Episode 14 Paul Hollywood's Pies & Puds

I grew up eating pies and puds. You can't tell, can you(?)

And I love the tradition of passing recipes on through the generations.

My mum and dad inspired me to start baking,

and I hope I can inspire you to enjoy the very best of this hearty food.

Hello, and welcome to Pies and Puds.

There's something for everyone on the menu today.

From savoury to sweet, here's what's in store.

Coming up on Pies and Puds...

I head to a traditional truck stop, to road-test

my great British breakfast in a pie.

He doesn't want tomatoes and he wants well-done toast.

All right, let me get the egg done and then I'll sort it out.

Don't you start with me!

Chinese maestro Andrew Wong gives me

a crash course in the ancient art of noodle pulling.

Oh, just broke on a bend there.

We create the new taste of China - chow mein in a pie.

-It's like a big wonton.

-It is.

-The biggest wonton in the world.

Yeah, but that's what turns it into a pie.

And, to finish off, a delicious pudding straight from the Dales.

That, for me, is a fantastic Yorkshire curd tart.

And you can try everything on today's show, too.

Full recipes are on the BBC website.

The classic British transport cafe.

It's got a reputation for good, old-fashioned comfort food, so it's

the ideal place for me to road test my new trucker-friendly pies.

I want to make a meal out of a full English, by putting bacon

and egg in a shortcrust pastry to make a delicious breakfast pie.

But first, I need to do some research.

So I've travelled to a traditional truck stop

which attracts drivers from far and wide.

It's 5:30 in the morning, I'm at a classic British truck stop,

and I'm here to eat some good grub.

This is The Pit Stop, just off the M4.

I've prepared many a five-star breakfast in my time,

but I have a feeling this truckers' cafe

will be very different.

I'm spending today with the front of house team - Julie and chef Ali -

cooking and dealing with whatever the road brings.

Hello, Ali. How are you? You all right?

-Yeah, you coming in, or you going to stay there?

-I'd rather stay here...

No, you can come in!

I've eaten at many truck stops in the past,

but life behind the counter is new territory.

That's a woman's one!

That's the only ones we have. It's mostly women that work here.

Look!

I'll just stick this in the oven a minute.

Hang on, I know what I'm going to do with this.

I'll turn it into a chef's apron. Hang on.

-So, you're the exec chef.

-I wouldn't say that. I'm one of the chefs.

What am I? Am I a commis today, then?

-You can do whatever you want today.

-Can I?

We'll throw you in the corner and I'll have an easy day.

Listen...

Till it gets busy, and you'll be, "Please, get me out of here."

-I will do, yeah. Is that the back door, yeah?

-It is.

I can run out that way. That's fine. I've got an escape route.

So, your orders come in, pop them on there, serve, bang, they're gone.

Yeah. There's nothing that's fried in here. Not a thing.

Not a thing is fried? What about the hash browns?

They're done in the oven.

OK, so that's totally changed everything straightaway.

To be honest, it's not what I expected.

Why, cos we're a truck stop?

Kinda...yeah.

The Pit Stop may be down south, but there's an accent here I recognise.

-Where's your accent from?

-Birkenhead.

THEY LAUGH

You see, that's about a mile away from where I'm from.

What would you say, then, would be the biggest seller in this cafe?

-The breakfast.

-Is it the traditional breakfast?

Yeah, but that's a good seller.

I noticed that also on your menu you have a Danish pastry or croissant

or something like that. Do you get a lot of call for that?

Truckers don't want croissants and that,

unless they're French - then they come in.

But it's not a big seller, no.

It's now 6am and it's not long

before the breakfast orders come flooding in.

So, this is your traditional breakfast.

This a traditional.

Massive portions.

The portions might be big, but Ali's full English breakfast is pre-cooked.

How hard can it be to plate up breakfast here?

-I've bust my egg!

-Do another one.

-Black pudding on this?

-No, it's just a traditional.

If you read your ticket...

You forgot to put your bacon.

It's a breakfast, but they want beans, not beans and tomatoes.

-What?

-Traditional, with just beans.

