0:00:04 > 0:00:06Hello, I'm Michael Buerk.
0:00:06 > 0:00:10Welcome to a brand-new series of Royal Recipes.
0:00:10 > 0:00:14This time, we're at Westonbirt House, formerly a grand country
0:00:14 > 0:00:16house, now a boarding school,
0:00:16 > 0:00:20which has played host to royal visitors for over 100 years.
0:00:21 > 0:00:24In this series, we're delving even further back in time to reveal over
0:00:24 > 0:00:27600 years of royal food heritage.
0:00:27 > 0:00:30You play Anne Boleyn...
0:00:30 > 0:00:32..and I will play Henry VIII.
0:00:32 > 0:00:37And we've been busy unlocking the secrets of Britain's great food archives,
0:00:37 > 0:00:41discovering rare and unseen recipes that have been royal favourites through the ages.
0:00:42 > 0:00:45From the earliest royal cook book in 1390...
0:00:45 > 0:00:50It's so precious, so special, that I'm not allowed to touch it.
0:00:50 > 0:00:53..to Tudor treats from the court of Henry VIII.
0:00:53 > 0:00:56I can't wait for this! One, two, three.
0:00:58 > 0:01:03We'll be exploring the great culinary traditions enjoyed by the royal family,
0:01:03 > 0:01:05from the grand to the ground-breaking,
0:01:05 > 0:01:07as well as the surprisingly simple...
0:01:07 > 0:01:10I did think that was going to be a disaster.
0:01:11 > 0:01:13Whoo!
0:01:14 > 0:01:17..as we hear from a host of royal chefs...
0:01:17 > 0:01:20Prince Philip would walk past or pop his head in.
0:01:20 > 0:01:23"What's for dinner? What we having?"
0:01:23 > 0:01:25Oh, yeah, it's not just a normal kitchen.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28..and meet the people who provide for the royal table.
0:01:28 > 0:01:32If it's OK for the Queen, it's OK for everyone.
0:01:32 > 0:01:34Welcome to Royal Recipes.
0:01:39 > 0:01:41This time on Royal Recipes,
0:01:41 > 0:01:44we'll be looking at breakfast traditions down the generations,
0:01:44 > 0:01:50as we discover how the royal family enjoy perhaps the most important meal of the day.
0:01:55 > 0:01:56Coming up...
0:01:56 > 0:02:00Imagine eating all this kind of stuff for breakfast.
0:02:00 > 0:02:04..Chef Anna Haugh rustles up an Edwardian full-English.
0:02:04 > 0:02:05Oh, perfect.
0:02:05 > 0:02:07Never doubt me, Michael.
0:02:07 > 0:02:12Paul Ainsworth gets a flavour of just what makes a royally good breakfast brew.
0:02:12 > 0:02:14I'd have that any day over a cup of coffee.
0:02:14 > 0:02:16That is amazing.
0:02:16 > 0:02:21And we catch a rare glimpse of some of the oldest cookbooks from the royal kitchen.
0:02:21 > 0:02:25There are ingredients like herons and porpoises.
0:02:25 > 0:02:27This really is a different time of eating.
0:02:39 > 0:02:41Hello, and welcome to the Royal Recipes kitchen.
0:02:41 > 0:02:44With me is executive chef Anna Haugh.
0:02:44 > 0:02:48There's an old saying, isn't there, Anna, that you should breakfast like a king,
0:02:48 > 0:02:52you should lunch like a prince, but you should dine like a pauper?
0:02:52 > 0:02:53ANNA LAUGHS
0:02:53 > 0:02:55Now, which of those are you going to do today?
0:02:55 > 0:02:59I'm going to do part of an Edwardian full breakfast.
0:02:59 > 0:03:00Now, that is a challenge.
0:03:00 > 0:03:04I mean, this is an Edwardian full breakfast.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07Edwardian, of course, the Edward is Edward VII.
0:03:07 > 0:03:10He'd have chicken, he'd have poussin, he'd have guinea fowl,
0:03:10 > 0:03:12he'd have woodcock in season.
0:03:12 > 0:03:15He'd have what they call meat in jelly.
0:03:15 > 0:03:18I think this is pigeon in aspic.
0:03:18 > 0:03:24All that and YOU'RE going to do a boiled egg.
0:03:24 > 0:03:26Now, Michael, not just any boiled egg.
0:03:26 > 0:03:30I'm going to do oeufs en cocotte with smoked haddock.
0:03:30 > 0:03:34- Wow!- So...- OK, doesn't sound like an anti-climax.
0:03:34 > 0:03:35How do you do it?
0:03:36 > 0:03:39The first thing I'm going to do is poach my natural smoked haddock.
0:03:39 > 0:03:41OK, that's not very yellow, is it?
0:03:41 > 0:03:45No, if it's yellow, some food colouring has been added.
0:03:45 > 0:03:48So, I'm just going to poach this, this won't take long, maybe two or three minutes.
0:03:48 > 0:03:50What are you poaching it in?
0:03:50 > 0:03:51I'm poaching it in...
0:03:51 > 0:03:53Just give my hands a bit of a wash.
0:03:53 > 0:03:57I'm poaching it in some milk, drop of cream,
0:03:57 > 0:03:59some peppercorns and one bay leaf.
0:03:59 > 0:04:02So, I'm going to chop some chives while I wait for that to cook.
0:04:02 > 0:04:05I rather ridiculed it as "just a boiled egg", but it's quite a substantial
0:04:05 > 0:04:06- dish in itself, this.- Mmm.
0:04:06 > 0:04:09I mean, imagine eating all this kind of stuff,
0:04:09 > 0:04:12as well as the oeufs en cocotte, for breakfast!
0:04:12 > 0:04:15- I can't, I can't.- Breakfast has evolved so much down the centuries,
0:04:15 > 0:04:19- hasn't it?- Yeah.- When you had the early Hanoverian kings in the
0:04:19 > 0:04:2418th-century, they would have breakfasted off cold meat and cheese and beer.
0:04:24 > 0:04:26And beer?
0:04:26 > 0:04:27Well, the water wasn't very safe,
0:04:27 > 0:04:30so that was a good excuse for having beer at breakfast.
0:04:30 > 0:04:33And then when you got on to the later Hanoverians, the Prince Regent,
0:04:33 > 0:04:37he'd have cake and hot chocolate and loads of booze.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40- Mmm.- When he died, he was 24st, do you know?
0:04:40 > 0:04:41- Oh, my goodness.- Built like a barrel.
0:04:41 > 0:04:45I'm not surprised, if he was eating cake and booze for breakfast!
0:04:45 > 0:04:48But it wasn't until the Victorians that we really started to get the
0:04:48 > 0:04:51modern breakfast and bacon and eggs and all that sort of stuff.
0:04:51 > 0:04:55But Bertie, later Edward VII, he went in for things in a big way.
0:04:55 > 0:04:58- Is that boiling over?- No, it's just about to come up now,
0:04:58 > 0:05:01I'm going to take it off. And the liquid...
0:05:01 > 0:05:03You live dangerously, Anna. You live dangerously.
0:05:03 > 0:05:07The liquid that we're actually cooking the haddock in,
0:05:07 > 0:05:09we're going to make a bechamel sauce with.
0:05:09 > 0:05:10Ah.
0:05:10 > 0:05:12I like bechamel sauce.
0:05:12 > 0:05:14Originally done by a French aristocrat,
0:05:14 > 0:05:18and named after a financier in Louis XIV's court.
0:05:18 > 0:05:21You're meant to say, "Do you know everything, Michael?"
0:05:21 > 0:05:23- Do you know everything, Michael? - No, but I can look it up.
0:05:25 > 0:05:27Oh, guess what? There's butter in this dish.
