0:00:01 > 0:00:04I've grown up with food that says home.
0:00:05 > 0:00:08Dishes that mean a lot to me are part of who I am.
0:00:09 > 0:00:13But while it's comfortable to stick with what you know, as a cook,
0:00:13 > 0:00:15I want to explore new flavours.
0:00:16 > 0:00:19I've no idea what this is, let alone how to cook it!
0:00:19 > 0:00:21Hello, how are you? How are you?
0:00:21 > 0:00:24So I'm going on a tour to meet home cooks all around Britain,
0:00:24 > 0:00:26who are mad about their food...
0:00:26 > 0:00:29- Lovely to meet you. - "The mussels, go, quickly, go!"
0:00:29 > 0:00:32..to find out what culinary secrets they can teach me.
0:00:32 > 0:00:35I thought I'd cooked everything you could with banana.
0:00:35 > 0:00:36Would you like to try?
0:00:36 > 0:00:39Do you know, I'd love to have a go, actually.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42This is my excuse to see what makes cultures within Britain tick
0:00:42 > 0:00:46and to meet distant cousins of my favourite recipes.
0:00:46 > 0:00:47This is just so beautiful.
0:00:47 > 0:00:49Utterly, utterly enchanting.
0:00:49 > 0:00:53Dishes that share the same basic idea, but with origins
0:00:53 > 0:00:56and ingredients a long way from our shores.
0:00:56 > 0:00:58My journey will take me around the world.
0:00:58 > 0:01:00The beauty is - I won't even need a passport!
0:01:03 > 0:01:06And as a thank you, I'm going to invite everyone I meet
0:01:06 > 0:01:11to a meal that puts all their dishes on one table in a celebration
0:01:11 > 0:01:15of what makes us different and what brings us together.
0:01:27 > 0:01:29From dim sum to wontons and ravioli,
0:01:29 > 0:01:34all over the world, people are taking delicious morsels of food
0:01:34 > 0:01:36and wrapping them up in dough.
0:01:36 > 0:01:41I want to uncover the secrets of these wonderful bite-sized gems
0:01:41 > 0:01:44that make a huge impact around the world
0:01:44 > 0:01:49but before I go anywhere, I want to cook some of my own
0:01:49 > 0:01:53and there's none more delicious than the good old British dumpling.
0:01:56 > 0:02:00Suet dumplings soak up the juice of a hearty stew to make
0:02:00 > 0:02:06one of the most enjoyable parcels of food you could ever wish for.
0:02:06 > 0:02:09You know I love stew.
0:02:09 > 0:02:13Sometimes I think I actually only make it for the dumplings.
0:02:16 > 0:02:19For the stew, brown some large cubes of meat.
0:02:19 > 0:02:24I'm using beef. Then fry onions, carrots, celery and swede.
0:02:25 > 0:02:29I'm aiming for the sort of stew I had with dumplings as a kid.
0:02:29 > 0:02:34The dumpling has just gone out of fashion and it's such a shame.
0:02:34 > 0:02:35I think people have stopped making them
0:02:35 > 0:02:40because they're scared they can't make them as well as their granny. That's my theory anyway.
0:02:40 > 0:02:42Once the veg has a nice gloss,
0:02:42 > 0:02:46pop the meat back in with a spoonful of flour, some stock, seasoning,
0:02:46 > 0:02:50and a couple of bay leaves, before topping up with red wine.
0:02:50 > 0:02:51So get that up to the boil.
0:02:51 > 0:02:55Put a lid on and you just let it putter away quietly
0:02:55 > 0:02:56while you get on with other things.
0:02:59 > 0:03:03And now the real reason I've made stew. It's for the dumplings.
0:03:05 > 0:03:12Just not the same without those comforting little baubles of flour and fat.
0:03:14 > 0:03:17I'm going to have 125g of plain flour,
0:03:17 > 0:03:22a teaspoon full of salt,
0:03:22 > 0:03:24a teaspoon full of baking powder.
0:03:24 > 0:03:26Now to that, I need some fat.
0:03:26 > 0:03:29Round about half the weight of fat to flour.
0:03:29 > 0:03:32For these dumplings, I'm using dried suet,
0:03:32 > 0:03:36so I need a drop of water to make a soft dough that will fluff up
0:03:36 > 0:03:39like little clouds as they cook in the stew.
0:03:40 > 0:03:44I love those classics, but I've got another recipe that I've been
0:03:44 > 0:03:46working on that's really good fun, as well.
0:03:48 > 0:03:52So these little dumplings are very slightly different.
