Do Yourself a Flavour Nigel Slater's Dish of the Day

'I'm Nigel Slater.

'I'm someone who cooks by instinct and impulse.

'I don't tend to follow recipes,

'I just make things up depending on what I fancy at the time

'and what ingredients I have to hand.'

Supper I didn't know I'd got.

'It's exactly the same when I shop.

'I usually just buy whatever catches my eye

'and then work out what I'm going to cook as the week unfolds.

'Using great ingredients should always be a pleasure,

'and with a bit of creative thinking, you really can

'cook delicious food every day of the week.'

I'm going to show you how I make the most of my weekly shop,

to give you ideas how not to waste a bit of yours.

'This week, I'm going to add a few more flavours

'to my shopping basket,

'like horseradish,

'ricotta cheese

'and Japanese rice wine,

'bringing new life to everyday ingredients.'

Before I do my weekly shop, I like to know what I've got.

I do a little stock take of what's in the fridge

and I try to do something delicious with it.

'I relish the challenge of trying to come up with a new take on

'a sandwich, something that will liven up my leftovers.'

It's usually the same old things. Some tomatoes left.

Little bit of flatbread. I've got some courgettes this time as well.

'Today, spices are going to be my secret weapon.'

I make a very simple spice paste...

..with a few cumin seeds and little bit of coriander.

So I'm just going to bash them a bit.

They don't need to be crushed really fine,

just until they're fragrant and flavoursome.

Now that's just two spices.

I don't want it to be complicated,

but I'm going to put in a little bit of garam masala as well.

I could put in a bit of curry powder or fennel seed,

but I just want to keep this quite mild, quite aromatic.

'Any flavourless oil will help blend the spices together.'

It's just a question of taking what I've already got,

what's there and needs using,

and just adding a little bit of something to make it

just a little bit interesting.

So these courgettes, I'm going to put

into this sort of spicy oil.

I just want the paste to get all over the vegetables,

so makes my sandwich even more delicious.

So we're going to leave those little chaps just to sizzle

on a fairly low heat,

and because they're thinly sliced, they won't take long.

'My pittas just need a few minutes under the grill,

'and the tomatoes will keep everything moist.'

I could pop some garlic in here if I wanted to.

Maybe some spring onions,

little bit of bacon, even. Anything that needs using up.

Going to cut these in half.

I want to make a little pocket to hold my filling.

So I've got a deliciously sloppy sandwich,

and I've got a clean slate to start shopping again.

'This is such a great way to clean out the fridge

'and bring new life to old ingredients. With spices to hand,

'you'll never be at a loss with your leftovers again.

'I often find when I shop, I'm on autopilot.

'The trouble is, when you open the fridge

'and you see you have the same old ingredients,

'it's tempting to cook the same meals.

'I've got my regulars. Minced beef,

'some fish...

'..fresh vegetables.

'But the difference is, this week,

'I'm going to add a few less familiar ingredients

'to inspire me to come up with some fresh ideas,

'maybe just trying a few new things out.'

I'm after some ricotta.

Some ricotta? Excellent.

I'm going to give you a little bit of this one.

Voila.

It's so cool.

And so many cheeses are creamy, and that's milky.

And it's got a sweetness to it, and it's just very light.

-I never knew what to do with it.

-I think it's a cheese with a very poor

PR agent because traditionally, people use it to fill pasta.

-That's right.

-Spinach and ricotta, you get tortellinis, raviolis.

I'm going to put it into burgers.

So a little bit of minced beef and a little bit of ricotta to lighten it

and to sweeten it.

-That'll be very good.

-That's my plan.

-Thank you.

-Thank you very much.

'The truth is, I get a bit bored when I eat the same old food.

'I want to keep things new and exciting.

'So, as I use up this week's shop, I'm going to be making a few dishes

'that will add some surprising flavours

'to make sure these ingredients get a new lease of life

'and they don't go to waste.

'Sunday's recipe is going to be a bit of an experiment,

'a deviation from a classic beef burger, using my ricotta.'

Because it's mild, it's incredibly versatile.

But that mildness is accompanied with a little bit of piquancy,

a little bit of sharpness.

And that will really bring out the flavour of the beef.

So I'm going to mix those two together,

and then think about what else I can put in.

Now, you could use chives, but I've got spring onions.

And they cook very quickly,

so they're perfect for something like this.

Something a little bit salty to go in there as well.

'Beef loves the sharpness of capers,

'and that's really the trick of how to invigorate

'an everyday ingredient.

'All I'm doing is finding flavours

'that will make an ordinary bit of mince sing.'

