0:00:02 > 0:00:04Good morning. Let's beat the January blues with 90 minutes
0:00:04 > 0:00:07of top-class cooking on today's Best Bites.
0:00:28 > 0:00:30Welcome to the show. We've rounded up some incredible chefs
0:00:30 > 0:00:33to cook up some great food for you this morning.
0:00:33 > 0:00:36And we're joined by plenty of celebrity guests, including
0:00:36 > 0:00:37Emilia Fox and Nigel Planer,
0:00:37 > 0:00:40ready to give their verdict on the cooking.
0:00:40 > 0:00:43Fernando Stovell brings a little Mexican heat to the proceedings,
0:00:43 > 0:00:48with a braised and pulled beef taco shell salad, with a zingy
0:00:48 > 0:00:50tomato and chilli sauce.
0:00:50 > 0:00:53And Mark Sargeant creates a mouth-watering winter seafood broth.
0:00:53 > 0:00:57He steamed clams in cider and makes a broth with smoked bacon, anchovy,
0:00:57 > 0:01:01carrots and leeks. And it's all served with charred country bread.
0:01:01 > 0:01:05And Shaun Rankin comes all the way from Jersey, armed with a lobster.
0:01:05 > 0:01:07He roasts it with curry salt
0:01:07 > 0:01:11and serves it all with a delicious coconut and coriander dhal.
0:01:11 > 0:01:14And Nigel Planer faces Food Heaven or Food Hell.
0:01:14 > 0:01:15Will he get his Food Heaven -
0:01:15 > 0:01:18courgette flowers with my mozzarella-and-basil-stuffed
0:01:18 > 0:01:22courgette flowers with halibut and a tomato, courgette and basil sauce?
0:01:22 > 0:01:23Or will he get his Food Hell -
0:01:23 > 0:01:26pork chop, with my rosemary chargrilled pork chop,
0:01:26 > 0:01:29salsify and warm borlotti bean salad?
0:01:29 > 0:01:33Find out what he gets to eat at the end of today's show.
0:01:33 > 0:01:36But first, we go back to the time Jun Tanaka came to visit us
0:01:36 > 0:01:38when he worked at a restaurant that was decorated
0:01:38 > 0:01:40by one million pearls.
0:01:40 > 0:01:43Well, I think it was one million. I didn't count them myself.
0:01:43 > 0:01:47- Welcome to the show, Jun. Happy New Year.- Yeah, happy New Year.
0:01:47 > 0:01:51And on the menu, you brought about 16 gallons of rapeseed oil.
0:01:51 > 0:01:52You don't have to use that much.
0:01:52 > 0:01:57- You can use veg oil and you can re-use it over and over again.- Right.
0:01:57 > 0:02:00- It makes a change from butter. - Exactly.
0:02:00 > 0:02:04We didn't have any butter for two weeks. So what's on the menu?
0:02:04 > 0:02:08This is a Street Kitchen dish. I started a business with a really
0:02:08 > 0:02:11good friend of mine, Mark Jankel, and it's a street food business.
0:02:11 > 0:02:16And we launched last year, in May,
0:02:16 > 0:02:19- and we bought one of those vintage Airstream trailers.- Oh, right, yeah.
0:02:19 > 0:02:23And we have one in Liverpool Street
0:02:23 > 0:02:29and we serve British bistro dishes, for the price of a chilled sandwich.
0:02:29 > 0:02:32- This is one of them. - This is one of the dishes.
0:02:32 > 0:02:34What have you got there, the neck?
0:02:34 > 0:02:37This is the pork neck, which I've brined.
0:02:37 > 0:02:39I absolutely love brining.
0:02:39 > 0:02:43You've got water, some salt, sugar, garlic and rosemary.
0:02:43 > 0:02:48And I just left the pork in the brine for about ten hours.
0:02:48 > 0:02:52It just gives it this wonderful flavour
0:02:52 > 0:02:54and also, it keeps it really moist.
0:02:55 > 0:02:57Right. That's the confit side of it?
0:02:57 > 0:03:00Because normally we do that with duck legs salted.
0:03:00 > 0:03:03It's wet brine, but you do that with dry and then you cook in duck fat.
0:03:03 > 0:03:05You're doing it with rapeseed oil.
0:03:05 > 0:03:10I've got the last remaining bottle in Britain, to make my mayonnaise.
0:03:10 > 0:03:16- Don't split it.- I'll try not to. - OK, get rid of that.
0:03:16 > 0:03:20And the pork neck, you could ask your butcher to get it for you,
0:03:20 > 0:03:23but you can use pork belly, pork shoulder, anything that's
0:03:23 > 0:03:26got some fat running through it will work beautifully with this.
0:03:26 > 0:03:28It takes about four hours to cook.
0:03:28 > 0:03:29You say you can re-use that oil
0:03:29 > 0:03:34- but you can't deep-fry in rapeseed oil, can you?- You could.
0:03:34 > 0:03:37I don't see the point in deep- frying in rapeseed oil,
0:03:37 > 0:03:38it seems a waste.
0:03:38 > 0:03:41But if you do this dish you'll have rapeseed oil
0:03:41 > 0:03:43for the rest of your life, won't you?
0:03:43 > 0:03:45- Yeah, that's true.- Yeah.
0:03:45 > 0:03:49OK, so we've got the pork neck, which has been cooked.
0:03:49 > 0:03:51Test it with a metal skewer.
0:03:51 > 0:03:54If it slides in easily it's perfectly cooked.
0:03:54 > 0:03:57All that rapeseed oil, just put it in the fridge
0:03:57 > 0:03:59and you can re-use it over and over again.
0:03:59 > 0:04:01OK.
0:04:01 > 0:04:04And then I'm just going to roll it up when it's slightly warm,
0:04:04 > 0:04:08just to shape it into a nice, kind of, sausage shape.
0:04:08 > 0:04:09Right.
0:04:09 > 0:04:11This is hot.
0:04:12 > 0:04:16- It's a bit chilly in here today.- It is a bit.
0:04:16 > 0:04:18Or maybe it's because we've been in hot countries.
0:04:18 > 0:04:22- You've been in Thailand, haven't you?- Yeah, just got back yesterday.
0:04:22 > 0:04:25Amazing. Amazing street food in Thailand.
0:04:25 > 0:04:28Some of the best in the world, I think.
0:04:28 > 0:04:31So, roll it up really tightly, with loads of clingfilm.
0:04:31 > 0:04:32You're doing this with the neck.
0:04:32 > 0:04:35It's not often a piece of meat that you use.
0:04:35 > 0:04:39- You can use lamb neck as well, which is fantastic.- Yeah.
0:04:39 > 0:04:42It's all those forgotten cuts I love cooking with.
0:04:42 > 0:04:48- Inexpensive as well, if you can get hold of it.- Packed full of flavour.
0:04:48 > 0:04:50They use it for sausage meat.
0:04:50 > 0:04:52You've got the mayonnaise, which hasn't split!
0:04:52 > 0:04:53CHEERING
0:04:53 > 0:04:59- I had some underneath ready for him. - Yeah, yeah.- There you go.
0:04:59 > 0:05:02A little bit of mayonnaise. Are you proud you've made mayonnaise?
0:05:02 > 0:05:03LAUGHTER
0:05:06 > 0:05:07OK.
0:05:07 > 0:05:08Once it sets...
0:05:08 > 0:05:11Five years of doing this and 30 years in catering
0:05:11 > 0:05:12and now I'm doing coleslaw!
0:05:12 > 0:05:14But, go on.
0:05:14 > 0:05:19And just slice it into nice one-centimetre pieces.
0:05:19 > 0:05:26- And it sets really, really firm...in the fridge.- Yeah?- Blowtorch? Maybe?
0:05:26 > 0:05:28Yet, I'm getting it on there first,
0:05:28 > 0:05:32- because I've got to make the coleslaw.- So get that nice and hot.
0:05:32 > 0:05:36Now, I'm just going to caramelise the outside of the pork neck.
0:05:36 > 0:05:39Just give it a nice crispy shell.
0:05:39 > 0:05:43So this is a thing, if you want to do it in advance, you can keep that,
0:05:43 > 0:05:45- but also, I suppose that freezes well.- Yes.
0:05:45 > 0:05:49And in the fridge, that will keep for a week, no problem at all.
0:05:49 > 0:05:53- Give you more ideas for Marlow. - Yeah, I'm thinking about that. - If you're not busy.- Coq au vin.
0:05:53 > 0:05:55LAUGHTER
0:05:55 > 0:06:00Street food in this country has got a bad reputation still, hasn't?
0:06:00 > 0:06:02And it's, kind of, taking it to a different level.
0:06:05 > 0:06:08There's many people waking up this morning with a doner kebab
0:06:08 > 0:06:12stuck to their face, you know what I mean?
0:06:12 > 0:06:17- Don't deny, Robert, we've all done it.- I know! Scraped it off.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22- Right, I'll lift this off. - Could you crush those potatoes?
0:06:22 > 0:06:25- Yes, I'll do that, as well. - With a bit of butter.
0:06:25 > 0:06:29So, this dressing, you need the peppers to go in there.
0:06:29 > 0:06:32- Yeah, I'll do that as well. - You're working hard today, Chef.
0:06:32 > 0:06:35A little bit of vinegar goes in.
0:06:37 > 0:06:39On the gas and with a blowtorch!
0:06:40 > 0:06:41Yeah.
0:06:42 > 0:06:46So, dressing, you've got parsley, mint and basil,
0:06:46 > 0:06:51a little bit of English mustard goes in there...
0:06:51 > 0:06:53A little bit of the white wine vinegar.
0:06:53 > 0:06:56- Have you got any rapeseed oil left? - Yes, I've got that.
0:06:56 > 0:06:58There you go.
0:06:59 > 0:07:01Rapeseed oil goes in.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04And then we are going to add a roasted green pepper,
0:07:04 > 0:07:08and that, kind of, helps to hold the whole thing...sauce together.
0:07:08 > 0:07:10It's hardly a roasted green pepper, though, is it?
0:07:10 > 0:07:12A burnt green pepper.
0:07:12 > 0:07:13Yeah.
0:07:13 > 0:07:16- Is that enough?- Yeah. - Right, there you go.
0:07:16 > 0:07:20And that goes straight into cold water...
0:07:20 > 0:07:22Move that out of the way.
0:07:22 > 0:07:26We've got raw celeriac going in here, which is remoulade, which is
0:07:26 > 0:07:30that fancy French dish made with mustard and...
0:07:30 > 0:07:34grain mustard but, because you're using all British ingredients,
0:07:34 > 0:07:37- we're using English mustard. - Exactly.
0:07:37 > 0:07:40Isn't that quite difficult to find, literally, the entire menu 100%?
0:07:40 > 0:07:42It's really difficult.
0:07:42 > 0:07:45And the thing about it is, to do it in a restaurant,
0:07:45 > 0:07:49where you need a varied, extensive menu, it's almost impossible.
0:07:49 > 0:07:52But because we only serve four dishes per day,
0:07:52 > 0:07:54which we change regularly,
0:07:54 > 0:07:58it actually makes it a little bit more realistic.
0:07:58 > 0:07:59And it's a challenge.
0:07:59 > 0:08:04I wanted to do 99.9% British produce.
0:08:04 > 0:08:07Mark, my business partner and a really good friend of mine,
0:08:07 > 0:08:10he wanted 100%, wanted to keep it really pure.
0:08:10 > 0:08:16And so we don't use lemon, black pepper, no vanilla...
0:08:16 > 0:08:21- Butter's allowed, though.- Butter is allowed, yeah. In moderation.
0:08:21 > 0:08:23LAUGHTER
0:08:23 > 0:08:25I'll leave you a little bit. There you go.
0:08:25 > 0:08:27- And obviously rapeseed oil.- Yeah.
0:08:27 > 0:08:32- If you can find any, that is.- Yeah. - Right, so we just mash this up.
0:08:32 > 0:08:37- Yeah. Half the green pepper goes in. - Yeah.- Just get rid of this.
0:08:37 > 0:08:40And then just blend it up, to make the dressing.
0:08:40 > 0:08:42Then, to finish it off,
0:08:42 > 0:08:47we're going to dress some mixed leaves with the sauce...
0:08:47 > 0:08:48Which I'll do now.
0:08:50 > 0:08:52We are going to run out of rapeseed oil.
0:08:52 > 0:08:54Might as well use it all up, eh?
0:08:54 > 0:08:55LAUGHTER
0:08:58 > 0:09:00Right, there's your plate.
0:09:02 > 0:09:04So that's just white wine vinegar in there, yeah?
0:09:04 > 0:09:07White wine vinegar, mustard, roasted green pepper and herbs.
0:09:07 > 0:09:10And this roasted pepper, you just plunged it in water
0:09:10 > 0:09:13to get rid of the skin, you see? Nice and simple.
0:09:13 > 0:09:17Often you would roast this for a lot longer,
0:09:17 > 0:09:20but this is a much quicker way to do it.
0:09:20 > 0:09:25And we've invested in two blowtorches to do Tom's dish,
0:09:25 > 0:09:27- you might as well use them up. - It's the new chef's tool.
0:09:27 > 0:09:31Water bath, not any more. It's all about the blowtorch.
0:09:31 > 0:09:32The trouble is,
0:09:32 > 0:09:35you won't be able to find one this afternoon, even if you want one.
0:09:35 > 0:09:39- There you go.- Have you got the coleslaw?- Got what? Coleslaw is done.
0:09:41 > 0:09:45Bit retro today - coleslaw, chicken chasseur.
0:09:45 > 0:09:48Yeah. There you go. Dressing.
0:09:48 > 0:09:51- You want a little bit of that in there?- Yeah, please.
0:09:51 > 0:09:53Touch of this dressing.
0:09:53 > 0:09:56There you go. Black pepper...
0:09:56 > 0:09:59..that you can't find in the UK, but you admit that, for your bit.
0:09:59 > 0:10:01Did you put black pepper in that?!
0:10:01 > 0:10:04LAUGHTER
0:10:04 > 0:10:07- I've been banging on about...! - No, that was salt.
0:10:10 > 0:10:11Just get it on the plate.
0:10:13 > 0:10:14There you go.
0:10:14 > 0:10:15A little bit of the...
0:10:15 > 0:10:19If anybody asks, just say we didn't wash the lettuce.
0:10:19 > 0:10:20LAUGHTER
0:10:25 > 0:10:27Sauce goes on top.
0:10:28 > 0:10:33And that is your confit pork neck with carrots,
0:10:33 > 0:10:36cabbage and celeriac coleslaw and a herb dressing.
0:10:36 > 0:10:38And a little bit of black pepper - sorry about that.
0:10:44 > 0:10:47There we go! Right. Get stuck into this.
0:10:47 > 0:10:51- The food just keeps coming to you, Robert.- Yeah, I like it.
0:10:51 > 0:10:53Dive into that.
0:10:53 > 0:10:56- But that would work really well with lamb...- Yeah.
0:10:56 > 0:10:57That dressing's, kind of, like a salsa verde,
0:10:57 > 0:11:00- but you obviously can't use capers or gherkins.- Or anchovies.
0:11:00 > 0:11:02It makes it a bit challenging,
0:11:02 > 0:11:05but when you taste it, you don't really miss it.
0:11:05 > 0:11:06Mm.
0:11:06 > 0:11:09- Beautiful.- Happy with that? - Mm.- Happy with that.
