18/12/2016 Saturday Kitchen Best Bites

With Christmas Day round the corner,

I've got a sensational selection of festive food

on this week's Saturday Kitchen Best Bites.

So, get your onesie on, put your feet up

and enjoy the show.

Welcome to the show.

Now, I've got the perfect mix of top chefs, fabulous food,

terrible Christmas jumpers and a whole load of celebrity guests

who can't wait to get stuck in.

So, stay right there. Coming up today...

James Martin cooks up some party food

for Hollywood star Sam Neill

with his mackerel fillet with dressed crab.

The French maestro Michel Roux gives us a masterclass

in how to make the perfect Christmas starter.

He makes a delicious chicken terrine,

flavoured with thyme, tarragon and chives,

served with a simple salad and toast.

Plus, our favourite Aussie Bill Granger

shows us how to get the best out of a festive staple - Christmas ham.

He glazes the ham with sweet Asian flavours,

including hoisin and plum sauce,

before serving it with a zesty lemon and potato salad.

Nathan Outlaw and Tristan Welch gets dressed up for the occasion

as they battle it out

in the Saturday Kitchen Omelette Challenge.

Then it's over to Saturday Kitchen favourite Nick Nairn,

who is keeping it sweet and seasonal

with a hearty and indulgent Christmas dessert.

He's making a croustade filled with caramel, cranberries and apples,

served with an Armagnac custard.

And finally, comedian Johnny Vegas faces his food heaven or food hell.

Did he get his food heaven, vodka and tonic soft-shell crab,

with saffron aioli and seasonal salad?

Or did he end up facing his food hell,

Christmas pudding ice cream with sauteed pineapple

and a star anise and cinnamon caramel?

You can find out what he got at the end of the show.

But first, to get our taste buds tingling,

it's spice king Vivek Singh

and he serves up roast venison loin with root vegetables,

pickling sauce and venison meatballs.

Cooking next is one of the very best Indian chefs in the country.

It's Vivek Singh, of course.

Now, on the menu for you today, chef,

we got a bit of venison, is that right?

Yes. We've got a loin of venison - so, nice and lean, very seasonal.

The reason I am doing it now

is it'll make an excellent alternative Christmas roast.

So, we've got a loin of venison that we're going to cook,

and I need your help to make these really tender,

melt-in-the-mouth venison meatballs.

I know you're going to get this on.

I'm just basically going to take this one out.

-I've got some... Right. Great.

-Which is there, ready.

-So, off you go.

-OK.

So, what we do is we are starting to marinade...

The first marination for the venison

is just a tiny bit of red chilli powder

and a bit of salt and a touch of oil in it.

You want me to get the veg on for this one,

so we've got a little...

Think of this as a part-pickle, part-roasted vegetables, so...

You've got cumin, coriander and chilli into hot oil,

and then sear the vegetables in there.

Then just add salt, sugar and vinegar

and let it roast in the oven.

Sounds good. You've got radishes... All manner of different...

-All of those things, yes.

-OK.

They are going to go in there as well.

Now, tell us about this, then, the venison.

Cos you use a lot of game in your restaurant, don't you?

I use a lot of game in all our restaurants

Both at the Cinnamon Club, of course, we started off...

We pioneered using game in Indian restaurants, there.

But I have taken it to Cinnamon Kitchen

and you see game featuring on Cinnamon Soho menus as well.

Now, this one here, you've got the spices all in there.

Salt and sugar.

This is the common mistake people do -

-you need to fry off those spices, don't you?

-Exactly.

All of these...

The veg. Then the vinegar is going in there.

-That is where you get that part-pickle.

-Yeah.

In we go with the vinegar.

-OK.

-A bit of salt. Got some in there.

Then straight in the oven.

-OK, great.

-What are you doing with the venison, then?

The venison, I'm searing for a few minutes.

Then I got the second marinade I'm going to make,

which is yoghurt, garam masala and red chilli powder, salt and sugar.

OK? And a touch of ginger and garlic paste in there.

And that is going to become...

-This is effectively a tandoori marinade, really.

-Right.

People will want to know this - a tandoori marinade,

if they want to do this this Christmas,

what would it be?

Run through that again.

It's yoghurt, Greek yoghurt, ginger and garlic paste,

a bit of ground garam masala, red chilli powder and salt.

-That's that.

-OK. Easy as that.

Easy as that.

Now, Silvena did her, sort of, lamb meatballs.

You've got, over here, something slightly different.

You're going to use the fat as well as the venison.

This is... Yes, exactly. This is venison meatballs,

but I am making it exactly like they would have made

a lamb galawati kebab in Lucknow.

Again, Lucknow is known as the Constantinople of the East,

so a lot of Ottoman influence, you find there.

You've got onions in there,

which is the basis for so much Indian cooking.

Yeah, there is a lot of onions used in our cooking.

A lot of the bases for the sauce and everything else we do is onion,

because we don't use a lot of stock, traditionally, in our cooking, so...

And pineapple juice, you've got in there.

I'm assuming that breaks down the fat as well.

It just breaks down the meat protein.

-It's such an effective tenderiser. It's been used for years.

-Yeah.

A bit of garlic. And then you've got the spices.

What's this? Cumin, salt...

Cumin, salt, garam masala, ginger and garlic paste,

and, effectively, the pineapple is going to break it all down.

You blitz this together.

Right, so we sear our meat.

A couple of minutes, a few minutes either side.

What about the restaurants?

-Now, you've got three restaurants now.

-Right, yes.

Cinnamon Club, Cinnamon Kitchen and...

-Cinnamon Kitchen and Cinnamon Soho.

-Yeah.

Cinnamon Kitchen, I did four years ago.

It is situated in the old West...

-It's in the old spice warehouses of the East India Company.

-Yeah.

And Cinnamon Soho, I did most recently...

That will go into the oven, about 200 degrees,

for about six to seven minutes, then I'll rest it for another few.

Right, so, let's...

And then, of course, the one that you have...

The one that I went to last night.

-The Cinnamon Club, Cinnamon Club.

-Cinnamon Club. Busier than ever.

Oh, God. I mean, it's... It's a big ship, that.

It used to be... It was an old library, wasn't it?

-It used to be the old Westminster library.

-Right.

I mean, it's so formal and a lot of people, sort of,

would ask us if they had to be members or, you know...

If they were allowed children and things.

I just thought we needed to do something more accessible

and that's how Cinnamon Kitchen was done four years ago.

I learned something about cinnamon the other day.

Correct me if I'm wrong, you probably know this as chefs.

But if you hold your nose while you have cinnamon,

while you taste cinnamon, you can't taste it.

Only when you let your nose go.

You can't taste anything if you hold your nose.