0:05:27 > 0:05:32- Absolutely.- Bechamel sauce is basically butter and flour.
0:05:32 > 0:05:34- Into a roux.- Mmm-hmm.
0:05:34 > 0:05:38- And then you cook the roux out just for a few minutes.- Mmm-hmm.
0:05:38 > 0:05:41And then you pour hot liquid on top.
0:05:41 > 0:05:42So, that's kind of a really important part.
0:05:42 > 0:05:46It's a common mistake that people make, that they think bechamel is
0:05:46 > 0:05:48just, they pour their cold milk on top of it,
0:05:48 > 0:05:50and what you'll get is a lumpy bechamel.
0:05:50 > 0:05:52It's a lovely, creamy sauce though, isn't it?
0:05:52 > 0:05:55- It is a lovely creamy sauce, and it's extremely versatile.- Mmm.
0:05:55 > 0:05:57So I'm just going to stir in
0:05:57 > 0:05:59probably about half of this, I'd say.
0:06:00 > 0:06:02So that is warmed milk?
0:06:02 > 0:06:04Yes, this is the actual poaching
0:06:04 > 0:06:07- liquid that we cooked our haddock in.- Mmm-hmm.
0:06:07 > 0:06:12So, this will be a slightly thicker bechamel than I would normally make.
0:06:12 > 0:06:16- Because the juices that are going to come out of the fish...- Yeah. - ..when it cooks...
0:06:16 > 0:06:18Need soaking up, do they?
0:06:18 > 0:06:19Yeah.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22- So that's done now, that's cooked out.- Oh, silky. Silky smooth.
0:06:22 > 0:06:26So, I'm going to add almost all of this to the bowl, but I'm going to
0:06:26 > 0:06:28save a little bit back.
0:06:28 > 0:06:31- Why?- Because I'm going to top it up at the end.- Mmm-hmm.
0:06:31 > 0:06:35So now we're going to flake our fish.
0:06:35 > 0:06:36- Into the bechamel?- Yes.
0:06:36 > 0:06:38You don't want to scrunch it up too much, do you?
0:06:38 > 0:06:43- No, you want to keep...- It does come apart beautifully, doesn't it, into those haddock flakes?
0:06:43 > 0:06:44It's a wonderful fish, haddock, isn't it?
0:06:44 > 0:06:48It is a wonderful fish and the smell of that is just such a nice,
0:06:48 > 0:06:50- mellow, pleasing smoked fish.- Yeah.
0:06:50 > 0:06:54It's not like a smack in the face that some of those kind of
0:06:54 > 0:06:59- artificially smoked and dyed haddock can be like.- Mmm.
0:06:59 > 0:07:00So I'll just give it a gentle fold.
0:07:02 > 0:07:03So, this is going in the bottom?
0:07:03 > 0:07:06This is going in the bottom of our cocottes.
0:07:07 > 0:07:09Now, is cocotte the dish?
0:07:09 > 0:07:12Cocotte is the dish, but cocotte can be a number of different dishes,
0:07:12 > 0:07:15- it doesn't have to be just a dish with a handle.- Ah-ha.
0:07:15 > 0:07:16It could just be like a large ramekin.
0:07:16 > 0:07:19But it has to be this, more or less this size?
0:07:19 > 0:07:24- More or less this size, and always round, I think, as well. Yeah.- Yeah.
0:07:24 > 0:07:27Well, you wouldn't want corners cos you wouldn't be able to get at...
0:07:27 > 0:07:31- That's right.- ..get at your lovely sauce, or some of it would escape into the corner, and you
0:07:31 > 0:07:32wouldn't get your spoon in there.
0:07:32 > 0:07:35- That's it.- And that would be a real shame, wouldn't it?
0:07:35 > 0:07:39Now we're going to crack our beautiful duck eggs.
0:07:39 > 0:07:41These lovely big eggs.
0:07:41 > 0:07:42Do they have to be duck eggs?
0:07:42 > 0:07:45- They don't have to be.- What's the advantage?- Duck eggs are bigger.
0:07:45 > 0:07:48HE CHUCKLES
0:07:48 > 0:07:51- OK...- There's another definition of cocotte, you know?
0:07:51 > 0:07:56- Oh, yeah?- It's a French slang term for a lady of the night.
0:07:56 > 0:07:59- Oh, really?- Mmm-hmm.
0:07:59 > 0:08:01Anyway, won't go into that. Ah, now, ah!
0:08:01 > 0:08:03Some Parmesan just on top.
0:08:03 > 0:08:06Ah, now that's going to give it a real...
0:08:07 > 0:08:09- Absolutely.- ..hit of flavour, isn't it?- Absolutely.
0:08:09 > 0:08:12So it goes into a bain-marie...
0:08:12 > 0:08:16..which already has hot water in it, and this will help kind of speed up the process.
0:08:16 > 0:08:21Right, so you've already boiled some water a little bit beforehand, so it doesn't have to come up from cold.
0:08:21 > 0:08:23- Exactly.- OK, and a bain-marie, it's a bath!
0:08:23 > 0:08:24- Exactly.- It's Mary's bath. OK.
0:08:24 > 0:08:29- So if you wouldn't mind popping it into the oven?- Yeah, and it's hot, you say, so I'd better take...
0:08:29 > 0:08:30Yes, so it's already hot.
0:08:30 > 0:08:33So, oh! One last piece I nearly forgot.
0:08:33 > 0:08:34- Oh, Anna.- Don't forget.
0:08:34 > 0:08:37Don't forget. I'm going to put a little bit of...
0:08:37 > 0:08:41- Oh, you saved some of the sauce, did you?- A little bit more sauce to go on top.
0:08:41 > 0:08:43I just don't want to waste any of this.
0:08:43 > 0:08:44Just go round the edges.
0:08:47 > 0:08:49- You've resorted to the whisk now. - Yes, I have.
0:08:51 > 0:08:53If I'm not beating something up, I'm not happy, Michael.
0:08:53 > 0:08:56No, I've noticed this. You're a rather aggressive woman on the quiet, I think.
0:08:58 > 0:09:00- Oh, dear.- I wouldn't like to get on the wrong side of your whisk.
0:09:00 > 0:09:02SHE LAUGHS
0:09:02 > 0:09:04OK, just a little bit, just on top.
0:09:04 > 0:09:06That's a clever idea though, isn't it?
0:09:06 > 0:09:08Thank you for saying so, Michael.
0:09:08 > 0:09:10- Mmm, mmm, mmm!- So, do you want to pop that in the oven?
0:09:10 > 0:09:14- Yeah, it's hot.- You'll find another one already in there that you can bring back.- OK.
0:09:14 > 0:09:16Oven should be at 170 degrees.
0:09:16 > 0:09:19- 170.- And we'd cook that for ten, maybe 12 minutes.
0:09:19 > 0:09:21- OK.- OK.
0:09:23 > 0:09:26- Ah! Oh!- Don't burn yourself.
0:09:26 > 0:09:27Yeah, thanks very much.
0:09:27 > 0:09:31Ah! Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah.
0:09:31 > 0:09:33They look really, really good.
0:09:33 > 0:09:36OK, that's great news.
0:09:36 > 0:09:39- It's a race against time, this.- Nice work.
0:09:39 > 0:09:41- There we go.- Nice work.
0:09:41 > 0:09:43- We're going to finish it with some chives.- Mmm-hmm.
0:09:43 > 0:09:46And I'm actually going to finish it with just a little bit more Parmesan.
0:09:46 > 0:09:51- I can't help myself.- That's a rather nice touch. I love Parmesan, too.- So do I.
0:09:51 > 0:09:54- OK.- Yeah.- Now...
0:09:54 > 0:09:57- Going to take them out?- Yeah. One, two, three.
