Simple Treats Nigel Slater's Dish of the Day

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

I tend not to follow recipes, I just make things up depending

on what I fancy at the time and whatever ingredients I have to hand.

It is seriously wonderful.

It's exactly the same when I shop, I usually just buy whatever catches

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

Using up 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, it's all about simplicity, as I get the best

expensive ingredients, like top quality chicken, seafood

and steak, and find really easy ways to make them go further.

For me, one of the best bits about Saturday

is the challenge of creating something really delicious

and using everything up before I do my next week's shopping.

Often it's a sandwich

and today I've got some great salmon that will make it feel like a treat.

The truth is that as much as I love cooking,

I love making sandwiches, especially what I call found sandwiches.

The things that you didn't really know you'd got till you went through the fridge.

Any sandwich I make has got to have something crisp in it.

It sort of balances the soft dough outside and it can be crisp lettuce...

..some grated carrot or some crisp cucumber.

I might put some spring onion in here as well.

And a lot of the ingredients I've got in this sandwich are quite mild.

I've got the cucumber, I've got the salmon, spring onion,

I'm going to put a chilli in.

These are all ingredients that will easily bond with whatever meat

or fish you've still got.

Look at the lovely flakes of salmon.

Now that would make a great sandwich with some really soft bread,

but I've got a better idea.

I'm going to use spring roll wrappers.

Adding a little variety from time to time,

just makes food more interesting.

A spring roll wrap is a really simple way to make

what could be a straightforward sandwich really sing.

You don't need to cook them, you just soak them very briefly in warm water.

They're ready when they stop crackling.

And then, working quickly, just put some of the cucumber on there...

..some of the spring onion, a little bit of the chilli.

A few pieces of cold salmon.

It's wonderful with prawns, if you've got any prawns left,

and then a little bit of coriander,

cos I want to get constant little bursts of flavour as I'm eating it.

Then you just wrap it up.

Top and bottom first, fold in the sides.

I've got my little bundle.

Now that would be very nice to eat as it is.

But I'm going to make just a very quick little dipping sauce.

So just a little bit of mirin, the sweet Japanese rice wine.

A tiny bit of dark soy.

A couple of drops of sesame oil and then lime juice.

This tweak on a classic sandwich is really just the loose bits and bobs

in the fridge that would have gone to waste

and I just couldn't let that happen.

That is scrumptious.

It's a very good way to clean out the fridge.

This really won't taste like last week's shop if you add some crunch

and punchy flavours and think beyond two slices of bread.

With my fridge emptied, my conscience clear

and my hunger satisfied, it's a perfect time to shop.

It stops me over-buying and that's really important to me.

This week, I'm keen to find simple ways

to make a few special ingredients go further.

-There you go, sir.

-Thank you very much.

And sometimes it's worth asking the experts

how to get the most from something good.

-I'm making chicken pie.

-Right.

So I want some chicken that will be quite economical,

I mean, I don't want expensive breast meat.

Personally, I think thighs are going to be a lot tastier in a chicken pie anyway.

There's a lot more, lot more flavour in a thigh

compared to if you were just going to dice up a breast.

-Brilliant.

-There we go, sir.

-Thank you.

-Many thanks, happy cooking, good luck with the pie.

-Thanks a lot.

The key to this week's shop is to keep things really simple

and make the most out of everything I've bought.

Pies can seem like hard work but my chicken pie looks impressive

and is really easy.

The butcher talked me into buying good quality chicken thighs,

which should work perfectly with my ingredients.

Now I could roast it but I want it to be really moist and juicy,

so I'm going to cook it in milk with some aromatics.

Add a few peppercorns.

Half an onion.

And then throw in some bay leaves.

You only need a couple of leaves and I just crush them a little bit.

Bring it to the boil, turn down the heat

and then leave to simmer for a while.

You know, that is really lovely chicken

but it's quite expensive. I've got to make that go further.

So I need to pad it out.

So many things I could use but I'm going to use leeks.

They're just very happy together. Leeks get full of grit

when they're growing, so I actually wash them after I've cut them.

I'm thinking leeks, chicken, what works with that very well,

and of course, it's bacon.