Well, no, you can, but cinnamon in particular, I've heard.

-Am I right or wrong?

-How did you come across that?

Well, I was told, and then I tried it,

and it was true, and I was blown away by it.

You've just got too much time on your hands!

Now I've got no job!

Just take a look at this.

This is a panch phoron. You can buy it as a panch phoron.

"Panch", meaning five, and "phoron" means tempering.

-Five different spices that go into the tempering.

-Right.

So, fenugreek seeds, mustard seeds, black onion seeds,

fennel seeds and cumin seeds.

You're going to get the sauce on.

These are the meatballs that I've made

and we're frying these off.

-Yeah.

-These ones, cos you want to get that sauce on quite quickly.

Exactly. The sauce is on.

So you allow the spices to crackle.

Could have done with a bit more flame on, but that's fine.

Now, of course, you've just finished the cookbook

that you've got as well.

That's right, Cinnamon Kitchen cookbook.

Just came out a couple of weeks ago. I'm really pleased with it.

The cookbook, much like Cinnamon Kitchen itself, is...

I love the fact that it's so accessible and so...

The lack of structure, really. It's not formal. It's...

It's very relaxed.

I mean, I've read it.

You see the marinades, it's all the...

-It's got a few step-by-step...

-It's the simplicity side of it.

-Exactly.

-Cos Indian food can be...

Well, you make it look easy, but it's not.

No, I tell you what - one thing I've learned over the years is that,

you know, to come up with dishes that are low in effort,

but high on impact, that's what Cinnamon Kitchen does really well

and the Cinnamon Kitchen cookbook as well.

One other thing - on the onions,

if you want to cook them off slightly quicker...

What do you want in here?

Well, if you just mix up some... Half of the stock and the cornmeal.

Cornmeal. This is for our little sauce.

-That's the sauce, that's just going to thicken it.

-OK.

-Right.

And is this just yoghurt you've got in there or...?

-Yeah.

-Right, OK.

Yoghurt is the base for the sauce, other than the onions, here.

-OK.

-And you mix this all together.

-Yeah.

Now, I promised I wouldn't mention cricket...

-Yeah. Well...

-But you can't go to your place...

And, actually, if you get a chance to go to your place

and ask to have a look at the kitchen,

it is an amazing kitchen, a hive of activity,

cos it's so busy.

But one thing that I was amazed at,

each section has got their own television

with cricket on, 24 hours a day.

It's true!

Well, you know, we've disconnected the Sky connection.

We don't have that any more.

They've got cricket on.

But with you guys not doing very well, you switched it off.

We just, sort of, we pulled all the cabling off the system,

really frustrating.

So quick to be proud when you're doing so well.

What about the times you're not doing well?

Look at the All Blacks, playing...

Absolutely unforgiving with that, Brendan!

-All of a sudden...

-He switched it over,

he's watching Jeremy Kyle of a morning!

LAUGHTER You want me to chop...

-Chop a bit of this.

-OK.

I'll squeeze a bit of lemon into this.

Right, so, you've left the venison...

The venison, it's cooked quite quickly,

you're going to leave it nice and pink.

We are about ready to plate, so I'll bring the plate over.

Bring you the venison over.

Do you want the palm sugar in there as well?

I'll do the palm sugar, please.

-Right.

-Got the palm sugar.

You've got to get me the gold leaf.

We'll move those to one side.

-Just cool those down a bit.

-Let's do a bit of...

Then you can be ready to plate. Turn that off.

-Here's your venison.

-Yeah.

-And away you go.

Lift you that up.

And you can plated it up whenever you want. There you go.

Now, the thing with venison, again, is you're really well off

resting it for almost as long as you cook it,

because that's what allows the meat to rest and relax.

Now, over here, these meatballs, you are finishing it with this.

-This is a first on Saturday Kitchen.

-That's right.

-Gold leaf.

-Gold leaf.

We were talking about the cooking of sultans earlier,

weren't we, Silvena?

I don't know what this is, but certainly...

I wouldn't put it on a meatball necessarily, but, hey...

I'm going to try it, Vivek.

Oh, you've got to try this.

Melt-in-the-mouth, tender lamb kebabs.

But make sure you get the edible kind, you know?

Oh, not the wallpaper one, no.

It's going to be too expensive, I'm sure.

I reckon you've just finished your fireplace at home

and just brought this in, haven't you?

That's what you've done. But...

You're not very good at that, James, I must say.

-No...

-Struggling.

It's very awkward, you know.

If Victoria Beckham is watching,

this is something for David for Christmas Day, you see?

LAUGHTER Check these out.

Look at them. Look at these, sort of...

I never thought I'd do golden balls on Saturday Kitchen!

But anyway.

Golden balls is to a bit of a dangerous name, Vivek. You know?

Well, my new restaurant, Cinnamon Soho,

has a full section of...balls,

inspired by different parts of the country.

Street snacks like that.

Now, take a look at this. Could this be a Christmas roast?

Looks pretty good to me. Tell me the name of the dish again.

Well, it's a roast loin of venison, golden venison meatballs,

some Rajasthani pickle sauce, and part-pickled roast vegetables.

They say you eat with the eyes. Just look at that.

And I know it's going to taste the same as well.

-This is looking very good.

-Don't hold your nose for this one.

-No!

-Please don't.

-Venison, nice and pink like that...

-As pink as you like.

They look great, those, as well. Like you say, you can make these

in advance, these little balls, but you need the fat in there.

Otherwise, they dry out.

Oh, yes. It's such a lean meat, venison.

-You really need to...

-The gold is delicious!

The gold is delicious.

-It's Christmas, Silvena.

-With diamonds, it would be perfect.

I need to test one of your golden balls.

But I mean, you make that look so easy,

but the element of spices and the mixture of the combinations...

-Make it LOOK easy. You do it.

-You've got to go to his restaurant.

Well, that looks like a fantastic alternative dish

to try over the festive period - thanks, Vivek.

Now, coming up, James cooks mackerel fillets with dressed crab,

pickled turnips, cucumber and radish, and a herb oil.

But before that, it's over to Rick Stein, who is in Cornwall

meeting some lobster fishermen with a surprising talent.

Just along the coast from Padstow is Port Isaac,

where some of my newest friends come from.

# We're making money with this sound

# Whoo! Rattle them winches, oh!

# Soon, we'll all be homeward bound

# Rattle them winches, oh!

# Rattle them down and stamp and go

# Rattle them winches, oh! Whoo!

# Rattle them down and stamp and go

# Rattle them winches, oh!

# Rattle them down and stamp and go

# Rattle them winches, oh!

# Whoo! #

I'm off with one of the boys, Jeremy Brown,

to pick up his lobster pots, which, I'm pleased to see,

have plenty of lobsters and crabs in them - even some tiddlers.