0:03:52 > 0:03:57Start with 70g of fine oatmeal and the same again of plain flour,
0:03:57 > 0:04:00a teaspoon of baking powder and another of salt.
0:04:00 > 0:04:04And instead of suet, I'm using 80g of butter.
0:04:04 > 0:04:08Grating it cold will make it easy to rub into the mix.
0:04:08 > 0:04:12Now what will bring these dumplings to life is a few fresh herbs.
0:04:12 > 0:04:15I've got parsley, rosemary and thyme.
0:04:15 > 0:04:18What I love about dumplings is their rough texture.
0:04:18 > 0:04:22They soak up the gravy, they eke things out a little bit, they
0:04:22 > 0:04:26make things go further and they are also utterly, totally comforting.
0:04:30 > 0:04:34Whoa, have they come up! There's hardly room for these.
0:04:34 > 0:04:37I'm going to tuck these in. Lid on.
0:04:37 > 0:04:39Ten minutes and they'll be done.
0:04:47 > 0:04:51Look at those. It's worth steaming up my glasses for.
0:04:53 > 0:04:58Beef stew and dumplings. The classic and the oatmeal and herb.
0:05:01 > 0:05:04Dumplings like these are undeniably old England
0:05:04 > 0:05:07and there's nothing wrong with that.
0:05:07 > 0:05:10But I'm keen to find out what modern Britain has to offer.
0:05:15 > 0:05:19My first stop in my search for new ways of parcelling up flavours
0:05:19 > 0:05:20is Lincolnshire.
0:05:20 > 0:05:23I'm meeting a lady whose Gujarati-style cooking from her
0:05:23 > 0:05:28ancestral home in Western India has become famous with her neighbours
0:05:28 > 0:05:32since her arrival in England in 1972.
0:05:32 > 0:05:33Nita, hello!
0:05:33 > 0:05:35Hello, how are you?
0:05:35 > 0:05:37I'm very well.
0:05:37 > 0:05:39Good to see you.
0:05:39 > 0:05:42Thank you, nice to be here.
0:05:42 > 0:05:43What are you cooking?
0:05:43 > 0:05:47We're making some wonderful fritters with yoghurt.
0:05:47 > 0:05:48Aren't they fabulous?
0:05:48 > 0:05:50Aren't they just!
0:05:50 > 0:05:53I've always thought that I knew quite a bit about Indian
0:05:53 > 0:05:57cooking, but, you know, I'm slowly realising that what I know is
0:05:57 > 0:06:01actually Bangladeshi cooking and it's not Gujarati cooking.
0:06:01 > 0:06:04If it's sort of in a nutshell, the essential difference is what?
0:06:04 > 0:06:07Simplicity and the freshness.
0:06:07 > 0:06:09These look really good fun.
0:06:09 > 0:06:10Do try some, please!
0:06:12 > 0:06:13These are so good.
0:06:15 > 0:06:19As well as these little fritters, Nita's promised to show me
0:06:19 > 0:06:22another Gujarati speciality - the pea kachori.
0:06:22 > 0:06:27It's an Indian recipe containing one of Lincolnshire's finest exports.
0:06:27 > 0:06:29Aren't they gorgeous?
0:06:29 > 0:06:32They're beautiful.
0:06:32 > 0:06:34- You tell me when to stop. - Yes. Please, thank you.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37Whereas my dumplings were about comfort,
0:06:37 > 0:06:40these little parcels are all about vibrancy.
0:06:40 > 0:06:42Popping away nicely.
0:06:42 > 0:06:46Peas, a little bit of ginger, a little bit of chilli.
0:06:46 > 0:06:48A few mustard seeds.
0:06:48 > 0:06:50- There's a lovely simplicity to this. - Isn't it?
0:06:50 > 0:06:52The funny thing, though, about -
0:06:52 > 0:06:56not necessarily Gujarati cooking, but all Indian cooking -
0:06:56 > 0:06:58I think some people are slightly put off by the idea
0:06:58 > 0:07:01of that this is going to take a very, very long time,
0:07:01 > 0:07:04but, in fact, once you actually start cooking,
0:07:04 > 0:07:06it is amazingly quick.
0:07:06 > 0:07:09And I think these days, the supermarkets, we have to give
0:07:09 > 0:07:12credit to them, because the aisles do have a lot of the Indian
0:07:12 > 0:07:16ingredients, but that wasn't the case when we came here 42 years ago.
0:07:19 > 0:07:23The kachori dough is pretty much the same as my dumpling mix,
0:07:23 > 0:07:25but with oil instead of suet.