My plan is to make one big family pie...

..some of which I'll have hot and then some of it I'll use cold.

These leeks just need to soften.

Browning them could cause bitterness, which my pie can do without.

I want this to be really thick and creamy,

so I'm actually going to use a little bit of flour in there.

Now, so that that flour doesn't leave a raw taste in the pie,

I'm just going to cook it for a couple of minutes on a moderate heat.

Now my chicken is cooked, all the flavours can get to know each other.

Now, the liquid I'm going to pour in through a sieve

because I don't want all the peppercorns and the bay leaf and all that.

A heaped spoon of mustard will give the filling an extra kick of flavour.

Now that's quite a thick filling and that's absolutely deliberate,

because this isn't one of those pies that you stick a spoon in.

This is one that you cut, it's a slicing pie.

Now I'm going to take the chicken off the bone.

So I've really only got about 650, 750 grams of meat here

and I want this pie to feed quite a lot of people,

so it's important that I use every bit of meat.

And here's the really easy bit.

I've got two sheets of shop bought all butter pastry.

It'll help make the tricky part of my pie so much simpler.

Use a beaten egg to seal the edges and then roll another layer on top.

How you crimp it is up to you.

It's how my mum used to make pastry.

Let the pie breathe.

Add a little of the egg yolk for a wonderful glaze

and lightly score the pastry.

And then, just at the last minute, just a tiny bit more flavour.

Just the merest hint of parmesan.

My fabulous pillow of pie will plump up in a good hot oven

around 200 degrees centigrade for 30-35 minutes.

So some of this pie's for later, some of it's for now.

It's made a little bit of chicken go a long way.

And that's what's so good about a pie.

By packing plenty in,

it's a failsafe way of making a few ingredients go so much further.

I've got an impressive looking supper

and plenty to carry over to tomorrow too.

I love a bright tasting salad.

Crunchy broad beans and a handful of crisp pea shoots.

But the real key to making salad interesting is the dressing.

This version packs a punch, using fresh mint and a glug of olive oil.

It couldn't be simpler.

If you fancied turning this into something more substantial,

you could try adding goat's cheese, some thick cut ham,

or even chickpeas, but I'm making use of what I've already got.

It never ceases to amaze me that a simple thing like a dressing

can make all the difference, freshening up any lunchtime treat.

For the first half of the week, I know there's always something special in the fridge.

I might not know what I'm going to make,

but if I've bought the right ingredients, it's easy to get inspiration.

Now one ingredient I know I've got are wonderful mushrooms

because I got a bit over-excited when I saw them and bought too many.

This has got to be main course.

Mushrooms love butter.

I'm going to melt that in a big pan

and I'm going to pour some olive oil in so the butter doesn't burn.

And quite a bit because mushrooms are very porous,

they're very thirsty.

So I've got these beautiful big field mushrooms,

which were actually quite cheap.

I'm going to cut these into thick, meaty pieces.

I'm not sure what I'd got in mind when I bought them.

I don't think it matters sometimes. The first thing is the ingredient.

And then I think about what to do with it.

These brown chestnut mushrooms just need cutting into quarters.

You know, this is my main dish,

so I don't want these to be in lots of little pieces.

There are one or two kitchen marriages

I just don't argue with, and garlic and mushrooms is one of them.

I'm going to put these pieces in whole.

Now I want to put some herbs in there

and I'm going to start off with thyme

because it works beautifully with mushrooms.

Now the other herb that goes really well with mushrooms is sage.

I don't often get a chance to use sage,

but it actually works very well with earthy veg like this.

I'm going to put the more fragile mushrooms in now.

Generally, the smaller the mushroom

and the more fragile it is, the later you should put it in,

whether you're making mushroom risotto or mushroom pilau, whatever.

Add a handful of parsley leaves and some chives.

This looks wonderful and it smells fantastic

with all the mushrooms and the garlic.

But a main course it does not make.

It needs to be much more substantial.

And, you know, I've got chicken stock, which is made from the bones

from the chicken that went into the chicken pie.

But if I hadn't, I could use ready-made chicken stock.