Yeah, they grow - they are the fastest ones to grow.

They grow really quickly, you know -

lobsters grow a little bit, a little bit, a little bit.

These grow really, really quickly.

This is really good fishing, I must say.

It's a bit smaller, that one.

See, in Padstow,

there's this lobster hatchery and when lobsters are born,

they're born as little fright, tiny little fry, aren't they?

They are up in the water for a long time.

And they are just swimming around.

Up with plankton for a long time, and then they get swallowed up...

They reckon 99% of all the little fry that are born

are eaten by predators,

so what they do is take these tiny little lobsters

and grow them to about two centimetres...

-About two inches.

-That big?

-Yeah.

And then they put them back in the sea,

and Jeremy is starting to get a lot of these in the sea.

-So it's good news.

-They can fend for themselves,

then, with these - they can do a bit of damage with these claws, now.

Certainly. I wouldn't even want to get my finger...

They'd give a pollack a little nip on the nose, wouldn't it? Or a bass.

So, you know, we just feed these up and throw them back,

so it's almost like farming, in a way.

Yeah. It is, really.

Only you are not underpaid for the feed.

No, this is it.

That's just big enough, that crab. Just made-to-measure, that one.

Why do you think fisherman sing on boats?

This sea shanties on board sailing ships

were essential, to bring out the heavy ropes,

to bring out the chains for the anchors and that.

Almost like a sort of...

It have a chant going, sort of...

# In South Australia, I was born

# Heave away... #

To keep everyone in time,

cos if you've got ten people pulling on a rope,

you need them all to pull at the same time.

It's no good, one having a go and then another one having a go.

You need them all to lean back at the same time. So...

And there's different shanties for different jobs.

# In the hold this gear must go

# Rattle them winches, oh!

# For Mr Mate has told me so

# Rattle them winches, oh!

# Rattle them down and stamp and go

# Rattle them winches, oh! Whoo!

# Rattle them down and stamp and go

# Rattle them winches, oh! #

I got my Breton chef Stephane Delourme

to come up with a lobster pithivier.

He's cooked the lobster for just a short time.

It shouldn't be cooked completely,

because it's going to be finished off

when the little pies are baked in the oven

and he doesn't want it to be overdone.

Steph and I are making what I like to call a shellfish reduction.

Now, I'm just cutting up these lobster shells, here.

What a lot of people don't realise

is how much flavour there is in the lobster shell.

I mean, also in prawn shells, also in crab.

Once the smashed up shells are in with the sizzling vegetables,

you add a large pinch of saffron and another of cayenne pepper.

Mix it together and then flambe the pan with cognac.

Add a generous glass of white wine,

followed by some tarragon and a pint of chicken stock.

Now, that has to cook away for an hour

to extract all the flavour from the ingredients

before you strain the liquor into another pan.

For the filling, Stephane makes up a fish mousseline,

with uncooked hake.

I am keen to use this fish.

Fresh double cream, one whole egg...

..and some finely chopped shallot.

Then, with another egg beaten in a bowl,

he adds some of the reduction

before gently folding in the smooth, creamy fish.

Believe me, this is all worth it.

The pastry is a straightforward puff pastry,

and the filling must always be generous.

The lobster hasn't been overcooked in the first place,

because it will cook some more when it's baked and, of course,

the fish mousseline will cook at that time, too.

What would you have in Brittany over Christmas, in Quiberon, then?

Um...we will have a lot of shellfish,

fruits de mer, normally, to start.

We used to eat goose a lot, but it's mainly beef, now -

beef en croute, or...a nice fillet of beef.

Well, of course, this is lobster en croute, really.

Yeah, it could be, it could be lobster en croute.

But, yes, that's a bit posh for...for family!

Yeah, no, we use a lot of fish, a lot of shellfish

and a lot of wine.

Before baking, just give them an egg wash

to make them turn into a golden colour.

And, because he's a Frenchman, Stephane has an irresistible need

to draw on them.

But it does make them look very pretty.

Back to the sauce to thicken it with butter and cream,

and to prepare a chiffonade of basil leaves.

That's very French of me, isn't it?

Very nice. Very lobster-y, isn't it?

And the basil in, just before it goes out.

It comes out of the oven

looking a bit like a high-class Cornish pasty,

but don't be fooled by the looks.

It would be superb on its own,

but surrounded by that unctuous, creamy sauce with basil,

and it reaches a new plane altogether.

I'm just thinking, at Christmas,

just the best bottle of old white burgundy I've got

would go with this.

I had it in my head as I was eating that lovely...

I mean, the shellfish, the saffron works really well

with the lobster reduction.

Very deluxe food, I'd say.

-Bon appetit.

-Merci.

Thanks for that, Rick, and Merry Christmas, if you're watching.

Now, it's that time of year where you always ask

for different, tasty Christmas party food ideas,

so I thought I'd show you one of my simple favourites,

and it uses mackerel,

which I believe is for all year round, really.

You can get fantastic mackerel.

It's so simple when you get it this fresh. It's just delicious.

I thought I'd do this with a lovely little crab salad,

something really simple, but funnily enough,

the mackerel is warm where the crab is cold.

The two really work well together.

The first thing I'm going to do

is almost souse the cucumber to go with it.

You need a bit of vinegar, just a touch,

a bit of white wine vinegar -

or you can use rice wine vinegar as well -

some sugar and a good pinch of salt.

That's what you want.

You want to bring this to the boil first of all

and then we are going to add our cucumber.

It's actually a really simple little dish that,

when you break it down for a dinner party or Christmas,

this would be perfect to go with it.

So, Sam - I mean, first of all, what a career,

considering your dad didn't want you to be a part of it...

You were directing first, really, weren't you?

-Documentaries, yeah.

-That was your first love.

When was the big moment for you

in terms of...from directing to acting?

What was the pivotal moment?

I didn't really start acting professionally until I was 30.

By the way, this is the most exciting part of the show for me.

-Is it?

-The whole of the UK is on the edge of their seats -

here is a man who is doing one job and talking about something else.

-LAUGHTER

-This is... This is impossible!

-Multitasking.

-Multitasking.

We don't have it in our DNA, but you can do it.

But we could be seeing an industrial accident at any point.

You could do! You could be, actually, yeah.

Anyway, back to me!

So what was the moment for you? Was it something that your dad said?

"You don't want to be going into that acting."

He wasn't anti it, but he didn't want you to do it.

Well, no. He'd just like me to have a job, really.

-Yeah.

-And acting isn't really a job.

It's something you do for fun and, if they pay you,

it's a tremendous bonus.

Because he was... He was in the Army?

He was an army man, yeah.

