Noodles Nigel Slater: Eating Together

Walk through any British city

and you won't have far to go before you find some unfamiliar produce.

It's all too easy to walk past shops that are a bit different,

but I just can't resist having a look.

From Japanese to Jamaican, Brazilian to Bangladeshi,

food in this country has never been so exciting.

What a crazy colour. Amazing green.

Oh, look!

Now I want to meet some of the unsung heroes behind it all.

There's no better way to get an insight into people's lives

than through the food they eat.

So I'm going to meet some of the brilliant home cooks

that have brought their cuisine and their culture to Britain

Praise from you is praise indeed.

To find out what, why and how they cook.

I'm just one boy who loves to cook.

-I'm one boy who loves to cook, as well.

-That's it!

Sharing food is nice, and if you can share food with someone,

you've made a friend for life.

In exchange for the generosity of these home cooks,

I'm going to make my own dish to put with theirs in a celebration

of what makes us so different, but also what brings us together.

Whether it's chow mein, pad thai or tagliatelle,

the noodle is loved throughout the world

and everybody has put their mark on it.

At their most basic, noodles are just flour and water, yet,

with a bit of love, they become wonderful ribbons,

but it's what you do with the noodles that makes them unique.

I'm going to meet three devoted home cooks who I hope will show me

the secrets and the flair

that goes into the noodle dishes loved in their mother countries.

The whole world loves a noodle.

Like many of us in the UK, my first introduction to noodles

was Italian spaghetti, and a recipe we all know.

So before I go anywhere I want to cook spaghetti bolognese, my way.

I've got my own version quite different from the usual one.

My version coats the noodles in all those familiar

and comforting flavours, but instead of mince I'm using short ribs.

Now, I can remember when spaghetti bolognese was really exotic.

I was about 9 or 10 years old and everything was meat,

potatoes and greens and then Mum came home

with the ingredients for spaghetti bolognese...

..and everything changed.

Add chopped onions, carrots for sweetness,

and a bay leaf or two to the meat and roast for about half an hour.

In my version, I use fresh tomatoes rather than tinned.

It feels a bit more authentic Italian, even if the dish isn't.

Spaghetti bolognese is something that was invented

by Italian chefs, but when they came to Britain in the '60s

and they thought this was what we'd like.

The classic ragu sauce of Bologna,

which is never served with spaghetti,

is a very long-simmered dish.

And if you're going truly authentic you'd have it with tagliatelle.

Add a good splosh of beef stock and as much garlic as you dare.

I could crush it. I could slice it.

I'm actually going to put the whole head in.

And then this lot goes back in the oven for a good hour.

What I love about noodles is they're so versatile they go with almost

anything. They're the perfect partner to soak up other flavours.

What's going on here is utterly glorious,

so all the goodness from those bones has gone into that sauce.

I'm just going to let them rest a bit.

The soft, roasted garlic is mild and sweet.

And now I just squash the tomatoes.

What I'm actually doing here is concentrating the flavours.

All the goodness from those beef bones,

all the juice from the tomatoes, the sweetness from the garlic.

It's all going in there.

You know, I do love the classic recipe made with mince,

but this is going to be so much more succulent.

I can't wait to eat this.

You know, this is big food, it's big flavours.

There's a lot going on here.

There's the sweetness, there's the sharpness

and there's all that sticky fat from the meat.

It's not formal cooking, it's just fun food.

Time for the spaghetti to bring the whole dish together.

How good does that look?

You know, all the ingredients of the classic bolognese are here,

but in there my way.

A simple ingredient.

Born in Italy, but every bit a part of modern British life.

Of course, it's not just the Italians

who bring out the best in these.

First on my tour of new flavours to try with noodles

is a Spanish speciality.

But, instead of Spain, I'm heading to Narberth in South Wales.

This decade has seen a large influx of Spanish immigrants to the UK.

But the lady I'm meeting today made Britain home a long time ago.

Maria left the orange groves of Valencia

when she married an Englishman 48 years ago.

Let's go have a look and see a little bit of Spain.