0:07:25 > 0:07:29We'll use this to wrap up the little balls of pea mixture.
0:07:32 > 0:07:37This is fun, isn't it? It's like playing with Play-Doh or Plasticine when you're a child.
0:07:37 > 0:07:41- It is, which I used to do.- Yes.
0:07:41 > 0:07:46This recipe's journey from India to Lincolnshire was not straightforward.
0:07:46 > 0:07:51Nita's parents left India to set up a successful business in Uganda
0:07:51 > 0:07:56before she was born. But in 1972, when she was just 15,
0:07:56 > 0:07:58the country's dictator, Idi Amin,
0:07:58 > 0:08:02ejected all Asians with the threat of execution.
0:08:02 > 0:08:04Can I ask you about leaving Uganda?
0:08:04 > 0:08:06Because everybody left at once, didn't they?
0:08:06 > 0:08:09Yes, we were given 90 days to leave.
0:08:09 > 0:08:10That's not very long.
0:08:10 > 0:08:13No, not when you're running businesses
0:08:13 > 0:08:17and trying to get out safely as well, it isn't long at all.
0:08:17 > 0:08:21Kampala, for us, was a long distance - about 300 miles -
0:08:21 > 0:08:24and on the way, there were several army stops
0:08:24 > 0:08:29and then at one particular stop, they took my father away.
0:08:29 > 0:08:36For how long, it's difficult to remember now - it seemed an eternity.
0:08:36 > 0:08:40But he gave away all the money that we had
0:08:40 > 0:08:45and the jewellery that we had, and, luckily, he was allowed to come out.
0:08:45 > 0:08:48Sadly, we did lose some very dear friends
0:08:48 > 0:08:55and there were lots and lots of people killed, um,
0:08:55 > 0:08:58in Uganda at that time.
0:09:00 > 0:09:04Once in Britain, Nita's family travelled to Lincolnshire to
0:09:04 > 0:09:07start life from scratch.
0:09:07 > 0:09:09Was there a welcome for you here?
0:09:09 > 0:09:13Indeed, yes. There was a lot of excitement because we were the first
0:09:13 > 0:09:16Ugandan Asians to come here to Lincolnshire.
0:09:16 > 0:09:21The local people just decorated the house for us.
0:09:21 > 0:09:25They really, really made us feel welcome.
0:09:25 > 0:09:27So we'll start.
0:09:28 > 0:09:30I like your little rolling pin.
0:09:30 > 0:09:32Isn't it amazing?
0:09:32 > 0:09:35How cool is that!
0:09:35 > 0:09:40So what we need to do now is just put one of those in here
0:09:40 > 0:09:44and cover the kachori up.
0:09:45 > 0:09:47Just nice little pleats.
0:09:49 > 0:09:52- Dare I have a go?- Please do.
0:09:52 > 0:09:55- Now that's about the size of it, right?- Yes.
0:09:56 > 0:09:59Now, this looked tricky, because you pulled.
0:10:00 > 0:10:03- You know when you're making a pie and you're pinching it?- Yes.
0:10:03 > 0:10:05It's that sort.
0:10:05 > 0:10:09I'm afraid I haven't done it as elegantly as you did.
0:10:09 > 0:10:12You've done it beautifully. Well done.
0:10:12 > 0:10:16The dough of English dumplings like mine soaked up flavour.
0:10:16 > 0:10:19Here, it keeps it all in during cooking.
0:10:23 > 0:10:25It's so, so good.
0:10:25 > 0:10:28You should have a crunch.
0:10:28 > 0:10:30I have got...
0:10:31 > 0:10:35I have got crunch but I've also got that gorgeous pea mixture.
0:10:35 > 0:10:39Another of Nita's speciality parcels is the samosa.
0:10:39 > 0:10:41And helping make some is daughter Meera,
0:10:41 > 0:10:45whose mum's cooking has inspired her to become a writer.
0:10:45 > 0:10:49Tell me about your mum. I mean, she's very well known for her cooking.
0:10:49 > 0:10:53Oh, my gosh, you can smell her cooking throughout the village
0:10:53 > 0:10:56and you know, she cooks frequently
0:10:56 > 0:10:59and in huge batches for community events all the time.
0:10:59 > 0:11:04I'm kind of interested, sort of, how YOU learned to cook.
0:11:04 > 0:11:06I really started to cook when I first went to university
0:11:06 > 0:11:10and I realised that I couldn't make myself anything that I grew up with.
0:11:10 > 0:11:13I rang her up whilst at university and said, "Can I have your recipes?"
