Pies and Puddings Royal Recipes


Pies and Puddings

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Transcript


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Hello. I'm Michael Buerk.

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Welcome to a brand-new series of Royal Recipes.

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This time we're at Westonbirt House, formerly a grand country house,

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now a boarding school,

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which has played host to royal visitors for over 100 years.

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In this series, we're delving even further back in time to reveal over

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600 years of royal food heritage.

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You play Anne Boleyn. And I will play Henry VIII.

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And we've been busy unlocking the secrets of Britain's great food

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archives, discovering rare and unseen recipes that have been royal

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favourites through the ages.

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From the earliest royal cookbook in 1390...

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It is so precious, so special, that I'm not allowed to touch it.

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..to Tudor treats from the court of Henry VIII...

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I can't wait for this. One, two, three...

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..we'll be exploring the great culinary traditions enjoyed by the royal family,

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from the grand to the ground-breaking

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as well as the surprisingly simple...

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I did think that was going to be a disaster.

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..as we hear from a host of royal chefs...

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Prince Philip would walk past or pop his head in and say,

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"What's for dinner? What are we having?"

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Oh, yeah. It's not just a normal kitchen.

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..and meet the people who provide for the royal table.

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If it's OK for the Queen, it's OK for everyone.

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Welcome to Royal Recipes.

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We're getting our teeth into pies in today's programme

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and exploring the royal passion for pudding.

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Coming up...

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..Anna Haugh makes a firm favourite of a formidable queen...

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I'm just checking here with Queen Victoria's recipe to make sure

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you're on track here, Anna!

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Thank you, Michael!

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..chef Cyrus Todiwala OBE recreates a pudding enjoyed by Her Majesty,

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his twist on a British favourite...

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We did take the crust out, we didn't keep the crust.

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Come on. She's the Queen! You don't want to give her crusts, do you?

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..Dr Polly Russell heads to Gloucester to trace the history

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of a dish that was once a royal prerogative.

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The sort of firm, bloody, meat-like flesh would have been very appealing.

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Oh, I think it would have been, but I'm a vegetarian, so...

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..it certainly wouldn't have been for me!

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But where better to start tucking into pies and puddings than with an

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elegant pastry dish served up for some royal nuptials?

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Well, I'm here in the Royal Recipes kitchen with executive chef Anna Haugh.

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What's cooking?

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Well, I'm going to make smoked haddock coulibiac.

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-Coulibiac?

-Yes.

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-And what's that?

-Well, essentially, it's a posh fish pie.

-Ah.

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We're going to poach some haddock and then wrap it in some puff pastry,

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bake it, and serve it with a lovely sauce made out of the liquid that we

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-poach the haddock in.

-It was served at the wedding of Prince Edward and

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Sophie Rhys-Jones.

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And I did the BBC coverage of it with Sue Barker.

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And did you get to eat it?

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I didn't, actually, no, so this is going to be a wonderful opportunity.

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What is it, 18 years later?

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I'm actually going to get to eat the coulibiac.

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First of all I'm going to poach the haddock.

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Once you've put your smoked haddock in,

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you're going to add in some peppercorns, parsley stalks here

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and bay leaves. Just make sure you give your bay leaves a little fold

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if they're fresh. This kind of releases the smell.

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Mmm! Oh, that's really nice.

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-It is really nice, I like a bit of bay leaf.

-I like that.

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-Now, this will take about maybe eight to ten minutes to poach.

-Mm-hm.

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And it's important that your liquid is just simmering,

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not boiling too heavily.

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And then afterwards you must let it cool,

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because if you have a hot mixture going into cold puff pastry,

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it'll just melt the butter in the puff pastry and it'll all be an oily mess.

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I've also cooked here some mushrooms, some shallots in garlic and butter,

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and some spinach, which I've squeezed out gently.

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-You haven't actually gone...

-No!

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-..with the spinach.

-Not squeezed the life out of it.

-No.

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But just removed a bit of the juice so that it stays nice and moist,

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but not too dry, inside the case.

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If you wouldn't mind flaking a bit of the smoked haddock...

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-Yep.

-..into the rice.

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I remember the wedding. I mean,

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it was thought to be really quite a simple affair for a royal wedding.

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-Yes.

-By comparison.

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Only 500 guests,

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only 250 million people watching on TV and all that kind of stuff.

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And the meal, I remember, was this smoked haddock coulibiac.

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-Yeah.

-Boeuf stroganoff as the main thing.

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And then fresh raspberries. That was it.

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-Just the three courses.

-Still, loads and loads of flavour.

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-But, yes.

-Have I done this OK?

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Yeah, perfect. We're going to add in now some parsley with the mushrooms.

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-The mushrooms.

-And the onions.

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-The half-squeezed spinach.

-Half-squeezed spinach.

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Going to give it a little pinch of salt as well.

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And this is a Russian dish, is it?

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I think it's more to do with the pastry cases.

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-It's kind of a Russian...

-It's the pie bit.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

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-OK, so I have some puff pastry down here...

-Right.

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..that I'm going to build the pie with.

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I actually remember being in St George's Chapel the day before

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the wedding, and Sophie Rhys-Jones, as she then was,

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came in for the rehearsal, and it was obviously a very emotional time.

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-Mm.

-I suppose it is for all brides the day before, isn't it?

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-And grooms, I'd imagine, Michael.

-Well, yes, yes.

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Grooms are probably still on their stag night.

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Just going to egg-wash the sides here and take another sheet of puff pastry.

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-Right.

-Place it on top.

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Yeah.

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-And just press that down really, really well.

-Mm-hm.

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So at a wedding there would be lots of these, would there?

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This would be something spectacular to see in the back kitchens.

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-Really?

-Can you imagine for 250 people, just trays...?

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-500, 500!

-500, 500 people!

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Trays and trays of these coulibiacs.

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I'd say it would be amazing.

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-So what's next?

-Now, I'm going to use a lattice roller to...

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-Lattice.

-..finish the pastry, yeah.

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So you're cutting grooves in it?

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Yeah, and you need to use quite a bit of pressure all the way along.

