild Scottish curry.

Scotland is full of surprises,

and I can't wait for the next stop on my trip.

I am heading east.

Blair Atholl, up in rural Perthshire,

is the site of one of the few working watermills in the country,

and home to a very rare breed of baker -

one who mills his own flour.

He's offered to show me the ropes.

How could I resist?

It's no surprise I love baking,

and some may even say that flour has been the making of me.

So today, I am really excited.

I'm going to be baking my own bread using flour

that I have ground myself here at this very watermill.

Israeli-born Rami Cohen moved to the middle of the Scottish countryside

17 years ago to help run his wife's family business.

-Shall we go upstairs?

-Yeah.

And he continues to use techniques that are centuries old.

So, here we are at the top.

Yes, that is where it all starts.

That is Scottish wheat.

-Yeah.

-From a farm in Fife, not far from St Andrews.

-Mm-hm.

You want to lift the bag, by the way?

It is quite heavy, but we've got that machine.

-I was going to say...

-Yeah, very easy.

You just turn it like that.

I can lift a 20-kilo bag of rice,

but it's not pretty.

-Yeah.

-I can do this.

-Yeah, just like that. Click, click, click.

-Oh, OK.

It just... I make it look so easy.

-This is really hard.

-It is quite hard.

-Yeah, that's enough.

-That's enough?

-Yeah.

-And then, what? Tip it in?

Tip it in, yeah.

-All of it can go in.

-Whoa!

-Going to lose the bag. Lost the bag.

-Oh!

There you go.

This mill itself has been around over 600 years?

Yes, 1590.

So, what is it? 400, 500?

I only do maths in kilograms and millilitres.

It is older than me, anyway!

Is that the same wheat down here?

Yes, that's the wheat that you filled in.

That's the milling stone.

It's a French burrstone, and it's considered the best milling stone

in the world. Really, that's the heart of the mill.

It doesn't create heat, keeps all the goodness, the minerals, oils,

-within the flour.

-When you came over from Israel, presumably,

you knew nothing about milling?

-No idea.

-How did you learn?

I have to say, I have learnt through the hard way.

I did make silly mistakes, but you learn from it.

Now it's actually quite a nice feeling when I think I know

what I'm doing.

NADIYA LAUGHS What's the next process?

-I will show you where the flour comes out.

-Oh, OK.

That is the biggest sieve I have ever seen.

Yes.

-This is our flour?

-Yeah, the flour is milled.

-Have a look here.

-What kind of...

-What grade flour is that?

-That is the fine wholemeal flour.

-Fine wholemeal?

-We call it wholemeal.

Do you know what? Let's get out of this noise and let's do what we both

enjoy most - bake some bread.

I'm not baking THAT much bread!

Rami might use traditional methods,

but many of his recipes are experimental.

I hope it's ready. That's a cheese and chilli sourdough.

We get customers that love to try new things.

I'm going to pour some olive oil.

If it's good olive oil, you cannot put enough.

Oh, you can hear that sizzle.

Fresh olive oil absorbs into the loaf of bread. It is just nice.

You just want to eat it straightaway.

It makes it so glossy and shiny on top.

Yeah. Now, you know what it's like with chillies, you want a taste?

Yes, please.

Look at that! That is so pretty.

-I think it's quite cute.

-That's lovely.

Whoa, that's nice.

You know what? I would happily stay here with you and just bake bread

forever. That is delicious, that is.

I feel totally inspired.

There was no way I was going to come here and mill my own flour

-and not make some bread for you.

-I would be delighted.

So, it's off to Rami's kitchen, where I am going to make

a five-spice soda bread

and some red split lentils to serve with it.

Baking bread can be so satisfying,

but if it's not something that you do that often,

I know it can be quite daunting.

So, I've got this recipe for a lovely simple soda bread

that's quick and easy.

You don't need to knead and there's no proving.

First, I need buttermilk.

If you are anything like me,

you probably don't just have buttermilk lying around the house,

so I've got a great tip to make your buttermilk at home with things

you do have.

So, I've got some whole milk.

400ml should do it.

And I just need four tablespoons of lemon juice.

This isn't for flavour.

When I add the lemon to the milk, it makes it a weird lumpy texture.

Leave for five minutes to allow the mixture to curdle and that's it.

Buttermilk. So simple.

And here's that wheat that I milled into flour just this morning.

So I've got 250g of the wholemeal flour.

And 250g of white flour.

Teaspoon of salt.

Teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda.

This is the raising agent.

You will notice there's no yeast in this recipe.

Now, to flavour my loaf.

Fennel seeds, onion seeds, fenugreek seeds,

cumin seeds and two types of mustard seeds.

My mum traditionally uses them in her lentil recipe and, of course,

what did I do? I took them out and said,

"I'm taking them out of your lentils and I'm putting them in bread."

Mainly to infuriate her,

but more because adding these Indian five spices to this soda bread

is absolutely delicious.

Now, you imagine when I mix that in and it's going to be flecks

of these lovely spices inside the bread, it just looks beautiful.

And now, to our buttermilk.

The lemon juice is mixed in with that milk and it has curdled.

This is exactly what it should look like.

Buttermilk may not seem very appetising...

That's a lovely sound.

..but it's the acid in the lemon juice

reacting with the bicarbonate of soda

that gives the bread its rise.