He doesn't want tomatoes and he wants well-done toast.

All right, let me get the egg done and then I'll sort it out.

Don't you start with me!

'Plating up for these truckers is not as easy as it seems.

'But I'm not here for that.

'I want to create the perfect breakfast pie,

'and this fussy lot are ideal for a taste test.

'So, I'm going to make two to choose from,

'and I'm stealing all their favourite ingredients for my pies.

'My first is baked beans, sausages,

'onions and brown sauce...'

I've never actually used brown sauce in sachets like this before.

'..topped with cheese and puff pastry.'

This is going to be a proper pie. A proper northern pie.

'The second is scrambled egg, black pudding, bacon

'and a puff-pastry lid.

'Then they are baked in the oven for 15 minutes.'

There we have it. Two pies.

Which one are the truckers going to like?

-Hi, guys. How you doing?

-Here we go.

-What I've got here, right...

Two different types of pies.

Fair play to you, mate, that's a hard choice.

I'd go for that one.

-Which one would you go for?

-That's a bit heavier.

That is my kind of food. Beans, sausage with the onion...

-Bit of brown sauce.

-Absolutely.

So, the sausage and bean pie is the outright truckers' favourite,

but what does my sternest critic - head chef Ali - think?

I think I know what sort of way you're going to go, if I'm honest.

That's nice. You can really taste the onion in it.

-You don't like black pudding, do you?

-No.

It's on a hiding to nothing, anyway, isn't it?

I'm trying not to eat it.

-Which one do you reckon, then?

-They're both nice.

I prefer that one, but that one, even with...

I know I didn't eat the black pudding, but still nice.

Nice combination.

'I've even managed to impress Ali. She also prefers the sausage pie.'

Thanks, Ali.

-Take care. You're a legend.

-You're welcome.

The sausage and beans pie may have won today

but the most popular ingredients loved by truckers

is bacon and egg. So I'm going to come up with a bacon and egg pie.

I did enjoy myself at that transport caff

but Ali and Julie have joined me here.

I can't get away from bacon and egg, right? Bacon and egg works.

You've proved that in your place. Everyone wants breakfast...

-And the whip was getting cracked with me in that kitchen.

-Yeah!

What I'm going to do...

I'm going to do a slightly different version of it,

-and, hopefully, you'll like this new one.

-OK.

I think it's got more of a meaty edge to it.

Add some diced pork and streaky bacon to some sweated-down onions.

Why are you using streaky and not using back?

-You don't know what I'm doing with it yet.

-Give him a chance.

-Yeah, give me a chance.

-OK.

-It's like my mum.

-Leave him alone.

Let him get on with it.

In a separate bowl, add two whole eggs to some cream cheese.

-I'll have to learn how to do that one.

-What, one-handed?

-Yeah.

-You can't do it one-handed?

-No.

-Really?

And whisk. This is the binding for the filling.

-I'm just going to grate some Cheddar in there as well.

-Cheddar...

This is all pretty much fat-free(!)

Pretty much fat-free!

This is a proper northern breakfast, right.

When the meat is starting to brown, it's ready.

Leave it to cool, and then add it to the rest of your filling mixture.

Now, that's your basic mixture for the pie.

I've decided to use a shortcrust pastry for this pie.

It just so happens I've rustled up some earlier.

Then roll it out.

Get your shell. Pop it in there.

Line a baking a tin, then give it a trim around the edges.

There's the lid sorted.

Literally, just pop all the filling into the pie.

Does look nice, doesn't it?

Does look nice.

Now for the Hollywood twist that makes this a true breakfast pie.

Now I'm going to drop some eggs in this.

Now, if you get a spoon and just make a little hole in there,

I'll make another hole there.

-We'll have to have a go at this next week.

-I know.

Make another one there. I'm going to put three eggs in there.

Once you've made your little place to drop your egg, crack your egg

and drop it in each one of those holes.

And top with the lid.

Again, trim round the outside.

Be nice when it's cut, cos you'll have all your thing

-and then like half an egg.

-Yeah.

-That's the idea.