There's so many flavourings that are actually sitting in the cupboard,

sitting in the window box,

sitting in the garden, that you can just add

to an everyday ingredient to really bring it to life.

Rosemary's quite a spiky herb, so it needs chopping really quite finely.

So mix these together,

and then just take a small amount of it

and just make little burgers.

What I've actually done is

I've lightened it with the ricotta cheese.

I've made the whole thing a little bit fresher.

'These little patties will sizzle gently on a moderate heat

'while I prepare a burger relish using an ingredient

'that will partner both the beef and the ricotta perfectly.'

Sun-dried tomatoes. These are the ones that are in oil,

and they work beautifully with ricotta.

I'm going to chop those.

They've got masses of flavour as they are, so they don't need much seasoning.

I'm going to put a little bit of sherry vinegar in there.

Little bit sharp, little bit mild, little bit sweet

and it'll work really well with those salty, smoky notes.

Don't worry if the burgers crumble in the pan, this is rustic cooking.

But if you want to, pop them in the fridge for a hour or two beforehand,

or add some breadcrumbs.

I've got a nice airy bread roll.

Pop one of these little chaps in here...like that...

and just a little bit of this smoky relish.

They're burgers, but not as we know them.

It was worth the trip to the deli and paying for good flavours.

This simple twist on a classic beef burger has really cheered up

my everyday mince and I have a head start on Monday's mealtime too.

After a busy weekend,

I don't want to think too much about what I'm going to cook on Monday.

And when I've got leftovers, it can be a struggle to become

excited about eating the same thing again.

You know, you'd think that once you made a burger there's no going back.

But there's a very simple way to make the left-over's from last night's supper

into an exciting meal for today.

I've already got the wonderful marriage of ricotta, beef and sun dried tomatoes

and I know these flavours will sit just as comfortably crumbled into pasta.

This simple recipe allows me to add vegetables from my weekly shop too.

Chop a red onion...

..and add to a pan with a good glug of oil to soften.

Slice a couple of tomatoes for freshness and moisture.

Now I'm making the most of my sun-dried tomato burger relish.

And then, simply crumble the leftover burgers into the mix.

While I heat my impromptu sauce through,

the tagliatelle I bought will cook in a matter of minutes.

And then it's on to the plate,

trickle a little of the oil from my jar of sun-dried tomatoes over the pasta,

throw in a few basil leaves and then spoon a generous helping on top.

A rustic and rapid way to transform yesterday's supper

into today's tagliatelle.

Suddenly, Monday's don't seem so bad after all.

Because I don't plan my week's suppers,

I sometimes have to be pretty inventive with the ingredients I have in the fridge.

But for me that's part of the pleasure -

creating something tasty from seemingly nothing.

Usually I've got plenty of vegetables

and this week I've got beetroot and new potatoes.

So I'm going to get those on to steam -

and I just use a colander in a big pan with a lid on.

It's a bit Heath Robinson but it works.

But I've also got other bits and bobs

I want to do something interesting with.

Some of the most fun I have in the kitchen

is when I don't really have a plan - just seeing what happens.

I know my vegetables will make a satisfying supper

if I just look and see what I can use to add some interest.

I've got a few herbs in the garden...

I'll have a look, see what I've got.

The principle ingredient of this are those little new potatoes,

and whenever I think of potatoes I think of mint.

So, I'm going to make a main course salad of new potatoes and beetroot

and a dressing using the bacon and its fat with some herbs

and maybe something else.

So first, while my vegetables steam,

I'm going to cook my streaky bacon on a low heat,

melting its fat to form the backbone of a flavoursome dressing.

If you've got nice ingredients and you put them together,

you'll end up with a nice supper, really.

You might occasionally get it wrong or make a mistake -

but it's not the end of the world.

I've picked up some horseradish from the greengrocer

and it's definitely one of those ingredients that can really

change a dish into something spectacular.

Quite spicy, quite hot.

It's just got...an amazing flavour.

There's nothing quite like horseradish.

It's got the heat, I suppose, of wasabi or mustard,

but it's completely different.

Grating some of this flavour will transform my dressing.

I mean, it does pack a punch, so you don't need that much of it.

Now this bacon is starting to crisp and I've also got lovely bacon fat in the pan.

So that little bit of heat, that bit of soft warmth that's going to go right the way through this,

from the horseradish, I'll start that now by sprinkling it in.

It'll take around ten minutes or so for my vegetables to soften.

I'm just going to cut them in half

so that cut side soaks up the bacon fat.

And now the vegetables will eagerly absorb the dressing.