If I didn't want to use meat stock,

I could just make up a vegetable bouillon from a powder.

To help bulk out the mushrooms,

cracked wheat is a brilliant ingredient.

This cracked wheat has actually already been steamed and cooked,

so I'm going to sprinkle it into the stock.

Now I'll just stir that in.

This isn't smart, elegant cooking, this is everyday rustic stuff,

quite big flavours.

Cover it with a lid and let the wheat absorb the stock

and hopefully I'll end up with something a lot more substantial

than fried mushrooms.

So the cracked wheat has soaked up the stock.

A good handful of watercress, just before serving,

will lighten things up.

Just to make it fresher, a little bit more vibrant.

It smells very earthy.

That's not bad. It's got that lovely, earthy wheat and mushrooms

and then it's got the freshness of the watercress.

For a meal I hadn't planned, this is a triumph.

I've turned some simple mushrooms into a filling, flavoursome supper.

Sometimes, with little warning, I find myself with unexpected guests

and I might not have shopped specifically for the occasion.

If you're going to entertain, you want to give your guests something

really special without breaking the bank.

This recipe shows how a few handsome prawns can be made to go a really long way.

I've still got rich pickings in the salad drawer.

A handful of spring onions.

Cabbage.

Some garlic cloves...

..and ginger.

They can all be chopped up and given a blitz in the food processor,

along with the prawns and around three to four tablespoons of soy sauce.

Then, I have a wonderfully aromatic mixture that I'm going to fry off

in a pan for a couple of minutes.

Gyoza wrappers are an invaluable store cupboard ingredient.

They're going to parcel up my prawn mixture.

Holding one in the palm of your hand, add a teaspoonful.

A splash of water will seal the edges,

and pinching them will fan them out.

My prawn parcels will sizzle in a pan of groundnut oil,

with a splash of water and a little soy sauce.

It'll only take a few minutes.

Finally, I'm making an impromptu dipping sauce,

by mixing together a touch of sesame oil,

three tablespoonfuls of soy sauce and just a little rice vinegar.

From just a few juicy prawns, padded out with the regulars

from the fridge, I've rapidly rustled up a treat for the taste buds.

And I can relax knowing that my guests won't be going hungry.

That's really very good.

During my weekly shop, Ed the butcher shared his knowledge,

giving me some good advice, as you might expect.

The different dark meats in there and a little bit more fat will also help.

-Exactly, a little bit more fat, so a little bit more succulence.

-Exactly.

-Brilliant.

-Exactly.

-Thank you. And I'm keen to return the favour.

Normally, Ed would eat a whole steak for his supper, but I want to

convince him that he can make it go further without the fuss.

So, do you mind if I have a look in your fridge?

-Please, go ahead.

-Well, surprise, surprise, a piece of meat in there.

You bring lot of meat home then, presumably.

Working in a butcher, yeah,

I tend to bring the odd cut of, you know, things, now and again.

And usually when I do my steak, I have to confess,

it is one steak per person and I'm more, yeah, just frying it,

frying it in a pan, basically. Maybe with a bearnaise sauce,

that type of thing. Be good to know if there's a way

of making it go a bit further than, having just one steak

per person, basically.

Yeah. There certainly is and it's easier than you might expect.

I'm going to borrow inspiration from eastern Asia,

where it's all about stretching a great ingredient,

simply by adding lots of flavour and interest.

You know those sauces that are very sweet and sticky but also hot?

-Right, OK.

-So, a bit of sugar.

I'm going to actually use a bit of white wine vinegar.

-Yeah.

-So just a little bit of that in there.

I just really want to make a very sort of light little syrup.

Some heat will work well in this sauce,

but I don't want to overwhelm the flavour of the meat.

So I'm just adding very finely chopped pieces of chilli.

This is a fine sirloin, so it's going to give me plenty of flavour .

So how can you tell when the pan's ready?

What I do, is I hold my hand just literally

a couple of inches above it, and if I can have my hand there

for more than about 30 seconds, it ain't hot enough.

It is this thing of know your kitchen and know your pans.

And as a general rule of thumb, how long each side?

In the pan, barely a minute, maybe 90 seconds or so,

get a little bit of colour across it,

-turn it and then I turn it again and again.