0:11:13 > 0:11:16And she said, "Darling, I've never written anything down before.
0:11:16 > 0:11:20"If you want to learn how to cook, you have to come back home and watch me,"
0:11:20 > 0:11:22and that's how I learned how to cook.
0:11:22 > 0:11:25So - that's a neat little parcel.
0:11:25 > 0:11:29They're a lot neater than any samosa I've ever made.
0:11:29 > 0:11:30Would you like to try?
0:11:30 > 0:11:33Um, do you know - I'd love to have a go, actually.
0:11:34 > 0:11:37You need to fold that into a cone
0:11:37 > 0:11:41and then pop in a teaspoon or two of the filling.
0:11:41 > 0:11:45This samosa mix is lamb keema with peas and potatoes.
0:11:45 > 0:11:51- OK, so you just... if you pinch the top closed...- Yes.
0:11:51 > 0:11:56There you go, and then just fold it over. Put some water on that bit.
0:11:56 > 0:11:57Perfect.
0:11:57 > 0:11:59Hmm. I think I need some practice!
0:12:02 > 0:12:03Meera and Nita's samosas
0:12:03 > 0:12:07and kachori are part of an Indian heritage that has travelled
0:12:07 > 0:12:11through terror in Uganda to make a new home alongside English
0:12:11 > 0:12:16favourites, having been embraced by their Lincolnshire neighbours.
0:12:16 > 0:12:19I mean, this must mean a lot to you.
0:12:19 > 0:12:24It means we belong here and it means peace of mind.
0:12:26 > 0:12:29It's quite clear to me that some of this is about food.
0:12:29 > 0:12:33Sharing food is life, and if you can share food with someone,
0:12:33 > 0:12:35you've made a friend for life.
0:12:39 > 0:12:43Nita's generosity of spirit is infectious.
0:12:43 > 0:12:48And it's people like her that have helped open up the British menu
0:12:48 > 0:12:51to include the dazzling array we see around us today.
0:12:54 > 0:12:56Walk down any major high street
0:12:56 > 0:13:00and you can take your pick from the tables of distant countries.
0:13:01 > 0:13:05And since a recent boom in Eastern European shops,
0:13:05 > 0:13:09I've found myself buying more and more delicacies from Poland.
0:13:09 > 0:13:10You know, the great thing is,
0:13:10 > 0:13:14if it wasn't for the thriving Polish community here,
0:13:14 > 0:13:18I would never have even heard of these, let alone eaten them.
0:13:19 > 0:13:24One man who's perfected the art of home-made Polish food is Rafael.
0:13:24 > 0:13:26Trained as a ballroom dancer,
0:13:26 > 0:13:30his passion for the food of his birthplace is so great that
0:13:30 > 0:13:33when he moved here, he hung up his dance shoes
0:13:33 > 0:13:37and opened a stall specialising in one particular Polish dish.
0:13:37 > 0:13:39- Brought your shopping, then? - A lot of shopping, yes.
0:13:39 > 0:13:41Are these the little pierogi you're making?
0:13:41 > 0:13:43Yes, we're going to make pierogi today.
0:13:43 > 0:13:46Cos I love them, I have to say, absolutely adore them.
0:13:48 > 0:13:52Pierogi - a Polish classic served as starter, main and even sweet -
0:13:52 > 0:13:57their filling changes with the season and the region in Poland.
0:13:57 > 0:13:59Rafael's going to show me some of his favourites -
0:13:59 > 0:14:04potato with cottage cheese and mushroom with sauerkraut.
0:14:04 > 0:14:05- Now you need THAT, don't you?- Yes.
0:14:05 > 0:14:08- Shall I put the rest in the fridge? - Please do, yes, please.
0:14:08 > 0:14:11So I'm going to open the flour now. So that's a kilo.
0:14:12 > 0:14:14The dough mixture for pierogi
0:14:14 > 0:14:17is basically the same as for Nita's kachori.
0:14:17 > 0:14:21Flour, water and oil. It's the filling that's different.
0:14:21 > 0:14:25Fried onions and boiled potatoes are essentials.
0:14:25 > 0:14:29- I'll leave them there to cool down a bit.- We'll leave them there and then we'll chill them.
0:14:29 > 0:14:31How long have you been making these?
0:14:31 > 0:14:35My passion for cooking started when I came here to England.
0:14:35 > 0:14:37- When you came here? - When I came here.
0:14:37 > 0:14:40Whereas before, my mum and my grandma would cook for me,
0:14:40 > 0:14:44so I wasn't that interested in cooking in that time.
0:14:45 > 0:14:47Rafael's is a common story.