So I've got the earthy root vegetables.

I've got the clean taste of the mint,

a little bit of heat from the horseradish,

and I've got that lovely crisp, crisp bacon.

All that needs is a little black pepper,

and a LITTLE salt - the bacon's quite salty enough.

Sometimes I know what I'll cook - I've got it in my head -

and other times I just open the fridge door

and I genuinely don't know until I start.

A supper I didn't know I'd got.

That's the beauty of just giving things a go - you come up with new ideas.

I've realised that adding some horseradish really elevates

some ordinary ingredients to an exciting new level.

Good morning.

During the weekly shop, I met Tom from the deli,

who inspired me to sample some new flavours.

We've got some wonderful British cheeses.

They surprise me the most.

Got nice long, long finish to it, hasn't it? Very, very nice indeed.

Thank you. Bye-bye.

In return, I've offered to cook him dinner.

But really, it's an excuse to see if his own cupboards at home

are as much of a treasure trove as his shop.

Can I have a rummage in your fridge?

Yep, fire ahead.

I'm vegetarian so you won't find any animals in there, dead or alive.

-OK. Oh, no, there isn't, is there? A lot of veg here, Tom!

-Yes!

And good old peppers. They're always there, aren't they?

Always there. The problem with veg is that at the end of the week,

or the fortnight, there's a lot of it left, as well.

Yeah, it's that thing of buying too much food.

Or of buying the same old things because you feel safe with them

and then you open the fridge and think,

-what will I do with this? AGAIN!

-Hm. Absolutely.

We need new ways of perking things up.

And that's exactly what I'm going to do with Tom's peppers.

It's one of our most popular vegetables

but how many times have you been left with one at the bottom of the fridge come the end of the week?

If I've had a long day, I want to come home to something that...

I don't have to read a recipe, I just do it.

And so that's why I end up buying the same things.

With these, because they're so lovely...I think I'm just going to cook those...

I could roast them, and if I'd got all the time in the world, I would.

Because when you roast a pepper,

-sometimes you get this incredible sweetness.

-Oh, yes. Yes.

But I'm actually going to cook them quite quickly.

-I'm going to just leave those to do a bit of sizzling.

-Okey dokey.

-For a while.

-Listen, can I have your tomatoes?

-Absolutely.

I can't remember ever seeing my fridge without...tomatoes in it.

I'm just going to chop these up.

-Peppers and tomatoes are always at home together.

-Yes, absolutely.

If I put the tomatoes in at the same time, we'll get the juice.

-It's a nice colour, isn't it?

-It's fabulous.

It's just cheerful food, it makes your heart sing when you see stuff like this in a pan.

-Can I have a look in your cupboards?

-Please do.

-Whoa, you've got a lot.

-Very exotic stuff.

Do like your spices!

It is like going into a little spice market.

A little Aladdin's cave of flavour.

Why are other people's cupboards more fascinating than your own?

As I guessed, the man from the deli has jars aplenty

hidden away in his cupboards. And the fridge.

Got some harissa paste... What do you normally use this for?

Why would you have this?

I often spoon it into pasta - just quickly toss it through some pasta with a little oil,

it makes the pasta spicy and a bit flavoursome.

That's the lovely thing about these ready-made pastes and things

you can use them however you want.

Of course, all of these chilli pastes vary so much in heat,

and it really is worth just...

little bit on your little finger, and a quick taste just to make sure.

That one's wonderful. It's got this incredible long-lasting heat.

Just a couple of teaspoonfuls of this harissa

will liven up the peppers and tomatoes.

Some chickpeas will bulk it out and salt will season.

Now those tomatoes that have squished down with the harissa have made almost an impromptu sauce.

And a squeeze of lemon juice

provides a spark of acidity to the sweetness of the peppers and tomatoes.

You know, I'm eyeing your basil over there.

Let me bring it close to you, then.

For me, it's that thing of ingredients that work together.

That are comfortable.

-Tomatoes, peppers, basil...

-And basil.

-Always works.

How do you keep your basil plants alive?

Keep them kind of dry. Don't give it too much water.

It seems to grow better. It stays alive better.

There are so many dying basil plants by people's sinks.

-Oh, the smell of the basil now is fantastic, isn't it?

-Let's tuck in.

-Where's your bowls, Tom?

-Yep, in there, in there.

-Brilliant.

Let me get some spoons while you do that. The sauce is nice and thick now too. It's thickened out.

This cheerful recipe is fast and wholesome

and uses up a few jars from the cupboards too.

Just tip a little bit of that juice...