-Right.

Adding a knob of butter to sit beneath the sirloin

will help me make the most of the meaty flavour.

Treasure in the pan.

-Right.

-That wonderful stuff that's there already.

You've got some greens in there, haven't you?

-We've got some pak choi.

-Yeah, perfect.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

Add a little water in here, and put the lid on.

-Right.

-I was going to cut these in half.

-I'm going to put those inside there with the steak.

-Right, yeah.

-And what happens is that they will steam in all that wonderful steaky juice.

-Lovely.

This is where our sirloin transforms from being a meal for one,

to a feast for three.

-Ah, look at those.

-Smells good.

I've managed to make one piece of good quality meat

work as a substantial meal for both of us.

And there's enough too for Ed's mum, Natasha.

-Hello, Mum, OK?

-Yeah.

We've got a little bit of steak with a very simple sweet,

sticky chilli sauce.

Mm, it smells nice.

-Mmm.

-Very nice and tender.

It's definitely taught me a different way of cooking a steak

as to what we normally do, a steak per person.

-You know, it is that thing of buying meat that is a little bit more expensive.

-Yeah.

But of actually being able to make it go further.

You just need to think a little differently about how you use

the most luxurious ingredients.

By sprinkling a touch of colour and spice,

I promise you won't feel short-changed.

At the end of the week there's always something left that has to be used.

There's very often lots of bits left in the fridge.

I must use these eggs up.

They're just about to go out of their sell-by date.

They're still perfectly good

and I want a recipe that will use all of them at once,

so I'm going to make a meringue.

And apparently if you make meringue with older egg whites,

rather than really fresh ones, you get a better result.

And this meringue recipe couldn't be simpler.

First, sprinkle a thin layer of sugar on to a roasting tray.

I'm using golden castor sugar for a rich butterscotch flavour.

And I have a little trick when I'm making meringue.

I warm the sugar before I put it in with the eggs.

Only for a few minutes. Separate the egg whites ready for mixing.

I'll keep the yolks for mayonnaise.

There's a million things to do with half a dozen eggs.

From mousses and souffles to mayonnaises

and hollandaise sauce, there's so many things.

As soon as my mix has thickened, then I add my warm sugar.

Its heat is going to help everything come together that little bit easier.

Turn the beater on really quite fast.

Look at that.

Isn't that fab?

Just heap little piles of this fluffy mixture onto a lined baking tray.

This is the moment I really love cooking.

When something is really simple.

Two ingredients and you're actually playing, really.

I love meringues with cream but I haven't got any.

So I need something else.

With these it is going to be just as luxurious.

A pinch of cinnamon works really well and then these will

work their magic in the oven at 140 degrees for about 35 to 45 minutes.

For me, there's nothing quite like the transformation of a meringue.

They're very lightly crisp on the outside.

And when you press the shell of a meringue,

you can still feel that there's something very marshmallowy inside.

And meringues are really quite sweet,

so I want a slightly bitter chocolate.

Not a milk chocolate, but quite a dark one.

I've got lots of friends who swear by the microwave,

but I like to do mine in a bowl over a pan of simmering water.

I want my raspberries to sit snugly in these meringues.

Now, I could have made little nests of these meringues...

..but rather than that, I just thought I'd crush the tops of them.

And then the chocolate is trickled over to finish.

Meringue and chocolate works very well.

Raspberries and chocolate is a marriage made in heaven.

So when it comes to using things up, half a dozen eggs

and some dangerously ripe fruit.

I don't think it comes better than that.

This is how Fridays in the kitchen should be.

A little bit spontaneous and just going with my mood.

It really is my end of the week treat.

It is seriously wonderful.

Now that's how you make the most of a few eggs.

This week, I've made some of my most luxurious ingredients

go so much further by ringing in a few simple changes.

I've come up with some new ideas,

and I've also made sure I've used up everything from my weekly shop.

Next time, I'll be cooking up recipes that prove one pot wonders

can indeed be something wonderful.

There's something gentle about this at the same time. Something quite soothing.

It's just one of those very comforting recipes.

An experiment that has really worked

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