0:14:47 > 0:14:50People leaving their country of birth often discover that
0:14:50 > 0:14:54regional recipes and flavours can be a way of expressing
0:14:54 > 0:14:56and preserving your identity.
0:14:56 > 0:14:57But it's not always easy.
0:14:58 > 0:15:01I'm just wondering, what sort of Polish food was here
0:15:01 > 0:15:03when you first arrived?
0:15:03 > 0:15:05It must have been slightly different.
0:15:05 > 0:15:07There was not that many available.
0:15:07 > 0:15:12At that time we would get parcels from Poland sent over by bus.
0:15:12 > 0:15:16- Really?- Yeah, we could have a little bag with sausages
0:15:16 > 0:15:18and whatever your mum cooks for you.
0:15:18 > 0:15:19Food that you miss.
0:15:19 > 0:15:20Food that we miss.
0:15:20 > 0:15:23Exactly, and now it's a little bit different because you can buy
0:15:23 > 0:15:27them right on your doorstep so it's much, much easier.
0:15:29 > 0:15:32This first pierogi stuffing is so simple.
0:15:32 > 0:15:36Crumble some firm Polish cottage cheese and add to the boiled
0:15:36 > 0:15:40potatoes and crisped onions with plenty of salt and pepper.
0:15:40 > 0:15:42Mash until smooth.
0:15:42 > 0:15:45The second filling uses an ingredient I'm really
0:15:45 > 0:15:48excited about - sauerkraut.
0:15:48 > 0:15:50- Sauerkraut.- Sauerkraut. - I love this stuff.
0:15:50 > 0:15:54It's something you don't have anything similar to this taste in England.
0:15:54 > 0:15:57We have pickled cabbage, but it's very different.
0:15:57 > 0:16:01It's different. I never found anything, anything like it here.
0:16:01 > 0:16:04After washing then boiling the sauerkraut with
0:16:04 > 0:16:06a couple of bay leaves,
0:16:06 > 0:16:10it's fried with some well-soaked dried mushrooms and their liquid.
0:16:10 > 0:16:13So we've got a lot of mushrooms here, that brings back
0:16:13 > 0:16:17the memories of when we were picking the mushrooms when we were young.
0:16:17 > 0:16:20It's nice. So now we're going to have to fry it
0:16:20 > 0:16:23and it will be about 20-25 minutes even.
0:16:23 > 0:16:27Traditional Polish cooking uses a lot of seasoning,
0:16:27 > 0:16:29including this seasoning sauce,
0:16:29 > 0:16:31which is a sort of Polish Worcester sauce.
0:16:31 > 0:16:34It smells like the woods on a damp autumn day.
0:16:34 > 0:16:36Yeah, I love the smell and this smell brings me
0:16:36 > 0:16:39back to my home during Christmas.
0:16:39 > 0:16:42Because Christmas time, especially,
0:16:42 > 0:16:44we make a lot of sauerkraut and mushroom.
0:16:50 > 0:16:52If these are a Polish Christmas speciality,
0:16:52 > 0:16:54then it's time for the wrapping,
0:16:54 > 0:16:58and the secret to a really good pierogi is sealing it perfectly.
0:16:58 > 0:17:01So what you do is take the cut out and stretch it a little bit
0:17:01 > 0:17:05and then pinch it right on the top here and just stretch it like that.
0:17:05 > 0:17:07So, no water, no egg?
0:17:07 > 0:17:09No water, no egg, nothing, nothing.
0:17:09 > 0:17:10- Can I have a go?- Of course you can.
0:17:13 > 0:17:16What gets me about these little parcels is, one - how much
0:17:16 > 0:17:18they are like ravioli, except that it's a different dough...
0:17:18 > 0:17:22- Different filling. - Different filling, but also like the Japanese gyoza.
0:17:22 > 0:17:25All little dumplings, whether fried, boiled or steamed.
0:17:25 > 0:17:28- The whole world likes hidden treasure.- Exactly.
0:17:31 > 0:17:35This is where you find out if you've sealed the pierogi properly.
0:17:35 > 0:17:37If not, they'll open up when they're put into boiling water
0:17:37 > 0:17:39and the whole lot will turn to soup.
0:17:40 > 0:17:44Once they float to the top, give them a few more seconds,
0:17:44 > 0:17:46then they're done.
0:17:46 > 0:17:49The topping is finely chopped dill with sour cream
0:17:49 > 0:17:52and some of the crispy onions left over from the filling.
0:17:52 > 0:17:54So they are ready to eat.