0:11:09 > 0:11:14- So, you're not going to get any. - Not now.- I'm the wrong end.
0:11:18 > 0:11:21I'm sorry for the addition of black pepper, Jun.
0:11:21 > 0:11:25Coming up, I'll make a delicious winter desert for Emilia Fox,
0:11:25 > 0:11:28after Rick Stein takes his French Odyssey to the South of France.
0:11:47 > 0:11:50There's a lovely description of a boating adventure by the writer
0:11:50 > 0:11:53Guy de Maupassant, when he took to the rivers
0:11:53 > 0:11:57and canals of France with a couple of friends, nearly 150 years ago.
0:11:58 > 0:12:01He wrote, "Just as others remember nights of passion,
0:12:01 > 0:12:06"I cherish memories of sunrises on misty mornings, with floating,
0:12:06 > 0:12:10"drifting vapours, white as ghosts, before the dawn.
0:12:10 > 0:12:13"And then, as the first ray of sunshine touches the meadows,
0:12:13 > 0:12:17"lit with a rosy glow." It puts a chill down my spine
0:12:17 > 0:12:20to read something like that I'm actually experiencing myself.
0:12:22 > 0:12:27It's easy to forget that the Canal du Midi was the brainchild
0:12:27 > 0:12:30of a formidable engineer called Pierre-Paul Riquet
0:12:30 > 0:12:32over 300 years ago.
0:12:32 > 0:12:35He was the Isambard Kingdom Brunel of France.
0:12:35 > 0:12:37Riquet, according to the legend,
0:12:37 > 0:12:42quietly and secretly dug this tunnel at Malpass in just a few days,
0:12:42 > 0:12:46to thwart bitter rivals who were desperately trying to stop him.
0:12:47 > 0:12:50And it happens to be near a very good baker,
0:12:50 > 0:12:53where it was Philippe's turn to collect the still-warm bread
0:12:53 > 0:12:58for breakfast, one of life's simple luxuries on the Canal du Midi.
0:13:03 > 0:13:07At Fonserannes, these eight locks, staggered like a giant staircase
0:13:07 > 0:13:12on the outskirts of Beziers, are again testament to Riquet's genius.
0:13:12 > 0:13:15As a very small boy he went to a meeting with his father,
0:13:15 > 0:13:18who was on the council of the Languedoc, and there
0:13:18 > 0:13:21they talked about a plan to link the Atlantic with the Mediterranean.
0:13:21 > 0:13:23It made a great impression on him,
0:13:23 > 0:13:27but he had to wait 40 years to realise his dream.
0:13:28 > 0:13:30The locks of Fonserannes
0:13:30 > 0:13:32are regarded as one of the marvels of the world.
0:13:32 > 0:13:34Imagine if you were on a holiday on a noddy boat
0:13:34 > 0:13:38and you had to negotiate this as your first set of locks -
0:13:38 > 0:13:40it would put you off boating for life!
0:13:46 > 0:13:50The writer George Miller once said that the problem with Italian food
0:13:50 > 0:13:55was that, five or six days later, you start to feel peckish again.
0:13:55 > 0:13:58I feel a bit like that when I think about the food
0:13:58 > 0:14:02I've had on my journey so far, especially in Gascony and Aquitaine.
0:14:02 > 0:14:06Chips fried in duck fat, with a rare Cote du Beaune.
0:14:06 > 0:14:11Then, of course, seemingly endless duck dishes, like this magret,
0:14:11 > 0:14:15a breast of foie gras duck with a rich red wine sauce.
0:14:15 > 0:14:19And one of my favourite dishes of all time - confit of duck,
0:14:19 > 0:14:22especially with red cabbage.
0:14:22 > 0:14:25It's something that, long after this journey is done and dusted,
0:14:25 > 0:14:28I'll continue to cook at home.
0:14:28 > 0:14:30So now, as I approach the Med,
0:14:30 > 0:14:33the food starts to change to lighter flavours.
0:14:34 > 0:14:37And this is a good introduction to the Mediterranean,
0:14:37 > 0:14:39known locally as Anchoiade.
0:14:40 > 0:14:43The sauce is simply made by pounding half a dozen anchovy fillets
0:14:43 > 0:14:48with a clove of garlic, some seasoning, red wine vinegar
0:14:48 > 0:14:49and olive oil.
0:14:49 > 0:14:53The preserved anchovies from the South of France are arguably
0:14:53 > 0:14:55among the best that you can get.
0:14:55 > 0:14:58There are loads of versions of this and some people like adding
0:14:58 > 0:15:02black olives, a splash of cognac or chopped tomatoes.
0:15:05 > 0:15:08The food writer Elizabeth David said in the '50s,
0:15:08 > 0:15:11"It is by no means an everyday dish but,
0:15:11 > 0:15:13"like so many dishes which one forgets about
0:15:13 > 0:15:16"for months at a time, when one wants it,
0:15:16 > 0:15:20"one feels like nothing else will do." Quite so, Elizabeth.
0:15:31 > 0:15:35We sat down the other day and worked out just how many locks
0:15:35 > 0:15:38we'd been through, since we started our journey from Bordeaux.
0:15:38 > 0:15:43And, by my calculation, this should be lock number 175.
0:15:45 > 0:15:48Well, this is quite a momentous occasion for me,
0:15:48 > 0:15:51because we just passed through the last lock.
0:15:51 > 0:15:53The first lock was near Bordeaux and locks have
0:15:53 > 0:15:58been our life for the last month or so, so it's quite meaningful.
0:15:58 > 0:16:01And beyond is salt marsh, the Etang de Thau...
0:16:01 > 0:16:03HOOTER BLARES
0:16:03 > 0:16:05Thank you! ..and the sea.
0:16:05 > 0:16:08And we've had tripe, we've had all kinds of cheeses,
0:16:08 > 0:16:13we've had shad, eels, we've had cassoulet, confit, magrets,
0:16:13 > 0:16:19foie gras, fantastic wine from the Medoc, interesting little wines
0:16:19 > 0:16:22all the way down and some great wines in the Languedoc.
0:16:22 > 0:16:25But now, it's Mediterranean food all the way.
0:16:36 > 0:16:39So this is the end of the famous Canal du Midi.
0:16:39 > 0:16:43Or the beginning if you happen to be heading for the Atlantic.
0:16:43 > 0:16:46I'm still not entirely comfortable with steering.
0:16:46 > 0:16:49There's a sign at the end that thanks you for your visit.
0:16:49 > 0:16:54Well, merci beaucoup for votre hospitalite!
0:16:54 > 0:16:57Well, this is quite a change, after all those days and days
0:16:57 > 0:17:01meandering through the canals under arches of trees.
0:17:01 > 0:17:05It looks like the sea, but in fact it's not, it's the Etang du Thau,
0:17:05 > 0:17:08a great big lake full of oysters and mussels.
0:17:08 > 0:17:11But the Mistral is blowing quite a bit
0:17:11 > 0:17:15and Sonya's just been sent down to the cabin to close the portholes.
0:17:18 > 0:17:23The Etang du Thau is an inland sea and its waters are renowned
0:17:23 > 0:17:27for superb seafood - oysters and mussels, especially.
0:17:27 > 0:17:28And something else,
0:17:28 > 0:17:32which goes incredibly well with all sorts of fish and seafood
0:17:32 > 0:17:36is a vermouth, which has been made here in the Port de Marseillan
0:17:36 > 0:17:37for nearly 200 years.
0:17:37 > 0:17:41Ernest Hemingway once said, "I love drinking Martini.
0:17:41 > 0:17:47"It makes me feel so sophisticated." But I love cooking with Noilly "Pra".
0:17:47 > 0:17:49Or is it "Prat"? We shall find out.
0:17:50 > 0:17:58My gosh, look at that! That's fantastic. The enclosure.
0:17:58 > 0:18:01This is a true flavour from the Languedoc, using local grapes,
0:18:01 > 0:18:06like Picpoul from the slopes and Clairette from the plains, and stored
0:18:06 > 0:18:11in oak barrels kept out in the Mediterranean sun for nearly a year.
0:18:11 > 0:18:15One thing I want to ask you both, this is very serious for me,
0:18:15 > 0:18:17Jean-Louis, Audrey, is it...
0:18:17 > 0:18:21Noilly Pra, Noilly Prat? How do you pronounce it?
0:18:21 > 0:18:24- Noilly Prat.- Noilly Prat.
0:18:24 > 0:18:28Noilly Prat. Fine. I will never forget that.
0:18:28 > 0:18:31What Jean-Louis was telling me is about how it's produced.
0:18:31 > 0:18:33And it's so interesting
0:18:33 > 0:18:38because I've been cooking with Noilly Prat for 25 years.
0:18:38 > 0:18:39But it was such a good idea.
0:18:39 > 0:18:43Mr Noilly noticed that these barrels are being transported by barge
0:18:43 > 0:18:45all around here and there was something
0:18:45 > 0:18:50really special about the wine after it had been transported.
0:18:50 > 0:18:52And it was the concentration of the wine,
0:18:52 > 0:18:56the effect of the sunlight, the wind, the open air, that caused it
0:18:56 > 0:19:00to concentrate and get a bit oxidised, which improved the flavour.
0:19:00 > 0:19:03And that's what they are replicating here, by putting it out
0:19:03 > 0:19:07in the sun, giving it wind, a bit of rain, which has just caught us.
0:19:07 > 0:19:08So, there you have it.
0:19:08 > 0:19:11The other thing I'd like to say is,
0:19:11 > 0:19:18if you ever think it's called Noilly Pra, don't be such a Noilly!
0:19:18 > 0:19:22So, after sunbathing in the showers for a year, the wine is then
0:19:22 > 0:19:26fortified with eau du vie and a mysterious blend of herbs and spices.
0:19:28 > 0:19:30Mm, that is so nice.
0:19:30 > 0:19:33So often when you smell dried herbs, they just smell of dust,
0:19:33 > 0:19:36but this is so pungent.
0:19:36 > 0:19:40I can tell there's 21 herbs and spices in this mix and many of them
0:19:40 > 0:19:43are secret. I can see a lot of orange peel in there,
0:19:43 > 0:19:48and there's cloves and I can see some coriander and I can see...
0:19:48 > 0:19:53I can smell nutmeg and a bit of cinnamon, too.
0:19:54 > 0:19:57I can taste quinine there, as well.
0:19:57 > 0:20:00I wonder if they've got any vermouth, any wormwood in there.
0:20:00 > 0:20:03I think that's what makes you go blind in absinthe.
0:20:04 > 0:20:07This dish requires the flavour of those herbs
0:20:07 > 0:20:10and spices to come through in the finished sauce.
0:20:10 > 0:20:13I just pour some of the vermouth into an already-hot saucepan,
0:20:13 > 0:20:16followed by about a pint of fish stock.
0:20:16 > 0:20:19I let that reduce, until it becomes concentrated.
0:20:19 > 0:20:23I'm going to accompany this with some sliced cucumber.
0:20:23 > 0:20:25Not a lot of people use cucumber as a vegetable.
0:20:25 > 0:20:30But I think, with fish, gently sauteed in butter, it works a treat.
0:20:30 > 0:20:32Everybody thinks of it as a salad vegetable,
0:20:32 > 0:20:36but it makes a very nice cooked vegetable, too.
0:20:36 > 0:20:38So after melting some butter in a pan,
0:20:38 > 0:20:41I brush these John Dory fillets with it.
0:20:41 > 0:20:43These are really easy to get back at home.
0:20:43 > 0:20:46Season with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper,
0:20:46 > 0:20:49making sure that the stock is reducing beautifully.
0:20:49 > 0:20:53Actually, I heard a story in Cornwall about John Dory,
0:20:53 > 0:20:56that it comes from the French fishermen's nickname for it,
0:20:56 > 0:20:57jaune dore, meaning "yellow gold",
0:20:57 > 0:21:02because freshly caught, they have a lovely lemony-gold sheen to them.
0:21:02 > 0:21:06These go under a hot grill for three minutes, while you get on with frying
0:21:06 > 0:21:10the sliced cucumbers with some more melted butter, salt and pepper.
0:21:11 > 0:21:15I cooked this dish in France, but it made me very homesick for Cornish
0:21:15 > 0:21:19John Dory which, I'm happy to say, are not currently under threat.
0:21:21 > 0:21:25So, they look nicely done. That's three or four minutes.
0:21:25 > 0:21:26You may think that's not enough,
0:21:26 > 0:21:29but it is, as long as you've got a hot enough grill, of course.
0:21:29 > 0:21:32So, just finish of the sauce with a bit of creme fraiche.
0:21:34 > 0:21:36I've been cooking this sauce for years.
0:21:36 > 0:21:40It's very simple and can be used for practically any fish
0:21:40 > 0:21:42and I've had no complaints.
0:21:42 > 0:21:46Once you've brought the fish stock and creme fraiche up to a simmer,
0:21:46 > 0:21:50add butter cubes in stages, because you want your sauce to be silky.
0:21:50 > 0:21:52The combined smell of the fish stock, vermouth
0:21:52 > 0:21:57and the butter is the essential aroma for any good fish restaurant.
0:21:57 > 0:22:00It's the first thing you should notice, before the decor,
0:22:00 > 0:22:03linen, tablecloths and waiters' uniforms.
0:22:03 > 0:22:07It's what creates a wonderful mood for eating fish.
0:22:07 > 0:22:11And all you need now is a chiffonade of fresh basil and nothing else.
0:22:18 > 0:22:20Now, I do love that part of France.
0:22:20 > 0:22:22It was not far from Marseille myself over Christmas.
0:22:22 > 0:22:25Rick was using dry vermouth for his John Dory dish.
0:22:25 > 0:22:28But there are also sweeter varieties that you can find
0:22:28 > 0:22:30that are great for cooking, too.
0:22:30 > 0:22:32I'm going to show you a really nice, simple dessert
0:22:32 > 0:22:36that is really easy. It's like a sabayon, which is the French word
0:22:36 > 0:22:40- for zabaglione.- Zam-by-own-eh!
0:22:40 > 0:22:45- Come on. Speak properly. Come on.- Speak properly?!
0:22:45 > 0:22:48No, no, no. I don't understand you.
0:22:48 > 0:22:52- We're going to do a zabaglione. - Zam-by-own-eh!- We're doing a...
0:22:52 > 0:22:55sabayon. Sabayon. But it's nice and simple.
0:22:55 > 0:22:57We're going to do that with fruits.
0:22:57 > 0:23:00We've got some blackberries here, a little bit of cherry, some pears.
0:23:00 > 0:23:02It's almost got, like, that wintry sort of feel.
0:23:02 > 0:23:04And then I'll do that with a little cherry...
0:23:04 > 0:23:06almost like a syrup, to go with it with ice cream.
0:23:06 > 0:23:09I'm going to get the cherries on first. All you do is just take
0:23:09 > 0:23:12a little bit of water. There you go. And some sugar.
0:23:12 > 0:23:15And pop that into a pan. That goes straight in there.
0:23:15 > 0:23:17And create a syrup out of this first of all.
0:23:17 > 0:23:21I'm going to then take my pear and cut it up and poach this.
0:23:21 > 0:23:26- But I was talking to you while Rick Stein was on there...- Yeah.
0:23:26 > 0:23:29Acting, you said you fell into acting, really,
0:23:29 > 0:23:30cos you used to work as a waitress,
0:23:30 > 0:23:33- which a lot of actors and actresses do.- Yeah.