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Oh, you did that beautifully.

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-And then you just separate it nice...

-Oh, yeah. This is just decoration?

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This is just decoration, and it adds a little bit of extra crunch.

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-Right.

-Just going to egg-wash the top of the pie,

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it's going to give it a lovely gloss, but it'll also help...

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-So it comes out shiny?

-Yes.

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And it'll also help the lattice stick to it.

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And then you're going to plonk it on the top?

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Then I'm just going to place it elegantly, with a bit of finesse,

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-on the top.

-You can imagine them all, can't you?

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All those, you know, the crowned heads of Europe and all that sort of thing.

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Because there are a lot of, you know, very important people at this wedding.

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-Absolutely.

-You could imagine them sort of tucking in.

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-Yeah.

-And breaking it open and...

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-Oh, yes.

-Oh, I'd say it was fantastic.

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I mean, it makes you hungry, these royal weddings.

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-Well...

-I had... Sue Barker and I had sandwiches, I remember.

-Oh!

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There might have been a bag of crisps, as well.

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But... I can't remember now.

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Yeah. No crisps for you today.

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-You can, you can have your...

-I can actually have it.

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-..coulibiac today.

-The coulibiac.

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I'm just going to trim this, just so it's nice and neat.

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I couldn't have you eating anything that isn't perfect, Michael.

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Artistically as well as culinarily.

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SHE CHUCKLES

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If that's a word. Somewhere in there, there's a word.

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So... This is off to the oven, eh?

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-Yeah.

-OK, now, at what heat and for how long?

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200 degrees for about 25 minutes.

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200? It's normally 180 for pastry, isn't it?

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-You know, I know about these things.

-You do, now, yeah.

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And you should also find one in there.

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Look at this, Anna.

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That looks gorgeous.

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-Gorgeous.

-Look.

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And that latticing has made it look really, really perfect.

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And quite simple to do.

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OK, so here we actually have the poaching liquid,

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and I'm going to add some white wine.

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-Oh, gosh.

-And some double cream.

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It's quite a rich dish, then, in the end, with that on top.

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Well, I think it needs it, because when you think,

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inside the pie there's vegetables, there's rice,

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there is some smoked fish.

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So I think the idea of a lovely kind of rich cream sauce will go very

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-well with this.

-Yeah.

-So we just want to bring this up to the boil.

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-So I'm going to cut our beautiful pie.

-Ah!

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This would have been the moment...

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What would it have been? Early afternoon, I suppose.

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500 guests sitting there, and out the back... I mean,

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how many of these would there have been?

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-Michael was tucking into an egg sandwich with a bag of salt and vinegar crisps.

-Exactly!

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Oh, isn't that terrific?

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I think so. A lovely crunch to the pie, which is absolutely what you want.

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I'm just going to add some parsley to the sauce now.

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-Give it a little stir.

-I can imagine, can't I,

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all those 500 guests in there, knives and forks at the ready,

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waiting for the coulibiac to arrive?

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-That's it.

-They probably already had their champagne, don't you think?

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-I should hope so.

-Yeah, I would hope so, too.

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I didn't get any champagne either, you know.

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-That's outrageous, Michael.

-Orange juice, I think.

-OK.

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-There we go.

-There we have our...

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-Look at that!

-Yeah, it looks great.

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We use a little bit of watercress in here, as well.

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Now, for the freshness, for the look, for the decoration?

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For the lovely peppery flavour we get of watercress,

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but also for the crunch.

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-It's great.

-And there you have it.

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Smoked haddock coulibiac with haddock and white wine sauce.

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Finally...

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..18 years afterwards...

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..I get to try the royal wedding starter.

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Mmm!

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-You get a real taste of the smoked fish.

-Mm.

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The spinach, the mushrooms, the rice.

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-But it's the pastry that makes it.

-Mm.

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It's kind of crispy, but it's kind of melting at the same time.

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Mmm. The wait was worth it.

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THEY CHUCKLE

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A fine fish pie.

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The perfect crowd-pleasing platter for a more modest royal wedding.

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Britain's royal heritage means we're awash with traditions,

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some arcane, some downright peculiar,

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and many involving food.

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One of these royal food traditions originated in Gloucester,

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as far back as the Middle Ages, and continues to this day.

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It features a very unusual ingredient that predates the dinosaurs.

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Polly Russell has been finding out about this bloodsucking parasite.

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It doesn't look very appetising, does it?

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But, amazingly, this was once a real delicacy,

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and was a favourite of kings.

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It's called a lamprey, an ancient eel-like creature,

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which used to be plentiful in British rivers, like the Severn here

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in Gloucestershire.

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About 200 years ago, because of declining water quality,

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they were almost totally wiped out,

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along with them, a tradition

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which had been beloved by generations of royals.

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The city of Gloucester has a long history of marking royal occasions

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with a lamprey pie.

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It dates back to the 12th century when Henry I would come to

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the city to meet with his council.

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The lamprey was a local speciality,

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and it's likely that the king was presented with a pie as a gift from

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the great and the good of the city.

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Dame Janet Trotter, Lord Lieutenant of Gloucestershire,

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knows more about this unusual custom.

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Gloucester's this amazing sort of city, really steeped in history.

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Can you tell me a bit about the lamprey pie?

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And where that comes from, what you know about it?

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Well, the lamprey pie, old tradition,

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and I know that King John loved lampreys.

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-Henry I died of a surfeit...

-Yeah.

-..of lampreys.

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So lamprey poisoning.

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So they were really loved.

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And I think it was the Earl of Chester who said at one

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point that he would exchange a horse for a lamprey.

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I suppose in the sort of medieval period,

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where people were having to have flesh days and fish days,

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not able to eat meat for so many days in the year because of the

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religious calendar, the sort of firm,

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bloody meat-like flesh of a lamprey would have been very appealing.

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Oh, I think it would have been, but I'm a vegetarian, so...

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..it certainly wouldn't have been for me!

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The tradition continued until lamprey numbers dwindled during the

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Industrial Revolution.