What was that like, growing up, for you?

Cos you grew up in Ireland, didn't you?

Started... My first seven years were in Ireland

and then we went back to New Zealand.

So we travelled around a lot

and I think it's true of a lot of actors,

they have, sort of, slightly disrupted childhoods -

their parents tend to be, you know, in things that move around a bit,

so you have to adapt to new playgrounds

and adapt to new accents, that kind of thing, you know?

You become an actor unwittingly.

Is that because of your school, as well?

Cos he had several issues at school you found quite difficult,

didn't you, as well?

Well, I stuttered, but I got over that.

But was that something you went into

cos you wanted to almost, sort of, become somebody else?

To hide it? Or...what was it?

I think the main incentive was...

I was at a boys boarding school, all my schooling, and occasionally,

we'd do plays with girls and I realised if, you know,

if one was going to have any chance of meeting a girl

or talking to a girl,

or even finding out what girls were like, do a play.

And it worked!

-Do a play?

-Do a play, yeah.

Cos we did plays with the girls schools, you see.

Oh, right. I did a nativity play, and I was hopeless.

-I was supposed to be the King.

-Yes.

And then got demoted and put on lighting.

Then I got kicked out of that as well,

so I was bound to go one way,

and that was to the kitchen, and that was it.

But what a career you've had, because the mixture of films...

You've managed to do some hugely popular ones -

you know, Jurassic Park and that sort of stuff -

but you still keep...

Throughout your career, you look at your biography,

you've got a mix and match, some dark films in there as well,

a bit of horror in there...

All manner of different sorts of stuff.

Is that what you enjoy? The storylines of it?

It's good to play different sorts of characters,

otherwise I'd be bored to death, you know?

But do you search out for those scripts as well?

Yeah, and I've travelled a lot, too.

I counted once, and I've worked in over 30 different countries.

So...what a privilege. What a privilege to have this life.

Every job I do, I feel like I am the luckiest man on earth.

Of course, you've almost gone full circle now, because...

We've got to talk about Peaky Blinders.

I mean, incredible part that you play in it as well,

but incredibly well shot, as well, for something...

You normally see that in films,

but the way that it's shot, it's just a...

It's a fantastic storyline, first, as well...

And some great actors. I felt really lucky to be in it.

And your character - I mean, tell anyone that hasn't seen it,

cos we've just finished series two...

Well, he's a man with right on his side, but he is psychotic.

And...you don't get asked to do that a lot.

And...mad and dangerous.

But it is a very different part for you,

because when you look at it, you know,

you almost build the character...

You feel as if you're actually growing the character as the programme goes on.

I wasn't sure if I owned him or he owned me.

And series two, we're coming to the end of now.

It's available on DVD, by the way, for Christmas. But...

We don't know whether you're coming back, cos you got shot in the

first series, with your leg, you got shot in the second series...

You may come back!

I didn't look well at all. You didn't look too good, no.

I looked pretty dead, actually!

-Well, it didn't look dead cos we didn't actually see you.

-Right.

-I was slumped on the telephone...

-You may come back or you may not.

What else are you busy with at the moment?

I know you're hugely passionately into your wine as well.

-You've got your own vineyard.

-Yeah.

-Tell us about that.

Well, I first planted grapes about 21 years ago.

I now have four little vineyards,

it's a little bit in the Burgundian model.

I have four little vineyards in our little sub region.

It's a region called Central Otago, where we grow great pinot noir.

Again, sort of, Burgundian.

And each of these little vineyards is strategically placed.

Each produces very different sort of pinot noir, but beautiful, you know.

And I've been working with the same winemaker for 20 years.

My vineyard manager's been with me for ten years.

So it's a learning process and we do everything organically.

I also have pigs and sheep at chickens and things.

So, it's not really a hobby for you.

It's turned into a full-blown business.

-Business kind of makes it sound professional.

-Right.

We make beautiful wine, but I wouldn't call it...

It's not like Apple. We don't make money.

But it pays for itself. I love the land.

I love the land that I own and I love my little animals and

things that run around.

I name my chickens at my ducks and my cows and things after

people that I know.

-I've got a chicken called Helena Bonham Carter and...

-Does she know?

I've got a beautiful cow called Shakira Caine.

It's the most beautiful cos I ever saw.

Shakira Caine's the most beautiful woman I ever saw. That's the trick.

You have to call your animals...

You have to give them names and then you can't eat them.

As well as the farm, you're keeping busy with films and bits and pieces,

but tell us about this new one. The Daughter, tell me about that.

Well, I've done three films this year and two mini series.

I'm doing a documentary about Anzac.

1914 seems to be the year that most people are remembering,

as far as the First War goes here,

but in Australia and New Zealand, 1915, that's when we landed

at Gallipoli and that's a very crucial date in Anzac history.

-Australia and New Zealand.

-Yeah.

That was our first big part of the war.

And then we went out to France and we filmed in France, you know.

My grandfather was killed in France.

I had a lot of my family were killed in France at that time.

So, that documentary's about that.

And when will people be able to see that?

Anzac Day, which is April of next year.

Well, there you go. I'm more or l4ess finished.

We've got this little wood sorrel to go over the top as well.

I love wood sorrel to go with it.

-And then I've just made a little bit of herb oil.

-That's fantastic.

-That was so quick.

-Just pop in there...

-You're unbelievable.

You talked about all that and you cooked this. It's incredible.

-Well...

-I'm a big believer in mackerel, by the way.

-I love mackerel and sardines.

-Mackerel and crab.

But that's just cooked with a blowtorch as well,

if anybody didn't see that. You just...

Try that piece of mackerel there. But the mackerel is thoroughly

cooked all the way through and for Christmas, get yourself one

of these, a proper blowtorch. Not the little ones.

But it cooks it.

I look at places where people grow, you know, they grow old,

and they're fit and they're lively.

In Japan, they eat a lot of humble fish like mackerel and

-sardines and they...

-See, this is where I've been going wrong.

I cake mine in batter and deep fry it, but anyway.

There you go, guys. You can get that blowtorch on your Christmas list.

Not good for kids though, obviously. Thanks, James.

Now, today, we're taking a look back at some of the most delicious

and festive dishes from the Saturday Kitchen archives,

and there's still lots more to come, so stick with us.

Up next, culinary legend Michel Roux makes

a chicken and herb terrine that's the perfect starter for your

Christmas dinner and you can prepare this well in advance,

making the prep on the day just a little bit easier.

Take it away, Michel.

We've got something very special up next.

What better way to celebrate Christmas than

a masterclass from one of the greatest chefs of all time.

-It's Michel Roux Sr, of course. Welcome to the show.

-Thank you.

-So, what's on the menu, chef?