0:17:54 > 0:17:59We've got cottage cheese and potato, the bright ones and the sauerkraut and mushroom pierogi.
0:18:01 > 0:18:05It must be like a little kind of parcel from home.
0:18:05 > 0:18:07Yeah, parcel from home with memories inside.
0:18:09 > 0:18:14The flavour of these pierogi is uniquely Eastern European,
0:18:14 > 0:18:17but I'm struck by how much they look like their Mediterranean cousins.
0:18:22 > 0:18:27Cappuccino, ciabatta, gelato.
0:18:27 > 0:18:29An espresso, please.
0:18:30 > 0:18:33Food and drinks that can only mean I'm in Italy.
0:18:34 > 0:18:37Except that I'm not. I'm in Bedford.
0:18:42 > 0:18:45One fifth of the population of Bedford is Italian,
0:18:45 > 0:18:48and if there's one thing they're famous for, it's their food.
0:18:49 > 0:18:53I've come to this Italian bakery to meet Elisabetta.
0:18:53 > 0:18:55- Hello.- Pleased to meet you. I'm Liz.
0:18:55 > 0:18:59Known locally as Liz, she moved here from Italy over 50 years ago
0:18:59 > 0:19:03and now works in the family bakery, keeping the taste of home alive.
0:19:03 > 0:19:04This is Chicho.
0:19:04 > 0:19:07That is his son, Antony, I'll introduce you to my brother.
0:19:07 > 0:19:10Salvatore - nice to meet you, Nigel.
0:19:10 > 0:19:11Lovely to meet you.
0:19:12 > 0:19:17This is my son. The main chef/decorator.
0:19:17 > 0:19:19- Have you got the whole family in here?- More or less, yeah!
0:19:20 > 0:19:24I'm thinking, did you arrive here and think, isn't this wonderful?
0:19:24 > 0:19:26- I didn't.- You didn't?
0:19:26 > 0:19:29No. I missed my food.
0:19:29 > 0:19:31Where did you get that love of food from?
0:19:31 > 0:19:33Er, obviously from my mother.
0:19:33 > 0:19:36She used to do an awful lot of cooking.
0:19:36 > 0:19:39Yes. And where did you learn your cooking from?
0:19:39 > 0:19:41Back home, it's part of your life
0:19:41 > 0:19:44and I remember my grandparents, they'd make their own breads,
0:19:44 > 0:19:51they make their own pasta, sauces, that was in part of me anyway.
0:19:51 > 0:19:53Bedford is such a hot spot for Italians because of the
0:19:53 > 0:19:57brickworks that thrived here shortly after World War II.
0:19:57 > 0:20:01Liz and Salvatore's father joined thousands of other Italians
0:20:01 > 0:20:04looking for work when he brought his family here in the '60s.
0:20:04 > 0:20:07Well, these are my parents - my mum and dad.
0:20:07 > 0:20:12That's me and that's my brother, Salvatore. That's in 1962.
0:20:12 > 0:20:14So what age are we talking about?
0:20:14 > 0:20:19Well, I would've been 12 and my brother was 11.
0:20:19 > 0:20:24With somebody at that age, who comes from somewhere where it's
0:20:24 > 0:20:28nearly always sunny, where there is always wonderful food
0:20:28 > 0:20:32and to arrive here, where things must have really been quite different.
0:20:32 > 0:20:36They were. Like now, you can walk into a shop and you can get food that comes from Italy,
0:20:36 > 0:20:38but in those days there wasn't.
0:20:38 > 0:20:40In fact, I remember my grandmother send me
0:20:40 > 0:20:44a parcel with some of the things she knew I liked.
0:20:44 > 0:20:49And a lot of the times, I do home-made pasta still now, especially if one of my grandchild comes.
0:20:49 > 0:20:53I just mix the dough for him and he gets on with it,
0:20:53 > 0:20:57putting it through this little machine I've got at home.
0:20:57 > 0:21:00Liz uses her home-made pasta to make ravioli -
0:21:00 > 0:21:04parcels of Italian flavour, cooked using an old family recipe
0:21:04 > 0:21:06that starts with a well of fine pasta flour.
0:21:06 > 0:21:08I'm not going to use any measurement.
0:21:08 > 0:21:10That's what my mum used to do.
0:21:10 > 0:21:14She used to just put a little bit of this, a little bit of that.
0:21:14 > 0:21:17Right. Now I need a little bit of salt.
0:21:17 > 0:21:20- Ooh! That's quite... That's quite a lot.- Yeah?
0:21:20 > 0:21:22That's more than I put in it. OK.