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It was revived in the 1950s when the Sheriff of Gloucester

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decided to send a lamprey pie to the newly crowned Elizabeth II.

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So 1953 and the coronation, and that tradition gets resurrected.

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Have those pies been made since for the royal family?

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Oh, yes, memorable pies.

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The Queen's Jubilee, we had a visit from the Earl and Countess of Wessex

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for a service.

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And we came out,

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and I'd said that the presentation could take place there.

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And I was expecting a small pie.

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And it was huge.

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This really monster pie that was in the shape of Gloucester Cathedral.

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-Really?

-In the shape of Gloucester Cathedral.

-Ornate and beautiful?

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Oh, they had been a week doing it.

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And the pastry was just...

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I could have eaten the pastry.

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They presented it to the Earl and the Countess,

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who then had to think how were they going to get it back to Buckingham Palace.

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Much to the police's horror,

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they decided to put it in their rather small helicopter.

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They insisted that it went in the back, and off it went.

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So we were rather pleased to see it intact going into the skies

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-when it went.

-Pie in the sky!

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The citizens of Gloucester continue to celebrate royalty with this

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rather extraordinary dish.

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Cheryl Spence helped make one for the Queen's Golden Jubilee.

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And how did you come to make a lamprey pie for the royals?

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Oh, gosh. At the time I was cheffing for our pub in Gloucester,

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and Martin Kirby,

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a local reporter from The Citizen in Gloucester came along and said,

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"I want to see your oven."

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And I looked a bit surprised and he said,

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"I want to see if it's tall enough

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"to make a lamprey pie for the Queen."

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Our oven was going to be tall enough.

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So, he sort of said, "Would you like to make the lamprey pie?"

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And I said, "Yes, that would be lovely, thank you!"

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What was the recipe that you used?

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-Well, of course, lampreys, two of them.

-Yeah.

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-They were quite long. Fish stock.

-Yeah.

-Some lemon juice.

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And the mushroom ketchup.

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And the lampreys, where did you get those from?

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They had to come from Canada,

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where they're quite plentiful and considered a pest.

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How fantastic to be part of this sort of tradition that's gone back

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-to the Middle Ages.

-Gloucester is full of history, as you know,

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so to be part of that history has been absolutely amazing.

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We don't know if the Queen likes lamprey pie,

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and for the time being the British lamprey is so rare, it's off the menu.

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But the good news is this weird- looking critter, after 200 years,

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is making a comeback into British rivers.

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From an exceptional creation to mark royal occasions

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to a more appetising variety,

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formerly enjoyed by a most particular monarch.

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This is Queen Victoria's pigeon pie, which is only meat,

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pigeon breast and also rump steak, but no vegetables.

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What kind of pigeon is this?

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Is this the kind of Trafalgar Square type pigeon,

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or is it a really special pigeon?

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This is squab pigeon.

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-Squab?

-Yeah, this is like a happy little plump pigeon,

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and the meat is quite tender compared to a wood pigeon,

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which has its own merits, but today we are using squab.

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I absolutely love pigeon.

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And so, I think, did Queen Victoria, because, actually,

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this recipe is in her own handwriting,

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so she was obviously very, very keen on it.

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It just seems incredible, you couldn't imagine,

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you know, a queen sitting down to write a recipe!

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-You just can't imagine it.

-Well, actually,

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there's a bit of a connection to one of the great mysteries of her time,

0:17:190:17:23

because she had a chef, a German chef, in fact, or Prussian,

0:17:230:17:27

he would have been then, called Daniel Ott,

0:17:270:17:30

and around about this time, he was mysteriously killed.

0:17:300:17:34

Nobody really quite knows what the story is.

0:17:340:17:36

He was killed in some sort of brawl

0:17:360:17:38

and it was a terrific kind of scandal and mystery at the time.

0:17:380:17:41

And around about this time was when Queen Victoria actually wrote this

0:17:410:17:46

recipe down in her own handwriting.

0:17:460:17:48

The speculation is that she kind of wrote it for whoever succeeded this

0:17:480:17:52

poor Daniel Ott fellow, her chef, her personal chef who was killed.

0:17:520:17:56

-So what are you doing?

-Um, I'm just, er, there's a bit of pepper in here,

0:17:560:18:00

-a little bit of salt to season the meat, and some flour.

-Yeah.

0:18:000:18:03

This will really help to thicken the sauce when it's cooking.

0:18:030:18:07

My pan is just about hot enough now.

0:18:070:18:09

That's a beautiful rump, isn't it?

0:18:100:18:12

Yes, it's a good piece of beef.

0:18:120:18:14

Again, you want to cut it into bite-size pieces.

0:18:140:18:18

-Why are you taking all the fat off?

-Well, there's sinew on top of that.

0:18:180:18:21

-Aah.

-So I'll put this into the pan when I go to sear it as well so you

0:18:210:18:25

get the lovely flavour of the fat.

0:18:250:18:27

But we won't be putting it in the pie...

0:18:270:18:30

You just want to make sure all your meat is coated in the flour.

0:18:300:18:34

-Tip it into our pie dish.

-MEAT SIZZLES

0:18:340:18:37

Ooh, listen to that!

0:18:370:18:39

-Smells delicious.

-I'm just checking here with Queen Victoria's recipe to

0:18:390:18:42

make sure you're on track here, Anna!

0:18:420:18:44

-Thank you, Michael!

-Aah, look at this.

0:18:440:18:46

"Cut off the pinions and the necks of pigeons.

0:18:460:18:50

"Gizzards, livers in the centre."

0:18:500:18:52

-Would you do all that?

-I would love to do all that,

0:18:520:18:54

-but I didn't think you would like to eat it today, Michael.

-No, maybe not.

0:18:540:18:57

It doesn't sound that appetising, does it?

0:18:570:18:59

-Pinions, gizzards, liver...

-I think it sounds delicious!

-Aah!

0:18:590:19:04

I think in Victoria's time people were keener on the kind of innards

0:19:040:19:08

-of animals, weren't they?

-Yeah.

0:19:080:19:09

And entrails and heart and liver and lights and all that kind of stuff.