0:09:57 > 0:09:58- Ooh!- Oh-ho-ho!
0:09:58 > 0:10:01And I have some toast that I have just prepared for you.
0:10:01 > 0:10:06- That looks good.- So, would you like me to cut them into soldiers for you, since it's breakfast?- Oh!
0:10:06 > 0:10:08Yes, please.
0:10:10 > 0:10:11Great.
0:10:14 > 0:10:16Terrific. You have a soldier.
0:10:16 > 0:10:18- OK.- I have a soldier.
0:10:18 > 0:10:20We'll stand to attention.
0:10:20 > 0:10:22- After you.- OK...
0:10:22 > 0:10:24Oh! Oh, perfect.
0:10:24 > 0:10:28- Do you know, I thought for a moment they were hard-boiled.- Uh-uh-uh! - You know, I thought you...
0:10:28 > 0:10:30Never doubt me, Michael.
0:10:30 > 0:10:33I've learnt that, I've learnt that.
0:10:33 > 0:10:35- Mmm!- I'm going to balance it on there.
0:10:36 > 0:10:38- Mmm!- Mmm!- Mmm!
0:10:38 > 0:10:42The fishy taste has come up, even though I didn't get any fish that time.
0:10:43 > 0:10:45- Love the bechamel.- Mmm.
0:10:45 > 0:10:47Love the eggy.
0:10:47 > 0:10:49I'm going to eat them separately. Mmm!
0:10:50 > 0:10:54Great combination. I don't think I'll have room for the guinea fowl,
0:10:54 > 0:10:58the capons, the chickens, the woodcock.
0:10:58 > 0:11:03Who needs that when you've got oeufs en cocotte with smoked haddock?
0:11:03 > 0:11:06A breakfast fit for a king.
0:11:15 > 0:11:19A staple of the royal breakfast table today is a good cup of tea -
0:11:19 > 0:11:24a tradition that was established by the middle of the 18th century.
0:11:24 > 0:11:29A home-grown cuppa has tickled the taste buds of one of our modern-day royals.
0:11:29 > 0:11:34Michelin-starred chef Paul Ainsworth is in Cornwall to find out more about this regal brew.
0:11:35 > 0:11:40200 years ago, when society's most fashionable members began to take to
0:11:40 > 0:11:45tea, no-one would have ever imagined that, one day, we'd be growing our own.
0:11:45 > 0:11:49But that's exactly what's happening right here, just up the road from where I live.
0:11:53 > 0:11:58The tea plant is actually a variety of Camellia called Camellia sinensis.
0:11:58 > 0:12:01Britain's first tea plantation is in the botanical gardens on the
0:12:01 > 0:12:03Tregothnan estate, near Truro.
0:12:04 > 0:12:08Jonathan Jones is the man behind the 100-acre project.
0:12:09 > 0:12:13So when did you plant the first tea, and how has that evolved over the centuries?
0:12:13 > 0:12:17Well, the first Camellias, for ornamental purposes, over two centuries ago,
0:12:17 > 0:12:20but the first Camellia for tea was actually only in 1999.
0:12:20 > 0:12:24The first tea was produced from that and sold in 2005.
0:12:24 > 0:12:28You know, we've had been able to put the Englishness into English tea for the first time...
0:12:29 > 0:12:33..you know, create the most British tea in history. And people thought, "Well, who cares about tea?"
0:12:33 > 0:12:36But if you're British, it's what in our veins, almost.
0:12:36 > 0:12:38We grow up with it, don't we?
0:12:40 > 0:12:42We Brits might drink a lot of tea,
0:12:42 > 0:12:46but it's only in the last 20 years that we've started growing it.
0:12:46 > 0:12:51And the success of the plantation here is partly due to the Cornish weather.
0:12:51 > 0:12:54Why is the climate so good here for growing tea?
0:12:54 > 0:12:56If you look at our daily weather temperature,
0:12:56 > 0:12:59we're usually warmer than Darjeeling in India,
0:12:59 > 0:13:00which is kind of the champagne of tea.
0:13:00 > 0:13:05So we have lots of things growing here, bigger and better than they actually do in the Himalayas.
0:13:06 > 0:13:11The estate here has been owned by one family, the Boscawens, for nearly 700 years.
0:13:12 > 0:13:14Renowned as botanical innovators,
0:13:14 > 0:13:18they cultivated the UK's first outdoor Camellias,
0:13:18 > 0:13:22so it's no surprise they pioneered British tea growing.
0:13:25 > 0:13:29But before Paul gets to try a brew, there's picking to be done.
0:13:29 > 0:13:32Hard work, but therapeutic, isn't it?
0:13:32 > 0:13:34- It is.- Yeah, thank you very much.
0:13:34 > 0:13:37- Is there a cup of tea at the end of this?- There definitely is.- I hope so!
0:13:38 > 0:13:42So, Jonathan, have you come to the attention of the royal family?
0:13:42 > 0:13:45Yes. In fact, the royals drink a lot
0:13:45 > 0:13:49- of tea, and they love it, and this bush right here...- Yeah.- ..was planted by Prince Philip.
0:13:49 > 0:13:53And six or eight weeks ago, we processed this especially for him,
0:13:53 > 0:13:57presented it as the most royal tea ever grown in the UK.
0:13:57 > 0:14:00And the taste was amazing, thank goodness, and he actually said...
0:14:00 > 0:14:02"Mmm, tastes like tea".
0:14:06 > 0:14:09Once the tea leaves are plucked, for a black tea
0:14:09 > 0:14:12they're allowed to wither before being rolled and then dried.
0:14:12 > 0:14:17- And the smell should be great, isn't it?- Oh, man, yeah. That's amazing.
0:14:17 > 0:14:22The amount of rolling and drying is one factor in determining how the tea will taste.
0:14:22 > 0:14:24I imagine, even like that,
0:14:24 > 0:14:27you could pour some hot water over that, let it infuse.
0:14:27 > 0:14:30- That would be quite green.- Yeah.- But if you kept it a few hours...
0:14:30 > 0:14:33- In fact, accidentally I often put it in my pocket or coat pocket.- Yeah.
0:14:33 > 0:14:36And next morning, I think, "Where's that tea smell coming from?"
0:14:36 > 0:14:38Please tell me you take it out your pocket.
0:14:38 > 0:14:40- I do!- Put it in a cup and have a cup of tea, do you?
0:14:40 > 0:14:42- I have!- Yes!
0:14:42 > 0:14:44Course I do.
0:14:48 > 0:14:49From bush to cup,
0:14:49 > 0:14:53the process of making black tea can be as little as 36 hours.
0:14:54 > 0:14:58Paul and Jonathan have a selection of home-grown teas to mix together
0:14:58 > 0:15:00to make a breakfast brew.
0:15:02 > 0:15:07It doesn't look very strong, but this will blow their socks off. So, a little bit of that.
0:15:07 > 0:15:12It's a punchy, complex tea that can withstand a dash of milk and compete with coffee.
0:15:13 > 0:15:17We've got now six or so different gardens
0:15:17 > 0:15:19in here from around the estate.
0:15:19 > 0:15:24We put a little bit of Assam in there, about 5-10% of Assam leaf from Assam itself.
0:15:24 > 0:15:29- Yeah.- And that should complete the blend and be a true breakfast tea.
0:15:29 > 0:15:31- Yeah.- Fit for royalty, in fact.
0:15:34 > 0:15:37So, tell me, Jonathan, other than Prince Philip planting a bush here,
0:15:37 > 0:15:39what other royal connections are there?
0:15:39 > 0:15:42Prince Charles, the other day, in fact only on Tuesday,
0:15:42 > 0:15:44tasted some of our new breakfast tea.