-Chicken terrine with herbs.

-Chicken terrine. Very festive though, this.

-Oh, it is. It is.

It's what all the French people do have at Christmas.

But they have a lot of game at Christmas as well, don't they?

We do. We use partridges, pheasant.

On that instant, we're going to use chicken.

-And pistachio nuts, you put in there.

-And pistachio nuts are nice.

-OK, so tell us the ingredients for our terrine.

-Oven ready chicken.

Nice pick of pork. Normally, the neck is one of the best.

Rump, veal rump, a little piece of it. And ham.

-And that's going to be minced together.

-Right.

And then we have pork back fat which we cut in some very thin slices.

Which is the back fat we've got here.

Yes, because I've got a friendly butcher.

And he has minced everything for me. Look at that.

-Because that's the way to do it.

-Exactly.

-You bring a bottle of wine to your butcher.

-And he does everything.

And you say, "Look, could you do those things for me?"

And he will mince them. So we can get rid of that.

I'll get rid of just that for you, then you've got the board.

Thank you. Excellent. And then we can start.

Right, can I line this terrine ready for you?

You can, yes, please, you can even cut the chicken in long strips.

And then I'm starting to do, obviously, the meat terrine,

the minced meat. So that's the chicken, which goes in the bowl.

-The bowl is on ice.

-Do you want thin strips? Half that size?

Medium size, you see, because... A bit thinner than that. Thank you.

-Bit thinner than that.

-So that goes all in.

-There you go.

-And the ham.

And the ham is obviously a bit dry,

so we've got to be careful so it doesn't go on the floor.

-Now, if you were doing a game terrine...

-Yes?

-You still use the pork base or what?

-Absolutely.

The pork is a must into a terrine, so is the veal.

-The ham is not always necessary.

-Yeah.

Now, so, we've got all that, have you got a wooden spatula?

-I love working with a wooden spatula.

-I can get one,

we've got plenty of them on this show.

Because I stupidly said something,

that I didn't like the wooden spoons,

now we've got thousands of them.

-Which one would you want, chef?

-Oh, let me just choose.

-What about that one?

-That looks nice. That's lovely.

-Simon and Georgina.

-Some people love you, obviously.

-My mother, that's about it.

-You read the message.

-Now, salt, we put a bit of salt.

-Yeah.

We've got pepper from the pepper grinder, you've got it there.

-There you go.

-I'm going to melt, you see that, I'm melting the butter.

Putting the shallots in it.

That's for you, because I've got to give you a hand,

-you're not following, not doing all that work.

-Come on, James.

-I'm trying.

-So, cream goes into it.

Into the mix.

-Can I put that there so people can see?

-Yes, certainly, here we are.

Voila. So we mix the cream nicely.

Bryn, have you made terrines like this before?

We make quite a lot of game terrines this time of the year, but

I've never seen cream in a terrine,

so I'm very intrigued to see...

-You've never seen...? Cream into a terrine before.

-Ah!

Well, my father was a charcutier, and my grandfather was a charcutier,

and he always put a bit, a dollop of cream into his terrine.

Now, with the quantity there,

it's big enough to do at least four, five terrines, you see?

-We're not going to do that, it will be too much.

-Always by hand?

You wouldn't do this by machine?

Well, you could do that by machine, but by hand, it takes no time.

Then you just half an egg, so you put half the yolk, there you are.

Now, you kept it over ice as well, is there any reason for that?

-Why's that?

-On ice, it's always got to be ice-cold, the meat.

Because it absorbs all the cream and everything.

And it's very important that the meat must be cold.

And in fact, when the terrines are built and put together,

it should go in the fridge for a few...

A couple of hours before cooking. But we don't have the time today.

So we will not do that. Put the thyme in there.

Now, a bit of Armagnac or Cognac, if you want to.

-They all right for you, chef?

-That's perfect.

You've done that before, obviously. Here.

And we do...shallots...

-And the heat goes up.

-Yes, please.

Now, that's done. Oopy, oopy. Oopy.

Should have taken the bowl a bit bigger.

So basically, I've just got these dishes and we take the fat on the...

-On the terrine.

-The lard. Very, very thin slices, to line the terrine.

-Absolutely.

-That's going to keep it moist as well, so no bacon for this.

-Just a bit of that.

-You can, that's it. And then the herbs goes into it.

-Yeah.

-That's it. Onto the plate,

and then we can roll. Yeah.

-You can roll the chicken strip into it.

-Yeah.

And then we start assembling the terrine.

-Put the chicken through it.

-That's it.

It's a good job you're not vegetarian, you lot, anyway!

-No, no, no.

-Definitely not.

You know the nice thing with the terrine,

is that you make them at Christmas,

and if you put them small like that, it's having a little pressie.

You've got them in the fridge, and each time you need

a little slice of a terrine,

you go backward and forward and you can enjoy it.

The terrine is always better when it's been cooked

a couple of days before.

-There we go.

-All right, so now, let's put that there.

Right.

-Here we are.

-So, the texture is quite important,

-it's not smooth smooth.

-No, no.

-It's got texture to it as well?

-Yes, it has.

Now, we've got the spoon,

-the spoon should be put on ice and then you push the meat.

-Yeah.

There you are. Same there.

Now, if you were doing a game terrine,

because there's lots of it in season at the moment, you'd use pheasant,

bit of venison, you were saying?

Venison is lovely, I would use partridges,

and I can use, obviously, pistachios instead of parsley.

-I love pistachio in terrine.

-Now, we're layering the chicken in there.

That's it. So it's done. Now, you're doing a salad of beetroot.

Yeah.

Now, we've got a bit more farce,

forcemeat, a little meat on the top.

-And then we're there.

-If you're wondering what the farce is,

-that's the filling that you've mixed together.

-Yes, absolutely.

-Kind of overfill them, yeah?

-Tap it a bit. Always tap it a bit.

Yes, it's got to be quite filled.

And then you bring back the back fat, you see the fat?

Bring back from the top, here we are.

And it's ready to go to the oven.

-Is that my cue?

-Yes, it is your cue.

And you should have done the toast by now.

-The dressing, by the way, is lemon and oil.

-OK.

-Now, you want to put the water? I'll put it.

-Yeah, you can put that.

-I've got to do something after all.

-Yeah.

-Yeah, so, bit of water.

The water must be at around 60 degrees, halfway up.

Because if you put too much, it's going to go in the terrine.

-And we don't want that. So, it's ready.

-It's ready.

But you could put that in the fridge before you do that?

-Logically, it would be better to put it two hours in the fridge.

-OK.

Not with the hot water, obviously.

-So the idea is...

-You've got to tell him everything, haven't you?

-Yeah.

-You cook it with the lid off?