'Valencia feels very much alive in Narberth.

'Maria's Spanish home cooking is heavily indulged by her son's deli.'

What a little find!

I can't believe this is here, I just can't believe this is here.

Here we are, for the fideua.

So the dish that you're cooking for me today, this is what we need.

We need that. We need nora.

That is noras. Noras. It's not chilli.

-Spanish peppers.

-Yeah, Spanish peppers,

which they used to dry outside in the street.

That will bring the flavour of the fish, 100%.

'Maria's enthusiasm for Spain's wonderful ingredients

'is positively infectious.'

Try some of the cheeses. A nice piece of Manchego.

Wow! That is gorgeous.

Look at that.

-Oh, isn't that beautiful?

-Isn't that beautiful?

Mira!

Morcilla.

Ah, so this is black pudding.

Oh, Maria.

I can't tell you how good this is.

Mira, mira, mira, mira, mira!

SHE SPEAKS SPANISH

You're going to get me into trouble.

We're going to have fun today! SHE LAUGHS

You don't want to move to north London, do you, by any chance?

With you I'd go to the end of the world, OK?

I'd follow you!

Oh, my Lord, this is going to be the best day of my life.

'I get the sense that Spanish Maria

'has made quite an impact in Narberth.'

Oh, look at that! The lovely monkfish.

-So handsome!

-Yeah!

We need the mussels and the squid. Yes, I would like two of those.

So, have you eaten some of Maria's food?

Of course, yes!

Everybody in the county has eaten some of Maria's food.

Fideua is a Valencian noodle dish that gets centre stage for special

occasions, and we're cooking it for Maria's friends and family.

Come in.

I can't keep up with you.

OK, the most important thing there is, is to do your stock.

-Simple fish stock?

-Yeah.

'Just like my spaghetti, the secret to Maria's dish

'is plenty of robust flavours. Those dark nora peppers will give

'the stock loads of depth, along with the monkfish.'

'And a pinch of saffron.'

Oh! You're grating the tomato.

Yeah, we're going to use that later for the fideua.

-But that is going inside.

-Ah!

Ah. The magic ingredient now. We just put...

-Thought it might be. Cheers. Salut.

-Salut.

'The stock simmers away for 20 minutes.

'A pinch of salt and a squeeze of lemon finishes it off.'

And chuck it in there.

'Now for the hard work.'

I love mussels.

We have the paella dish. There we are.

And we'll go outside in the garden. There you are, you can carry that.

Are we going to cook in the garden? Seriously?

In the garden, yes! Like it used to be!

'If this dish looks familiar,

'it's because it was never intended for noodles.

'It started out as traditional Spanish seafood paella.'

The story about the fideua is about the people that went to do a paella

and then they forgot the rice but then he said, "Pepe!

"Where is the rice?" and Pepe said, "Ha!"

"Bring us something else!", and then, "So, well, we put the fideos."

And that is how it was.

So this is a dish born of an accident?

Of an accident, yes.

This is a happy accident.

'In goes chopped onion, some lovely sun-dried Spanish peppers

'and the grated tomato.'

We need now the fideua, the pasta. Put it all in there.

'Fideo noodles are just like Italian spaghetti, but in tiny strands,

'and Maria cooks hers directly in the pan with everything else

'and a good dusting of smoky Spanish paprika.'

Now we need the stock.

You better go get the stock now, now, quickly! Quickly.

-I'm going!

-Now, please!

Come on, then, Nigel, this is ready!

'The cooked fish is added back in, along with crushed, salted almonds,

'garlic and parsley, known in Spain as picada.'

Then you take the newspaper, you put it there

so it will not evaporate too quickly.

'Maria's impromptu rustic lid can be replaced with foil, if you prefer.'

-So that's resting.

-So why did I clean all those mussels?

Oh, my God! The mussels! Go quickly!

Go! SHE LAUGHS

OK, we'll cover that now. There we are.

It'll be fine, just five minutes. Salut!

-Salut!

-Salut!

'Seems like the perfect time to find out more about this Spanish lady

'and her late English husband Paul, who made 1960s Britain their home.'