0:15:44 > 0:15:46Does he have a favourite?
0:15:46 > 0:15:48Earl Grey. Loves it with honey.
0:15:50 > 0:15:52So, now we've got this infused, let's see what we've got.
0:15:52 > 0:15:54- And there's liquor... Looking good. - Yeah.
0:15:54 > 0:15:56And the smell?
0:15:56 > 0:15:58That is amazing.
0:15:58 > 0:16:02So now we have to taste.
0:16:02 > 0:16:03Go ahead.
0:16:09 > 0:16:12You are a master. That was all by eye, as well!
0:16:12 > 0:16:14That is lovely. I'm sorry,
0:16:14 > 0:16:16but I'd have that any day over a cup of coffee.
0:16:16 > 0:16:18- Fantastic, a result! - Yeah, I would, I would.
0:16:18 > 0:16:20That is amazing.
0:16:21 > 0:16:27A breakfast tea that makes a stir in Buckingham Palace, and gets the Paul Ainsworth seal of approval.
0:16:27 > 0:16:28How can we possibly top that?
0:16:30 > 0:16:34A recipe combining coffee, bacon and polenta might just do it.
0:16:36 > 0:16:40Anna, you've got a dish now that doesn't use tea, it uses coffee,
0:16:40 > 0:16:42the other thing that gets people up in the mornings.
0:16:42 > 0:16:45- What are you going to do?- That's right.- Can I take your tea?
0:16:45 > 0:16:47I'm going to do coffee and maple-glazed bacon,
0:16:47 > 0:16:49which is a really good brunch dish.
0:16:49 > 0:16:51Brunch. Not breakfast, but brunch.
0:16:51 > 0:16:53- Exactly.- So, how does it go?
0:16:53 > 0:16:56So, I'm going to roast some tomatoes first.
0:16:56 > 0:16:58So, I'll cut them in half.
0:16:59 > 0:17:01Now, this goes well with bacon?
0:17:01 > 0:17:04- What's the story here?- This absolutely goes well with bacon.
0:17:04 > 0:17:08I think it's the kind of natural sweetness of tomatoes that make the
0:17:08 > 0:17:09saltiness of the bacon sing,
0:17:09 > 0:17:11so they're a good marriage.
0:17:11 > 0:17:15Well, bacon, you know, it's kind of everybody's favourite breakfast thing, you know, butties in the
0:17:15 > 0:17:19morning and everything. I mean, not just us but the royals as well.
0:17:19 > 0:17:22- You remember Prince Harry was best man at William's wedding?- Mmm, mmm.
0:17:22 > 0:17:26Well, he was put in charge of some of the wedding festivities and all
0:17:26 > 0:17:29that sort of stuff, particularly the following morning,
0:17:29 > 0:17:37where he organised very special bacon butties for what I think he called the party survivors.
0:17:37 > 0:17:40The bacon was special because it was called peameal bacon.
0:17:40 > 0:17:45It was cured with ground, dried peas.
0:17:45 > 0:17:48But it used to, in the olden days, be a way of curing bacon before
0:17:48 > 0:17:52refrigeration, so you could ship it abroad. And that's what they had the morning after the wedding.
0:17:52 > 0:17:55- But you're doing something slightly different.- That's right, yeah.
0:17:55 > 0:17:58- So I've just seasoned the tomatoes before we pop them in the oven.- OK.
0:17:58 > 0:18:02- And I'm going to put a little of pepper on them, which is quite nice. - Yeah.
0:18:02 > 0:18:04And some thyme...
0:18:04 > 0:18:06just over the top, you don't have to do much,
0:18:06 > 0:18:11just leave the thyme over the top of tomatoes, so they'll just kind of infuse with the flavour.
0:18:11 > 0:18:15- Right.- But what's really important is a drizzling of olive oil.
0:18:15 > 0:18:20So this will actually help the thyme kind of get inside the tomato.
0:18:20 > 0:18:22- Kind of infuse the tomato.- Yes.
0:18:22 > 0:18:26- So this goes in the oven?- Yeah. If you want to pop that in the oven, it should be at 180,
0:18:26 > 0:18:28and I think about 6-8 minutes...
0:18:28 > 0:18:31- Okey doke.- They should be done.- 6-8 minutes.- Yeah.- Here we go.
0:18:34 > 0:18:36Right. Where's the bacon?
0:18:36 > 0:18:39So, yeah, we're just heating up our pan. The pan needs to be really hot.
0:18:39 > 0:18:42- That bacon smells wonderful.- Smells really good, good smoked bacon.
0:18:42 > 0:18:45- Now this is streaky bacon?- Yes. I'm a big fan of streaky bacon.
0:18:45 > 0:18:51The ratio of fat and meat just makes it so much more tasty.
0:18:51 > 0:18:53- Oh, and it smells so wonderful, doesn't it?- Yeah.
0:18:53 > 0:18:55There's something about bacon in particular.
0:18:55 > 0:18:57- Yeah. Good-quality bacon.- Yeah.
0:18:57 > 0:19:02You can always tell by the water content that's in it.
0:19:02 > 0:19:05So if this was a lesser quality bacon, by now,
0:19:05 > 0:19:07water would be coming out of it,
0:19:07 > 0:19:11where you can still see that, this smoke that's coming off, is that it's frying.
0:19:11 > 0:19:14We've become really quite keen on going out for breakfast and brunch.
0:19:14 > 0:19:19Apparently we spend £76 million a day going out for breakfast and brunch.
0:19:19 > 0:19:21- A day?!- A day.
0:19:22 > 0:19:26- So I'm going to strain off a little bit of this fat.- Yeah.
0:19:26 > 0:19:31But also I'm going to add the coffee in now.
0:19:31 > 0:19:35Now... Is that just the flavour, or, what's the story with the coffee?
0:19:35 > 0:19:39- I really believe that coffee is a great flavour to go with bacon. - Mmm-hmm.
0:19:41 > 0:19:42Not too much.
0:19:45 > 0:19:47Not too much.
0:19:47 > 0:19:51But, yes... When I would ever cure my own bacon at home,
0:19:51 > 0:19:55I would always put coffee and maple in the cure.
0:19:55 > 0:19:58And what is it about the combination of those two flavours, do you think?
0:19:58 > 0:20:02- Well, I actually think maple tastes of coffee, if you have a smell there.- Yeah, I will.
0:20:02 > 0:20:07I actually think maple is a similar flavour as coffee.
0:20:07 > 0:20:08- Yes. There is something similar to it.- Yes.
0:20:08 > 0:20:11Yeah, I hadn't, I'd never thought of that before.
0:20:11 > 0:20:13- And it all says, "Breakfast."- Yeah.
0:20:15 > 0:20:18- That's looking really...- Yeah, this is looking good.
0:20:18 > 0:20:19These are just about ready.
0:20:19 > 0:20:23- Actually, maybe we should check on those tomatoes?- Yep. Yes, yep, yep, you're right.
0:20:25 > 0:20:27- How do they look?- They look pretty good to me.
0:20:27 > 0:20:30Yep. Yeah, look at this.
0:20:30 > 0:20:31- Wonderful, wonderful.- Yeah.
0:20:31 > 0:20:33Colour.
0:20:33 > 0:20:35And they smell nice, too.
0:20:35 > 0:20:39- Where do you want them? Here, there? - On that board would be perfect. - On this one? OK.- OK.
0:20:39 > 0:20:42- There we go.- So, next I'm going to make the polenta.
0:20:42 > 0:20:44- Right.- There's lots of different ways to make polenta.
0:20:44 > 0:20:47- Mmm-hmm.- So, today I'm going to make it with chicken stock...