0:19:090:19:14

-So we'll just essentially flash-fry that.

-Yes.

0:19:140:19:17

Just to kind of get the flour on the outside of it cooked onto it.

0:19:170:19:21

This is a demi-glace,

0:19:210:19:23

so it's a very rich kind of flavoursome stock.

0:19:230:19:27

-Pour that in.

-Oh, yeah!

0:19:270:19:31

And the last of our flour I think we should pop in there, as well.

0:19:310:19:35

I wish you could be here for the...

0:19:350:19:37

-..for the smell.

-Mm.

-Pity you can't get smell on television!

0:19:370:19:41

Not yet, not yet!

0:19:410:19:42

Oh, wow. That's terrific.

0:19:420:19:44

A little bit of a stir. It does smell delicious.

0:19:440:19:46

It does.

0:19:460:19:49

Now, is that bit of fat going to go in, as well?

0:19:490:19:51

No, I'm going to take the fat out but I'm just going to scrape all of

0:19:510:19:55

the goodness off the bottom of the pan.

0:19:550:19:57

-The lot, hey?

-That's just the best bit.

0:19:570:19:59

-It does look good.

-Yeah.

0:19:590:20:00

-And then?

-And now we're going to add the bone marrow.

0:20:000:20:03

-So...

-Getting it right out of the centre of the bone there.

0:20:030:20:06

That's it, yeah. I just think this is a more interesting way of making

0:20:060:20:09

the pie more rich as opposed to adding butter.

0:20:090:20:12

So this was obviously Queen Victoria's favourite,

0:20:120:20:14

but we don't know about our present Queen and whether she likes...

0:20:140:20:18

..likes pigeon. Actually, a bit unfortunate, and a bit tasteless,

0:20:180:20:20

really, but she's actually

0:20:200:20:22

patron of the Royal Pigeon Racing Association,

0:20:220:20:25

so I wonder if she eats pigeons, as well!

0:20:250:20:28

-I'm sure she...

-That's why we don't know!

0:20:280:20:31

I'm sure she doesn't eat racing pigeons!

0:20:310:20:33

No, well, that's true, that's true! That's all right, then. OK!

0:20:330:20:36

So here I have some shortcrust pastry that I made earlier on.

0:20:360:20:39

This is 300g of flour, 180g of butter, one egg, a pinch of salt,

0:20:390:20:47

a spoonful of cold water, and you have a nice shortcrust pastry.

0:20:470:20:52

-So I'm just going to roll this out.

-So, how thin do you roll it out?

0:20:520:20:55

Um, probably to about a half-centimetre I would say would be kind of thin enough.

0:20:550:20:59

Just a little bit of flour.

0:20:590:21:01

-I love a pastry top to a pie!

-Yeah.

0:21:010:21:03

OK. So I'm going to put this on top of our pie.

0:21:030:21:06

-OK.

-So first of all,

0:21:060:21:08

I'm just going to put a little bit of egg wash on top,

0:21:080:21:12

so this is what's going to help the lid stick to the pie dish.

0:21:120:21:17

-OK.

-And then I'm going to use this...

0:21:170:21:19

-Plonk it on top?

-Well, you've got to...

0:21:190:21:21

-Oh, no?

-If you're not careful, the pastry might tear...

0:21:210:21:25

-So I'll just gently...

-So you always roll it up like that?

0:21:250:21:27

-..roll it up.

-Oh, that's ingenious.

0:21:270:21:29

And then roll it back...

0:21:290:21:30

I love it when you pay me a compliment, Michael!

0:21:300:21:33

HE CHUCKLES

0:21:330:21:34

-OK...

-There we go.

0:21:340:21:36

You can just imagine Queen Victoria licking her lips at this sort of thing!

0:21:360:21:39

I think she liked her food, Queen Victoria, one way or another.

0:21:390:21:43

-Her table manners were not that marvellous, though.

-Oh, really?

0:21:430:21:46

No, no, apparently there was a number of senior politicians who

0:21:460:21:51

have left odd notes saying she used to eat very fast,

0:21:510:21:54

and she didn't make very much conversation!

0:21:540:21:57

Maybe she didn't like their company!

0:21:570:21:59

Well, I suppose that's possible, that's possible.

0:21:590:22:01

Maybe she was just, you know...liked her food a little bit too much.

0:22:010:22:04

Her royal physician, Sir James Reid,

0:22:040:22:07

he left notes about how she did suffer an awful lot of...

0:22:070:22:12

..how can I put this, intestinal upsets, apparently.

0:22:120:22:15

-Oh, dear!

-That's probably because she ate too fast.

0:22:150:22:18

-Didn't do enough talking.

-Oh.

-There we go.

0:22:180:22:20

OK, so I'm going to cut a little hole in the centre of the pie,

0:22:200:22:24

and this will release some of the steam.

0:22:240:22:28

I'm just going to egg-wash the top of it.

0:22:280:22:30

-So if you wouldn't mind popping that in the oven.

-OK, at what temperature...?

0:22:300:22:33

Aah! What temperature?

0:22:330:22:34

-So, 180 degrees...

-Of course, 180 degrees!

0:22:340:22:37

For about 25-30 minutes, until it's golden brown.

0:22:370:22:40

-OK, here we go.

-OK.

0:22:400:22:42

This pie has been resting for ten minutes now.

0:22:450:22:47

-Aah...

-Check this out.

0:22:470:22:49

-Ooh!

-It's very nice...

0:22:490:22:51

Oh, that looks brilliant, doesn't it?

0:22:510:22:53

Yeah. OK?

0:22:530:22:55

And I'm going to serve it with some buttered cabbage

0:22:550:22:57

and some buttered carrots.

0:22:570:22:58

Yes, I was going to wonder when we were going to get any vegetables with this dish!

0:22:580:23:02

That's it. I don't want you suffering from gout after this!

0:23:020:23:05

And they are kind of wintry vegetables, aren't they,

0:23:050:23:07

to go with the sort of heartiness of the pie?

0:23:070:23:10

Absolutely, absolutely.