0:23:33 > 0:23:36But it was never a career that you, kind of, wanted to do.
0:23:36 > 0:23:37No, that was a disaster, too.
0:23:37 > 0:23:40Anything to do with the food industry with me is a disaster.
0:23:40 > 0:23:42I was so bad at it
0:23:42 > 0:23:44that a friend of mine
0:23:44 > 0:23:48who runs a restaurant said, "Look, it's just not for you."
0:23:48 > 0:23:49I kept being demoted.
0:23:49 > 0:23:53I was demoted from being a waitress
0:23:53 > 0:23:57to cleaning glasses. That didn't work, either.
0:23:57 > 0:24:00So then, I was put in the loos, cleaning the loos,
0:24:00 > 0:24:02and then that didn't work, either. It was all over.
0:24:02 > 0:24:04The restaurant's loss was our gain,
0:24:04 > 0:24:08because it wasn't long before you were appearing with Colin Firth.
0:24:08 > 0:24:11- Yeah.- When was that? '96? Around that time?
0:24:11 > 0:24:14Well, it was a different holiday job and I thought, "I've got to take it.
0:24:14 > 0:24:17"I obviously can't keep on doing waitressing."
0:24:17 > 0:24:21And then I guess I caught the bug for it. Really enjoyed it.
0:24:21 > 0:24:25How do you get on to working with Colin Firth? Pride and Prejudice?
0:24:25 > 0:24:28I mentioned this and all the women went nuts
0:24:28 > 0:24:30and all the guys hadn't a clue what we're talking about.
0:24:30 > 0:24:34Colin Firth, apparently, came out of the water a bit...
0:24:34 > 0:24:38With a wet shirt or without a shirt on or something like that.
0:24:38 > 0:24:42- Anyway, you played his sister?- Yes. I've worked with him three times now.
0:24:42 > 0:24:46- Right.- Recently on Dorian Gray, playing his wife.
0:24:46 > 0:24:50We've, sort of, been together over each other's careers.
0:24:50 > 0:24:52Now, the roles that you play are quite...
0:24:52 > 0:24:55They're quite hard-hitting roles, aren't they?
0:24:55 > 0:24:58They're quite intense. Would you say they're intense?
0:24:58 > 0:25:01You quite like a serious role. Would that be right?
0:25:01 > 0:25:05Well, Silent Witness, definitely is quite serious. Um...
0:25:05 > 0:25:10- What was the one where you... Fallen Angel, I remember watching.- Yeah.
0:25:10 > 0:25:14- I thought that was fantastic, where you play a serial killer.- Yes.
0:25:14 > 0:25:16Again, quite deep and intense. I mean, they must take
0:25:16 > 0:25:18a lot of preparation, to do the sort of roles.
0:25:18 > 0:25:20Well, that one was...
0:25:20 > 0:25:25She did awful things to children, so it was really getting in the mind
0:25:25 > 0:25:27of someone who would do something
0:25:27 > 0:25:30so horrible, but it was a great story.
0:25:30 > 0:25:33It was a good backwards-told thriller.
0:25:33 > 0:25:36- Silent Witness is pretty gruesome, as well.- Yeah.
0:25:36 > 0:25:39I was... Seven million people are watching it.
0:25:39 > 0:25:42- Congratulations, by the way.- Thank you.- I was one of them, as well.
0:25:42 > 0:25:45Literally, when you're watching it, you're amazed at the amount of work
0:25:45 > 0:25:48that it obviously took, cos it's almost a film in itself.
0:25:48 > 0:25:51Yeah, they're two-hour dramas.
0:25:51 > 0:25:53They're quite hard to write, as well, I think,
0:25:53 > 0:25:55because you've got three pathologists that you're fitting in,
0:25:55 > 0:25:58having to be involved in the detective process.
0:25:58 > 0:26:01But I think that's what's interesting about it and makes it a bit different
0:26:01 > 0:26:05is that the detective process is through the body.
0:26:05 > 0:26:09Certainly, when I went to see autopsies, it was incredible.
0:26:09 > 0:26:15Each organ holds a different clue to how someone died or, you know...
0:26:15 > 0:26:18Do you think it helps because it was written by an ex-detective,
0:26:18 > 0:26:21as well, wasn't it, Silent Witness?
0:26:21 > 0:26:24- What, that...? - Created by an ex-detective.
0:26:24 > 0:26:27- At the beginning?- Yeah. Do you think that helps in the writing of it?
0:26:27 > 0:26:30Yeah. Now, all different writers...
0:26:30 > 0:26:33We have a different writer for each episode
0:26:33 > 0:26:36and really amazing, the research that goes into it,
0:26:36 > 0:26:37and the pathologists and the detectives
0:26:37 > 0:26:39and the coroner that we work with.
0:26:39 > 0:26:43They try to keep it as close to the truth as possible.
0:26:43 > 0:26:46Obviously, with a bit of dramatic licence.
0:26:46 > 0:26:49Certainly, we're coached quite heavily on set
0:26:49 > 0:26:51to get the autopsies to be as real as possible.
0:26:51 > 0:26:55So, what's next for you, then? That's out the way, in the bag.
0:26:55 > 0:26:57What's 2010 bringing?
0:26:57 > 0:27:02I start a film next week, called Harmony, and then...
0:27:02 > 0:27:06Silent Witness starts again and, I think, Merlin.
0:27:06 > 0:27:07I did a bit on Merlin last year,
0:27:07 > 0:27:11so hopefully, I'm going back to do a bit more.
0:27:11 > 0:27:14It's looking good. I'm just going to run through what I've got in here,
0:27:14 > 0:27:16cos I'm busy whisking away.
0:27:16 > 0:27:19Gennaro's checking to see if I'm doing it properly.
0:27:19 > 0:27:21What are you making, anyway? Sorry to ask you.
0:27:21 > 0:27:24- What are you whisking inside there? - This is egg yolks and sugar.
0:27:24 > 0:27:26Yeah, what do you call them?
0:27:26 > 0:27:29- Sabayon.- Zab-aye-own-eh. - JAMES LAUGHS
0:27:29 > 0:27:31You have to speak English and Italian, properly.
0:27:31 > 0:27:34- I'm sorry. You lost a point. - You're like an annoying grandad
0:27:34 > 0:27:37in the corner at Christmas.
0:27:37 > 0:27:39All we do is we whip up this,
0:27:39 > 0:27:44it's sugar and egg yolks, and put this sweetened vermouth in there.
0:27:44 > 0:27:45Then, I've got the cherries here.
0:27:45 > 0:27:48This is over, literally, a pan of hot water, by the way.
0:27:48 > 0:27:50All you do with the cherries is you just pop them in your blender,
0:27:50 > 0:27:52- Brian.- Two blenders!
0:27:52 > 0:27:55- You don't need to wash yours, cos you've got two!- That's true.
0:27:55 > 0:28:00Take the lid off. There we go. And just give this a quick blitz.
0:28:00 > 0:28:01Keep the skins on it, as well.
0:28:01 > 0:28:05That will give it the tannin, but it will also give it the colour.
0:28:06 > 0:28:10And then, what I do is just, literally, pop it through a sieve
0:28:10 > 0:28:12and just leave it to just drip through.
0:28:12 > 0:28:14What would have happened if you'd have left that bit on?
0:28:14 > 0:28:18It creates a vacuum and you would get covered in cherry juice.
0:28:18 > 0:28:21You and I would get covered, yeah. Exactly that.
0:28:21 > 0:28:23What you do is you leave it to drip
0:28:23 > 0:28:26and it just creates this nice little syrup that we have here.
0:28:26 > 0:28:30Keep the egg whites. These will freeze, as well, if you wanted to.
0:28:30 > 0:28:33The idea is, we just cook this until it starts to thicken.
0:28:33 > 0:28:35You can see it start to thicken up nicely.
0:28:35 > 0:28:37Just keep whisking it and whisking it.
0:28:37 > 0:28:39It's not the type of thing that will hold.
0:28:39 > 0:28:42You need to do it almost at the last minute, for a party.
0:28:42 > 0:28:45All you do is just take our pears out now.
0:28:45 > 0:28:46These have just been poached.
0:28:46 > 0:28:49You can put some of that vermouth in there, as well.
0:28:49 > 0:28:52These will just take, literally, about...
0:28:52 > 0:28:55six, eight minutes, something like that, just poaching
0:28:55 > 0:28:57in that sugary sort of syrup.
0:28:57 > 0:29:00Then you pop the pears on here. Just any old way.
0:29:00 > 0:29:02I'm using it on black because it shows up a little more.
0:29:02 > 0:29:04We've got some of these cherries.
0:29:04 > 0:29:08They can go on there. And these blackberries.
0:29:08 > 0:29:11Interesting fact. There's 2,000 varieties of blackberries.
0:29:11 > 0:29:13- I thought blackberries were blackberries.- Yeah.
0:29:13 > 0:29:16But there's 2,000 varieties of them. There you go.
0:29:16 > 0:29:18Interesting factoid.
0:29:18 > 0:29:22And we then grab our...
0:29:22 > 0:29:25- zab-ag-lee-own-eh.- Bravo!
0:29:27 > 0:29:31And all we do is just pour this over the top, like that.
0:29:34 > 0:29:38It keeps it nice and simple, because it's really light, this, as well.
0:29:40 > 0:29:43There you go. Now, you said you were filming
0:29:43 > 0:29:44a new bit for Silent witness.
0:29:44 > 0:29:47But we've got it for another nine weeks, is that right?
0:29:47 > 0:29:51Another four weeks. You've got eight episodes, but it's every Thursday
0:29:51 > 0:29:52and Friday for the next four weeks.
0:29:52 > 0:29:55Every Thursday and Friday. Right. We need a blowtorch.
0:29:55 > 0:29:58- So, that's like a special custard? - Have you got one of them?
0:29:58 > 0:30:01- That's the next Christmas present. - He hasn't got one!
0:30:01 > 0:30:05Right. You get yourself a blowtorch.
0:30:05 > 0:30:08You need to go to hardware store for this, not a cook shop.
0:30:08 > 0:30:10This comes free with a mask.
0:30:10 > 0:30:12LAUGHTER
0:30:12 > 0:30:15There you go. And the idea is you just...
0:30:16 > 0:30:20Makes it look pretty and then you've got the ice cream...
0:30:20 > 0:30:25- which we can then take. This is just some vanilla ice cream.- Lethal.
0:30:25 > 0:30:29- That would be my house burnt down, if I did that.- Would it?- Wow.
0:30:31 > 0:30:35- Dive into that. Tell us what you think.- That's amazing.- Dive in.
0:30:35 > 0:30:38- I'm so impressed.- Dive in. Tell us what you think.
0:30:38 > 0:30:41You need a bit of ice cream with it. It's that warm and cold, as well.
0:30:41 > 0:30:45If you taste the pear, that's probably the nicest.
0:30:45 > 0:30:48- Can I taste the blackberry? - Yep, the blackberry.
0:30:50 > 0:30:53- It's nice and light. - That's incredible. It's delicious.
0:30:58 > 0:31:01That's a really great pud for after your Sunday roast.
0:31:01 > 0:31:04Now, if you'd like to try making that recipe or try your hand
0:31:04 > 0:31:06at cooking any of the food you've seen on today's show,
0:31:06 > 0:31:10they're just a click away, at bbc.co.uk/recipes.
0:31:10 > 0:31:12Now, we're not live today, so instead, we're looking back
0:31:12 > 0:31:15at some of the delicious cooking from the Saturday Kitchen larder.
0:31:15 > 0:31:19Now it's time for Fernando Stovell to serve beef tacos
0:31:19 > 0:31:23with the help of a pig made out of volcanic rock. Watch this.
0:31:23 > 0:31:25It all happens on this show, I tell you.
0:31:25 > 0:31:27Fernando Stovall, great to have you on the show.
0:31:27 > 0:31:29I love this type of food.
0:31:29 > 0:31:31cos it's the kind of food that everybody can dive into
0:31:31 > 0:31:35- and it's accessible.- And it's very healthy and cheap to actually buy.
0:31:35 > 0:31:38- OK. So, what are we cooking? - Basically, it's two different parts
0:31:38 > 0:31:41- and you're going to help me with the salsa.- Yeah.- We need tomatoes.
0:31:41 > 0:31:44We need to blacken some tomatoes. We need to blacken the onion
0:31:44 > 0:31:47and blacken the chillies. So, if you don't mind helping me with that?
0:31:47 > 0:31:50- I'm going to be doing that first of all.- In the meantime,
0:31:50 > 0:31:53for the beef, to braise the beef, and the salad,
0:31:53 > 0:31:56- there's two different parts to that.- Yep.
0:31:56 > 0:32:01- First, I seal...- Now, this is the brisket.- This is the brisket.
0:32:01 > 0:32:03You can buy all the different cuts of meat, like flank,
0:32:03 > 0:32:07- but it's a little bit fattier than that.- Brisket is fantastic, isn't it?
0:32:07 > 0:32:10I love brisket. You can do so many things with brisket.
0:32:10 > 0:32:13Basically, what I'm going to be doing with it is I'm going to be cooking it
0:32:13 > 0:32:15for two-and-a-half to three hours.
0:32:18 > 0:32:22- I'm going to be cooking it for two to three hours.- Right.
0:32:22 > 0:32:25I've got my onions just... They're already blackened under the grill.
0:32:25 > 0:32:27- Sure.- I'm going to run across, get my tomatoes.
0:32:27 > 0:32:31- Now, we're going to blacken the skins cos we use the whole lot, don't we?- That's right, yes.
0:32:31 > 0:32:35It's a good way of actually creating a smokiness to this salsa
0:32:35 > 0:32:39which is really nice, if you blacken the tomatoes and the onions
0:32:39 > 0:32:43- and the chilli.- Basically, what I'm doing with the brisket is
0:32:43 > 0:32:45just very lightly caramelising it.
0:32:45 > 0:32:48- So, the brisket is from the breast area.- That's right.
0:32:48 > 0:32:51It's from the breast side of it. I'm lightly caramelising it.
0:32:51 > 0:32:56With that, you need just half an onion, two pieces of garlic clove.
0:32:56 > 0:33:00- There's a nice marbling to go with it.- That's right, yes.
0:33:00 > 0:33:02Two pieces of garlic clove.
0:33:02 > 0:33:05And a little bit of very light beef stock.
0:33:05 > 0:33:08I wouldn't do a very heavy beef stock on it.
0:33:09 > 0:33:12Just cover it, all the way to the top.
0:33:12 > 0:33:17How long would it last after cooking, if you didn't have to eat the whole thing in one time?
0:33:17 > 0:33:19How long?
0:33:19 > 0:33:21I would keep on topping it up with more liquid.
0:33:21 > 0:33:24And after it's cooked, you could keep it for...?
0:33:24 > 0:33:27- Once it's cooked, I mean, it could last...- Oh!
0:33:27 > 0:33:30- ..four or five days?- Absolutely. If you vacuum pack them
0:33:30 > 0:33:32or just put them in the freezer.
0:33:32 > 0:33:34I thought that was a vase of grapefruit juice.
0:33:34 > 0:33:35That's how good I am!
0:33:35 > 0:33:37LAUGHTER
0:33:37 > 0:33:41- There we go.- You're going to bake that in the oven now.
0:33:41 > 0:33:43It goes in the oven for two-and-a-half to three hours.