0:20:47 > 0:20:51- Yeah. Why chicken?- ..and a little bit of butter. I just think the flavour goes really well with bacon.
0:20:51 > 0:20:56But perhaps closer to dinner time you might want to add more dairy,
0:20:56 > 0:21:00maybe a bit of milk, some Parmesan, things like that, a heavier version of it.
0:21:00 > 0:21:01But this is the lighter one?
0:21:01 > 0:21:04But this is a lighter, brunch-er version.
0:21:04 > 0:21:06Now, tell me what you have to watch out for with polenta.
0:21:06 > 0:21:10Well, you need to be fast when you first add it in and then it's about
0:21:10 > 0:21:14kind of stirring it every so often to make sure that it's fully cooked.
0:21:14 > 0:21:19I'm going to put a pinch of salt in our stock, for seasoning.
0:21:20 > 0:21:23And you want to bring your liquid up to boil,
0:21:23 > 0:21:27so I'm going to shoot the polenta in really quickly and just give it a whisk, and...
0:21:27 > 0:21:30- The one thing you don't do gradually.- No.
0:21:30 > 0:21:34Important to really stir it around and whisk it up at this stage? Why?
0:21:34 > 0:21:37- Yeah, because you don't want it to go lumpy.- Mmm, mmm.
0:21:37 > 0:21:40- You can almost see the polenta sucking the liquid in, can't you? - Yeah. That's it.
0:21:40 > 0:21:42Thickening up almost immediately.
0:21:42 > 0:21:44Oh, gosh, yes, look at that.
0:21:44 > 0:21:48- As it starts to thicken...- Yeah. - ..I'll start to add in a little bit of butter.
0:21:48 > 0:21:51Just gives it a bit more richness.
0:21:54 > 0:21:56I think it's looking good though, Anna.
0:21:56 > 0:21:58Yeah. It is looking pretty good.
0:22:00 > 0:22:01- Done?- Done.
0:22:01 > 0:22:05Right. We are ready to serve.
0:22:05 > 0:22:06- OK.- OK.
0:22:06 > 0:22:07So...
0:22:10 > 0:22:16- Oh, yes, look at the way it's sliding gracefully down, isn't it? - That's it.
0:22:16 > 0:22:19And we have our beautiful, crispy glazed bacon,
0:22:19 > 0:22:21which is what you always want.
0:22:21 > 0:22:24And then we have our tomatoes.
0:22:24 > 0:22:27- Oh, that's terrific, isn't it?- Yeah.
0:22:27 > 0:22:31And would you have this with some crusty bread, or what?
0:22:31 > 0:22:34Absolutely. Crusty bread, a nice cup of tea.
0:22:35 > 0:22:38Well, I was thinking more of a glass of wine, if it was brunch!
0:22:38 > 0:22:39THEY LAUGH
0:22:39 > 0:22:42And then, just to reinforce that lovely thyme flavour,
0:22:42 > 0:22:44a bit of thyme on top.
0:22:44 > 0:22:45Oh, terrific.
0:22:46 > 0:22:48- Are you ready?- I am.
0:22:48 > 0:22:49- More than ready.- Now...
0:22:49 > 0:22:51- OK.- There you have it, you have...
0:22:52 > 0:22:55..coffee and maple-glazed bacon.
0:22:55 > 0:22:56With polenta.
0:22:56 > 0:22:58- After you.- OK.
0:23:01 > 0:23:04- I love bacon.- Do you? So do I.
0:23:04 > 0:23:06- Can I get in there?- Mmm.
0:23:12 > 0:23:14- Mmm!- Mmm.
0:23:14 > 0:23:16Oh, that's really nice, isn't it?
0:23:16 > 0:23:20- The bacon has got that marvellous bacon tang.- Mmm.
0:23:20 > 0:23:25There's just an overlay of glazing and sweetness.
0:23:26 > 0:23:28And a bit of the tomato for...
0:23:30 > 0:23:33..another bit of freshness, and the thyme...
0:23:33 > 0:23:34- ..is just wonderful...- Mmm.
0:23:34 > 0:23:38..as a taste on the top. Fabulous for brunch.
0:23:38 > 0:23:42Fabulous for the survivors of a royal wedding party!
0:23:42 > 0:23:46That's what I'm going to have for breakfast next! ANNA LAUGHS
0:23:46 > 0:23:48Rich and luxurious.
0:23:48 > 0:23:53This is a royally tasty upscaling of that great breakfast staple,
0:23:53 > 0:23:54the bacon butty!
0:23:56 > 0:24:02A good bacon sandwich requires good bread, and Prince Charles, it seems,
0:24:02 > 0:24:04is very particular about his bread.
0:24:07 > 0:24:11Carolyn Robb, a former private chef to the Prince and Princess of Wales
0:24:11 > 0:24:15and their children, remembers rising to the challenge to cook the
0:24:15 > 0:24:16family's favourite loaf.
0:24:21 > 0:24:25Today I'm making soda bread, which is a great favourite of mine, and it
0:24:25 > 0:24:29brings back a lot of fond memories from making it at Highgrove for the Prince of Wales.
0:24:29 > 0:24:33It was his favourite bread and it was something that we always had around.
0:24:33 > 0:24:38It's really quick, you just mix everything together and it goes straight into the oven.
0:24:39 > 0:24:42First of all, I'm putting the plain white flour in.
0:24:43 > 0:24:44Sieve that through.
0:24:46 > 0:24:49OK. I'm also going to sieve the malted granary flour,
0:24:49 > 0:24:51although it's got bits in it.
0:24:51 > 0:24:54It's still good just to pop it through the sieve.
0:24:54 > 0:24:56And before I put that through,
0:24:56 > 0:24:59I'm also going to add in two teaspoons of bicarb.
0:25:03 > 0:25:05And I'm going to sieve this now.
0:25:10 > 0:25:12I'm going to add in a teaspoon of salt.
0:25:12 > 0:25:14I've got some nice sea salt crystals.
0:25:17 > 0:25:20Now I'm going to put the fresh herbs in.
0:25:20 > 0:25:21Some thyme.
0:25:21 > 0:25:24It was one of the nicest things about making bread at Highgrove,
0:25:24 > 0:25:27meant you could leave the kitchen for a while and go out in the garden
0:25:27 > 0:25:30to pick some fresh herbs, which I always really enjoyed.
0:25:33 > 0:25:35Next I'm going to add in some chives.
0:25:35 > 0:25:39Obviously, chives bring a slightly onion-y flavour to the bread.
0:25:39 > 0:25:41But it's quite subtle.
0:25:42 > 0:25:45I've added the herbs in, next I'm going to add a little bit of butter.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52Now, the last thing to do is to add in the liquid.
0:25:52 > 0:25:55Most breads, you spend a lot of time kneading it,
0:25:55 > 0:25:57whereas with this bread, it's the opposite.
0:25:57 > 0:26:00We don't want to overwork it, so the less handling it has,
0:26:00 > 0:26:03the more soft the bread will be.
0:26:03 > 0:26:05So I'm just going to mix this in with a knife.
0:26:06 > 0:26:10This is buttermilk. If you can't get buttermilk, or don't have any, it
0:26:10 > 0:26:14does work with yoghurt or yoghurt and milk, as well.
0:26:15 > 0:26:18And it's really important that once the liquid's been added, we work
0:26:18 > 0:26:22really quickly. As soon as you do that, the bicarb starts to activate.
0:26:22 > 0:26:24I'm going to tip the dough out onto the board...
0:26:28 > 0:26:30..and finish off working it by hand.
0:26:32 > 0:26:37It's a fine line between getting it just right and just too sticky or just too dry.
0:26:39 > 0:26:43Another thing I really enjoyed about making this bread was that the flour
0:26:43 > 0:26:45that we used came from Shipton Mill.