0:23:100:23:12

This is something you want to have in wintertime.

0:23:120:23:15

After going out shooting, do you think?

0:23:150:23:17

-Is it that kind of thing?

-I think so, yeah!

0:23:170:23:19

Ooh... Now...

0:23:190:23:21

Oh, this smells amazing!

0:23:210:23:23

Some lovely buttered carrots...

0:23:250:23:28

-Cabbage...

-And not too cooked cabbage.

0:23:280:23:30

My grandmother used to cook cabbage for days!

0:23:300:23:33

-I hated it.

-So there you have it.

0:23:340:23:36

Victoria's pigeon pie

0:23:360:23:38

with some buttered carrots and buttered cabbage.

0:23:380:23:41

Well, like Queen Victoria, I think I might eat this fast.

0:23:410:23:44

A delight, here we go...

0:23:440:23:45

-Ooh!

-Oh, it's hot, it's hot!

0:23:480:23:50

Mmm! Mmm!

0:23:520:23:54

That's really rich.

0:23:540:23:56

-It's bursting with flavour.

-Mm.

0:23:590:24:00

It's so gamey. I mean, you can really see why Queen Victoria was so

0:24:020:24:06

determined that even though her royal chef had been bumped off,

0:24:060:24:10

that she was still going to get her pigeon pie!

0:24:100:24:13

A hearty, rich pie.

0:24:150:24:17

What a lovely, dainty dish to set before the queen!

0:24:170:24:20

The royals are known to partake of a pie now and again,

0:24:250:24:28

with pork pies a particular favourite.

0:24:280:24:31

But a pie doesn't get more British than when it's filled with succulent beef!

0:24:310:24:36

Just around the corner from Balmoral Castle,

0:24:430:24:45

thriving in the Scottish Highlands is a very fine breed of beef cattle.

0:24:450:24:50

Anna Haugh went along to cast an expert eye...

0:24:530:24:56

As a chef, I like to know where my ingredients come from,

0:24:580:25:01

especially when it comes to meat,

0:25:010:25:03

which is not a bad thing when I get to come to beautiful places like this!

0:25:030:25:06

Stephen Allardyce is the third generation of his family to rear

0:25:100:25:14

beasts on these lands.

0:25:140:25:15

-Stephen, hi, how are you?

-Hi.

-Hi!

0:25:200:25:23

It's so beautiful here, and these cattle, these jet-black cattle,

0:25:230:25:27

-tell me about them.

-The Aberdeen Angus, as we see here,

0:25:270:25:30

originated back in 1879 from Aberdeen doddies and the Angus hummlies.

0:25:300:25:36

They both were black and both were polled, no horns,

0:25:360:25:40

so that's why we've got our Aberdeen Angus of today.

0:25:400:25:42

So, do they thrive well in Scottish weather?

0:25:420:25:45

Yes, they do, yes. They acclimatise to it.

0:25:450:25:47

They've got thick coats in the wintertime and they lose that winter coat,

0:25:470:25:51

as you can see they've got the summer coats, which keeps them cooler.

0:25:510:25:55

What do you feed the cattle, in the winter, when you don't have the grass?

0:25:550:25:58

-In the winter, we make hay and silage.

-Mm-hm.

0:25:580:26:00

We've also got a by-product from the distillery called draff.

0:26:000:26:02

So if it's a by-product of whisky,

0:26:020:26:04

does it mean the cows could get drunk on their feed?

0:26:040:26:07

If they could get drunk, so would I!

0:26:070:26:09

You'll be eating the cattle's feed!

0:26:090:26:12

No, there's no alcohol in it!

0:26:120:26:13

Who do you supply your beef to?

0:26:190:26:20

The local market and also the local butcher who supply the royal family.

0:26:200:26:25

That must feel quite special, no,

0:26:250:26:27

that the royal family could be eating your beef?

0:26:270:26:29

Yes, it satisfies myself.

0:26:290:26:31

-It's something to put on my CV!

-Yeah!

0:26:310:26:35

Aberdeen Angus cattle have a long association with the royal family.

0:26:370:26:41

The Queen Mother was patron of the breed society from 1937.

0:26:430:26:47

Prince Charles has now taken over that role.

0:26:470:26:50

So it's no surprise that this beef is in demand when the royals visit Balmoral.

0:26:530:26:58

Butcher John Sinclair regularly supplies the castle's kitchens.

0:27:000:27:05

So is this Stephen's beef?

0:27:090:27:11

Yes, it is, actually. It's a piece of rib of beef.

0:27:110:27:13

As you can see, nice marbling on it.

0:27:130:27:15

Yeah. Would the royals eat a cut of beef like this?

0:27:150:27:18

Yeah, that would probably be their Sunday roast.

0:27:180:27:20

Maybe they would take the whole piece for the family, yeah.

0:27:200:27:23

Lovely. So have any royals actually come into the shop?

0:27:230:27:26

The Prince of Wales has been in. The Queen has been in, as well.

0:27:260:27:28

-Wow!

-Yeah.

0:27:280:27:29

Then we've had the Duke of Edinburgh in, as well.

0:27:290:27:32

We've had Camilla in.

0:27:320:27:33

-Aye, we've done well with royals.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

0:27:330:27:36

Did they come in for anything in particular?

0:27:360:27:39

Well, obviously, they phone down for their orders,

0:27:390:27:43

but they do look at the stuff that's on the counter.

0:27:430:27:46

The Duke is quite partial to barbecue, as well.

0:27:460:27:47

-Has he tried the Irn-Bru and pork sausage that you do?

-Not yet.

0:27:470:27:51

But maybe this summertime, I might pop one up and try it.

0:27:510:27:54

Their top-quality meat graces the royal table and the royal grill.

0:27:550:28:00

But they also provide Balmoral Castle with prize-winning pies.

0:28:000:28:04

John runs the company with fellow butcher Barry Florence.

0:28:060:28:10

So tell me how you won this award for the best pie.

0:28:140:28:19

The butchers' federation run regular competitions and we entered

0:28:190:28:24

and we were lucky enough to become the champion.