0:33:43 > 0:33:46160-150 degrees centigrade.
0:33:46 > 0:33:48Probably 300 degrees is fine.
0:33:48 > 0:33:51Probably say gas mark four, five.
0:33:51 > 0:33:57Right. OK. Now, we're going to do a little bit of salsa with this
0:33:57 > 0:34:00- and bits and pieces? - That's right.- The salsa is...
0:34:00 > 0:34:02The salsa is pretty straightforward. It's three ingredients.
0:34:02 > 0:34:06You've blackened the tomatoes, the onions and the chilli.
0:34:06 > 0:34:08You just pound it all together and that's the end of that.
0:34:08 > 0:34:11And you want a little bit of tomato concasse with this, as well.
0:34:11 > 0:34:13That's right. Well, the tomato concasse is for the salad.
0:34:13 > 0:34:16The salad will go on the serving dish.
0:34:16 > 0:34:19Now, last time you were here, obviously, The Cuckoo Club...
0:34:19 > 0:34:24- I did mention just now that you're looking for a restaurant, is that right?- That's right.
0:34:24 > 0:34:26My wife and myself, we're looking for a new venture.
0:34:26 > 0:34:28We actually want to do our own.
0:34:28 > 0:34:31We're looking for a restaurant in the Surrey area.
0:34:31 > 0:34:34Right. Found any yet or not?
0:34:34 > 0:34:38- There's a few places that we like a lot.- But you're not saying anything?
0:34:38 > 0:34:41- We're not saying much, no. - Good choice. The price will go up.
0:34:41 > 0:34:44- Right. So, we've got the brisket. - We've got the brisket.
0:34:44 > 0:34:47What I'm going to do right now is pull the brisket. In the meantime,
0:34:47 > 0:34:49- you're going to do the tomato concasse.- Yep.
0:34:49 > 0:34:52We're going to chop a little bit of coriander, slice the avocado,
0:34:52 > 0:34:56just chop a little bit of the olives
0:34:56 > 0:34:59- and slice... - This dish is called salpicon.
0:34:59 > 0:35:04Salpicon. It's a French terminology that the French used to use
0:35:04 > 0:35:06in the 18th-century. And basically,
0:35:06 > 0:35:08when the French went to America, Mexico, mainly,
0:35:08 > 0:35:11there's a huge influence of Mexican-French cooking.
0:35:11 > 0:35:14It roughly translates in the UK as...?
0:35:14 > 0:35:18Salpicon, the actual translation stands for...
0:35:18 > 0:35:21Like a salt and cooked?
0:35:21 > 0:35:25Erm, it's meat and sauces together, combined.
0:35:25 > 0:35:27- Right.- Basically, what the French believe in is to put it
0:35:27 > 0:35:30on a vol-au-vent or a tart or something like that.
0:35:30 > 0:35:34- Are you a big fan of Mexico?- It's like another world, sitting here.
0:35:34 > 0:35:38- What?- Like a foreign country. I've no idea what they're talking about.
0:35:38 > 0:35:42- Are you a big fan of Mexican food or not?- Who, me?- Yeah.
0:35:42 > 0:35:46- I like a little taco.- A little taco? - I've had a few of those in my time.
0:35:46 > 0:35:49The secret of it is... Like you say, it's very, very healthy.
0:35:49 > 0:35:51Absolutely, yes.
0:35:51 > 0:35:55- Now, for this, this is for our salad.- Basically, very simple.
0:35:55 > 0:35:59The meat, obviously, has been braised for three or four hours.
0:35:59 > 0:36:02- Right.- Very important, the meat has to be warm
0:36:02 > 0:36:06and you can mix the vinaigrette.
0:36:06 > 0:36:10- Malt vinegar.- Yep.- Not olive oil. Olive oil is very, very heavy,
0:36:10 > 0:36:13- so I would use grapeseed oil..- OK. - ..or an oil similar to that.
0:36:13 > 0:36:16- The secret of this is it falls apart.- It has to be warm
0:36:16 > 0:36:19and it has to go with a warm vinaigrette, if that make sense.
0:36:19 > 0:36:22- Use a fork or just your hands.- OK.
0:36:22 > 0:36:24While you do that...
0:36:24 > 0:36:28- This is well browned. How brown do you want it?- Ah, that's perfect.
0:36:28 > 0:36:31- That's perfect.- It's supposed to be like that. Trust me!
0:36:31 > 0:36:34- It gives the smoked flavour.- That's definitely smoky flavour, not burnt!
0:36:34 > 0:36:38Right. OK. We've got that. They're just going to be left to cool down.
0:36:38 > 0:36:41- Just pound the...- I'm going to leave you to do that one.
0:36:41 > 0:36:43- Do you want me to rip that up? - If you don't mind.
0:36:43 > 0:36:44James, can I help out at all?
0:36:44 > 0:36:49- No, you're right. - Just let me know.- Exactly! You just stay where you are!
0:36:49 > 0:36:53I'm just going to put a little diced chillies...
0:36:53 > 0:36:55- Yep.- ..on the salad as well.
0:36:55 > 0:36:58- I've got some diced chillies. - You have? Brilliant.- There you go.
0:36:58 > 0:37:01So, in there, you've got chilli, onion, tomato.
0:37:01 > 0:37:04- That's right. A little bit of shredded lettuce.- Yeah.
0:37:04 > 0:37:06- A bit of coriander in there as well. - That's right.
0:37:06 > 0:37:09And if you don't mind helping me with...
0:37:09 > 0:37:11- the avocado.- I'll do the avocado. No problem.
0:37:11 > 0:37:14You call it pulled because you pull the meat apart?
0:37:14 > 0:37:17- Is that why you call it pulled? - Pulled. That's right.
0:37:17 > 0:37:19I just recently went to America for holiday
0:37:19 > 0:37:22and they've got a very popular dish which is pulled pork.
0:37:22 > 0:37:26Basically, they combine that with... I personally find that really tasty
0:37:26 > 0:37:29and they combine it with barbecue sauce.
0:37:29 > 0:37:32They actually barbecue the meat instead of braising it.
0:37:32 > 0:37:36They barbecue it for quite a long time on a very low temperature
0:37:36 > 0:37:38and it's very, very tasty.
0:37:38 > 0:37:40- OK.- We just mix all that together.
0:37:40 > 0:37:43The lettuce has gone in there as well. In we go with the oil.
0:37:43 > 0:37:46- Half of it.- Half of that.
0:37:46 > 0:37:49- What vinegar's this? - That is malt vinegar.
0:37:49 > 0:37:51A little bit of oil.
0:37:51 > 0:37:54- Fresh oregano or dried oregano, which is very good.- OK.
0:37:54 > 0:37:56- A bit of the dressing over the top.- That's right.
0:37:56 > 0:38:00- A little bit of seasoning.- Sorry? A bit of salt.
0:38:00 > 0:38:03And then you're going to do this. This is what fascinates me.
0:38:03 > 0:38:05You brought this with you last time. This is made of, what,
0:38:05 > 0:38:08- volcanic rock?- Volcanic rock and it comes from a place called
0:38:08 > 0:38:13- Popocatepetl which is...- From where?! - Popocatepetl which is a volcano
0:38:13 > 0:38:17- Are you making this up or what? - No, I'm not!
0:38:17 > 0:38:19It's lava stone. It's lava stone.
0:38:19 > 0:38:21Now, it's got... Does that...?
0:38:21 > 0:38:25- Is that supposed to be anything, the pig?- It's the shape of a pig.
0:38:25 > 0:38:28Basically, they have shapes of pigs.
0:38:28 > 0:38:31Sometimes, they don't have shapes of pigs,
0:38:31 > 0:38:34they have shapes of donkeys or different forms.
0:38:34 > 0:38:37But the idea is that it keeps it warm?
0:38:37 > 0:38:39Is that the reason why it's volcanic rock?
0:38:39 > 0:38:42This volcanic rock really does help to pound things properly.
0:38:42 > 0:38:47We call it the liquidiser, the blender of the Aztecs.
0:38:47 > 0:38:49Obviously, they didn't have electrics in those days.
0:38:49 > 0:38:52- Isn't that where the word salsa comes from, the Aztecs?- Um...
0:38:52 > 0:38:54It's way back. It's very old.
0:38:54 > 0:38:56Well, the word salsa itself...
0:38:56 > 0:38:58I personally think it probably comes from Europe
0:38:58 > 0:39:03because salsa base would always be from tomato.
0:39:03 > 0:39:06I think that tomatoes were introduced by the Americans...
0:39:06 > 0:39:10- by the Europeans to the Americas. - OK. We're nearly ready.
0:39:10 > 0:39:13- Have you put the olives in?- Yep, they're in the salad.- Perfect.
0:39:13 > 0:39:16We've got our avocado here all done.
0:39:17 > 0:39:20- And then we can start to build this up.- Absolutely, yes.
0:39:20 > 0:39:22The idea is...
0:39:22 > 0:39:24you get some of these here.
0:39:24 > 0:39:26- Fill them up, yeah? - That's right, yes.
0:39:26 > 0:39:29- I'll leave you to do the first one. - Season that.
0:39:29 > 0:39:32There you go. I'll fill up the other one.
0:39:32 > 0:39:35So, this salad, the idea is you just plonk it in the middle of the table
0:39:35 > 0:39:38- and everybody piles.- That's right, yes.- Everybody dives in.
0:39:38 > 0:39:39A bit of avocado there.
0:39:40 > 0:39:44- Make your own, isn't it?- It is kind of like that, Mexican food.
0:39:44 > 0:39:47It's very much, you know, pop it in the middle of the table
0:39:47 > 0:39:49and everybody helps themselves. Very informal.
0:39:49 > 0:39:52Mexicans are well renowned for being very friendly
0:39:52 > 0:39:58and home comforting, so I think this dish is pretty appropriate.
0:39:58 > 0:40:00- No nail polish when you eat that stuff.- I'm sorry?
0:40:00 > 0:40:03- No nail polish when you eat that stuff!- Exactly.
0:40:03 > 0:40:06I suppose you could do this... You've got it with brisket.
0:40:06 > 0:40:07You could do the same thing with chicken,
0:40:07 > 0:40:09- cook it exactly the same way.- That's right.
0:40:09 > 0:40:12It's very versatile, like the last dish I made.
0:40:12 > 0:40:13You can use anything, really.
0:40:13 > 0:40:17You've got the avocado to sit on the top. While you're filling that one,
0:40:17 > 0:40:19remind us what this dish is called again.
0:40:19 > 0:40:22Salpicon. It's braised pulled beef
0:40:22 > 0:40:26with a taco shell and it's just a very, very healthy salad.
0:40:26 > 0:40:29- Don't forget that smoky sauce on the side.- That's right.
0:40:34 > 0:40:37There you go. Right. Let's have a taste.
0:40:37 > 0:40:39Tell us what you think of this one.
0:40:39 > 0:40:41- There we go. Healthy dish. - Yeah, healthy dish.
0:40:41 > 0:40:43I think the idea is you just...
0:40:43 > 0:40:45Well, take one and then pass it down, I suppose.
0:40:45 > 0:40:48- You put it right in front of me. - Yeah, exactly!- Shall we all share?
0:40:48 > 0:40:51- I'm not selfish. - Tell us what you think.
0:40:51 > 0:40:53Like you say, you could... You've done the brisket,
0:40:53 > 0:40:56- you could do it with chicken. - You can do it with chicken, lamb,
0:40:56 > 0:40:59veal, pork. I think pork would be amazingly good as well.
0:40:59 > 0:41:03- The secret is make sure it's still warm.- When it's warm.
0:41:03 > 0:41:06Any dish, any salads you're doing from warm to cold,
0:41:06 > 0:41:09always put your vinaigrette on when it's warm.
0:41:09 > 0:41:12- That's the biggest secret.- I'd rather buy you than the ingredients,
0:41:12 > 0:41:15- to be honest, cos you'd be so much more useful. - What do you think of yours?
0:41:15 > 0:41:18- What do you think?- Gorgeous. - The salsa?
0:41:18 > 0:41:20I think that smokiness really made the tomatoes.
0:41:20 > 0:41:22Really does lend itself well.
0:41:22 > 0:41:24Cyrus? Have you just got a mouthful?
0:41:24 > 0:41:26CYRUS MUMBLES
0:41:26 > 0:41:28Not easy to talk when you're eating, is it?
0:41:34 > 0:41:37That's a great lunchtime treat for any day of the week.
0:41:37 > 0:41:40Now it's time for a slice of magnificent Keith Floyd.
0:41:40 > 0:41:42Today we share his unique perspective
0:41:42 > 0:41:44on the delights of Ireland.
0:41:55 > 0:41:59It isn't only wine that needs to be grown on the perfect slope.
0:41:59 > 0:42:03The identity of a good cheese too should reflect the very earth.
0:42:03 > 0:42:06Now, we all know Ireland's very green, but there is something
0:42:06 > 0:42:08extra special about this rich grass,
0:42:08 > 0:42:10washed, as it is, by the wet winds from America
0:42:10 > 0:42:13and kissed by the Gulf Stream which brings fuchsia into bloom,
0:42:13 > 0:42:16and cows munching on this untainted carpet
0:42:16 > 0:42:20produce thick, creamy milk, perfect for making cheese.
0:42:27 > 0:42:31There we are. Thank you, my dear.
0:42:31 > 0:42:36Once upon a time, in a university in Dublin called Trinity College,
0:42:36 > 0:42:39there was a dashing young professor of philosophy
0:42:39 > 0:42:40and one day, as professors do,
0:42:40 > 0:42:43he fell in love with a charming young lady.
0:42:43 > 0:42:46And they didn't want the hustle and bustle of academic life
0:42:46 > 0:42:50in a busy capital city so they ran away here
0:42:50 > 0:42:51to the western coast of Ireland,
0:42:51 > 0:42:54the furthest extremities of Europe, and they fell in love.
0:42:54 > 0:42:57They were so deeply in love, they got married
0:42:57 > 0:43:00and they had little cheeses. Sweet, isn't it?
0:43:13 > 0:43:16We've travelled many hundreds of miles to come here
0:43:16 > 0:43:21to the extreme west coast of Ireland to witness a very, very strange and rare event.
0:43:21 > 0:43:24It's the first time for several hundred years
0:43:24 > 0:43:26that a soft, cream cheese has been made in the British Isles,
0:43:26 > 0:43:30or more precisely, here in Ireland. Is that actually true, Veronica?
0:43:30 > 0:43:35I believe it is that when we began to make Milleens here,
0:43:35 > 0:43:39it was the first time for hundreds of years that a soft cheese
0:43:39 > 0:43:43had actually been manufactured in the British Isles.
0:43:43 > 0:43:47What is it about the Irish, then? Why do the Irish know about cheese, for heaven's sake?
0:43:47 > 0:43:50I thought the French were the people who made all the cheese.
0:43:50 > 0:43:53Following the fall of the Roman Empire,
0:43:53 > 0:43:55a dark age descended on Europe
0:43:55 > 0:44:01and a great deal of the skill and culture was temporarily lost.
0:44:01 > 0:44:06Meanwhile, in Ireland, where the Romans never came,
0:44:06 > 0:44:12we were a repository for a great deal of the art and culture.
0:44:12 > 0:44:15When the Renaissance came along,
0:44:15 > 0:44:18out went Irish monks and scholars across Europe,
0:44:18 > 0:44:24reintroducing, I'm not claiming that we invented cheese making, by any means,
0:44:24 > 0:44:28but reintroduced these skills and cultures again
0:44:28 > 0:44:32to those places where they were gone.