0:26:45 > 0:26:48They used to mill the wheat from Highgrove there, so
0:26:48 > 0:26:51it was very special to be able to go out and buy bags of flour where you
0:26:51 > 0:26:54knew that the wheat was actually home-grown.
0:26:54 > 0:26:57Never used such good flour as that anywhere else.
0:26:58 > 0:27:01Once Carolyn has shaped the dough into a large ball,
0:27:01 > 0:27:05she places it on a buttered baking sheet...
0:27:05 > 0:27:07I'm going to slash it that way.
0:27:07 > 0:27:10..and cuts a traditional cross into the dough...
0:27:10 > 0:27:12And it's nearly done.
0:27:12 > 0:27:15..before sprinkling it with sesame seed and linseed.
0:27:15 > 0:27:20She then pops it into a preheated oven at 200 degrees Celsius.
0:27:29 > 0:27:32Dead dog. Oh, Pippy!
0:27:32 > 0:27:33SHE LAUGHS
0:27:33 > 0:27:34TIMER BEEPS
0:27:34 > 0:27:38The soda bread is baked for 30 to 40 minutes, until golden.
0:27:45 > 0:27:48I'm just going to test to see if this is cooked.
0:27:48 > 0:27:52The way we do that is turn it upside down and tap it.
0:27:52 > 0:27:54HOLLOW TAP
0:27:54 > 0:27:56And it makes a really nice hollow sound, so we know that that's cooked.
0:27:58 > 0:28:01When I made the bread for Prince Charles, we would either make it into sandwiches...
0:28:01 > 0:28:06He had a very special sandwich that he always had at lunchtime -
0:28:06 > 0:28:10really delicious, with home-made pesto and Parmesan.
0:28:10 > 0:28:12Otherwise, it was used for toast.
0:28:15 > 0:28:16It looks perfect inside.
0:28:21 > 0:28:24So you can see a little bit of mottling from the fresh herbs in the bread.
0:28:24 > 0:28:28And you can also see the nice crunchy bits from the malted granary flour.
0:28:28 > 0:28:32The only way to really test this is to try a piece, which I will do now.
0:28:32 > 0:28:34And I do love warm bread.
0:28:34 > 0:28:37It's very difficult to stop at one piece when it's just out of the oven.
0:28:42 > 0:28:43Mmm!
0:28:43 > 0:28:45That's really nostalgic. That takes me back.
0:28:45 > 0:28:49That lovely smell of thyme and the malted granary flour definitely
0:28:49 > 0:28:51takes me back to my time in the kitchens at Highgrove.
0:29:02 > 0:29:05There's an endless fascination, isn't there, Anna, with these
0:29:05 > 0:29:08glimpses into the inner workings of the royal family?
0:29:08 > 0:29:11Yeah. I think people want to kind of feel like they are real human...
0:29:11 > 0:29:15Or they can see similarities in them and their family, and that makes them feel, I guess, more connected.
0:29:15 > 0:29:19A bit different from us, though, if you get into some of their tastes and everything.
0:29:19 > 0:29:22- Prince Charles is said to have, anyway, whenever he goes away... - Yeah?
0:29:22 > 0:29:26..have a breakfast box with six kinds of honey in it.
0:29:26 > 0:29:27That's pretty picky and fastidious.
0:29:27 > 0:29:32Yes, it is. But maybe I'm a little bit like Charles. I like to bring tea wherever I go.
0:29:32 > 0:29:34- Oh, you do this too?- Yes, I do, so, you know.
0:29:34 > 0:29:36- What kind of tea?- Tea from home.
0:29:36 > 0:29:39- The same tea that I drank when I was a young girl.- Irish tea?- Yeah.
0:29:39 > 0:29:42But actually, we tend think this is all very modern, you know,
0:29:42 > 0:29:45the mass media and what Prince Charles does, and all that sort of stuff.
0:29:45 > 0:29:48But we actually know quite a lot about what Queen Victoria liked and
0:29:48 > 0:29:51didn't like, because her diaries were published.
0:29:51 > 0:29:55I mean, she liked, for instance, something called Brussels biscuits.
0:29:55 > 0:30:00- Now, what are they?- It's kind of similar to a biscotti. It's a twice-baked biscuit.
0:30:00 > 0:30:03- Twice-baked biscuit?- Yeah, so it has a nice crunch.- Snappy and crunchy. - Yeah.
0:30:03 > 0:30:05Another thing she liked, apparently, was marrow.
0:30:05 > 0:30:09- I'm not talking about, you know, the sort of...- That vegetable? - ..monster, bullying...- No.
0:30:09 > 0:30:10..courgette. Actually, these things.
0:30:10 > 0:30:13- Yeah.- Now, marrow on toast?!
0:30:13 > 0:30:16Delicious. Instead of butter, marrow on toast.
0:30:16 > 0:30:17- Perfect.- OK!
0:30:17 > 0:30:18SHE LAUGHS
0:30:18 > 0:30:22It feels as though we know a lot more today about royal domestic life
0:30:22 > 0:30:25because of, I don't know, the newspapers, the radio,
0:30:25 > 0:30:28the television and their interest.
0:30:28 > 0:30:33But excerpts from Queen Victoria's diaries were published during her lifetime.
0:30:33 > 0:30:38And these documents fulfilled much the same purpose in the past as they do today -
0:30:38 > 0:30:40royal PR.
0:30:41 > 0:30:45Revealing selected titbits about her favourite snacks was a way of giving
0:30:45 > 0:30:49the nation the tiniest peep behind the palace walls.
0:30:49 > 0:30:53But it wasn't the first time the lid had been ever so carefully lifted on
0:30:53 > 0:30:55the secrets of the royal kitchen.
0:30:55 > 0:30:59Social historian Dr Polly Russell went to the British Library to leaf
0:30:59 > 0:31:03through a regal cookbook from 1655.
0:31:03 > 0:31:08This beautiful little book here is called The Queen's Closet Opened.
0:31:08 > 0:31:10And it was written by someone called WM.
0:31:10 > 0:31:14Now, the queen that it's referring to is Henrietta Maria.
0:31:14 > 0:31:16And its intent, aside from being a cookery book,
0:31:16 > 0:31:22was really to try and rehabilitate Henrietta Maria in the eyes of the nation.
0:31:22 > 0:31:28And what the book does is invite you into the most intimate private space of the queen.
0:31:28 > 0:31:30It was published in 1655,
0:31:30 > 0:31:34by which time Charles I had been executed,
0:31:34 > 0:31:37and Henrietta Maria was living in exile.
0:31:37 > 0:31:41But once Puritan rule had taken over in Britain, there was an opportunity
0:31:41 > 0:31:45to try and bring her back as a domestic goddess.
0:31:49 > 0:31:53There are two parts to this book in the first edition.
0:31:53 > 0:31:55The first is about medicinal remedies.
0:31:55 > 0:31:59The second part of the book was for conserving and preserving, and
0:31:59 > 0:32:04making sweets, and some of the examples would be to candy suckets
0:32:04 > 0:32:08of oranges, lemons, citrons and angelica.
0:32:08 > 0:32:13Well, given that sugar is fantastically expensive, and that oranges and lemons
0:32:13 > 0:32:15would also have to be imported from abroad,
0:32:15 > 0:32:20you get a sense of how wealthy you would have to be to be able to make much of this food.
0:32:21 > 0:32:23With the monarchy overthrown,
0:32:23 > 0:32:26it was the perfect time for some positive royal PR.
0:32:28 > 0:32:32The public's interest was piqued and the book was a commercial triumph.
0:32:33 > 0:32:40This small, very beautiful, cookery book played its part in re-establishing the royal family.