0:21:22 > 0:21:25Then goes the eggs. A drop of olive oil.
0:21:25 > 0:21:29When I say a drop, OK - there's a bit more than one drop there.
0:21:29 > 0:21:33Just like the Pierogi dough, the pasta is kneaded until smooth
0:21:33 > 0:21:35and then it's on to the filling.
0:21:36 > 0:21:40Liz is a stickler for the real thing, even mincing her own pork
0:21:40 > 0:21:44and beef, which then go into a pan of sizzling garlic.
0:21:44 > 0:21:45There you go.
0:21:45 > 0:21:49Italian staples, celery and onion, with a bit of seasoning
0:21:49 > 0:21:51and that cooks for ten minutes.
0:21:51 > 0:21:54You transfer it to... cooling down a little bit
0:21:54 > 0:21:56and I'll put it through the mincer again,
0:21:56 > 0:21:58so it becomes almost like a paste.
0:21:58 > 0:22:00So, really smooth filling, then?
0:22:00 > 0:22:03Yeah. It becomes almost like a paste.
0:22:03 > 0:22:05It's never occurred to me, actually,
0:22:05 > 0:22:08how smooth and paste-like the filling of ravioli actually is.
0:22:08 > 0:22:12- I hadn't clicked, and I think mine is too coarse and lumpy.- Yeah.
0:22:14 > 0:22:16Put the meat aside to sizzle.
0:22:16 > 0:22:19In another pan, fry more onion, garlic and celery.
0:22:22 > 0:22:24- So this is softening up a little bit.- Yeah.
0:22:24 > 0:22:28Going a little bit translucent, smelling good. Very fragrant.
0:22:31 > 0:22:33Now I can add my passata pomodoro.
0:22:33 > 0:22:36It's quite thick. I'm going to add a bit more water.
0:22:39 > 0:22:43Basil and oregano are followed by a sweet little family secret,
0:22:43 > 0:22:45to take the edge off the tomato.
0:22:45 > 0:22:47One teaspoon of sugar. There you go.
0:22:47 > 0:22:52A little bit of sugar does make a lot of difference.
0:22:52 > 0:22:55Liz puts the cooled meat back through the mincer before
0:22:55 > 0:22:59mixing in Parmesan with a couple of eggs and some fresh parsley.
0:22:59 > 0:23:03Finally, true to the recipe passed on from her mum,
0:23:03 > 0:23:05a spoonful of the rich tomato sauce.
0:23:05 > 0:23:08Liz, the photograph - is that Mum?
0:23:08 > 0:23:11That is, yeah. She's passed away two years now.
0:23:11 > 0:23:13And she still watches you cook?
0:23:13 > 0:23:16Yeah. She's obviously watching over me.
0:23:16 > 0:23:21Make sure I just still keep up the home cooking.
0:23:21 > 0:23:23She was lovely. She was the best mother.
0:23:25 > 0:23:27I miss her.
0:23:31 > 0:23:33Recipes are just lists of ingredients,
0:23:33 > 0:23:37but for Liz, taste is a powerful reminder of her heritage.
0:23:38 > 0:23:42Now that her family is firmly rooted in Bedford, cooking is a wonderful
0:23:42 > 0:23:46way for her to pass on that heritage to her grandchildren, like Kaylun.
0:23:46 > 0:23:48- He's good.- He's good, isn't he?
0:23:48 > 0:23:51- Is that the first time you done it, Kaylun?- Yeah.
0:23:51 > 0:23:54It is, isn't it? That's very good.
0:23:54 > 0:23:58That's it, now gently lift that off. And out comes your ravioli.
0:23:59 > 0:24:01Little pillows of joy.
0:24:07 > 0:24:11A little bit of sauce, a little bit of Parmesan cheese
0:24:11 > 0:24:14and there's your ravioli.
0:24:14 > 0:24:16So this is the moment I get to taste it?
0:24:16 > 0:24:17That is the beautiful moment!
0:24:21 > 0:24:24What do you think of it?
0:24:24 > 0:24:26This is how I want my ravioli to be.
0:24:26 > 0:24:28You know what to do now.
0:24:28 > 0:24:30Thank you. I do.
0:24:30 > 0:24:34Thank you, too. Really. Family effort.
0:24:41 > 0:24:45It's lovely to see that Liz's home-made ravioli keeps
0:24:45 > 0:24:49a little bit of Italy alive in Bedford for her and her family.
0:24:49 > 0:24:53And like the other recipes I've seen in the last few days, they've
0:24:53 > 0:24:56also helped bring a whole world of cooking to the rest of Britain.