0:44:32 > 0:44:36To many people, Irish cookery is just all about potatoes. It's partly true.
0:44:36 > 0:44:39This brilliant thing you're seeing here is a potato and apple pancake.
0:44:39 > 0:44:43Where are you, please? This is vital. Breaking brand-new ground here.
0:44:43 > 0:44:46Potatoes, that's the whole thing here. This potato and apple pancake
0:44:46 > 0:44:49is traditionally made by mixing mashed potato with flour,
0:44:49 > 0:44:52rolling it very thin like a pancake, stuffing it with apple,
0:44:52 > 0:44:55folding it like an apple turnover and frying it in butter.
0:44:55 > 0:44:59What they don't say in the recipe books, but what I'm going to tell you to do,
0:44:59 > 0:45:03is pour whiskey over it like that and then set fire to it
0:45:03 > 0:45:06and you absolutely have something that should dazzle
0:45:06 > 0:45:09even these academic and very brilliant cheese makers.
0:45:09 > 0:45:11And if it doesn't, I won't eat their cheese. Is that OK?
0:45:11 > 0:45:16Right. There we are. That is a new thing of apple and potato pancakes.
0:45:16 > 0:45:18- Can I give you a little tiny bit? - Yes, please.- Brilliant.
0:45:18 > 0:45:21- I'd like quite a generous helping. - A generous helping.
0:45:21 > 0:45:24Norman and Veronica are these brilliant people
0:45:24 > 0:45:26who I told you about in the fairy tale when we started,
0:45:26 > 0:45:29fell in love all those years ago, dragged themselves off down here
0:45:29 > 0:45:33to this romantic part of the world and made brilliant cheeses.
0:45:33 > 0:45:37Taste that, if you would, please, because I think it's quite brilliant.
0:45:37 > 0:45:41You've got to do it quickly because we haven't got lots of film.
0:45:41 > 0:45:44Just say it's really brilliant.
0:45:44 > 0:45:49- Super.- Quite brilliant? Or very brilliant?- Very brilliant.
0:45:49 > 0:45:52A definite breakthrough. Brilliant.
0:45:52 > 0:45:54An Anglo-Irish first.
0:45:54 > 0:45:59- Absolutely.- Superb. Right. We can't have any more of that. Thank you very much indeed.
0:45:59 > 0:46:01You can eat that after you've done your work cos what I want to know
0:46:01 > 0:46:04really quite seriously, this IS a cookery programme,
0:46:04 > 0:46:06we DO try to give you information too,
0:46:06 > 0:46:09is about your brilliant cheese. Now, can we start with this one
0:46:09 > 0:46:12- which I think is very young, isn't it, Norman?- It is.
0:46:12 > 0:46:13This is a young cheese.
0:46:17 > 0:46:21- You can see it's young inside. - Can you just say why exactly you can see that's young inside?
0:46:21 > 0:46:24- Well, you can see the cheese is ripening here from the outside.- Yes.
0:46:24 > 0:46:26And it still hasn't ripened all the way through.
0:46:26 > 0:46:29- But it's very mild and it'll be very nice.- Can I taste a bit?
0:46:29 > 0:46:31Is he saying the right things? Because you actually make
0:46:31 > 0:46:35- the cheese, Veronica, don't you? - This will taste quite acidic,
0:46:35 > 0:46:40Clean, acid flavour which... I love young cheese.
0:46:40 > 0:46:43Here's a riper one. This one here is very ripe.
0:46:43 > 0:46:47- It's ripened right the way through. Do you see what I mean? Compare it there.- Yes, indeed.
0:46:47 > 0:46:51It's very strong. It's got a fairly strong smell to go with it.
0:46:51 > 0:46:54It's strictly for the initiated, I think.
0:46:54 > 0:46:57Does a beautiful countryside make a beautiful cheese?
0:46:57 > 0:47:00Yeah, I think if you're happy somewhere and doing something well,
0:47:00 > 0:47:03it's going to show in what you come out with and what you make.
0:47:03 > 0:47:04The cheese seems to be happy here.
0:47:04 > 0:47:06This is a taste of your home, isn't it?
0:47:06 > 0:47:09There's no point fighting with the environment you're in.
0:47:09 > 0:47:11Why not make and do something that's going to fit in with it?
0:47:11 > 0:47:14There is no point making something that'd be better off in a desert, is there?
0:47:14 > 0:47:16I tell you what. The toil and strife doesn't fit in.
0:47:16 > 0:47:18I haven't seen your lovely Irish locks.
0:47:18 > 0:47:21- Off with the hat, if you don't mind. - How do you know I'm not bald?
0:47:21 > 0:47:25It's a chance I'm going to take. Wow! Beautiful. Now listen.
0:47:25 > 0:47:27You've come all this way from Dublin.
0:47:27 > 0:47:30You've forsaken the port and the parties,
0:47:30 > 0:47:35the conversation of Joyce, Nietzsche and all that. Was it worth it?
0:47:35 > 0:47:39- All the boring old soaks and the pubs of Dublin.- Oh, come on.
0:47:39 > 0:47:42You can replace the port with porter
0:47:42 > 0:47:45and you can have some very interesting conversations down here.
0:47:45 > 0:47:48No, I think we're very happy here. We've a nice family and a lovely place to live.
0:47:48 > 0:47:51It is really nice putting a bit of this
0:47:51 > 0:47:53part of the world into a lot of other ones, of our cheese turning
0:47:53 > 0:47:57up in London, Germany, all over the place and people enjoying it.
0:47:57 > 0:48:00- I'll drink to that.- Good luck. - Better luck!
0:48:09 > 0:48:12They say life begins at 40 and it's true.
0:48:12 > 0:48:14In the way that you can, in a crowded room, catch
0:48:14 > 0:48:17the eye of a stranger and fall head over heels in love with
0:48:17 > 0:48:20a passion and a certainty that defies logical explanation.
0:48:20 > 0:48:23So it was with me when I staggered shaken
0:48:23 > 0:48:25and slightly unsteady from a buffeting ride on a
0:48:25 > 0:48:28little aeroplane at Cork airport for the first time.
0:48:28 > 0:48:30Quite frankly, Ireland gobsmacked me
0:48:30 > 0:48:33and I don't care if this sounds pompous or pseudo.
0:48:33 > 0:48:35I felt a sense of excitement and thrill that had been
0:48:35 > 0:48:38missing from my life for years. Phew!
0:48:38 > 0:48:40I've got that off my chest now, thank goodness.
0:48:40 > 0:48:44I feel a little better. But this isn't the psychiatrist's chair, you know. Not yet, anyway.
0:48:44 > 0:48:46It's a cookery programme
0:48:46 > 0:48:49and First Lady of Irish cookery is Her Grace, Myrtle Allen.
0:48:51 > 0:48:55- I was relixing...- I beg your pardon? - I was relaxing with
0:48:55 > 0:48:58a glass of stout in the pub the other day after a very hard day's filming.
0:48:58 > 0:49:00We got to chatting and as usual we start talking about food
0:49:00 > 0:49:03and not food in general, but Irish Stew in particular.
0:49:03 > 0:49:07Do you know in Ireland it is difficult to find, sometimes in pubs, midday, you can get it.
0:49:07 > 0:49:11In England, it's often a disastrous mish-mash of potatoes, lamb and onions boiled to death.
0:49:11 > 0:49:12Tastes absolutely awful.
0:49:12 > 0:49:16So, I wanted to find out the secret of what I think to be one of the finest dishes on Earth.
0:49:16 > 0:49:19So, I came to my friend Myrtle Allen who is undisputedly
0:49:19 > 0:49:21the Queen of Irish cooking.
0:49:21 > 0:49:25Famous here at Ballymaloe, famous in Beverly Hills, in Paris,
0:49:25 > 0:49:28and throughout the land. It is true, isn't it, Myrtle? She is absolutely brilliant
0:49:28 > 0:49:33and she knows all about it, but before we go into all of that, Richard, usual business.
0:49:33 > 0:49:35Spin round the ingredients.
0:49:35 > 0:49:37Most important thing is a splendid shoulder of lamb.
0:49:37 > 0:49:39Traditionally butchered. More of that later.
0:49:39 > 0:49:42Spring onions, new potatoes, not the flowers...
0:49:42 > 0:49:46young baby carrots a bit of fresh thyme,
0:49:46 > 0:49:51- a bit of fresh... I forgot the name...- Marjoram.- Marjoram.
0:49:51 > 0:49:54Then I've butchered the chops... over this way...
0:49:54 > 0:49:55to take off all the fat
0:49:55 > 0:49:58because we need those to cook the chops in later and that's where I cut my finger.
0:49:58 > 0:50:01So we've got... Down here again, Richard. Don't smirk!
0:50:01 > 0:50:04We've got these nice cutlets to saute off later on.
0:50:04 > 0:50:08Bit of parsley to garnish. Over here we are going to need some stock.
0:50:08 > 0:50:12We use this piece, stay there, from the end of the lamb.
0:50:12 > 0:50:16Pop that in with the tops of the spring onions, a bit of thyme,
0:50:16 > 0:50:21parsley stalks, economical use of parsley, a few chopped carrots,
0:50:21 > 0:50:24covered with water, like that.
0:50:24 > 0:50:27And that is put on to simmer to make our stock. That's fine.
0:50:27 > 0:50:31There's another chop in the bottom. That's the first thing.
0:50:31 > 0:50:35As you can see, I've been frying them in the sweated down lamb dripping.
0:50:35 > 0:50:39- I'd like to eat a little piece of that. Myrtle, do you want a little bit.- Yes. Thank you.
0:50:39 > 0:50:43This will have the doctors up in arms, won't it? Never mind.
0:50:43 > 0:50:48- Right. Now the next thing is what? The onions and carrots.- That's right.
0:50:50 > 0:50:51Just give them a quick turn.
0:50:54 > 0:50:57If it's a bit too slow you may have to heat that fat.
0:50:57 > 0:51:00A little bit of thyme. That's enough.
0:51:00 > 0:51:04Let's put in that bit of marjoram we've got. That's enough.
0:51:04 > 0:51:06My viewers have seen an Irish Stew made with whole potatoes.
0:51:06 > 0:51:09They would tend to think of it as being sliced in there.
0:51:09 > 0:51:13There are different ways of doing it. Some people slice them and they say the potato thickens the gravy,
0:51:13 > 0:51:17but I love them whole on top and they get brown in the oven.
0:51:17 > 0:51:21- Now you want to get this... Have you got the lid or something?- No.
0:51:21 > 0:51:25- You strain it.- Trouble is under pressure like this, I sometimes have to improvise
0:51:25 > 0:51:28because once this goes in, I have had it.
0:51:28 > 0:51:30So, I'll strain it through like that.
0:51:36 > 0:51:38Now, that doesn't have to cover the potatoes
0:51:38 > 0:51:40because with the lid on,
0:51:40 > 0:51:43they'll sort of steam and glaze as they cook.
0:51:43 > 0:51:46By the way, you don't need to throw that away.
0:51:46 > 0:51:49You could wait for that to be cold, chop it up into little bits,
0:51:49 > 0:51:53- toss it with a bit of vinegar or something.- You could.- Or something.
0:51:53 > 0:51:55You wouldn't necessarily throw that away. What would you do with that?
0:51:55 > 0:51:58I'd give it to the dog, I'm afraid!
0:51:58 > 0:52:01These people who live in castles...!
0:52:04 > 0:52:06Anyway. That goes in the oven for what, how long?
0:52:06 > 0:52:10That goes in... At this time of year the lamb is young,
0:52:10 > 0:52:11say ¾ to one hour.
0:52:11 > 0:52:14¾ to 1 hour and we'll go and do something really amusing
0:52:14 > 0:52:17- until that's ready to eat.- Fine. - Let's wander off.
0:52:17 > 0:52:20And he'll think of something to make us look pretty interesting.
0:52:24 > 0:52:28By popular request and overwhelming demand I have been asked to
0:52:28 > 0:52:31show you the steam roller being unloaded by a committee again.
0:52:31 > 0:52:34May I remind you that a committee is a group of well-intentioned
0:52:34 > 0:52:36people who individually can do nothing
0:52:36 > 0:52:39and collectively decide that nothing can be done.
0:52:49 > 0:52:51The Irish Stew, in the name of the Lord - the producer made me
0:52:51 > 0:52:53say that bit - turned out to be superb,
0:52:53 > 0:52:55but after simmering for an hour or so,
0:52:55 > 0:52:58it's worth skimming the fat before serving.
0:52:58 > 0:53:00There's no hard and fast recipe for this classic dish
0:53:00 > 0:53:03and Myrtle Allen sets greater store on the quality of ingredients
0:53:03 > 0:53:05rather than the variety.
0:53:05 > 0:53:10If I had seen you a week ago, my butcher had brought me in a
0:53:10 > 0:53:16sward of grass from the pasture that he likes to fatten his beef on.
0:53:16 > 0:53:21And it contained so many little flowers, the clovers,
0:53:21 > 0:53:26the red and the white, many, many grasses and plants.
0:53:26 > 0:53:29He'll not give his cattle for instance, silage.
0:53:29 > 0:53:32He looks for sweet hay with plenty of meadow grass in it
0:53:32 > 0:53:38which of course is very uneconomical for farmers to grow.
0:53:38 > 0:53:41So, we still have these people in the country.
0:53:41 > 0:53:43They need to be encouraged.
0:53:43 > 0:53:48Is there any other place in the world you'd rather be than here in Ballymaloe?
0:53:48 > 0:53:50Well, I haven't had a chance to try, you see,
0:53:50 > 0:53:54I've been here a long time, since I was 19.
0:53:54 > 0:53:58And maybe there would be, I wouldn't mind the Pacific
0:53:58 > 0:54:01but I have the feeling it's not what it used to be!
0:54:07 > 0:54:11It's wonderful to see a classic piece of Keith Floyd there.
0:54:11 > 0:54:13We're not live in the studio so we are looking
0:54:13 > 0:54:16back at some of the great cooking from the Saturday Kitchen archives.
0:54:16 > 0:54:18Still to come on today's Best Bites.
0:54:18 > 0:54:22Ken Hom faces his own food hell against first-timer Tom Kitchin
0:54:22 > 0:54:24in the omelette challenge.
0:54:24 > 0:54:26Ken had been dreading the duel, but for Tom,
0:54:26 > 0:54:28he was relishing the challenge.
0:54:28 > 0:54:31Find out how they both did in a little while.
0:54:31 > 0:54:35Jersey's honorary son Shaun Rankin serves up an Indian-inspired
0:54:35 > 0:54:38lobster lunch. He sprinkles the lobster with a curried salt,
0:54:38 > 0:54:40roasted and serves it with
0:54:40 > 0:54:42a delicious coconut and coriander dhal.
0:54:42 > 0:54:46And Nigel Planer faces his Food Heaven or Food Hell.
0:54:46 > 0:54:50Would he get his Food Heaven - courgette flowers with mozzarella and basil-stuffed courgette flowers
0:54:50 > 0:54:55with halibut and a tomato, courgette and basil sauce, or his Food Hell -
0:54:55 > 0:54:57pork chop with my rosemary chargrilled pork chop,
0:54:57 > 0:55:00salsify and warm borlotti bean salad.