You want to work with it quite quickly,

because as the moisture hits

the bicarbonate of soda, it's already starting to work,

but what you want is for it to work in the oven.

If the mixture's too wet,

just add a little bit of flour.

As long as you can get it into what looks like a presentable loaf

of bread, you are there.

Cutting all the way down to the bottom means that when it bakes,

it gives it loads of room for it to rise and it just puffs up

and gets almost twice the size.

That goes into the oven for about 30 minutes.

By the time that bread is done, this lentil soup will be ready.

Wash 150g of lentils until the water runs clear.

What this does is it gets rid of some of the starch.

It stops the lentil soup becoming really stodgy.

Add the lentils to a pan with a litre of cold water.

I'm going to add a good pinch of salt...

..couple of bay leaves...

..a few whole dried chillies.

Now, these are quite fiery,

but adding them whole and letting them cook gently in the soup

means that you get that heat without it being too intense.

So drop those in whole.

And I've got some ground turmeric. Give it a stir.

Leave that to simmer for half an hour.

Next up, melt 75g of unsalted butter.

Five cloves of garlic.

Now, five cloves of garlic seems like a lot of garlic, doesn't it?

I mean, you won't be able to kiss anyone for at least a week,

but that doesn't matter.

I'm going to throw all that garlic in there.

Garlic and butter!

I remember being a child and watching my mum.

I used to be able to smell her make these lentils and then wait

to ask her, "When are you adding that hot butter and hot garlic

"to that boiling pan of lentils?" It's absolutely...

It looks beautiful and it just...

Oh! It tastes so good.

Here we go.

And that

is what I used to spend most Sunday afternoons waiting to see.

That is what it's all about. Oh, yes.

For extra freshness, sprinkle in some chopped coriander.

I would say that is a triumph.

By now, your loaf should be ready.

That looks good.

That's five-spice soda bread and lentil soup

done in less than an hour.

And I'm hoping Rami and his family like it as much as I do.

Dig in. See what you think.

Really nice.

-Yeah.

-Soda bread, have a go.

I've used Indian whole five spices.

Very colourful. Really nice. Delicious. Good?

-Good.

-Really nice.

That's the first time I have ever milled my own flour.

I didn't realise it was an ancient tradition of milling flour this way

and the fact you're still doing it...

Different appreciation for flour now.

It was a pleasure, really.

I've had a brilliant time in Scotland.

It's great to see traditional skills being given a modern slant.

But now, it's time to head home...

..where I am going to put my own novel spin

on the ultimate Scottish dish.

It's impossible to think of Scottish food without thinking about haggis

and today I'm doing an unusual recipe for a haggis tarte tatin.

The secret to this recipe is vegetarian haggis.

When you combine it with caramelised banana shallots,

it creates a delicious savoury dish.

The tart kicks off with ready-rolled puff pastry.

The pan has to be oven-safe and I'm using it as a template.

Cut around about 2.5cm around the edge.

Chill the pastry in the fridge...

..and get cracking with the veggie haggis.

This is packed with lentils and oats

and seeds and it's so lightly spiced,

it's such a delicate flavour,

but so delicious that you can do pretty much anything with it.

You don't have to stir it much.

If you just leave it, you'll get a lovely crispy coating

on the outside. Look at that. That's what you want.

Just by doing this,

you're taking the already delicious flavours

in the haggis and then you are toasting them up

and all those lentils you've got in there, they are going to benefit

because they are going to get crispy

and crunchy and they are just going to add to the flavour.

When I discovered vegetarian haggis,

it was like a revelation and I tried to find so many ways of eating it.

I have some of my best ideas in the middle of the night.

I was in bed and I just realised, "Oh, that's what I want to do -

"haggis tarte tatin."

Of course.

Doesn't everyone dream of haggis?

And be sure when you are chopping your onions,

and you're topping and tailing them,

to keep the roots because you want the onion to stay together.

Take off the root and it will start falling apart.

Arrange your onions in a pretty star shape and caramelise them

in brown sugar and balsamic vinegar for a rich, sweet gooeyness.

What you're looking for is something that looks like a runny treacle.

Turn off the heat. Now for our fried haggis.

Whatever you do, don't be tempted just to plonk it all in.

It's like a haggis and shallot mosaic.

Fill in all those gaps.

Then introduce the gorgeous filling to the chilled pastry.

And drop it straight over the pan.

Seal in the goodness, egg-wash the pastry and make some steam holes.

And that will just give your pastry a lovely lift on top.

That'll take around 20 minutes -

enough time for me to make a simple dip to serve on the side.

Full-fat cream cheese, Greek yoghurt, seasoning, and chives.

Mix it up. It is as simple as that.

Oh, that looks great.

That puff pastry has puffed up.

This is the exciting bit.

Time to turn it out.

Put your plate on top.

Right in the middle. Only one chance to do this.

Let's have a look. I'm slightly nervous.

Oh, look at that.

Couldn't be happier.

This might just be the best idea I've had in the middle of the night.

So, there you have it - haggis tarte tatin,

my culinary tribute to my friends north of the border.

Thanks, Scotland.

It's been enlightening, inspirational, and very tasty.

Next time, I'm off to the West Country

in search of two of my favourites.

-Jam...

-I'm going to try and stand back.

-..and garlic...

-The earth's moving!

I have that effect.

That makes me happy.