Then bake in the oven at 200 degrees C.

You don't need to pierce the top at all.

It's quite a meaty dish. You want to keep everything in there.

After half an hour, once the pastry has gone golden brown, it's ready.

Wow.

-And there you have it.

-Oh, very nice.

For me, that is a fantastic bacon and egg pie.

-Do you like that, ladies?

-It's very nice.

-Yes, very nice.

Bacon and eggs wrapped in rich shortcrust pastry.

The perfect truckers' breakfast.

Pies and puds tend to be traditional hearty fare,

but occasionally, I like to mix things up a bit, like now.

Here to help me is an expert in Chinese flavouring, Andrew Wong.

-Hi, Andrew.

-Hi.

One of my favourite Chinese foods is actually chicken chow mein.

-Like millions of other people.

-Yes!

Now, what I'd like to do,

and it might be working slightly outside of the box...

I want to turn that dish into a pie.

Sounds like a terrible idea.

Does it? ANDREW LAUGHS

So, I've got a challenge on my hands to do it.

The first thing, I've got a good idea of what I want to use for the casing,

but I haven't got the chicken chow mein, which is where you come in.

-Happy to help.

-There's the kitchen, mate. Lots of different ingredients.

You go ahead and show me how to make a good, proper chicken chow mein.

'Andrew's got a high-end restaurant in central London and has won awards

'for his cooking, so this should be one great chicken chow mein.'

This dish, in particular, it is

a very staple dish on every Chinese menu.

Andrew starts by chopping the raw veg.

I'll just relax down here, Andrew, while you do some work.

-That's absolutely fine with me.

-Enjoy.

So, the idea of me putting this traditional

Chinese dish into a pie horrifies you, then?

I just think the idea of a pie...

Cos you're talking about a crusty pie.

I haven't said anything. I've not said anything. All I've said...

Well, I'm guessing that you're talking about a crusty, traditional

British pie, and the whole crusty texture is foreign to China.

Traditionally, throughout China, everything is steamed.

Closest we get to pies are probably steamed buns, which you get

throughout the whole of China, but it's just this crumbly,

dry texture which we use in the West quite a lot which is very foreign.

'I might have a challenge on my hands convincing Andrew that

'chow mein in a pie is a good idea.'

Going to heat up the wok, make it nice and hot.

The most important part of Chinese cookery.

If it's not smoking, don't put anything in yet.

Then he adds spices,

a beaten egg,

diced chicken breast,

spring onion, peppers,

dried shrimp, bean sprouts,

and, after a couple of minutes, rice noodles.

This dish is one of my most favourite dishes

with the mix of spices that are involved.

Then, some fish sauce and a dash of sesame oil.

Toss that around the pan, and after a couple of minutes,

it's done. That's my sort of grub.

So we're just going to finish this off with a little bit of sesame oil.

-I like to finish with a touch of lime juice.

-I love lime.

So we finish with a bit of coriander, which also adds flavour.

-There you go.

-Lovely. Thanks, Andrew.

Spot-on, that, Andrew. That is going to be fantastic in a pie.

What I'm going to do... You can rest now, Andrew, you can chill.

-Thank you.

-I'm going to get some filo pastry out.

I love filo.

It's actually made from unleavened dough,

which comes in sheets so thin, they're almost see-through.

To give it the strength to hold the chow mein filling,

I'm sticking several sheets of the pastry together.

I'm just going to add another bit of filo,

again to a slightly different angle.

I'm just using a bit of oil there to bind it together.

Now for the cooled chow mein filling.

Try and get a bit of everything. That's going to be the trickiest bit.

I'm going to gather this up...

I'm going to do one more.

It looks like a big wonton, like the biggest wonton in the world.

Well, yeah, but that's what turns it into a pie, doesn't it?

Otherwise, it'd be a wonton.

This could be the next big thing in all Chinese restaurants.

It could be it. I'm starting something off here.

'Bake in the oven at 200 degrees C for about 15 minutes.'

Now, I've tried this pie and I hope you do like it,

I'd like to learn a little bit more about noodles.

