Episode 8 Nigel Slater's Dish of the Day

Sometimes I look forward to my weekly shop.

I love the idea of bringing new ingredients home

but I don't like shopping when I'm hungry so I always make sure

I have a few treats left for a delicious snack before I go.

I've got some mushrooms left and they're one of the things

that I love to find in the fridge at the end of the week

because, over a few days in a brown paper bag,

mushrooms become much more woodsy, much more interesting.

They sort of mellow and I think the flavour becomes richer.

And there's not a lot here to use up

so I'm going to make a great big beautiful sandwich.

As soon as the butter's melted,

I'll put the mushrooms in

and a little bit of sage.

It's not that versatile, but it works deliciously with cheese.

A couple of leaves, no more.

Then drop these into the butter.

And, yeah, sometimes I've got field mushrooms

or maybe even some little chestnuts

but these are rather beautiful oyster mushrooms

and they just need using.

So I've got a bit of bread here to use up, I'm going to toast that.

I've also been saving some taleggio cheese

but I don't want it hanging around any longer

and I know it'll be perfect for this.

It's one of those cheeses that melts beautifully,

very quickly and very lusciously.

Once the mushrooms are starting to brown...

..just pop the cheese on top...

..pop the lid on and let that cheese melt.

This is cheese on toast with a difference.

I could have let the taleggio bubble under the grill,

but I've got so much more flavour in the pan

for all the ingredients to absorb.

It's that wonderful moment

when you've realised that you've made something for nothing,

something that could have ended up,

rather naughtily, in the bin.

I'm not sure a sandwich could ever be better than that.

Look at that. How good is that?

It's everything I want food to be,

and I was just cleaning out the fridge.

Sometimes it's the unplanned meals that are the most satisfying.

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

a deviation from a classic beefburger, 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 a few 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.

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

This simple twist on a classic beefburger

has really cheered up my everyday mince

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

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 of cooking -

creating something tasty from seemingly nothing.

Usually I've got plenty of vegetables

and this week I've got some 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

but 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.

No week in the kitchen would be complete

without fish finding its way into my meals.

And mackerel is one of the most versatile fish I know.

But today is going to be an experiment

to see if I can make it pep up one of my favourite one-pan recipes.

It's one of those incredibly useful fish.

I love to have them in the fridge.

But I've got a fancy for a sort of salad-stroke-pate,

something not as smooth as a usual smoked mackerel pate

but something that has a little bit of crunch to it, a bit of freshness.

So I just take the skin off

and just check there aren't any bones sticking out.

Sometimes there's a few but they're very big

and very easy to pull out.

So I'm keeping the pieces really juicy and large.

When I eat smoked mackerel on its own

I like to have something slightly warm with it.

To me, mustard isn't just a condiment,

it's a brilliant seasoning

and when I bought it at the little corner shop this week,

I knew I could make great use of it here.

I'm using grain mustard just cos I like the little seeds in there.

And it's really quite mild so I can use quite a bit of this stuff.

Probably sort of a couple of teaspoons worth.

Mackerel's a really rich fish, a little goes a very long way.

I'm going to use a little drop of lemon just to bring the flavour

and just to cut that fatty richness.

It's kind of a knee-jerk seasoning with oily fish

but it really does work, it does the job.

So I've got mustard and lemon juice,

a tiny little bit of olive oil in there.

I don't want one of those really fine purees.

I want to keep it quite textured so it only gets a very quick blitz.

What I've got with just those two little blitzes

is a coarse, lovely, fibrous mixture.

I'm going to leave it like that.

I'm trying to keep everything in one pot today, cut down on washing up.

I have an idea that this is going to work with celeriac.

I think of it as a winter vegetable but it's available all year

and it'll keep for several days, if not for longer.

It's one of those things that people don't use enough.

People often say to me that it's not a very attractive-looking vegetable

but I think it's beautiful with this crisp white flesh

and its wonderful celery flavour.

Just take off the very coarse outer skin

and then into pieces that will fit into the blender.

What I want is lots of texture to this.

They're like little shards of root vegetable

and they'll lighten up this whole thing.

And then, to bring the mackerel and the celeriac together,

I'm just going to use a little bit of soured cream.

I don't want this to be gloopy, I'm not going to put too much in.

And just fold the fish through the grated roots...

..and then that is ready to eat, just as it is.

There's something very satisfying about an idea that works.

You know, you have something in your head,

a couple of ingredients that might get on well together

and when they do...

..it just makes you realise why you cook.

This really has been an experiment that's worked.

With mustard and mackerel paired with a simple root veg,

the marriage of everyday ingredients

has become something completely irresistible.

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 a bit more.

These lemons will 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.

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