0:32:40 > 0:32:41Amazingly, though,
0:32:41 > 0:32:45this isn't the first time that we have evidence of cookery being
0:32:45 > 0:32:48important in establishing the reputation of the royals.
0:32:50 > 0:32:56The British Library is also home to the oldest English cookery book in existence.
0:32:58 > 0:33:02It's so precious, so special, that I'm not allowed to touch it.
0:33:02 > 0:33:07Only a specially trained conservator can actually hold it.
0:33:07 > 0:33:12It's a 20-foot vellum scroll, vellum being calfskin,
0:33:12 > 0:33:18written by the scribes of Richard II in 1390.
0:33:18 > 0:33:20I mean, this is absolutely thrilling.
0:33:22 > 0:33:25Now, the scroll is called The Forme Of Cury,
0:33:25 > 0:33:27which was the medieval word for cookery,
0:33:27 > 0:33:32and this really is a document which takes us back into the medieval kitchen.
0:33:32 > 0:33:35There are 196 recipes,
0:33:35 > 0:33:39ingredients like cranes and herons and porpoises.
0:33:39 > 0:33:42I mean, this really is a different time of eating.
0:33:44 > 0:33:47The 14th century was a tumultuous era.
0:33:47 > 0:33:51Up to half the population had been wiped out by the Black Death, and
0:33:51 > 0:33:56the Peasants' Revolt of 1381 had rattled the ruling classes.
0:33:56 > 0:34:00The scroll and its recipes were designed to emphasise the power of
0:34:00 > 0:34:03the royal family and cement the status quo.
0:34:04 > 0:34:06There's a recipe for something called pomme d'orange,
0:34:06 > 0:34:10which was effectively a sort of pork meatball, roasted and turned on a
0:34:10 > 0:34:15spit, while somebody would have painted it with a mixture made of
0:34:15 > 0:34:21spinach, that would have effectively created a green ball that would have looked like an apple.
0:34:21 > 0:34:24And so, these kind of games and trickery -
0:34:24 > 0:34:30evidence that Richard II is powerful and clever and important.
0:34:31 > 0:34:35Another book featuring recipes from the court of the restored king,
0:34:35 > 0:34:40Charles II, was a reflection of the public's fascination with all things royal.
0:34:41 > 0:34:45Lamb's Royal Cookery, published in 1710,
0:34:45 > 0:34:51contains recipes from one of the longest-serving royal chefs of all time, Patrick Lamb.
0:34:52 > 0:34:54There's a recipe here for olio.
0:34:54 > 0:34:57It involves neck of mutton, pork,
0:34:57 > 0:35:01six whole cabbages, two dozen larks.
0:35:01 > 0:35:04I mean, it's quite extraordinary, and in the end you pile it in to
0:35:04 > 0:35:09some enormous sort of mountain of flesh and vegetables,
0:35:09 > 0:35:13and then you put hog's ears and trotters on the top.
0:35:13 > 0:35:17So Lamb's food is absolutely about display.
0:35:17 > 0:35:22However, in amongst this extraordinary opulence, there's a
0:35:22 > 0:35:26recipe here for spinach toast. It involves cooking spinach and mixing
0:35:26 > 0:35:29that with eggs, and topping that onto bread,
0:35:29 > 0:35:32so it sounds almost as though it could be a snack.
0:35:34 > 0:35:36Featuring everything from the smallest dish to the most lavish
0:35:36 > 0:35:40banquet, books like these certainly had the potential to shape public
0:35:40 > 0:35:42opinion of the monarchy,
0:35:42 > 0:35:45and some of the recipes have stood the test of time,
0:35:45 > 0:35:48including a centuries-old royal snack -
0:35:48 > 0:35:52an apricot-glazed apple pastry.
0:35:52 > 0:35:56- Now, Anna, you're going to make a recipe from Patrick Lamb.- Mmm-hmm.
0:35:56 > 0:36:00Remember, he was the chef to four monarchs in the 17th century,
0:36:00 > 0:36:02produced a cookbook, got it here.
0:36:02 > 0:36:05Didn't call them recipes, look, they were called receipts...
0:36:06 > 0:36:10..in all the particular branches of cookery now in use in the Queen's palaces.
0:36:10 > 0:36:13So I'm going to make taffety tart today.
0:36:13 > 0:36:16- Taffety tart!- It's a delicious, I guess you could say, snack,
0:36:16 > 0:36:18- perfect for elevenses.- Mmm-hmm.
0:36:18 > 0:36:22And the first thing that I'm going to make is the caramel to cook the apples.
0:36:23 > 0:36:25So I'm going to put the sugar into the pan.
0:36:25 > 0:36:28- The pan is already quite hot now... - Mmm-hmm.- ..so that it will hurry up
0:36:28 > 0:36:30the kind of caramel process.
0:36:30 > 0:36:35- And then, as it starts to melt, I will then add the butter.- Mmm-hmm.
0:36:35 > 0:36:39And then, when the butter is melted, I will add our apples and we'll
0:36:39 > 0:36:42caramelise them down, so they're nice and soft.
0:36:42 > 0:36:47Although it's out of Patrick Lamb's sort of 17th-century cookbook,
0:36:47 > 0:36:50I think it goes back a lot further than that, 100, 200 years earlier
0:36:50 > 0:36:53on - Tudor times, Henry VIII, Elizabeth and all that kind of thing.
0:36:53 > 0:36:54Really old recipe, this.
0:36:54 > 0:36:57But it's hard to believe that something with so much kind of technique
0:36:57 > 0:37:00could have been done all those years ago. So, if you have a look at the
0:37:00 > 0:37:03- pan now, you can see the caramel is changing colour.- Yeah.
0:37:03 > 0:37:10- And you can smell that kind of lovely...- Mmm!- ..caramel buttery smell. It's perfect.
0:37:10 > 0:37:14- You reckon it's pretty sophisticated for a very old recipe?- I would say this is pretty sophisticated.
0:37:14 > 0:37:18- Tough to do?- Tough to... Well, can you do it, Michael?
0:37:19 > 0:37:21- SHE LAUGHS - I'm sorry!
0:37:21 > 0:37:23Apples going in now.
0:37:23 > 0:37:26- You can see lovely, hot, foaming caramel.- Yeah.
0:37:26 > 0:37:29- The apples are going to go in now. - Now, what apples are they?
0:37:29 > 0:37:32These are Bramley apples, so they are quite tart.
0:37:32 > 0:37:35So, as this is cooking down, I'm going to cut the pastry.
0:37:36 > 0:37:39- OK?- OK.- So we have some puff pastry over here. Now, instead of using
0:37:39 > 0:37:43- flour we're actually going to use icing sugar.- Yeah, I saw you scattering the icing sugar.- Yeah.
0:37:43 > 0:37:45So this is kind of a, I guess,
0:37:45 > 0:37:48another way of rolling pastry, but that, it adds, like, just a little
0:37:48 > 0:37:54bit more sugar into the pastry because, traditionally, puff pastry doesn't really have any sugar in it.
0:37:54 > 0:37:57- So I'm going to just give it a little roll.- This is a snack for somebody with a sweet
0:37:57 > 0:38:01- tooth, isn't it?- That's it.- All that caramel and all this icing sugar and everything.
0:38:04 > 0:38:08- Here we go.- OK, so I'm just going to cut it around.
0:38:08 > 0:38:11All this sugar, of course, would have made it very, very expensive
0:38:11 > 0:38:16in 17th-century and even 18th-century terms.
0:38:16 > 0:38:19Well, I think we take for granted the convenience that we can just buy
0:38:19 > 0:38:24- a bag of sugar down the road.- Yeah. - But I mean, where sugar came from back then
0:38:24 > 0:38:28wasn't just down the road, so it wasn't that easy just to get your hands on.