0:55:00 > 0:55:03Find out what he gets to eat at the end of today's show.
0:55:03 > 0:55:07Now, let's look back at a visit from the wonderful Mark Sargeant.
0:55:07 > 0:55:11He joined us armed with a little inspiration from Shakespeare's Globe.
0:55:11 > 0:55:14- So, what's on the menu for us today then?- We've got some lovely clams.
0:55:14 > 0:55:16I love clams, they're really fantastic.
0:55:16 > 0:55:18Prefer them to mussels, but you cook them in the same way.
0:55:18 > 0:55:21So we're going to cook them with some smoky bacon.
0:55:21 > 0:55:24The bacon and clams go well together.
0:55:24 > 0:55:27A little bit of anchovy as well to melt that down
0:55:27 > 0:55:29and dissolve, give a bit of impact to the flavour.
0:55:29 > 0:55:32We're going to make it as a stew so we're going to have carrots,
0:55:32 > 0:55:35celery, leek and some onion. Sweat all that down.
0:55:35 > 0:55:38- The secret ingredient is this. - Cider.
0:55:38 > 0:55:40Obviously, the moules marinieres you do with wine,
0:55:40 > 0:55:43- I think I've seen you do it with beer.- You can do it with beer.
0:55:43 > 0:55:47And we're going to chargrill some bread
0:55:47 > 0:55:50and put that in the bottom of the bowl so it soaks up all the juices.
0:55:50 > 0:55:53- There's perry that you could use as well.- That's pear cider.
0:55:53 > 0:55:55So that's fantastic as well.
0:55:55 > 0:55:59What we'll do to start with is get the smoked bacon going.
0:55:59 > 0:56:01Really good quality, dry, smoky bacon.
0:56:01 > 0:56:06- We want the fat and the flavours to come out.- I've got to ask.
0:56:06 > 0:56:12- Years at the restaurant. Just lost its Michelin star?- Apparently so.
0:56:12 > 0:56:16I heard that yesterday. I wouldn't say it was now I've gone necessarily!
0:56:16 > 0:56:19That's the news, which is very, very unfortunate,
0:56:19 > 0:56:22but knowing Gordon, he'll do his best to get straight
0:56:22 > 0:56:25back in there and get on it and get that back.
0:56:25 > 0:56:29- You were there, side-by-side, 13 years.- Yeah.
0:56:29 > 0:56:32He's like my big brother still and this is a very positive move,
0:56:32 > 0:56:35there's nothing untoward about it or anything like that.
0:56:35 > 0:56:37It was just time for me to have a bit of a change
0:56:37 > 0:56:41and take things in a bit of a different direction.
0:56:41 > 0:56:45- But I've still got him on the side. - Looking after two restaurants?
0:56:45 > 0:56:48Two restaurants which have got fantastic chefs already,
0:56:48 > 0:56:51so I'm not actually physically cooking there.
0:56:51 > 0:56:54We've got The Swan down in West Malling which is in Kent
0:56:54 > 0:56:57and that is actually a village I am originally from.
0:56:57 > 0:56:59So it's kind of I can go home a little bit now
0:56:59 > 0:57:01and back to my roots a bit.
0:57:01 > 0:57:03That's been going for ten years.
0:57:03 > 0:57:06Fantastic chef doing good British food.
0:57:06 > 0:57:10Then the other one, as you said, it's attached to the
0:57:10 > 0:57:12Globe Theatre, Shakespeare's Globe Theatre,
0:57:12 > 0:57:15so that's The Swan at the Globe Theatre.
0:57:15 > 0:57:17Basically the food is fantastic,
0:57:17 > 0:57:19you're right on the riverside
0:57:19 > 0:57:22on Bankside, it's got an amazing location.
0:57:22 > 0:57:26Yet again, another fantastic Marco Pierre White trained chef there.
0:57:26 > 0:57:28Have you ever thought about going
0:57:28 > 0:57:31- on stage or not?- Well, it depends.
0:57:31 > 0:57:34- Where're you leading this to? - Because I've got a little test.
0:57:34 > 0:57:36I've got a little test for you.
0:57:36 > 0:57:39In here, I've got three quotes from Shakespeare.
0:57:39 > 0:57:41Now, they're all food-related.
0:57:41 > 0:57:46And I want you to name the play for one point. The act and the scene.
0:57:48 > 0:57:52- Well done.- I know these.- Of course you do. They're written down!
0:57:52 > 0:57:54- Are you ready for the first one? - Yeah, I'm ready.
0:57:55 > 0:57:59Truly, thou art damned like an ill roast egg...
0:57:59 > 0:58:01all on one side.
0:58:01 > 0:58:03- Where was that from?- Macbeth.
0:58:03 > 0:58:06- You're just going to say Macbeth to all of these!- No.
0:58:06 > 0:58:09You've got the answer. Where's it from?
0:58:09 > 0:58:12It's Touchstone from As You Like It, isn't it?
0:58:13 > 0:58:16That's an actor for you. Another one.
0:58:16 > 0:58:19'Tis an ill cook that cannot lick his own fingers.
0:58:19 > 0:58:21I apologise for the Yorkshire accent!
0:58:21 > 0:58:24'Tis an ill cook who cannot lick his own fingers!
0:58:24 > 0:58:25It's a poor cook can't lick his fingers!
0:58:25 > 0:58:28- Merchant of Venice? - Merchant of Venice. No.
0:58:28 > 0:58:32- It was from...- Romeo and Juliet. - Look at that.- If memory serves.
0:58:32 > 0:58:36Yeah, Act Four, Scene Two. You're useless at this. And the last one.
0:58:36 > 0:58:40- If music be the food of love, play on.- Othello.
0:58:42 > 0:58:46- Everyone... It's Twelfth Night. - Everyone knows that.
0:58:46 > 0:58:49- Act One, Scene One, that is the opening line, isn't it?- It is.
0:58:49 > 0:58:54- There you go.- Well, that wasn't very good, was it? I got nil point.
0:58:54 > 0:58:57Mind you, the last book you ever read was Peter and Jane, probably.
0:58:57 > 0:58:59- Anyway.- Roger Rabbit!
0:58:59 > 0:59:03More importantly about the food, James, we have got all the
0:59:03 > 0:59:07vegetables in there, bacon, carrots, onions, celery,
0:59:07 > 0:59:11- sweated down nicely with some thyme. - You forgot the leeks.
0:59:11 > 0:59:14That's good. Get them in.
0:59:14 > 0:59:17We could have easily just said I hadn't forgotten the leeks.
0:59:17 > 0:59:19Give that a really good shake.
0:59:19 > 0:59:21I did have more for you, as well,
0:59:21 > 0:59:23- but you've changed the subject. - I haven't!
0:59:23 > 0:59:25Those clams are going to steam in there really nicely
0:59:25 > 0:59:28and start opening up, but just to get them going,
0:59:28 > 0:59:32we've got the cider. So get some cider in there. Just a little splash.
0:59:32 > 0:59:36- Organic cider? - Really good quality cider.
0:59:36 > 0:59:40Obviously you don't want to go and put anything in there that's too sweet. Really nice and dry.
0:59:40 > 0:59:41It's going to steam in there.
0:59:41 > 0:59:46You don't want too much, it's just to help it get going a little bit.
0:59:46 > 0:59:50We get some bread. Now the idea of this bread is that we chargrill the bread.
0:59:50 > 0:59:52We're going to put a slice on the side
0:59:52 > 0:59:54to have nice and crunchy with it.
0:59:54 > 0:59:56We're also going to put a slice in the bottom of the bowl
0:59:56 > 1:00:00and what that's going to do is when I tip the clams and all the juice
1:00:00 > 1:00:04on top of that, it's going to absorb all that and go slightly soft.
1:00:04 > 1:00:06So, it's going to be a little bit like a kind of a sort
1:00:06 > 1:00:08of Italian bread soup style.
1:00:08 > 1:00:11You know, so it's going to sort of melt in and thicken it up slightly.
1:00:11 > 1:00:12Now you mention moules marinieres.
1:00:12 > 1:00:15What should people be looking for with shellfish, in particular?
1:00:15 > 1:00:16Clams and mussels...
1:00:16 > 1:00:18It's a classic thing that everyone knows,
1:00:18 > 1:00:21if they'll open and they don't close when you sort of knock them
1:00:21 > 1:00:22or tap them, they're no good.
1:00:22 > 1:00:25So, they're going to be bad and make you ill.
1:00:25 > 1:00:28But when you're preparing the clams, you should soak them beforehand?
1:00:28 > 1:00:30Ideally, yeah, cos there's quite a bit of dirt on the outside
1:00:30 > 1:00:32of the shell and things like that.
1:00:32 > 1:00:34So, yeah, give them a really good soaking.
1:00:34 > 1:00:37Preferably overnight, if you can. Change the water a couple of times.
1:00:37 > 1:00:39Yeah, so that's that, really and obviously, you know,
1:00:39 > 1:00:41get them from a good quality supplier.
1:00:41 > 1:00:44I like using the ones we've got here, nice kind of medium,
1:00:44 > 1:00:46so you get like a nice, good chewy...
1:00:46 > 1:00:49Not too small. Starting to open... Very quick dish, this, as well.
1:00:49 > 1:00:52It is. So, when you've got all those really lovely vegetables in there,
1:00:52 > 1:00:55- that's what's going to make it more of a stew.- Yeah.
1:00:55 > 1:00:57Yeah, so that should give it a bit more body.
1:00:57 > 1:00:58So there's no garlic in there?
1:00:58 > 1:01:01No garlic in there because what I'm going to do is,
1:01:01 > 1:01:02I'll show you again, the very Italian thing,
1:01:02 > 1:01:04like with the bruschetta,
1:01:04 > 1:01:06is when you've charred this, just get a little bit of garlic,
1:01:06 > 1:01:09cut it in half, just rub that gently over it and it really is
1:01:09 > 1:01:12amazing how much flavour that impacts onto the bread itself.
1:01:12 > 1:01:15- So, that's nice there...- And you've got the anchovy in there.
1:01:15 > 1:01:18Yeah, the anchovy, so basically the anchovy, as we all know,
1:01:18 > 1:01:22the anchovy go really, really well with meat and also fish.
1:01:22 > 1:01:25It's the dried, salted anchovies and they just basically dissolve
1:01:25 > 1:01:26and melt away into nothing.
1:01:26 > 1:01:29But what that will do with the bacon, it gives it a really fantastic,
1:01:29 > 1:01:32I suppose, body and a strength to the sauce.
1:01:32 > 1:01:35Notice as well, I didn't put any salt in there either,
1:01:35 > 1:01:38because the clams are actually quite salty as well...naturally
1:01:38 > 1:01:41and the bacon as well, the smoked bacon...
1:01:41 > 1:01:44Rub that over there. We've got a really lovely flavour.
1:01:44 > 1:01:48Just one to go on the side.
1:01:48 > 1:01:50So, you've just got a little bit of oil and salt.
1:01:50 > 1:01:52Oil and salt, just a touch of salt, again.
1:01:52 > 1:01:55Cos this is quite a strong dish.
1:01:55 > 1:01:57They're all open beautifully in there now.
1:01:57 > 1:01:59We'll have a little bit of juice in the bottom of there.
1:01:59 > 1:02:01So, I'll just spoon that in.
1:02:01 > 1:02:03I've got some parsley here, if you want to...
1:02:03 > 1:02:05Yeah, I'll just finish that with parsley.
1:02:05 > 1:02:07You can smell it from here, it smells fantastic!
1:02:07 > 1:02:09- Yeah, it's good.- Yeah, it's brilliant, really good.
1:02:09 > 1:02:11The cider is, I think, the key to it.
1:02:11 > 1:02:14A nice, dry cider gives that really fruity flavour
1:02:14 > 1:02:18and that to me looks absolutely fantastic!
1:02:18 > 1:02:20But it's the dry cider that we should be looking for.
1:02:20 > 1:02:21Yeah, so just...
1:02:21 > 1:02:24And like moules marinieres, you've got this fantastic juice
1:02:24 > 1:02:26- that you can eat with the bread afterwards.- Exactly.
1:02:26 > 1:02:29That soaks in and you've got those lovely colours of all
1:02:29 > 1:02:30the vegetables and stuff.
1:02:30 > 1:02:34All that lovely juice. Another thing, if you don't soak the clams overnight,
1:02:34 > 1:02:37this juice then becomes really gritty.
1:02:37 > 1:02:39And I know, that's really, really quick, not taken that long
1:02:39 > 1:02:41but it is very, very simple.
1:02:41 > 1:02:44It looks like a big portion but you make it small, as well.
1:02:44 > 1:02:46It looks amazing with all the shells.
1:02:46 > 1:02:49Bread on the side there and that's a really simple dish,
1:02:49 > 1:02:50but absolutely delicious.
1:02:50 > 1:02:52Remind us what that is, again.
1:02:52 > 1:02:55So, it's clams, really nice clams, with smoked bacon and anchovies
1:02:55 > 1:02:59- and finished off with some cider and charred bread.- In his new restaurant.
1:03:05 > 1:03:09There you go. I have to say, it smells fantastic. There you go.
1:03:09 > 1:03:11Looks stunning, over here.
1:03:11 > 1:03:14Tristan, I don't know if you've had clams at this time in the morning...
1:03:14 > 1:03:16- Yeah, why not.- Dive in, dive in.
1:03:16 > 1:03:19- What's the etiquette of clam eating?- Fingers and slurping.
1:03:19 > 1:03:22Is it fingers and slurping, can I do that? Would anyone mind?
1:03:22 > 1:03:24- Absolutely not.- It's not really shell to shell like mussels.
1:03:24 > 1:03:28No, no, it's like in, slurp it out, get some of the juice.
1:03:29 > 1:03:31- Mmm, mmm, that's beautiful. - So simple.- Really lovely.
1:03:31 > 1:03:34And something that you could probably have a go at.
1:03:34 > 1:03:37- A lot of the girls were nodding there.- It is pretty quick.
1:03:37 > 1:03:38And pretty simple.
1:03:38 > 1:03:41But the secret is, most importantly,
1:03:41 > 1:03:42- getting fresh... - Really good quality clams
1:03:42 > 1:03:44and nice medium ones, not too small.
1:03:44 > 1:03:47And good quality bacon, cos that really flavours the stock.
1:03:47 > 1:03:49Cos that was the pancetta that you used.
1:03:49 > 1:03:52- You used the dry, cured, smoked bacon.- Yeah, that's perfect, yeah.
1:03:52 > 1:03:54As long as it's nice and dry, you know, it doesn't
1:03:54 > 1:03:56release too much liquid and things like that.
1:03:56 > 1:03:58Generally, how long would you cook clams for?
1:03:58 > 1:04:00As soon as they're open, that's it, they're done.
1:04:00 > 1:04:03I mean, you saw, it was like two or three minutes in a hot pan.
1:04:03 > 1:04:04- That's brilliant!- Really good.
1:04:04 > 1:04:08The woodiness that's coming out through the bacon is...and then the apple cider...
1:04:08 > 1:04:10There you go.
1:04:14 > 1:04:18That's a really tasty bowl of food and it's not hard to make, either.
1:04:18 > 1:04:21Nobody seems to dread the omelette challenge more than Mr Ken Hom.
1:04:21 > 1:04:25Armed with a wok and chopsticks, he wasn't looking forward to
1:04:25 > 1:04:28doing battle against Michelin starred first-timer Tom Kitchin.