Lid off for about half an hour and 15 minutes,

the lid is back into it. Now, you've got it, oh, look at that,

-what he's done!

-You've got the lid on there.

-Yeah, yeah, yeah.

-Right.

-There we go.

-Can I take the terrine out?

-Yeah, just let me get the clean board, chef.

-Yes, lovely.

Yes, we should. Cross-contamination. Very dangerous.

-There's a sink in the back there if you want to wash your hands.

-Lovely.

-Yes, I can do that too.

-Because your brother will be phoning up.

Yes, he will, knowing him. He's got nothing else to do.

He's sat there!

On Christmas Day!

Oh, look at that.

So, the idea is now, you would do what? You press these?

Take them out, put them on the board there.

-Yeah.

-And I'll press them.

Now, I've got a little press, a little wooden press. That's it.

Michel Roux and a tin can?

Yes, well. We're not eating what is in the tin!

No, no, no, don't get me there.

Cheeky little boy, there you are.

You see what's happened? If it wants to hold, we will be all right.

That will be a funny one.

Yeah. Yeah, it's holding.

I'm surprised he's speaking to me, you see,

because he had a game of golf, a little sneaky game of golf.

Let's not talk about that, please!

-Yeah.

-He won all the prizes.

The only prize he didn't win was the ladies prize.

-Thank God for that. So, that's what you do, you put a press on it.

-Bryn!

-Leave it for a couple of hours.

-I'll come and hold it for you, chef.

-Yes.

-Stand there.

-Thank God we've got some young people.

-Stand there.

-How long do I hold it for, a couple of days?

-Two hours.

-Two hours.

-Right. Stand there. Carry on.

Now. Can I get the cold terrine now?

-I'm getting it, I'm getting it.

-Lovely, look at that.

-How many do you want, chef?

-I like one, get me two, we cook two.

-Get me two, that's it, lovely.

-Still haven't done this julienne yet.

Oh, you haven't done the julienne! What are you doing? I need a fork.

-He's not doing anything!

-I have my hands full, I would help otherwise.

The first time cooking at Christmas without having a drink.

-And I really think it's not on, you know?

-Right.

Now, I take a little piece of the terrine out, look at that.

Can we get a bottle opener for Michel Roux?

-How much do you want?

-Look at that!

A bit of red as well? Ah, lovely!

There's no glasses, though, straight out of the bottle.

Right, how thick do you want these slices?

-Perfect.

-Like that. Perfect.

Perfect. You're just saying that, James.

-You just stand there and press those.

-He's just keeping you happy.

-No, no, no, you can leave it alone now.

-Is that OK, Chef?

Take the tins off. No, no, leave them on.

-Leave them on?

-I changed my mind.

I'm free to change my mind. Normally 20 chefs in the kitchen.

I just turn around and say, do that and stop there.

It's lovely.

I have you all in time.

-What do you think, Bryn, of the terrine?

-It looks beautiful, chef.

-Smells good, huh?

-It's lovely.

I like what he's done before.

My friend here.

I mean, I've got to say, have you got any oil on that salad?

-I've got some oil, yeah.

-Can I use it?

-It's coming, chef.

-I've got some here. I've got the dressing here.

-Good Lord! So quick.

Ah, a bit of Cumberland.

-So, what happens at the Waterside at Christmas, then?

-We close.

No, we close after Christmas. That's our last day for six weeks.

Six weeks, you close? Is it usual for a restaurant to close for six weeks?

Yes, well, I tell you what. It took years, but now I can afford it.

And it's like Christmas, my son is cooking.

I will be just overseeing the operation, that's all. Look at that.

I mean, you've done it well.

I've got to say, you know how to season a good salad.

-Thanks very much!

-Isn't he lovely?

I also know how to play golf, chef, and if you want lessons,

-I'll give you some.

-Now, don't talk to me any more!

You're banned from the golf. I'm not inviting you any more.

You're persona non grata.

So, look at that. Those beetroot there, that's it.

Another one or two just there. And then the terrine. Now.

The terrine, we put them like that.

Now, do you have this cold or at room temperature?

No, no, room temperature,

because the flavour of the terrine is much better.

Let's get mad, let's have three on the plate. That's it.

And then a little Cumberland. And the Cumberland is lovely.

-We could have chutney, pear chutney or fig chutney.

-That would be nice.

So, you can have a nice little dollop of Cumberland,

-and then the rustic toast, look at that.

-There you go.

And the toast goes there. And we've got it. That's it.

So, the terrine of chicken, with herbs, rustic toast,

lamb's lettuce, with... What did you use? A lemon, did you?

I did use a little bit of lemon.

I hope so because I was going to talk about the lemon.

-The lemon and olive oil.

-Look at that, there you go.

-So...

-Check that out.

It smells good, I know,

there's no doubt that this is going to taste good.

-So, over here, Michel, have a seat, dive into that one.

-Wow.

-Tell us what you think of that.

-This looks incredible.

Looks like a plate. It's actually from his...

It's a piece of slate from his roof on his house.

But nice and simple.

Like you said, in fact, you've got the ingredients there,

once it's made, it's in the fridge, you can just take little slices out.

This is why we love, the chef loves that kind of dish.

Because the terrine is something you've got in the fridge,

you go backward and forward, if you do a little terrine,

you can have different flavour pate.

And you can just have... The kids love it, you know?

-And the grown-ups will have a glass of wine with the terrine.

-Exactly.

The kid, you give them a Ribena or orange juice or whatever!

-Whose is that?

-Absolutely delicious.

-What do you reckon?

-It's gorgeous.

Bryn, you're not going to get any. Anyway, talking of wine!

Great dish, great man.

I'd love to know what made that toast so rustic, though!

Now it's the time I know you're all waiting for,

so let's indulge in a little vintage Floyd.

Over to you, Keith.

This will be an absolute doddle.

56 pounds... 56 kilos of gas, heavy boxes of lights

which I can't even lift on the shore,

never mind going up a precipitous route like that.

Heavy great metal cast-iron camera legs.

Buckets of water, refrigerated boxes,

weighing about two hundredweight full of beer, I mean,

full of mineral water, sorry about that, just a slip of the tongue.

And cameras and lights and crew and assistants and stuff like that.

We're going to have a ball.

But the director will make something of it, I know.

Even if he has to carry every little piece of cargo up himself.

Here we are, another happy day in paradise.

Here we are on a fishing trap, made of wood,

wrapped together with bits of wire and string and things like that.

The tide brings the fish in, there's a net down in the well there,

when that's full, they heave it up and cook the fish

or take them home and sell them, whatever they want.