I didn't speak any English at all, and then we arrive and it was

Sunday lunchtime and all the shops were closed, but there was a little

shop, a corner shop, so Paul went and he buy Fray Bentos pie because it's

the only thing and sliced bread, which I never, never had in my life,

and some Nescafe coffee.

And I went back in the sofa and I sit down and I cried,

"I want to go home, I don't want to stay here!

"Please, let's go home."

So a pie in a tin, sliced bread and instant coffee.

-And instant coffee.

-Welcome to Britain!

That's it! SHE LAUGHS

My goodness. Very good!

I've never known pasta soak up so much flavour! What a joy.

-What a joy!

-Thank you, Maria. Thank you so much!

Thank you. Thank you.

I can tell it means a lot to Maria

to share a taste of home with others.

There he comes!

Well, salut! Nigel, it's been a pleasure meeting you.

-You too.

-It's really been fantastic.

Cheers, everybody.

'Maria's noodle dish is a vibrant celebration

'of her Valencian heritage...'

'..a dish that unites families in Spain,

'and that's doing the same thing for her here, in this corner of Wales.'

From this colourful centre piece to food on the go,

noodles mean all sorts of things to us.

But what most of us have in common is we get them from a packet.

I've found a place where they tend to make their noodles from scratch.

Steffi grew up in Stuttgart, Germany,

where cooking is a passion and where making noodles is an art form.

The word noodle actually originated in Germany.

-Hello.

-Hello.

-Come in.

-Nice to meet you.

'Steffi left Germany for Belfast at the end of the '90s.'

'She brought with her a legacy of family recipes

'passed down the generations.'

Steffi, what are you making today?

In the south of Germany, we have our very own noodle tradition

and they're called spatzle.

-Spatzle?

-Spatzle. We have them with everything.

And these are slightly different,

I think, from any noodles I've come across, in the way we make them.

So I hope I can show you something new today.

'All noodles are made from some kind of flour and water,

'give or take an egg or some olive oil.

'Steffi's family recipe starts with flour and eggs.'

Where did you learn this recipe? Where did it come from?

My mum would make them, my granny would make them.

Everyone would be making them around me,

so, at some point, you just want to try it.

Sparkling water.

We believe sparkling water makes the dough just a little bit lighter.

Usually, I use an electric mixer, but I was told off for that

because that's just laziness.

'There's a lot of technique to making spatzle and it's down to some

'treasured tools and a few of Grandma's secrets.'

Now, this is the tricky bit.

Oh, beautiful. Look at those. So a really thin amount of dough?

For me, it's very difficult making this dish in some respect,

because I always feel the shadow of my mother and my grandmothers

and my great-grandmothers watching over me, just thinking,

"This is not how you do it,

"it should be done much thinner, quicker."

The name spatzle means small sparrow. It's probably to do...

-Small sparrow?

-Small sparrow.

Oh, how lovely!

So if they get too big, my mum used to take them out straight away

and say, "That's not sparrows, that's pigeons."

For me, the spatzle always, they're always very,

very close to my heart, because the moment I eat them, the moment

I make them, it's just like taking me right back into my childhood.

Go for it!

Um, you did it like that, didn't you?

-You didn't do it like that.

-That would probably be an eagle!

-That would be an eagle!

-Golden eagle.

-An albatross!

SHE LAUGHS

It actually doesn't take that long to get the hang of it.

-How many years did you try for?

-SHE LAUGHS

-26!

-THEY LAUGH

That one is so mine!

Yeah, that's a nice pigeon!

You can serve that as a dish on its own.

Just with a bit of butter and salt!

This, to me, is comfort food.

It is comfort food and you want them to soak up the sauce,

if you have them with a... like a casserole dish.

My favourite is just layering them with cheese.

Put them in the oven, have a bit of fried onion on top of that.

That's just my absolute favourite. It's not diet food.

No, well...

Who needs diet food?

'The dishes we most identify with are often the ones that comfort us.'

'I've got a fitting tribute to go with Steffi's gorgeous spatzle.'