1:04:28 > 1:04:31But did either of them make a decent omelette?
1:04:31 > 1:04:32Take a look at this.
1:04:32 > 1:04:34All of the chefs that come onto the show battle it out
1:04:34 > 1:04:38against the clock to see how fast they can make a simple, straight-forward three-egg omelette.
1:04:38 > 1:04:40This is my hell!
1:04:40 > 1:04:41LAUGHTER
1:04:41 > 1:04:44Now, Ken, pretty respectable... Well, I say "pretty respectable"
1:04:44 > 1:04:46- time, 51.36 seconds. - I know I'm going lower.
1:04:46 > 1:04:4951 seconds, I mean, you've been on quite a few times,
1:04:49 > 1:04:51but you need to pop up the board a bit.
1:04:51 > 1:04:53- Your first time on the show, Tom.- First time today, yes.
1:04:53 > 1:04:55Who would you like to beat on this board, then?
1:04:55 > 1:04:59Erm, yeah, if I could beat Mr Jason Atherton, that would be good.
1:04:59 > 1:05:02- 45 seconds...I think you can beat him.- Yeah, I should do.
1:05:02 > 1:05:06Now, usual rules apply, you can choose what you like from the ingredients in front of you.
1:05:06 > 1:05:08I'll taste it to make sure it's an omelette, not a scrambled egg.
1:05:08 > 1:05:13Three-egg omelette, because it's Chinese New Year, we're going to let him use a wok.
1:05:13 > 1:05:15Aw, yes, yes, yes...
1:05:15 > 1:05:17He'll never forgive from showing that clip earlier.
1:05:17 > 1:05:20Just for you at home, let's put the clocks on the screen, please?
1:05:20 > 1:05:22This is just for you at home, the guys here can't see.
1:05:22 > 1:05:25Are you ready? A three-egg omelette cooked as fast as you can.
1:05:25 > 1:05:27Let's see if Tom's been practising.
1:05:27 > 1:05:30I bet he has. Are you ready? Three, two, one...go!
1:05:33 > 1:05:35He has been practising, look.
1:05:35 > 1:05:37He's been practising.
1:05:37 > 1:05:39No shells in there, Ken.
1:05:41 > 1:05:43I think he's been practising.
1:05:43 > 1:05:47I think he has, I think he has...I can tell. I can tell right away.
1:05:47 > 1:05:49This is the secret...
1:05:49 > 1:05:51Getting it cooked in time, though.
1:05:51 > 1:05:53He's caught him up. Ken's catching him up.
1:05:55 > 1:05:57Remember it's got to be cooked.
1:05:57 > 1:06:00Three egg folded omelette, that's nearly there.
1:06:00 > 1:06:03Tom's finished, that's a pretty respectable time.
1:06:03 > 1:06:05That's not fair.
1:06:05 > 1:06:07LAUGHTER
1:06:07 > 1:06:09I hate this!
1:06:13 > 1:06:18- Yeah, come on then, Ken.- Oh, I don't know what it'll taste like.
1:06:18 > 1:06:20We haven't got all day, Ken!
1:06:20 > 1:06:23- Come on!- Mackerel! Mackerel!
1:06:26 > 1:06:29Oh, this is dismal...oh!
1:06:29 > 1:06:32APPLAUSE
1:06:35 > 1:06:38- So, the wok wasn't much use, was it, really?- No, it wasn't.
1:06:38 > 1:06:41They'll be showing that clip in 25 years' time, as well.
1:06:41 > 1:06:42Thank you, thank you.
1:06:42 > 1:06:44Right, let's have a taste of this.
1:06:46 > 1:06:48On the line?
1:06:48 > 1:06:51Nah, that's cooked. It's seasoned nicely, as well.
1:06:51 > 1:06:53This one...
1:06:53 > 1:06:56Oh, God!
1:06:56 > 1:06:59You can see, I haven't been practising.
1:06:59 > 1:07:01Shall we just forget about this one, Ken?
1:07:03 > 1:07:05That crunchiness you found is a shell.
1:07:05 > 1:07:07LAUGHTER
1:07:07 > 1:07:09I love this part of the show.
1:07:09 > 1:07:13Right, Ken... And I put him on a wok especially, look at that!
1:07:13 > 1:07:15I don't even...
1:07:15 > 1:07:17I don't want to know.
1:07:17 > 1:07:19Do you think you're any quicker?
1:07:19 > 1:07:21- No.- No, you're not.
1:07:21 > 1:07:2459.8 seconds, but you get to take that one home
1:07:24 > 1:07:26- and put it on your fridge. There you go.- Thank you.
1:07:26 > 1:07:29- Tom...- I'm going down now. - Did you beat Jason Atherton?
1:07:33 > 1:07:36- Do you think you beat him? - I should hope so, yeah.
1:07:36 > 1:07:40- You did beat him.- Somebody's won.
1:07:40 > 1:07:43And you beat everybody on that board.
1:07:43 > 1:07:45- Really?- Oh, look at that!
1:07:45 > 1:07:51Oh! You did it in 31.8 seconds, which is pretty, pretty good.
1:07:51 > 1:07:53APPLAUSE
1:07:53 > 1:07:57Just below Mark Hix, pretty good. Pretty good first attempt.
1:07:57 > 1:07:59Ken, just keep practising.
1:08:05 > 1:08:08You see, Ken, I told you we'd show that clip again.
1:08:08 > 1:08:11It's clear to see why Jersey is such a popular holiday destination,
1:08:11 > 1:08:14with chefs like Shaun Rankin working on the island.
1:08:14 > 1:08:18And here he shows us just how to serve up lobster Indian-style.
1:08:20 > 1:08:24Now, lobster, a thing that's hugely popular around Jersey and Guernsey.
1:08:24 > 1:08:27Great fish, great shellfish, bang in season at the moment.
1:08:27 > 1:08:29Absolutely, we've got amazing waters in the Channel Islands
1:08:29 > 1:08:32and Jersey, big tidal waves coming in and out, fresh sea food.
1:08:32 > 1:08:35Oysters, crabs, lobsters, sole...very, very special.
1:08:35 > 1:08:38Fantastic time, as the water gets cold, it's beautiful for fish.
1:08:38 > 1:08:39So, what's on the menu, then?
1:08:39 > 1:08:41So, we're going to do a coconut and coriander dhal.
1:08:41 > 1:08:44We'll roast the lobster but we're going to put some curry spices on it
1:08:44 > 1:08:45before we roast it.
1:08:45 > 1:08:49- Quite simple dish, really nice.- And it's cooked quite quickly, as well.
1:08:49 > 1:08:50You want me to chop the onions?
1:08:50 > 1:08:52If you could chop half an onion, that's great.
1:08:52 > 1:08:55Erm, I've got some chicken stock here and I've got some turmeric.
1:08:55 > 1:09:00- So, I'm going to add some turmeric to the chicken stock.- Yeah.
1:09:00 > 1:09:03And a good pinch of salt.
1:09:03 > 1:09:05Goes in there like that.
1:09:05 > 1:09:08- I've got some pre-soaked red lentils.- Yeah.
1:09:08 > 1:09:12Soak them the night before, so it really helps with the cooking time.
1:09:12 > 1:09:15- It only takes about five or six minutes.- Yeah.
1:09:15 > 1:09:18- Now, you wouldn't use tin for this or...- No, fresh.
1:09:18 > 1:09:22Lentils go straight in, like so.
1:09:22 > 1:09:25And the secret of it is the soaking of it, that's the key.
1:09:25 > 1:09:27Don't put any salt in the water.
1:09:27 > 1:09:29- Sorry?- Don't put any salt in the water, just cold water.
1:09:29 > 1:09:31No, not at all.
1:09:31 > 1:09:34- So, they're going to cook for about six minutes.- OK.
1:09:34 > 1:09:36So, diced onion in a pan.
1:09:36 > 1:09:39You sweat that down with some cumin seeds, which I've got there
1:09:39 > 1:09:42and half of that butter, that would be great.
1:09:42 > 1:09:44- OK, I shall do that.- That's fantastic.- Half of the butter.
1:09:44 > 1:09:47Do you want all those cumin seeds in there?
1:09:47 > 1:09:48Yeah, all of them to go with the onion.
1:09:48 > 1:09:51That adds some great flavour going through the onion
1:09:51 > 1:09:54and then back into the dhal and the lentils go in as well.
1:09:54 > 1:09:58Erm, so I've got some baby spinach, some coriander and I've got
1:09:58 > 1:10:01some coconut milk here, which we're going to finish the dhal with.
1:10:01 > 1:10:05So, we need chopped coriander and finely-chopped spinach, as well.
1:10:05 > 1:10:08- Thanks, yeah.- You all right with that?- Yeah, that's fine.
1:10:08 > 1:10:09I'll prep the lobster.
1:10:11 > 1:10:13So, how was Christmas in Jersey, then?
1:10:13 > 1:10:15- Do you get any snow over there? - We did this year, actually.
1:10:15 > 1:10:17We got two bouts of it, to be honest.
1:10:17 > 1:10:19So, we're a bit like you guys.
1:10:19 > 1:10:21You know, with Jersey, the whole island stops.
1:10:21 > 1:10:24You know, it's quite different.
1:10:24 > 1:10:27Looking for a wooden spoon...wooden spoon?
1:10:27 > 1:10:31How many wooden spoons do you want? Here you go.
1:10:31 > 1:10:33Pick a spoon.
1:10:33 > 1:10:36- I've got one now.- No, that's a plastic one. Pick a spoon.
1:10:36 > 1:10:39- I'll take that one.- Paul from Rotherham. There you go.
1:10:41 > 1:10:44- Why have they all got labels on?- It's a long story.
1:10:44 > 1:10:47I didn't like the wooden spoons that we'd been having for three years,
1:10:47 > 1:10:50so I asked everybody to send in their wooden spoons.
1:10:50 > 1:10:53And then two weeks later, I had to tell everybody to stop
1:10:53 > 1:10:56sending their wooden spoons cos we got 2,500 of the things.
1:10:56 > 1:10:59- Wow!- So they're sweating down nicely...lobster,
1:10:59 > 1:11:01I've cooked for seven minutes in boiling water.
1:11:01 > 1:11:04Didn't work when I said that I liked Bentleys.
1:11:04 > 1:11:06LAUGHTER
1:11:06 > 1:11:09Lobster I've cooked for seven minutes in boiling water and to keep
1:11:09 > 1:11:12the tail straight I've used a knife and I've just tied that around.
1:11:12 > 1:11:13- Right, OK.- So, head off.- Ew.
1:11:13 > 1:11:18- You can use these for bisque and stuff like that.- Absolutely.
1:11:18 > 1:11:20If I had time, I would make a stock.
1:11:20 > 1:11:22No, I'm fine...
1:11:22 > 1:11:24- Lobster all over me now.- It's delicious.
1:11:24 > 1:11:28No, I've not... You use your fingers to basically rip it apart.
1:11:28 > 1:11:31He's an animal, Shaun. He's an absolute animal.
1:11:31 > 1:11:34You kind of have to use the back of the knife for the claws
1:11:34 > 1:11:37- in a minute, I'll show you that. - Cheers for that, Kenny.
1:11:37 > 1:11:39Get rid of that like that.
1:11:39 > 1:11:42So, fish in Jersey...what would be bang in season at the moment?
1:11:42 > 1:11:45Cos you have wonderful... Dover sole I know is wonderful over there.
1:11:45 > 1:11:47This time of year Dover sole, sea bass,
1:11:47 > 1:11:53erm...the water's cooled down, so they're all coming up to migrate.
1:11:53 > 1:11:56- Yeah.- Guernsey, Jersey is full of it. Red mullet soon, as well.
1:11:56 > 1:11:59- Yeah.- Lentils are cooked.
1:11:59 > 1:12:02- So, lobster will have two claws.- Yeah.
1:12:02 > 1:12:05One that holds food and this one that rips food.
1:12:05 > 1:12:07This is the stronger one that holds its prey,
1:12:07 > 1:12:09this one that rips it up and eats it.
1:12:09 > 1:12:11You eat both?
1:12:11 > 1:12:13Knife and fork, you see?
1:12:13 > 1:12:16You can see by the colour of the lentils that they've
1:12:16 > 1:12:18taken on the fantastic flavour of cumin.
1:12:18 > 1:12:20Yup.
1:12:20 > 1:12:22OK, so onions are nearly ready.
1:12:22 > 1:12:25Are there bits that you don't eat in the lobster?
1:12:25 > 1:12:28- Erm...- And the lentils are going in.
1:12:28 > 1:12:33- You can...well, the head.- People do, actually.- No, just that bit.- OK.
1:12:33 > 1:12:36- Yeah.- Oh, right.- They don't go munching on this.- OK.
1:12:36 > 1:12:39But you can take this out and use it for soups and stews
1:12:39 > 1:12:41- and stuff like that.- OK.
1:12:41 > 1:12:44Yeah, you can make a great sauce out of just the shells...
1:12:44 > 1:12:46Just clean the lobster tail up a touch.
1:12:46 > 1:12:48You cut these into medallions.
1:12:51 > 1:12:54- You got the claws there, James? - Yeah, it's on its way, yeah...
1:12:54 > 1:12:55Just get rid of that.
1:12:58 > 1:13:02Lentils and onions just about ready. Just wash my hands.
1:13:04 > 1:13:11So, into that, we're going to put...coconut milk.
1:13:11 > 1:13:15Yeah. So, is this creamed coconut or tinned coconut milk?
1:13:15 > 1:13:17Tinned coconut milk, yeah.
1:13:17 > 1:13:19You can buy it at any sort of deli.
1:13:19 > 1:13:23Just to cover the lentils and let that reduce down.
1:13:23 > 1:13:25Why do you have to use the fresh lentils?
1:13:25 > 1:13:27Why can't you just, again, in my laziness, I'm a...
1:13:27 > 1:13:29It's all preference really,
1:13:29 > 1:13:31but you just get a better product with it.
1:13:31 > 1:13:34- OK.- I'm not looking to, sort of, I want to keep the lentil in structure.
1:13:34 > 1:13:36I don't want to turn it into a mush, if you know what I mean?
1:13:36 > 1:13:39- If they've already been in a tin, then they'll be...- Exactly.- OK.
1:13:39 > 1:13:42OK, so lobster's done, get rid of that.
1:13:44 > 1:13:49- Next thing I want to do is some curry powder...- Yeah.
1:13:49 > 1:13:52This is what, medium curry powder?
1:13:52 > 1:13:56Medium curry powder and I've got some salt on there as well.
1:13:56 > 1:13:58Pull that off.
1:13:59 > 1:14:01So, to get the claw meat out,
1:14:01 > 1:14:04you're best off using the back of a knife and just giving it a tap.
1:14:04 > 1:14:06Just mix the curry powder and salt together.
1:14:06 > 1:14:08Be careful with your fingers.
1:14:08 > 1:14:11Ideally, you would want to use one of these little lobster picks.
1:14:13 > 1:14:17I'm not being funny, is that all you're left with at the end?
1:14:17 > 1:14:19Yeah, well you've got the tail meat as well.
1:14:19 > 1:14:20I mean, it looks amazing, but...
1:14:20 > 1:14:23So, I'm going to dip these lobster chunks in a little
1:14:23 > 1:14:27- bit of the curried salt on one side.- Just basically salt...
1:14:27 > 1:14:29Salt and curry powder, yeah.