0:24:59 > 0:25:03From pierogi to samosas, kachori and ravioli,
0:25:03 > 0:25:07everything I've seen has been about packaging up not just flavours,
0:25:07 > 0:25:10but also memories and heritage.
0:25:10 > 0:25:16It's made me think that I want to take a couple of ingredients that mean a lot to me
0:25:16 > 0:25:20and wrap them up inside...well, inside a little parcel.
0:25:20 > 0:25:24These apple and stilton dumplings with red onion chutney take
0:25:24 > 0:25:27inspiration from my friends' recipes
0:25:27 > 0:25:30and use some of Britain's best ingredients.
0:25:30 > 0:25:33So I'm making a stuffing.
0:25:33 > 0:25:38And I'm starting with apple - these are Coxes. Classic British apple.
0:25:38 > 0:25:40I don't want these apples to brown,
0:25:40 > 0:25:42so I want to squeeze a bit of lemon juice in.
0:25:43 > 0:25:46Apples have a habit of sticking to the pan,
0:25:46 > 0:25:48so I'm going to put in just a little drop of water.
0:25:48 > 0:25:50Pop the lid on.
0:25:50 > 0:25:54Now, while the apples fluff up, I want to make a chutney.
0:25:54 > 0:25:58Put finely sliced red onion into a heavy pan with
0:25:58 > 0:26:01a squeeze of lemon and a dash of white wine vinegar to set
0:26:01 > 0:26:04the beautiful pink of the onions.
0:26:04 > 0:26:07Then just a teaspoon of sugar, a few cloves,
0:26:07 > 0:26:10and half a stick of cinnamon.
0:26:10 > 0:26:12Heat that for ten minutes.
0:26:13 > 0:26:16Now, the apple doesn't take long. Soon as it's fluffy,
0:26:16 > 0:26:18just put it in a bowl to cool a little bit.
0:26:19 > 0:26:23Now, instead of making my own dough, I've got some shop-bought
0:26:23 > 0:26:26all-butter puff pastry.
0:26:26 > 0:26:31Now, when Liz put her pasta through that machine, it was really thin.
0:26:31 > 0:26:34Well, I'm trying to emulate that, really.
0:26:46 > 0:26:52Now, I want to give my guests something very, very British as a thank you.
0:26:52 > 0:26:54Things that they've given me from their countries.
0:26:54 > 0:26:56The ideas and the inspiration.
0:26:57 > 0:27:00This dish is as much theirs as it is mine.
0:27:01 > 0:27:05Now, I could just put the tops on, but I've a better idea.
0:27:07 > 0:27:10Blue cheese is something we do so well in Britain.
0:27:12 > 0:27:16You know, if you think about this, it's just a reconstruction of a Ploughman's lunch.
0:27:16 > 0:27:20You've got the apple, you've got the cheese, and, instead of bread,
0:27:20 > 0:27:22you've got some lovely crisp pastry.
0:27:26 > 0:27:29I'm going to seal these exactly like my mum used to seal her pasties -
0:27:29 > 0:27:32with a finger and thumb. Terribly old-fashioned.
0:27:32 > 0:27:34Rather sweet way of doing it.
0:27:34 > 0:27:38Finally, a quick brush of egg, a hole in the top of each,
0:27:38 > 0:27:42and a scattering of peppery nigella seeds.
0:27:42 > 0:27:47Then, into the oven, 200 degrees for 20-25 minutes.
0:27:47 > 0:27:50Now, there's lemon juice and vinegar in there
0:27:50 > 0:27:53and a little bit of sugar, and I'm just going to add a little
0:27:53 > 0:27:56bit more sweetness in the form of these sultanas.
0:27:59 > 0:28:02I'm just going to leave those to plump up for about 30 minutes.
0:28:07 > 0:28:09They look ready.
0:28:12 > 0:28:18Stilton and apple dumplings with onion and sultana chutney.
0:28:18 > 0:28:22These parcels are a taste of Britain, old and new.
0:28:22 > 0:28:26A combination of flavours of my youth with a multicultural now.
0:28:26 > 0:28:28I can't wait to share them.
0:28:30 > 0:28:34- Hello.- Wow, that looks amazing!
0:28:34 > 0:28:38Each of their little parcels wrapped up a bit of what they loved.
0:28:38 > 0:28:39And mine do, too.
0:28:41 > 0:28:46Bon appetit. THEY LAUGH
0:28:52 > 0:28:55Can I just say - thank you so much for having us here.
0:28:55 > 0:28:57We've really enjoyed it.