'Instead of soaking up the flavours like Maria's,

'I want to give these a rich coating of creamy sauce.

'A sort of Anglo-German macaroni cheese.'

So I'm just going to grate this lovely smoky cheese into here.

'Melt Bavarian cheese into a pan of cream, add black pepper,

'tear in a few slices of smoky German speck.'

I'm a tearer. I like jagged edges.

That's the thing about comfort food, as well - you don't want

comfort food to be arranged in neat layers, it has to be rough.

No, because it does exactly the opposite of comfort.

'Spread out the noodles and then smother with the sauce.'

'Steffi's traditional fried onions finish off our dish.'

That's looking good.

'After a quick stint in a hot oven, Steffi's noodles

'and our Anglo-German lunch are ready to eat.'

That's just perfect.

You know, every noodle all over the world,

it's basically flour and water. In some cases, flour, water and egg,

but they all are so different.

Well, it's lovely, and the textures,

it comes really together really well.

This is a deeply, deeply soothing dish.

'Despite Germany's noodle heritage,

'they aren't a nation you would naturally associate with noodles.'

Thailand, on the other hand, is.

The Thai community in the UK is actually quite small,

yet their food has made a big impression.

-Hello.

-Good morning, Nigel.

Lovely to meet you.

'I've come to Wimbledon to meet Mickey, who, like most Thais,

'is a practising Buddhist.'

-Have you been here before?

-No.

As you can see, it is quite magnificent.

Welcome to Buddhapadipa Temple.

I've lived in London for, feels like for ever,

and I had no idea this was here.

'Mickey came to England seven years ago,

'but, as a 23-year-old in Bangkok, he followed tradition

'by living as a monk for the duration of the rainy season.

'As one of the rules is that monks may not prepare their own food,

'he relied wholly on the generosity of others for all his meals.

'Now he's returning the favour.'

This is the monks' lunch. I've brought a lunch for monks today.

-You've cooked for them?

-We cook for them.

It's spiritual. We believe that whatever you offer to the monks,

you have it in return somehow,

so you have to do the best food ever.

So, 5.30 this morning, woke up, make it fresh and here we are.

Please come in, Nigel. This is the monk residence.

How beautiful is that?

The monks, they're not allowed to bite.

So you have to make sure you make it bite size.

So everything in really small pieces.

You've got eclairs!

They've got eclairs!

'Offering food is one of the oldest rituals in Buddhism

'and one that helps keep the community here strong,

'even if the Thai population is actually quite small.'

'To keep a little piece of Thailand alive in Wimbledon

'must take dedication.

'I want to know what, and why, Mickey cooks what he cooks.'

Watching you this morning,

preparing the food for the monks with such care,

it was very obvious that it meant a lot to you.

My grandpas and my grandmas said, you know, whatever you want to eat

in your next life, you have to give that to the monks.

We all do it with heart,

like, you know, we put our heart into cooking, so, these noodles

that we're going to cook, both of us are going to cook together today,

is coming from northern part of Thailand, Chiang Mai.

And this dish makes me miss my grandma,

cos every time she'd cook at home,

I'd be in front of her and have it all.

I'm not a chef, I'm just one boy who loves to cook.

-I'm one boy who loves to cook as well.

-That's it!

'Mickey's Chiang Mai-inspired khao soi noodles

'are kicked off by heating a good dollop of curry paste.'

Right, so, I'm going to stir the chicken in.

And can I do this in a big frying pan?

Not recommended, though. The reason I do it in a pot

is because you want to keep the temperature.

Ah, OK.

This is coming from my mum.

-All the best tips come from Mum.

-Yeah!

It's looking good.

'Add a pinch of curry powder and that Thai essential, coconut milk.'

And then put the stock on top.

Is that vegetable stock, chicken stock?

-Chicken stock.

-Chicken stock, OK.

'There're some things you just can't explain in a recipe.'

Right, so, now, medium heat. It's rock and roll bubble.

They got rock and roll, which is like boom, boom, boom, boom.

And then you've got a jazz bubble.