How easy are they to make, these noodles?

These noodles are rice noodles, but traditional Chinese noodles

that you'd probably see throughout China are wheat-based.

And you can do them?

Pulling noodles is something that I learned while I lived in China.

It's a fascinating thing.

It started off me in a restaurant just kind of looking at the chef

doing it and I got a bit curious and, before I knew it,

I was in every day at like 6am, with him whipping me on the back

-and telling me to work harder.

-Well, can you show me how to pull noodles?

Absolutely.

'I love working with dough.

'I've done it all my life, but I'd never pulled noodles from it

'and I can't wait to add that to my repertoire.'

So, this is the most important part.

So, what you want to do, you want to stretch it by doing

a V-shape with your arms.

'Noodle pulling is a gastronomic wonder that dates back 4,000 years.'

-I almost smacked myself in the face.

-Oh, I've done that many times.

'We're making wheat noodles which, just like bread, start out as dough.

'It's a basic mix of high-gluten flour,

'salt and water and it's worked for a long time.'

-That's the first technique.

-Yeah.

The second technique you want to get is you want to get a bouncing

technique going.

'This aligns the gluten, making the dough so stretchy that it

'eventually becomes long, skinny strands or noodles.'

And after you've perfected that second art, what you're going to do,

you're going to increase elasticity and then spin to create a plait.

Mine's broken now, look.

It's one of the oldest techniques in Oriental cuisine

and noodles are still made the same way today.

Liking this.

It's a bit nuts, though, innit?

Ooh, just broke on a bend there.

I'm going to use a bit of bread technique here as well.

'The genius of this technique lies in its simplicity.

'No utensils, gadgets or gizmos are required.

'It's all done by hand.'

That's breaking too easily still.

That's not right. I've battered that one to death.

Time to concentrate on a master at work.

This is the clever bit and the reason this technique is called pulling.

So you've got this dough now and I pull.

-So that's one noodle becoming two.

-Yeah.

Two becoming...

..four.

'Andrew doubles the amount of strands every time,

'making his noodles thinner every turn.'

It's incredible. You can start to see it now, can't you?

So I think after 12 folds, you can

see there's about just under 1,000 noodles there.

Wow. That looks incredible.

At this point, they're ready to be cooked.

Andrew deep-fries his noodles to make them crisp.

After a couple of minutes, they're ready.

You see they're more defined actually when they're all fried up.

That looks incredible.

How intricate is that? I love that technique, Andrew.

In fact, looking at that, I could use that on the top of something, actually.

Later, I'll be using Andrew's noodles to add an oriental touch

to my tasty, traditional chicken and leek pie.

For centuries, we've been baking cakes in celebration of happy events.

We all know about birthday and Christmas cakes

but across Britain, there are local baking traditions that

reflect our regional heritage and nowhere more than Yorkshire.

When it comes to baking, I like to look far and wide for inspiration.

It's been said that all good things come from Yorkshire.

There's Yorkshire tea, Yorkshire pudding and

if we're talking sweet baked treats, that saying may in fact be true.

We eat a lot of cakes in Yorkshire.

I think Yorkshire people like cakes because they like tea,

so they like a piece of cake with their tea.

Cake baking is such a big part of life here in Yorkshire,

events are often held that allow locals to showcase

and sell their wares and people come from far and wide to sample them.

The tea loaf's lovely. You have a cup of Yorkshire tea as well.

Yorkshire brack. Absolutely delicious.

-A cup of Yorkshire tea and parkin.

-Parkin.

Yorkshire parkin. It's got to be a good cake.

Parkin is a classic Yorkshire cake.

It's a sponge made with treacle syrup and spice

and is often enjoyed on Bonfire Night as a winter warmer.

Lottie Shaw runs one of the oldest bakeries in Yorkshire

and parkin is a speciality of hers.

I've been brought up with parkin all my life.

My great-grandma, it's her recipe that we've used

and the family have been baking it for over 100 years.

When my family first started out in baking, my great-grandma

and auntie, they opened the shop together

and they used to supply the local barracks and the local mills.