But I'm going to cook a couple of simple fish over

this wonderful oil drum barbecue which we found here, happily,

because of course, we planned it so well, we couldn't actually lift

the gas bottles up, and the cooking stove up, so we've had to improvise.

So I have curtailed the recipe a little bit.

Instead of making a fish curry,

I'm going to do a barbecued fish with a curried sauce and by the way,

as a little sambal, some baked bananas as well. No further ado.

A fish.

I don't know what it's called, it's a fish, it's very popular

around here, we didn't catch it, we bought it at the market.

Cut it open, flat like that, ready to grill in a moment.

Couple of limes, bit of chilli paste, bit of fish paste.

More limes.

My invigorating orange juice.

Not a drop of vodka in sight.

And over here, the sauce.

Now, this is different from many others, it involves onions,

ginger, very, very finely chopped, chillies,

coriander, and lemon grass.

And that's cooked away in oil and water now to make a lovely sauce.

So we add a bit of water.

SIZZLING

There, now we've got the basis of the...of the sauce.

You might notice this rather splendid sort of fire bucket

we've got here, it isn't actually a fire bucket,

it's an ancient clay charcoal cooker.

Come in there, Paul, so that people can see what we're cooking on here.

It's a fabulous little machine.

There we are. Good.

Now, excuse me, back a bit, back a bit, back a bit,

this is all frightfully improvised this morning,

as you can imagine. It should be...

In here, fresh from the market, wrapped up,

in the, curiously enough... Oh!

..the Kuala Lumpur telephone directory.

Fennel seeds, because this is a fish curry,

fennel seeds go really well with fish. That slight aniseedy flavour.

A load of those go in there. Like so.

Right, this is a messy bit, down here, please.

We've got to cover these fish in shrimp paste.

A bit of shrimp paste.

And a bit of chilli. Like that. On both sides.

Oh, this is fun, this is like being back at playschool.

And then we'll also squeeze some fresh lime onto that.

Like so.

And rub that well in.

OK, follow me, please, Paul. We'll put them skin side down...

Onto the grill.

I'll just wash my hands.

We wouldn't want anybody catching any little germs, would we?

Now, lemon juice, lime juice into here.

And now,

my last little bit, piece of Floyd improvisation.

Bananas are plentiful and cheap around here.

And what about a nice baked banana, in its skin,

to go as a little sambal,

or an accompaniment, as we call it, with the barbecued fish.

Sauce is absolutely perfect, very nearly ready.

I'll just pinch a drop of the oil to give these fish

a final anointment of these wonderful spices.

Cumin, coriander and fennel.

Perfect things for fish. Right.

Bit of sauce over the fish. Like so.

And, I think, a little bit of the sauce into one of the bananas.

Well, out of the simplest ingredients

comes the sweetest of meals, doesn't it?

I mean, a few herbs, a few spices, a grill,

some fresh fish, and it's paradise.

As you know, I've given up alcohol.

Of course, you can't buy it here in Malaysia.

Anyway, I like nothing better than to spring out of bed,

jog straight to the market first thing in the morning when

she looks her best, searching for inspiration. What to cook, Paul?

Fish? No, I've just done that.

Maybe this water buffalo, complete with tail. No, I don't think so.

And these rather worried looking ducks are quite safe as well.

But these leaves, they're fabulously fresh,

plucked straight from the river.

They're supposed to be very good for the digestion.

But I digress. Prawns?

No, we've done prawns. But they eat a lot of them over here.

But what to cook? What to cook? Fish?

Paul, I've told you, no. Just concentrate.

These are called little peepies, because they... Paul?

They peep up from under the sand.

In Italy they call them tanninis, and in Aigues-Mortes in Provence

they cook them with noodles, much as they would here, actually.

Some fried noodles, dozens of those in it,

lots of chilli and ginger, munch away for a very fine breakfast dish.

And of course, the ubiquitous cockle.

We cannot do a Floyd programme without the director saying,

"Show them a handful of those cockles."

Just like we get in Weymouth.

Hi. Can I have two...? Yeah. Two kilos.

'Yes, I know what to cook.

'How silly of me!

'These swimmer crabs, fresh from this morning's catch.

'I shall cook them in the classic Malaccan way, chilli crabs,

'a very popular local speciality.'

Do you have the ingredients there

that I could use to make chilli crab?

Chilli crab, yeah?

Chilli puree. Coriander puree.

Ginger or galangal,

which is a much stronger version of ginger, galangal puree.

And turmeric puree.

Now, what's significant and most interesting about all of this

is I've been nights in my hotel room

with a little tiny coffee bean grinder,

buying all these herbs from the market,

sitting up for hours trying to form them into a paste,

to make these bases for all the curries here.

Working my little artist's fingers to the bones, but had I known it,

I've been here three weeks now, all I need to do is go to the market,

describe the kind of curry I wish to make,

and they provide me with a complete takeaway service

of freshly prepared produce.

Brilliant, isn't it?

I like this market.

It's strictly food, and there aren't any toys wrapped in plastic,

cheap shoes or crockery.

No, but delicious snacks,

like these delightful doughy things called roti jalas.

No doubt this man's son will be running the stall in a few years' time.

And these things are served with a curry sauce.

Fabulous, and just a few pence.

And check this out. This guy is making tea with condensed milk

and he cools it down by chucking it from one pot to the other,

just like Mum makes.

Anyway, that's enough breakfast. It's time to do some cooking.

Get about two kilos of crabs and chop them up into bite-sized pieces.

Right - clean hands, clean mind, clean spirit,

fresh attempt, new start.

Very good!

Now, one of the most famous and excellent and simple dishes

around here is called chilli crab. It's very simple.

You need a wok, fierce flame,

ten minutes, some lovely spices and you have a delight.

First of all, though, let's look at the ingredients.

The first and most important thing is the rumpah.

Now, the rumpah is made from galangal, which is

a kind of very strong ginger,

turmeric, ginger, lemon grass,

shallots, garlic and chilies.

OK, back up to me, please, Paul.

The importance of making the rumpah,

rather like the piccata in Spanish cooking, is absolutely essential.

You must really grind it finely, carefully and cook it very slowly

in oil before you begin to add any other ingredients at all, OK?

Right, the rest of the ingredients are...

shrimp paste. Little bit of that.

Some tamarind essence.

Now this is a block of tamarind with all its seeds soaked in warm water

and all I want is just the liquid out of it, OK?

Then we have some salt, some sugar

and some curry leaves,

and, of course, most important of all, the lovely crabs.

For those of you watching this programme... Please, Paul?

..in the UK, use spider crabs, OK?

Or swimmer crabs, as they're sometimes known.

Right, now, the first thing is fire up the mighty wok machine...

MACHINE ROARS

Wow, it's like a 747 taking off, isn't it?