0:38:28 > 0:38:31- I mean, it was only the wealthy, really, wasn't it?- Absolutely.
0:38:31 > 0:38:33So I've cut the disc there, that's ready to go.
0:38:33 > 0:38:36So the apple will take probably, I'd say,
0:38:36 > 0:38:39another at least five, ten minutes to cook down.
0:38:39 > 0:38:43When it's lovely and soft and brown...
0:38:43 > 0:38:44..then you need to cool it completely.
0:38:44 > 0:38:46You can't make it with a hot mix.
0:38:46 > 0:38:47What would happen if you tried?
0:38:47 > 0:38:50Well, the pastry would fall apart, you know,
0:38:50 > 0:38:51the butter in the pastry would melt.
0:38:51 > 0:38:55So I actually have a bit of mix that I made earlier on.
0:38:55 > 0:38:56HE LAUGHS
0:38:56 > 0:38:59- All that I'm going to add to this now...- Oh, that's lovely and brown.
0:38:59 > 0:39:02- Nice and brown, caramelised.- Can I have a sniff? Oh, yeah.
0:39:02 > 0:39:05Well, it's going to smell even better now, when I add a little bit of lemon zest.
0:39:05 > 0:39:08So a bit of lemon zest goes in just to give it a bit more, kind of,
0:39:08 > 0:39:11- of a perfume flavour, lift it a bit. - Yeah.
0:39:11 > 0:39:14Give that a bit more.
0:39:14 > 0:39:20OK. And now I'm going to give it a stir and then I'm going to spoon the mix on.
0:39:20 > 0:39:24Are you doing at exactly the way they did it in the 17th century, do you think?
0:39:24 > 0:39:28Would Patrick Lamb, if he was looking over your shoulder, say, "Yeah, do it that way"?
0:39:28 > 0:39:30Well, this is my version, so...
0:39:30 > 0:39:31HE LAUGHS
0:39:31 > 0:39:34- I'm sure he would approve. - I'm sure he would approve, yeah.
0:39:34 > 0:39:36I'm going to put a little bit more apple in it now,
0:39:36 > 0:39:41and then I'm just going to egg-wash the edges to kind of seal the next layer on top.
0:39:41 > 0:39:43That looks really rich, doesn't it?
0:39:43 > 0:39:44Yeah, and it smells good.
0:39:44 > 0:39:45Ah!
0:39:45 > 0:39:48- So you're going to place the top of the pastry...- Yeah.
0:39:48 > 0:39:50..on top there.
0:39:50 > 0:39:55- Just give it a little bit of a... - Make it all neat.- ..a little bit of pressure.- Yeah.
0:39:58 > 0:40:00- OK.- That looks really, really good.
0:40:00 > 0:40:02Then place another sheet of greaseproof on top...
0:40:03 > 0:40:06..and then your baking tray on top again, because you want to kind of
0:40:06 > 0:40:10give it a nice bit of pressure, so it's lovely and flat, and Michael...
0:40:10 > 0:40:14- But it's relatively simple, isn't it? I mean...- It is.- ..Patrick Lamb did these fantastically
0:40:14 > 0:40:18elaborate coronation dinners and everything, but this was when he was just doing snacks.
0:40:18 > 0:40:22Yeah, well, for a snack, I think it's still quite an elaborate snack.
0:40:22 > 0:40:26If you think this is instead of having a simple biscuit at, you know, 11 o'clock, that
0:40:26 > 0:40:30this is, you know, a bit of work, puff pastry, caramelise your apples.
0:40:30 > 0:40:33A super chef's dish.
0:40:33 > 0:40:35- Fit for a queen?- Fit for a queen.
0:40:35 > 0:40:40So we're going to bake that in the oven at about 180 degrees for 20-30 minutes.
0:40:42 > 0:40:46- OK, now what are you up to?- So, our glaze has come up to boil now,
0:40:46 > 0:40:49- so this is ready.- That looks wonderfully gloopy, doesn't it?
0:40:49 > 0:40:52Yeah, it's delicious. I love a bit of apricot glaze.
0:40:53 > 0:40:56- OK, so I'm just going to brush this on top.- OK.
0:40:57 > 0:41:00- And this just gives it a lovely shine.- Yeah.- Gives it a lovely finish.
0:41:00 > 0:41:04- It's going to make a mess, though, isn't it?- Well, I don't think so. I think we might fare well...
0:41:04 > 0:41:08All down the front, you know? I think the dark jumper is perhaps a big, big, big mistake.
0:41:08 > 0:41:10THEY LAUGH
0:41:10 > 0:41:12OK, so give this a nice...
0:41:12 > 0:41:14Ooh, doesn't that sound good?
0:41:14 > 0:41:17- Wow.- Nice crunch!- Yeah.
0:41:17 > 0:41:22- Ooh, this looks good.- Ooh, I'd rather have this than a ginger biscuit at 11 o'clock!
0:41:22 > 0:41:28So what goes very nice with this is some caramelised apple, which is lovely.
0:41:28 > 0:41:30Little bit of even more sweet there.
0:41:30 > 0:41:32But these are sweet apples,
0:41:32 > 0:41:34these aren't Bramley apples that we're garnishing this with.
0:41:34 > 0:41:37And then we're going to have a little bit of clotted cream.
0:41:37 > 0:41:38Oh!
0:41:38 > 0:41:40Not for slimmers, this one, is it?
0:41:40 > 0:41:42No, certainly not.
0:41:45 > 0:41:49And there you have it, taffety tart with caramelised apples and clotted cream.
0:41:49 > 0:41:51Why taffety, by the way?
0:41:51 > 0:41:54Well, I think it got its name from taffeta, the material,
0:41:54 > 0:41:57because it was similar in appearance.
0:41:57 > 0:42:00It was lovely and kind of smooth and had this kind of crisp,
0:42:00 > 0:42:03stiff kind of texture of it.
0:42:03 > 0:42:05- OK.- Oh, dear.- But how do we get at it?
0:42:05 > 0:42:06Spoons...
0:42:06 > 0:42:09- Here we are.- I've got a knife!
0:42:09 > 0:42:10SHE LAUGHS
0:42:10 > 0:42:12- OK?- Yeah.- Shall I go in first?
0:42:12 > 0:42:16- All right.- I'm sorry, Michael.- No, no, no, no, chivalrous to the end.
0:42:16 > 0:42:18Ooh! I just love the crunch of that.
0:42:18 > 0:42:22The sound is just glorious.
0:42:23 > 0:42:25- Now, is that, er...?- Mmm!
0:42:26 > 0:42:29That is so good. You can have a nice little spoon there, Michael.
0:42:29 > 0:42:32- That's smaller than your spoon, I notice.- Mmm!
0:42:32 > 0:42:33That way, I can have more.
0:42:35 > 0:42:38- Ooh!- That's delicious.- It's crunchy. - The caramelised apple is just perfect.
0:42:40 > 0:42:42Oh, yeah. That's a good one.
0:42:42 > 0:42:45- Oh, try it with the clotted cream. - I have!
0:42:45 > 0:42:48- In fact, I'm going to try it again. - Mmm.- I should have said I haven't.
0:42:50 > 0:42:52- Ooh, it's squidgy but flaky.- Mmm!
0:42:53 > 0:42:55Come on, you little beauty.
0:42:57 > 0:42:58Mmm.
0:42:58 > 0:43:05- With recipes like this, you can quite see why he was a chef to four monarchs.- Mmm!
0:43:05 > 0:43:09All the way from the 17th century, but perfect for today.
0:43:09 > 0:43:12Have it for elevenses. Skip lunch.
0:43:12 > 0:43:15Join us next time for more Royal Recipes.