0:28:240:28:28

Wow! That's wonderful.

0:28:280:28:30

Two of their pies have been honoured at the British Pie Awards.

0:28:320:28:36

One of them is - what else

0:28:360:28:37

but a steak pie made with Stephen's Aberdeen Angus.

0:28:370:28:42

And why do you think you won it?

0:28:420:28:44

We start with quality product.

0:28:440:28:46

-Nothing is made in huge batches and everything is handmade.

-Yeah.

0:28:460:28:51

And I just make stuff I like to eat myself.

0:28:510:28:54

-Yeah.

-And it obviously did the trick and we won the prize.

0:28:540:28:57

It smells amazing.

0:28:580:29:00

So do you know if any of the royals

0:29:000:29:02

have actually eaten your award-winning pie?

0:29:020:29:05

Well, we know there's award-winning pies gone up to the castle.

0:29:050:29:09

But you don't know whether they're going to the royal table or not.

0:29:100:29:13

And so I suppose the answer would be they possibly have.

0:29:130:29:17

The shop holds not one but two Royal Warrants.

0:29:190:29:24

It's a testament to all involved.

0:29:240:29:26

There we are. Nice, even rise.

0:29:260:29:28

They look incredible.

0:29:280:29:30

I wouldn't be surprised if the royal family did enjoy them.

0:29:320:29:36

Thanks a million. Thank you.

0:29:360:29:39

After all, who could resist succulent beef encased in a pie?

0:29:390:29:43

They go back a long time, these meat pies in this country.

0:29:560:29:59

They go back to the 12th century,

0:29:590:30:00

and I didn't know this but apparently in the early, early days,

0:30:000:30:05

in medieval times, you didn't eat the crust.

0:30:050:30:07

You'd take it with you to work or something.

0:30:070:30:09

It was just a matter of transporting the meat or the beef inside.

0:30:090:30:13

-Which would be a shame.

-I'm just picturing all these guys who work

0:30:130:30:16

in the City heading into work

0:30:160:30:18

with their pies. I don't think that would work nowadays.

0:30:180:30:20

But the royals and pies, the history goes back and back and back.

0:30:200:30:24

Elizabeth I, she was the first monarch, apparently, to have a fruit

0:30:240:30:28

-pie.

-Mm.

-Because normally it used to be meat in the Middle Ages and

0:30:280:30:31

everything, but she had a pie with cherry inside.

0:30:310:30:35

Elizabethan cherry pie.

0:30:350:30:37

God, I bet that was delicious.

0:30:370:30:39

Today's royals are no different from Elizabeth I

0:30:390:30:42

in enjoying a succulent, fruity pudding.

0:30:420:30:46

One royal chef was tasked with putting a different twist on a

0:30:460:30:50

classic British pudding for a very special occasion.

0:30:500:30:53

In the heart of the City of London,

0:30:570:30:59

Indian executive chef Cyrus Todiwala runs an award-winning restaurant.

0:30:590:31:04

He's not only been honoured with an OBE for his services to the British

0:31:080:31:11

food industry, he's also served pudding to the Queen.

0:31:110:31:15

I had the great fortune of being the chef to cook the first-ever luncheon

0:31:150:31:20

for the Diamond Jubilee.

0:31:200:31:22

This meant that we had to plan a menu that could not be all British,

0:31:220:31:26

but had to have a British influence.

0:31:260:31:28

That's exactly what I wanted.

0:31:280:31:30

Cyrus baked Indian-inspired bread and butter pudding

0:31:300:31:34

with a sloe gin and plum syrup.

0:31:340:31:37

It was a big hit with Her Majesty.

0:31:370:31:39

So what I'm going to do first is, of course, stew my plums.

0:31:390:31:43

So I put my pan a bit on heat.

0:31:430:31:47

Pour the sloe gin inside.

0:31:470:31:50

And with that, a bit of sugar.

0:31:520:31:53

And then I start with the plums, OK?

0:31:590:32:01

So, all we are doing is just trying to make neater segments, OK?

0:32:040:32:07

You can chop it up, you can square it up, you can do what you like.

0:32:070:32:12

Cyrus adds his carefully sliced plums to the gin and sugar to create

0:32:120:32:16

a delicious, fruity syrup.

0:32:160:32:18

While it's simmering, he makes a start on the bread.

0:32:180:32:21

Crust out, crust in, your choice.

0:32:220:32:24

For the luncheon, we did take the crusts off.

0:32:240:32:27

We didn't keep the crust. Come on.

0:32:270:32:29

She's the Queen! You don't want to give her crusts, do you?

0:32:290:32:32

Liberal buttering. OK?

0:32:330:32:35

And it will mess up my hands a little bit because I'll butter

0:32:350:32:38

on both sides of the dish.

0:32:380:32:40

I'm just covering as much of the dish as is possible.

0:32:400:32:43

You see, I'm just covering it up.

0:32:430:32:45

So I've got this plum and orange marmalade.

0:32:450:32:50

And just dot it wherever you feel like.

0:32:510:32:54

Adds a bit of colour and it definitely adds a lot of flavour.

0:32:550:32:59

I'm going to sprinkle some of these

0:32:590:33:00

raisins, white raisins.

0:33:000:33:03

A few nuts in between.

0:33:050:33:07

OK. There we go.

0:33:090:33:10

When the plums are translucent yet still hold their shape,

0:33:130:33:17

Cyrus sets them aside to cool.

0:33:170:33:20

Now for the custard.

0:33:200:33:22

He lightly beats eight whole eggs and three yolks and

0:33:220:33:25

adds clotted cream, double cream, evaporated milk, sugar and vanilla.

0:33:250:33:31

Do not make the mistake of licking when you're scraping vanilla off.

0:33:310:33:38

Honestly, it will destroy your taste buds.

0:33:380:33:40

To achieve an Indian twist,

0:33:400:33:42

Cyrus adds ground cardamom and a splash of rose water.

0:33:420:33:47

All we do is pour a layer of this over.

0:33:470:33:50

And while we get ready with the next set of bread slices,

0:33:510:33:56

this will hopefully soak in.