In here, we're just going to melt down the black treacle.

We've got the syrup and we've got the dark brown sugar

and we've got margarine in here.

All of these ingredients are from my great-grandmother's recipe.

My family have been baking all my life, really and so,

I've grown up with the baking smells

but Yorkshire parkin's always my favourite recipe.

Parkin is one of Yorkshire's most famous recipes

but there are many more to choose from.

This is Betty's Tea Room in Harrogate,

considered a local institution for almost a century.

Karen Messin has worked at Betty's for the past 13 years.

I think everyone likes to make the excuse to sit down

and have a cup of tea and if it's a Yorkshire thing, all the better.

Once I met a man who'd come straight from the airport

because someone on the aeroplane had told him to come

and have a Yorkshire Rascal, so he'd found us

on the base of a Yorkshire Rascal in Betty's.

The Yorkshire Rascal is Betty's signature cake.

They say it's a secret recipe,

but it's a bit like an extra-special rock cake.

Justin has been making fat rascals for the last eight years.

I'm not going to tell you everything cos I won't give it away.

We're not sparse with our fruit.

We make sure it's absolutely full of fruit.

I think this is what makes it really special.

We put glace cherries on

and then with the three split almonds, I think

it gives a cheeky, plump face - Yorkshire fat rascal.

Everyone can enjoy the fat rascal.

You can eat as it is, slap a bit of butter on

or you can do my treat - butter, clotted cream, jam.

What a winner.

Most people like a little gesture.

They might not come in for a cake, but we'd like them to leave with one.

You can't beat a big, nice slice, Yorkshire portion, of course, of Yorkshire brack.

My favourite Yorkshire-baked cake must be the Betty's fat rascal.

I like Yorkshire curd tarts. I think that's my favourite.

I think the future is looking bright for cakes in Yorkshire at the moment, yes.

'Lottie Shaw, who bakes her grandmother's parkin,

'is coming round for tea later.

'But first, I am going to make a Yorkshire curd tart,

'which is another famous recipe straight from the Dales.'

I'm going to show you how to make a Yorkshire curd tart.

I've never actually made one up until today.

It's akin to a custard tart, which we have in Lancashire and Merseyside.

But, again, we use full milk and we use whole eggs,

and, again, a little bit of nutmeg.

So there are similarities.

'First, put some curd in a bowl.'

You can buy curd or even make it yourself.

But a lot of good supermarkets will have it now on the shelves.

It's well worth sourcing it out and trying it for yourself.

'Whisk in some caster sugar and a couple of egg yolks.'

Begin to break those yolks down into the mixture.

Look at this. It goes all over the place.

I'm going to get covered in this, I can see it.

'Then drop in two whole eggs.'

Whisk that in together.

'For a floral kick, add a few drops of rose flavouring.'

That's really nice, that. Don't want to add too much.

Again, very traditional in there.

It always reminds me of Turkish delight, actually.

'Add lemon zest, a few currants and some melted butter.'

Mix that together.

'For the shell I've already blind-baked some sweet pastry

'ready for the filling.

'Give the mixture a final stir

'and pour it in.

'Drizzle in the currants and grate some nutmeg over the top.

'Then bake at 200 degrees for 25 minutes.'

And when it pops out of the oven,

it looks like that.

And you can see the nutmeg on the top,

beautiful golden brown on the outside.

That, for me, is a fantastic Yorkshire curd tart.

'A delicious pudding all the way from the Dales.

'I'll be treating my guests to a slice later.

'Earlier, Chinese culinary master Andrew Wong

'taught me the amazing art of turning dough into noodles.'

After 12 folds, you can see there is about

just under 1,000 noodles there.

'I want to show Andrew a great British baking trick.

'Puff pastry is hard to beat but it takes time.

'My cheat's puff pastry is quick, easy and just as tasty.'

What I'm going to do is something I've seen a lot of

in the last 20 years. It's basically create two separate dishes.

One is the filling of the pie,

and the other one, nowadays a lot of people are just baking separately

the lid and just popping it on top.

So I am going to show you how to make a cheat's puff pastry.