Cheers. Bon appetit.

So, let's have a look.

-It smells wonderful.

-It does, doesn't it?

-Now, you see?

-Delicious, isn't it?

-Has it perked up your peppers, Tom?

It has certainly perked up my peppers, and my chick peas, as well.

-Good.

-Thank you.

-Pleasure.

Tom's kitchen is full of spicy aromas,

and our peppers, the unsung heroes, are the star of the show once again.

For my Thursday supper, I fancy something light, speedy and simple.

I bought some fish and if I don't use it tonight,

I know it'll go to waste.

Salmon is a really popular fish.

Everyone seems to like it, I certainly do.

Finds its way into my shopping basket sometimes,

but I have to be careful I don't always do the same thing with it.

So I like to have something in the cupboard that will help me to transform it.

I've got a few ingredients that I'm going to throw together,

starting with four tablespoons of the Japanese rice wine mirin,

that you can buy from an oriental supermarket or a good deli,

and then a tablespoon each of sesame oil and groundnut oil.

Marinate the salmon for at least half an hour -

the longer the better.

When the flavours have had time to work their way into the fish,

give it a covering of sesame seeds.

And then pan fry for about six minutes.

Just as the skin turns crisp, flip to the other side for a final minute.

Adding flavour to an everyday ingredient doesn't always have to be

as obvious as herbs and spices.

This combination of fish,

sweet wine and nutty sesame is perfect to savour on its own.

Come the end of the week, I really don't want to have anything left lying around from the weekly shop.

If there is, there's always something you can do to

ensure that it'll never go to waste.

I got really, really excited when I saw these lemons when I was shopping

and I wasn't sure what I was going to use them for, but I just

knew that they were ripe they were juicy and I just had to have them.

But I haven't done any baking this week and I love a cake for the weekend.

So lemon cake it is.

I've got the store cupboard staples - flour, sugar, some butter,

but I have a plan to add something a little more unusual.

Some baking's actually quite complicated,

but I make a very simple cake,

You start with equal quantities of butter and sugar. About 200 of each.

I'm using golden caster sugar, cos it's got a slight butterscotch note,

and it gives the cake a really good colour.

I want it to be really creamy and light - almost like ice-cream.

So I'm using two of these large lemons and I just want the very fine outer zest.

I can't sleep if there isn't a cake in the house. Just HAS to be one.

It's that moment when somebody walks through the door -

if you can give them a slice of cake then it's just a great feeling.

Beat four eggs and add gradually to the mix.

I'm substituting half the flour with ground almonds, for a richer, more moist cake.

Because I want my cake to be fairly light, I'm going to put a little bit of baking powder in.

Just a teaspoon, maybe bit more.

The lemons would be the star ingredient of this cake

on their own.

But it's time to experiment with an ingredient that I think will make all the difference.

Sounds a little bit strange putting thyme into a cake,

but one of the loveliest things I've eaten were little scones that had got lemon thyme in them.

It smells quite intoxicating.

My cake mix just needs one final slow whiz,

adding the flour and almonds a little at a time,

until I have a soft creamy mixture for my cake tin.

Just smooth that down a little bit. And then that goes in the oven.

A small cake like this needs just 25 minutes at 160 degrees.

Which gives me time to think about how I can use the real treasure in my lemons

and work a bit more of that herby flavour into my cake.

I like a cake that is really juicy and moist,

so I'm going to make a little syrup, with the lemon juice and the thyme.

Squeeze the lemon juice and mix a cup or so of sugar

with some more thyme leaves.

Combine the herby sugar with the lemon juice

in a pan over the heat, to let the sugar dissolve.

I think these might be done.

When my cakes are ready, piercing them all over will help them

to absorb the extra burst of flavour from my syrup.

So what I end up with

is something sweet,

sharp...and sticky.

When the weather outside's a little bit rainy -

when I can hear little freckles of rain on the roof - then that to me is the time to bake.

Take these and put them somewhere just for the juice to soak in,

give them time to sort of gather their thoughts.

Poised between pudding and cake.

Very moist.

And very lemony.

And then you've got the warmth of the thyme in the background.

It's a lovely way to end a rainy day.

The flavour of these lemons is even better than I'd hoped,

but adding the thyme takes this cake to a whole new level.

This week I've livened up my weekly shop by adding a few more interesting ingredients.

I've experimented a lot,

but managed to make the most of everything I've bought.

Next time, I'll be cooking a few recipes

that prove just how simple it can be to make the quality ingredients in my weekly shop

go that little bit further.

It's seriously wonderful.

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