0:33:560:33:58

Now, I'm going to actually divide the slices into triangles.

0:33:580:34:04

You, my dear sir, go that way.

0:34:040:34:06

Naturally, Her Majesty's PA was very concerned.

0:34:070:34:13

He was worried about the luncheon because that has spices in it,

0:34:130:34:16

and he was not confident that I would not put chilli into it,

0:34:160:34:22

because Her Majesty does not eat chilli.

0:34:220:34:25

And it was tasted by the royal chef

0:34:250:34:28

and he said it was perfect

0:34:280:34:32

and his boss would be very happy with that.

0:34:320:34:35

Cyrus pours the custard over the layers of bread and pops the pudding

0:34:350:34:39

into a preheated oven at 200 Celsius for ten minutes.

0:34:390:34:44

He then lowers the temperature to 160 degrees and bakes for a further

0:34:440:34:48

-five.

-So whilst the lunch was going on, of course we were all nervous.

0:34:480:34:51

You cannot walk up to Her Majesty and ask,

0:34:510:34:54

"Madam, how was the lunch today?" You can't do that.

0:34:540:34:56

But, of course, the Lord Lieutenant is my secret informer at the time

0:34:560:35:02

and I stood in a corner and I looked at him and he

0:35:020:35:04

looked at me and did that.

0:35:040:35:05

He just nodded. And I said, "Thumbs up, it's looking great."

0:35:050:35:09

After the lunch, before the royal couple had to depart,

0:35:090:35:14

he came into the kitchen and said, "Cyrus, can you get your entire team ready?

0:35:140:35:18

"Her Majesty would like to personally thank everybody."

0:35:180:35:21

And that was fabulous.

0:35:210:35:22

We were not expecting that, but she is very gracious,

0:35:220:35:25

as everybody knows,

0:35:250:35:27

and we all lined up and she came and met each and every one of us.

0:35:270:35:30

The Duke of Edinburgh met every one of us.

0:35:300:35:32

And it was a great celebration.

0:35:320:35:36

Once it's cooked to perfection, it needs to be left alone for an hour.

0:35:380:35:42

The last thing you want, of course, is to dig into it straightaway,

0:35:440:35:48

regardless of the temptation.

0:35:480:35:50

After it's cooled, Cyrus plates up

0:35:500:35:52

his Indian-influenced British classic.

0:35:520:35:55

Wow. See the lovely texture there?

0:35:550:35:58

So here's our very special, royal bread and butter pudding,

0:36:030:36:07

served with plums, stewed in sloe gin, very traditional, of course,

0:36:070:36:12

and lots of bread and butter.

0:36:120:36:15

The current royal family certainly enjoys a good old British pie.

0:36:240:36:28

It's a tradition that seemingly goes back hundreds of years to when a

0:36:280:36:32

Tudor king was reported to have his fancy tickled by a sweet pastry.

0:36:320:36:38

-What are you cooking now?

-Maids of honour tarts.

0:36:430:36:45

Little, flaky kind of lemony custard tarts.

0:36:450:36:48

Sweet little tarts.

0:36:480:36:50

And they have a bit of a story behind them, as well.

0:36:500:36:52

You start, because these tarts might have changed the course of English

0:36:520:36:57

history, if the story is true.

0:36:570:36:59

-If the story is true, yes.

-If the story is true.

0:36:590:37:01

And the story is that Henry VIII was visiting his wife,

0:37:010:37:04

Catherine of Aragon, at Hampton Court Palace,

0:37:040:37:07

and he was in the grounds and there were the ladies-in-waiting,

0:37:070:37:10

the maids of honour.

0:37:100:37:12

-That's right.

-And they were eating these sweet little pastries.

0:37:120:37:16

And one of the maids of honour came and offered one of the sweet little

0:37:160:37:19

-pastries to Henry VIII.

-And who was she?

0:37:190:37:21

And her name was Anne Boleyn.

0:37:210:37:25

-That's it.

-Dot, dot, dot.

0:37:250:37:27

And these maids of honour,

0:37:270:37:28

apparently they were the only ones who ate these tarts.

0:37:280:37:31

So they made them themselves, as well.

0:37:310:37:33

And I'm just pressing in discs of puff pastry into this nonstick

0:37:330:37:40

cupcake tin and then I'm going to get on and make the mix.

0:37:400:37:43

So first of all with the mix, I'm going to cream some butter

0:37:430:37:49

-and some sugar together.

-Yeah.

0:37:490:37:51

OK.

0:37:530:37:54

And I'll put my sugar in, as well.

0:37:540:37:56

Yeah. And some eggs?

0:37:560:37:58

No. First of all, I'm just going to cream this together.

0:37:580:38:00

-OK.

-So you've got to have a bit of patience, Michael.

0:38:000:38:02

-It goes in stages.

-I know, I'm just anxious to see and taste what

0:38:020:38:06

Henry VIII saw in this, or maybe he just saw it in Anne Boleyn.

0:38:060:38:09

But isn't it kind of fascinating,

0:38:090:38:11

the idea that this recipe was made so many years ago?

0:38:110:38:15

Yeah. And by the ladies of the court themselves,

0:38:150:38:17

not by chefs or anything like that.

0:38:170:38:19

Yeah. Well, they were the only ones who were allowed to eat them,

0:38:190:38:21

apparently, until King Henry VIII got his hands on them.

0:38:210:38:25

-Right.

-So I just want to keep mixing this together until it kind of goes

0:38:250:38:29

a little bit like more of a creamy colour,

0:38:290:38:31

and this will lighten up the butter so that when I go to add the eggs

0:38:310:38:36

-and the other ingredients, that they'll mix in a bit better.

-Yeah.

0:38:360:38:39

And, of course, after he'd eaten the tart,

0:38:400:38:44

he fell for Anne Boleyn.

0:38:440:38:45

He got rid of Catherine of Aragon.

0:38:450:38:47

He broke with the Pope, the Reformation,

0:38:470:38:50

dissolution of the monasteries.

0:38:500:38:53

And it was all, according to the story, down to a sweet little tart.