'Add some butter to a bowl of white flour, then crumb it down.'

I'm looking for a good flake in this.

'Once it's turned to breadcrumbs,

'add salt, then a drop of water to bind it all together.'

You can see it's beginning to form a sort of rough dough at the moment.

'Just like the noodle making, the dough needs kneading.'

I've got to make sure I get the right consistency in the dough.

At the moment, I think that is probably about right.

Give it a little bit of working

just to build up a little bit of resistance,

a little bit of gluten in it.

I'm happy with that being worked so far.

'Then roll out the dough just as you would to make any puff pastry.

'Now for the cheat.

'The layer of frozen butter is the secret of my cheat's puff pastry.'

Now, here is grated butter, which I've frozen to keep it really cold.

And you dig this out and spread it over the top two thirds of the dough.

You want to keep that butter nice and cold. Freezer, preferably.

'It's so cold the pastry doesn't need chilling between each roll.'

Now you want to fold it.

You fold it over a third, half of the butter.

And then over again.

That is the first turn.

You turn it.

Get your rolling pin out.

Gently roll it again.

'I repeat this process for three more turns,

'each with frozen grated butter.

'Once you've done the final turn, chill it in the fridge

'for at least an hour.'

I've got one in the fridge which has been chilling for an hour.

Just over an hour, actually.

There's our pastry.

It's a great way of making a pastry very, very quickly.

And it'll create a good flake,

a great flake that will sit on top of your pie.

What you are looking for really when you put a lid on

is a bit of flakiness and a good bit of butter.

'Then cut it up into layers.

'Glaze with a whole beaten egg and bake in an oven at 200 degrees

'for 15 minutes until they go golden brown.'

I've got a surprise for you, Andrew.

'Soon we'll be eating my chow mein parcels.'

Look at them fellas.

This is the new taste of China right there.

That is chow mein inside a filo pastry.

'And my cheat's pie lids are also done.

'They've risen just like traditional puff pastry.'

This is just chicken and leek.

You can use anything you want, any pie filling.

'I want to compare this filling with these two types of topping.'

Look at that.

'My cheat's puff pastry...'

And there you have a beautiful pie filling deconstructed,

with its lid on the top.

And if I make... a little bit of a gap...

Get it cylindrical as possible.

'And an oriental touch with Andrew's fried noodles.

'Made from a similar dough to pastry,

'they make a good crunchy topping to soak up those juices.'

British deconstructed pie.

Chinese deconstructed pie.

And this chow mein pie...

..that is the new taste of China.

'This is a Chinese banquet with a Western theme.

'Chicken chow mein wrapped in filo pastry.

'And a creamy chicken and leek filling topped in either noodles

'or a cheat's chill-crust pastry.'

-Andrew, what do you reckon?

-I think I'm slowly becoming convinced.

'It's time to enjoy the fruits of our labour,

'as I ask everyone who has helped me create today's recipes

'to join me in eating them -

'including Lottie, who's down from Yorkshire.'

We've got some fantastic food here. I know you're dying to tuck in.

Lottie, thank you for joining us.

Can't wait to try your parkin, too.

There you go.

'First, my bacon and egg breakfast pie,

'all thanks to Ali and Julie from the truck stop.'

-Will the truckers like this?

-That is lovely, that.

Could give my quiche a run for their money.

I was going to say that.

They look amazing.

'Thanks to award-winning Chinese chef Andrew Wong

'for his chow mein parcels.'

I'm dying to see what you think of this.

Looking forward to it.

Those noodles are lovely.

-Better than your puff pastry?

-Yeah. Er... Don't push it!

'We've also got Lottie's parkin,

'baked to her great-grandmother's recipe.'

Traditionally eaten on Bonfire Night

but we eat it all year round in Yorkshire.

The addition of the oatmeal works.

That's the difference between a ginger and that, which I like.

'Having come all the way down from Yorkshire,

'what would she think of my first-ever Yorkshire curd tart?'

It's nice and lemony.

We've had a great time today. I hope you can join me next time

when I'll have more pies and puds on the menu. See you then.