Brilliant machine. OK, let's put a bit of heat in there first of all.

And the very, very first thing is

we tip in our rumpah.

Ow!

Now, we still have...

We've got to carry on.

I mean, this is one of those things that happens when you're filming.

I can't be perfect all the way through.

OK, Paul, that's enough.

Right, next to go in is a little bit of this shrimp paste.

Looks like molasses but it's because it's very hot

and it's melting a little bit.

Shrimp paste goes in, like so.

Clean at all times.

Shrimp paste, and now a little bit of the tamarind pulp.

OK, right, that goes in.

Now, a drop of what the Army call Aldershot stock, a bit of water.

Let's have this up to maximum now.

At this stage we have a little taste.

Oh...

A little bit of sugar.

Paste again.

A pinch of salt.

The curry leaves...

..and the crabs.

Now, these need cooking for about three or four minutes,

just so the sauce covers the whole lot beautifully.

This is not a particularly wet curry. It's more of a dry curry.

The crab is just coated with the sauce and of course

it's going to be great fun eating this with your fingers.

Here, of course, we'd eat these off just a palm leaf

but you back at home will probably have very fine bone china,

so don't forget to lay the finger bowls, OK?

Otherwise your guests will be all going, "Eh-heh-heh!"

OK? Big, fat, loving close-up on that because...

..that is chilli crab.

I served it up to my latest chums, George and his sister Caroline,

and they really liked it. They were most complimentary.

However, people here are very polite, you know.

My director said the dish looked

like the creature from the Alien films cooked in mud. How rude!

Though I thought he actually made a good point.

I would like to take a short break

and watch these women making the HP sauce of Malaysia.

It's called cincalok and it's made from small shrimps, rice and water.

And shrimps pounded with an enormous pestle and mortar

are used to make the famous belacan,

an essential ingredient for the Malaysian kitchen.

It's used to flavour soups and stews.

It's salty, with a strong fishy taste.

Now, I know Joseph Conrad used to come to these parts,

and I wouldn't mind betting that things look pretty much the same

as they did when he had the thought of Lord Jim

buzzing through his brain.

Crews would still be making their breakfast

with fish pulled straight out of the muddy river and fried in peanut oil.

He would have still seen that look which is universal -

the look that every seaport has, of waiting.

Waiting for the tide. Waiting for the man with the money.

Waiting for the lorry and the crane to take the cargo away.

Waiting. Waiting.

Waiting.

This is the leaf of the malacca tree.

Around 600 years ago,

a Hindu prince rested out of the sun under this small fern-like tree.

He asked one of the locals the name of the tree.

"Malacca," he cried.

"Then that's what I shall call your village," he said,

as he wandered off, never to be seen again.

But back to my dilemma -

whether to cook or not to cook another chilli crab.

Well, it's to cook, of course.

That's better, that's much better.

A deep fiery red - that's what we wanted.

I mean, I have to tell you,

I have to tell you, he said it was sort of OK,

he quite liked it - he was just being polite.

I knew, and I think you knew that that was utter rubbish.

It wasn't red, it was a dingy brown.

It looked like it had been cooked in cowpats,

not in the red, vibrant chillies. So I gave up my afternoon today.

I should have been by the pool, sipping a beer, relaxing,

paddling, reading my novels.

Instead, because I can't lie - well, I can sometimes,

but not about cooking, and after all, we are British,

and we have to be here and do it properly.

So, just to refresh your memory,

the ingredients - shallots, garlic,

chillies, lemongrass, ginger, turmeric,

and galangal.

And over here to your right, of course, the tamarind,

which we'd soaked in water and squeezed the juices from.

Salt, sugar, water, and of course the crabs themselves.

OK? It's so simple. I'm still smarting with anger at myself

because I let that chap in the market convince me that

that mixture he gave me was right for chilli crabs. It wasn't.

I should have stayed with my own nose.

Anyway, this is perfect, absolutely perfect.

We just tip the crabs into there...

..like so. Take this rubber band off, we don't want that in them.

Put in a few curry leaves.

Turn the whole lot over.

Fire up the machine to its maximum,

just for about five minutes - that's all it'll take for these to cook.

Mmm, lovely. The lovely juices from the crab

are going to enrich this sauce even further.

'Now, a quick pointer here.

'Don't use too many crabs - I did before -

'and if your sauce is looking muddy and not red,

'add a couple of tablespoonfuls of tomato puree.

'There should be loads of spicy sauce left

'after the crabs are eaten,

'which the locals mop up with sliced white bread.

'I wonder whether that's another Brit legacy.'

Never gets old. Great stuff.

Now, this week on Best Bites we're looking back at some of

the best festive recipes from the Saturday Kitchen archives.

Still to come on today's show,

Nathan Outlaw and Tristan Welch

go head-to-head in the Omelette Challenge

but can they even cook in those costumes?

Nick Nairn's here with a dessert that's full of Christmassy flavours.

He makes an apple croustade with cranberries and clementines

all served up with an Armagnac custard.

And the ever-jovial Johnny Vegas faces his food heaven or food hell.

Did he get his food heaven, vodka and tonic soft-shell crab

with saffron aioli and seasonal salad,

or did he end up with his food hell,

Christmas pudding ice cream with sauteed pineapple

and a star anise and cinnamon caramel?

You can find out what he got at the end of the show.

Now, time for Bill Granger, who's making a Christmas ham

inspired by Asian flavours.

The ham is brushed with hoisin, soy, and plum sauce,

resulting in a tasty, sticky glaze with a difference.

A nice change from the norm. So take note.

-It's great to have you back on the show, Bill.

-Good morning. How are you?

-I'm very well, very well. I see you've got your T-shirt on.

-I know!

-Straight off the plane in your Speedos and your T-shirt.

-Speedos?

For me, I can never have Christmas without a ham. I love it.

When I grew up, dad was a butcher, and he used to always

-roast ham at Christmas. I loved it.

-Yeah, exactly, all right.

I'm going to glaze this with a slightly unusual glaze.

-Because normally we would do it with honey and cloves.

-Yeah, really traditional.

-But Christmas is about sweet things so I'm going to do this with hoisin...

-Listening? Sweet things.

Yeah, I know, you can mix it up. Heaven and hell together.

You've got some hoisin sauce, plum sauce, soy sauce,

some sweet sherry, dry sherry or Chinese wine,

a bit of five-spice powder, some sugar

and then I'm going to stud it with star anise.

We'll get onto that later but, hoisin,

you're going to warm that up. That's made from fermented soya beans?

Fermented soya beans. With this glaze,

you only want to heat it to dissolve the sugar.

You don't need to cook it too long. Reduce it a little bit.

-And what's that you just put in?

-That's the sherry. The brown sugar.