0:38:530:38:58

Though whether you think that was the pastry or not...

0:38:580:39:01

Ooh!

0:39:010:39:03

-OK, what next?

-As you can see, it's changed colour.

0:39:030:39:06

It's gone a bit paler. So that's about time now to add in our egg.

0:39:060:39:10

-So I'll just give that a little mix.

-You're very dextrous, aren't you?

0:39:120:39:15

You've kind of almost got a backhand with that whisk.

0:39:150:39:17

Well, you know, I'm just skilled, you know.

0:39:170:39:19

It's years and years of training.

0:39:190:39:21

OK, so in goes the flour.

0:39:210:39:23

-So modest! What's that?

-And the nutmeg.

0:39:230:39:28

It's such a versatile spice.

0:39:280:39:30

I love it because you associate it with pastry,

0:39:300:39:32

but then it goes so well with things like scallops.

0:39:320:39:34

-It can be really nice.

-And nutmeg has a sort of almost medieval feel

0:39:340:39:39

-to it, don't you think?

-Yes, yes.

-A taste to it.

0:39:390:39:41

It's a real Tudor spice.

0:39:410:39:42

-Yeah, that's right.

-Must have been very valuable in Henry VIII's day.

0:39:420:39:45

-I imagine.

-Well, I'd imagine any spices back in Henry VIII's time

0:39:450:39:49

-would have been seen as such a luxury, yeah.

-Coming from the Far East.

0:39:490:39:52

-Absolutely.

-OK, and last, well, not last, almost last,

0:39:520:39:55

our curds are going to go in.

0:39:550:39:58

-Now, what's that?

-This is just curds.

0:39:580:40:00

Cheese curds. Give that a good stir.

0:40:000:40:02

-You need a bit of brawn for this, don't you?

-Well, you know.

-I know!

0:40:040:40:09

It's all the gym working out.

0:40:090:40:11

So last...

0:40:110:40:12

You're very careful not to get any of the white stuff from the lemon in

0:40:140:40:17

-there.

-That's because it makes it kind of bitter.

0:40:170:40:19

As opposed to the lovely kind of perfumey smell of your lemon zest.

0:40:190:40:24

There was a chef, apparently, I think,

0:40:240:40:26

who came up with this originally for the maids of honour to actually do.

0:40:260:40:31

And the King, again, it's said, it's a story,

0:40:310:40:36

had him locked up in the tower so

0:40:360:40:37

that nobody else should get the recipe.

0:40:370:40:40

My goodness. Imagine somebody doing that today.

0:40:400:40:42

Yeah, I mean, everybody... You know, people tend to think of him as a

0:40:420:40:46

-jolly old boy.

-Well, to lock somebody up for a cake, you know...

0:40:460:40:49

I think he did worse things, but anyway.

0:40:490:40:52

OK, so we're going to spoon our mix now into...

0:40:520:40:54

-I thought you were going to offer that to me.

-I'm afraid not, no!

0:40:540:40:57

This is delicately measured.

0:40:570:40:59

I need all of it. So just a nice heaped teaspoon.

0:40:590:41:02

You're not really filling it up, are you?

0:41:020:41:04

Well, the thing is that the puff pastry will rise and also the mix

0:41:040:41:07

has got flour in it and eggs.

0:41:070:41:09

-That will puff out.

-So it's all going to expand.

-Exactly.

0:41:090:41:12

-You will soon find out.

-OK.

0:41:120:41:14

Actually, it takes me back to being a kid again,

0:41:140:41:16

hoping that there would be some left by the time you get to the ninth...

0:41:160:41:20

I'm imagining little Michael as a young boy,

0:41:200:41:23

hovering around the pastry bowl.

0:41:230:41:24

-That's quite a nice image.

-Yeah, nice image.

0:41:240:41:27

And sugar was a rarity then, wasn't it?

0:41:280:41:31

You know, I mean, it's only really rich people who could afford sugar

0:41:310:41:36

-at all.

-Absolutely.

-Unlike today.

0:41:360:41:38

I mean, I think an awful lot of these ingredients are things that we

0:41:380:41:41

kind of take for granted nowadays.

0:41:410:41:43

OK, so if you wouldn't mind popping these into the oven for me?

0:41:430:41:46

That would be great. So it's 180 degrees.

0:41:460:41:49

Now, they are small, but they take a while.

0:41:490:41:50

-How long?

-25 minutes.

0:41:500:41:52

Well, I don't know if I can wait that long, Anna.

0:41:520:41:56

Well, Michael, you don't have to.

0:41:560:41:58

We have some ready and waiting for you.

0:41:580:42:00

-I knew you wouldn't let me down.

-I wouldn't let you down.

0:42:030:42:06

-Look how much they've puffed up!

-Yes, I know.

0:42:060:42:09

Only a teaspoon of mix.

0:42:090:42:11

It's beautifully brown on top.

0:42:110:42:13

That would be the sugar and the almonds inside it.

0:42:130:42:15

Yeah, of course, yeah.

0:42:150:42:17

And do you serve them as they are,

0:42:170:42:19

or do you do something really fancy with them?

0:42:190:42:22

That's it. That's how they would have been eaten before.

0:42:220:42:24

OK. Well, you play Anne Boleyn. And I will play Henry VIII.

0:42:240:42:29

Hang on a second. I need to stuff something up my jumper, don't I?

0:42:290:42:33

Come on. Oh, my pretty maid!

0:42:330:42:36

What's your name and what are you doing after the ball?

0:42:360:42:38

Mmm!

0:42:380:42:40

Ooh! That's lovely.

0:42:410:42:44

That's really nice.

0:42:440:42:46

-Mmm!

-Mmm.

-That's really good.

0:42:460:42:49

There's a real sweetness on the top.

0:42:510:42:53

-And a lovely flakiness of the pastry.

-Absolutely!

0:42:530:42:57

Mmm!

0:42:570:43:00

The little tart that changed the course of English history.

0:43:000:43:05

That's it for today. Join us next time.

0:43:050:43:08

Mm!

0:43:090:43:11

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