The jazz were like very slow-cooking bubbles.

-Do you have hip-hop bubbles?

-Yeah, you can do hip-hop bubbles.

OK, fine.

Flavour, tonnes. Fish sauce. This is palm sugar.

'Now that just needs to happily bubble away.'

This is me, when I was a monk.

Oh, what a lovely picture.

I was a monk for four months.

At the end it was quite challenging for the reason that there are

so many rules protecting you,

-There's a lot of rules!

-Rules, mm-hm.

Two meals a day, breakfast and lunch.

So once it's lunch time and that's eaten,

-that's your food for the day?

-Yeah.

I mean, did that change the way you think about food?

Yes. You learn.

-Whatever you have, and you do the best with it.

-Yes.

You cook a lot of Thai food, don't you?

Mm-hm, yeah. Thai food, to me, is very, very important.

The flavour that I cook at home does remind me of my family.

You know, like today, we cooked khao soi, you know, it's my home recipe,

and it makes me feel happy and makes me feel home always.

'Time for the star of the show, egg noodles.'

These fresh noodles take almost no time to cook, do they?

It's just minutes, seconds.

Seconds, yeah.

So I'll put it on low heat. Just want to keep it nice and tidy.

Yeah, I think it's good now.

'Dark soy sauce adds flavour,

'but Mickey's got a crisp little treat on the hob.'

Oh, my word! I've never seen noodles fried like that.

Fantastic. A little noodle nest. Can I?

Yes, please do.

Our khao soi curry is ready.

Oh, that smells so, so good.

Right, so the garnish.

What's not to like?

There's nothing elegant about eating noodles, is there?

Oh, Mickey.

How is it?

It's absolutely heaven!

That is just utterly...

Whoa! Spicy!

-In the back?

-Yeah.

-Uh-huh.

The thing I've taken away from this is that it's happy food.

Exactly!

It's seriously happy food. It's good-time food.

Good-time food, yeah.

You can't possibly have a bad time when you're tucking in

to noodles and coconut and chillies and lime and it's good-time cooking.

From fideua to spatzle and khao soi noodles,

every dish I've seen has harnessed not just the flavours,

but also the traditions and togetherness.

My challenge is to come up with a dish of my own

with some of those same special qualities.

I've got Maria, Steffi and Mickey coming to dinner,

and I want to give them something from me

which has been inspired by them.

So I'm giving them my crisp Parmesan noodle cake

with a basil-infused cream sauce.

I'm using linguine because it's one of the first pastas I ever cooked.

While the noodles cook, I'm going to start infusing

lots of cream for the dipping sauce.

You know, I love the way Maria infused her stock

and I've got these lovely, almost fruity chillies.

They smell like spicy raisins.

And I'm going to infuse the sauce with these.

Zingy lemon zest and an onion spiked with cloves add depth and flavour.

Then that just needs to infuse while I get on with the noodles.

Steffi loved cheese with her comforting spatzle, so I'm going

to coat mine with Parmesan, smoked garlic and black pepper.

This is why I didn't put any olive oil on this pasta.

I actually wanted it to stick together a little bit.

One of the things that dazzled me about Mickey's cooking was

the textures and the fact that on top of all those soft noodles

was this layer of crispness. And I love that.

So mine are going into a pan to crisp up.

On the outside, I think these noodles are going to be quite crisp.

Inside, I want them to have that little bit of softness.

These noodles will really keep in the flavour,

so instead of coating them with the sauce,

I want something you can dip into.

I've whizzed up basil with olive oil

to give it a familiar and fresh kick.

Stir it in and serve on the side.

So, I've got that crisp outside and then the soft

pasta in the middle - that's exactly what I wanted.

My noodles are a bit of everything.

They bring together old flavours I know well

with some of the new ones I've discovered.

Oh, look at that!

-Can I try?

-Yeah, yeah, yeah. Tuck in.

'Steffi, Mickey, Maria and her family are all part of a new and

'exciting culinary heritage in this country, one I want to celebrate.'

-Salut!

-Salut!

-It's been a pleasure to meet you.