1:14:33 > 1:14:36And in your lentils you've just put now coconut milk and that's it.
1:14:36 > 1:14:38Yeah, just coconut milk
1:14:38 > 1:14:40and we're going to put the concasse tomato in
1:14:40 > 1:14:44and julienne of coriander and julienne of spinach.
1:14:44 > 1:14:46- That's another job for me to do.- For you, yeah.
1:14:46 > 1:14:50There you go. So, tell us about your restaurant, then.
1:14:50 > 1:14:53Bohemia, yeah, going strong for eight years, had a great year last year.
1:14:53 > 1:14:58And keeps getting better and better, really. Erm, so can't complain, yeah.
1:14:58 > 1:15:00Great season.
1:15:00 > 1:15:04So, like Kenny, you'll be waiting there, see if you kept the old star.
1:15:04 > 1:15:06Yeah, it's a bit like that.
1:15:06 > 1:15:08- Did you use all the butter? No, you didn't. Well done.- No.
1:15:08 > 1:15:11Yeah, bated breath. It's always a worrying time.
1:15:11 > 1:15:13And, of course, you've just done a series over there,
1:15:13 > 1:15:15- as well, haven't you? A TV programme.- Yeah, yeah.
1:15:15 > 1:15:18It's due to come out this year.
1:15:18 > 1:15:21Um...over in the UK, so I'm looking forward to that.
1:15:21 > 1:15:23That's all on produce from the island, is it?
1:15:23 > 1:15:28- It is, yeah. All the Channel Islands, Jersey, Guernsey, Sark, Herm.- Yeah.
1:15:28 > 1:15:30Showcasing the islands' fantastic ingredients,
1:15:30 > 1:15:33and the supply chain, as well.
1:15:33 > 1:15:36Some great food heroes out there.
1:15:36 > 1:15:38OK, so colour the lobster up.
1:15:38 > 1:15:40- There you go.- Right.
1:15:40 > 1:15:43To go with the series, as well, I just launched a book in November.
1:15:43 > 1:15:46- Right.- It's called Seasoned Islands, which is...
1:15:46 > 1:15:49- Get the plug in for the book. - Yeah, I was going to say!
1:15:49 > 1:15:52- Get it in.- Yeah. - So, with the lobster,
1:15:52 > 1:15:54I'm just going to get a nice golden colour on the back.
1:15:54 > 1:15:58- Tomatoes in?- Tomatoes in. Coriander, spinach.
1:15:58 > 1:16:00- Want me to season that? - Fantastic. Yes, please.
1:16:00 > 1:16:02And I'll leave you to do the lobster.
1:16:02 > 1:16:03There you go.
1:16:04 > 1:16:06How does the Michelin star work?
1:16:06 > 1:16:08- How does it work?- Who votes...? Ugh...
1:16:08 > 1:16:10- Shaun, how does it work? - What's that, sorry?
1:16:10 > 1:16:12They come to you about three times a year?
1:16:12 > 1:16:15Yeah, they look for consistency in your food, that's what they look for.
1:16:15 > 1:16:16It's all about the food.
1:16:16 > 1:16:18Who-Who exactly... Am I being thick here?
1:16:18 > 1:16:21- Who is it that comes to the restaurant?- The inspectors.
1:16:21 > 1:16:24- They're like The Matrix. - Inspectors!- You don't see 'em.
1:16:24 > 1:16:25Yeah, something like that!
1:16:25 > 1:16:28- You know they're there, but... - Yeah, yeah.
1:16:28 > 1:16:30Do you actually know who it is that's coming in?
1:16:30 > 1:16:33Er, no - you probably get a sense of who it is the first time round,
1:16:33 > 1:16:36cos they'll ask for all your details.
1:16:36 > 1:16:39But second and third time round, you know, they're very undercover.
1:16:39 > 1:16:41They like to keep it that way.
1:16:41 > 1:16:45- So, lobster's ready.- Yeah. - Turn that off.
1:16:45 > 1:16:49- There you go.- Dhal's ready? - Think so. Seasoned all right.
1:16:49 > 1:16:53- Happy with that?- Fantastic. - There you go.
1:16:53 > 1:16:54Need a spoon.
1:16:56 > 1:16:59- Great job to have, eh?- OK.
1:17:02 > 1:17:04- OK.- I suppose you could have this - be lovely with pheasant
1:17:04 > 1:17:06and stuff like that, wouldn't it, this?
1:17:06 > 1:17:08Anything. In the book, I've got it with scallops
1:17:08 > 1:17:11and some onion bhajis, which works really, really well.
1:17:11 > 1:17:12- Yeah.- It looks lovely.
1:17:12 > 1:17:15- Cos we didn't mention your book, did we?- No, you didn't.
1:17:15 > 1:17:18Yeah, what was it called again?!
1:17:18 > 1:17:19When is it out?
1:17:19 > 1:17:21- It's out now.- Oh, right!
1:17:21 > 1:17:23- You can buy it online. - All good bookshops.
1:17:23 > 1:17:26- In all good bookshops.- It'll be out of print if you don't hurry up.
1:17:26 > 1:17:28I know.
1:17:28 > 1:17:30- Right, so the lobster goes on. - Lobster goes on.
1:17:30 > 1:17:33A little bit more chopped coriander, please, if you will.
1:17:33 > 1:17:34A bit more chopped coriander.
1:17:34 > 1:17:36Just the nuggets of roasted lobster go on there.
1:17:38 > 1:17:40Like so.
1:17:40 > 1:17:43- Just put a little bit of the butter over the top.- Yep.
1:17:43 > 1:17:46That's bags of flavour. A little bit sticky, innit?
1:17:46 > 1:17:49I've just chopped all that apple and you're using about four bits.
1:17:49 > 1:17:53- There you go. Right, coriander. - Copped coriander...
1:17:53 > 1:17:55- And we're done.- There you go. So, remind us what this is, again.
1:17:55 > 1:17:58Curried roast lobster with coconut and coriander dhal,
1:17:58 > 1:17:59apple and coriander salad.
1:17:59 > 1:18:01How delicious does that look?
1:18:07 > 1:18:11Well, you are worthy of keeping your Michelin, cos this looks,
1:18:11 > 1:18:13and I bet it tastes, fantastic.
1:18:13 > 1:18:16- Dive into that.- Wow.- First time... ever tried lobster.
1:18:16 > 1:18:18My entire vegetarian family at home are now going...
1:18:18 > 1:18:21- Dive into that. - "Can't believe she's doing this."
1:18:21 > 1:18:22You want to try the tail first.
1:18:22 > 1:18:24- There you go, this bit. - Yes, I do want to eat that bit.
1:18:24 > 1:18:27You don't want that, cos that's got a bit of cartilage in that bit.
1:18:27 > 1:18:30- Oh, good!- You not take the cartilage out?- No.- Sounds nice.
1:18:30 > 1:18:31- Eat a bit of that. - I'm going to burn in hell.
1:18:35 > 1:18:36Mm-hm!
1:18:36 > 1:18:39- It's worthy of its...- Mm!- ..Top of the pile on the shellfish tree.
1:18:39 > 1:18:42- That's not at all what I thought it was going to be like.- No? Better?
1:18:42 > 1:18:44Texture. Yeah, it's good. Coconutty. Mm-mm.
1:18:49 > 1:18:51I can't believe you hadn't eaten lobster before, Kelly.
1:18:51 > 1:18:53But that was a great way to experience it
1:18:53 > 1:18:55for the very first time.
1:18:55 > 1:18:58Nigel Planer's had a career spanning decades,
1:18:58 > 1:19:00but has he dealt with anything more challenging
1:19:00 > 1:19:03than facing Food Heaven or Food Hell on live TV?
1:19:03 > 1:19:05I doubt it, but let's see what he got.
1:19:05 > 1:19:06Nigel, we'll just remind you,
1:19:06 > 1:19:09your Food Heaven would be these fantastic courgettes...
1:19:09 > 1:19:10- Lovely.- ..which could be stuffed.
1:19:10 > 1:19:14The flowers of which could be stuffed with some mozzarella cheese,
1:19:14 > 1:19:16basil, deep-fried in a tempura batter.
1:19:16 > 1:19:19Also the remaining bits of the courgettes into a lovely
1:19:19 > 1:19:21tomato and courgette sauce to go with it,
1:19:21 > 1:19:22with a little bit of pan-fried halibut.
1:19:22 > 1:19:25- Rather a large bit of pan-fired halibut.- Yeah!
1:19:25 > 1:19:27Alternatively, it could be the dreaded Food Hell -
1:19:27 > 1:19:30- fantastic piece of pork here. Brits love pork.- Mm!
1:19:30 > 1:19:31- I love pork.- Yum, yum - me, too.
1:19:31 > 1:19:33Fantastic pork chop with a lovely salsify
1:19:33 > 1:19:35and warm borlotti bean salad.
1:19:35 > 1:19:36And it was the chefs' favourite dish.
1:19:36 > 1:19:38How do you think the viewers at home have voted?
1:19:38 > 1:19:41I've no... I don't really mind any more, actually,
1:19:41 > 1:19:43because the Hell doesn't look that hellish
1:19:43 > 1:19:45- in this situation, does it? - So close...- It looks nice.
1:19:45 > 1:19:48- What are those things down the end, the long...?- They're salsify.
1:19:48 > 1:19:50Salsify?
1:19:50 > 1:19:5256% of the people wanted to see...
1:19:54 > 1:19:55- ..courgettes.- Ah!
1:19:55 > 1:19:57There you go, you got your favourite.
1:19:57 > 1:20:00So, we'll lose that one. It was very close all the way through, that.
1:20:00 > 1:20:02So, first of all, I'm going to get the sauce on for this.
1:20:02 > 1:20:04I'm going to chop the shallots, guys - or these guys are.
1:20:04 > 1:20:07And we've got the tomatoes, which are going to be peeled -
1:20:07 > 1:20:09- sorry, just seeded, and then the flesh chopped up.- Yes.
1:20:09 > 1:20:12- OK.- Seeded? How do they do that? - Just going to de-seed them.
1:20:12 > 1:20:14Chop them into quarters, take the seeds out and chop the flesh up,
1:20:14 > 1:20:16- and use the flesh for the sauce. - Right.
1:20:16 > 1:20:18I'm going to get on with our lovely little halibut first,
1:20:18 > 1:20:20before I do my courgette flowers.
1:20:20 > 1:20:23To skin the halibut, exactly the same way as Lawrence skinned
1:20:23 > 1:20:25the ling earlier, just knife underneath -
1:20:25 > 1:20:28the actual knife doesn't move, it's the fish that moves.
1:20:28 > 1:20:31The knife just stays where it is. Nice, sharp knife like that.
1:20:31 > 1:20:33Season it up, salt and pepper.
1:20:33 > 1:20:35So, bit of seasoning.
1:20:35 > 1:20:39If you can grab me some oil, which is the taller one of the three.
1:20:39 > 1:20:41Pop some in there, that would be great.
1:20:41 > 1:20:45- I should be...I should be washing my hands right now.- Drizzle it.
1:20:45 > 1:20:48- Go on, go on, go on. - More, more, more.
1:20:48 > 1:20:50Go on, yeah, that's it. Straight in.
1:20:50 > 1:20:52Fish is going to go straight in there.
1:20:52 > 1:20:54And that'll get pan-fried,
1:20:54 > 1:20:56and I'm going to cook it half olive oil, half butter,
1:20:56 > 1:20:59so we get the combination of the colour from the butter,
1:20:59 > 1:21:01and the oil takes it to a higher temperature.
1:21:01 > 1:21:03So that's going to go in there.
1:21:03 > 1:21:04Nice, hot pan.
1:21:04 > 1:21:08Meanwhile, we can then start our courgette flowers, which are here.
1:21:08 > 1:21:10I'll start with the courgettes now.
1:21:10 > 1:21:13Each courgette produces a flower, and for some reason, in the UK -
1:21:13 > 1:21:17and I don't understand why - but we never seem to use courgette flowers.
1:21:17 > 1:21:20- I know, I know.- Italy they love them, that's where you had them.
1:21:20 > 1:21:22Fried in batter, which is nice and crisp.
1:21:22 > 1:21:24- Gorgeous. - They're absolutely delicious.
1:21:24 > 1:21:27- And very pretty looking, as well. - They're beautiful, aren't they?
1:21:27 > 1:21:29I don't know why we don't seem to use them, but those people
1:21:29 > 1:21:32that grow them in the garden - I grow courgettes at home...
1:21:32 > 1:21:34What do they do with them? Do they chuck them away?
1:21:34 > 1:21:37Well, I use them - I don't know why, they might use them at home,
1:21:37 > 1:21:40but I don't know why supermarkets don't sell courgette flowers.
1:21:40 > 1:21:42We need to use them, so demand that we use them.
1:21:42 > 1:21:44So, a little bit of oil, that's going to go in here as well.
1:21:44 > 1:21:46This is olive oil. This is going to go into this pan.
1:21:46 > 1:21:49Going to be for our garnish, to go with this.
1:21:49 > 1:21:51Salmon mousse in a courgette flower is nice.
1:21:51 > 1:21:53Well, that's very French, innit? The French love salmon.
1:21:53 > 1:21:55They basically take the courgette flowers
1:21:55 > 1:21:58and place a salmon mousse inside, and you poach it, don't you?
1:21:58 > 1:21:59Yep, yep.
1:21:59 > 1:22:01This one I'm going to do slightly different,
1:22:01 > 1:22:05because we're actually going to stuff these with mozzarella cheese
1:22:05 > 1:22:09- and basil, but you could use ricotta if you wanted to.- Right.
1:22:09 > 1:22:10The same rules apply.
1:22:10 > 1:22:13But you need to check inside the courgette flower first.
1:22:13 > 1:22:16- What, that there's no... - Yeah.- ..fauna in it?
1:22:16 > 1:22:19- Yeah, there's nothing still moving. - Right.
1:22:19 > 1:22:21Cos generally there's sometimes inside there...
1:22:21 > 1:22:24And what you do if you do find something in there
1:22:24 > 1:22:25- is shove it in a pan...- Flick it out.
1:22:25 > 1:22:27Me dad said it was all texture when I was a kid.
1:22:27 > 1:22:30- How are we doing?- There's the tomatoes ready.- Tomato.
1:22:30 > 1:22:32- There's shallots. - Hot enough for courgettes.
1:22:32 > 1:22:34Right, if you can do me the dressing now, please, boys,
1:22:34 > 1:22:37- little tempura dressing.- Yep. - In we go with the tomatoes.
1:22:37 > 1:22:40- I'll have that for the dressing. - Yeah, yeah.
1:22:40 > 1:22:43Going to pan-fry that. Our fish is nearly there.
1:22:43 > 1:22:46Half olive oil, half butter, turn it over like that,
1:22:46 > 1:22:49turn the heat right down on the pan, that'll quite happily cook, now.
1:22:49 > 1:22:52- Now for our fish.- You had the heat very, very high at the beginning.
1:22:52 > 1:22:54At the beginning, and then turn it down.
1:22:54 > 1:22:55The residual heat of the pan...
1:22:55 > 1:22:57So, you do one side high and then turn it, and low.
1:22:57 > 1:23:00Leave it like that, switch it off, it'll continue cooking.
1:23:00 > 1:23:02- You don't even need to touch it. - Oh, you even switched it off?
1:23:02 > 1:23:05- No, just very, very low. - It's off now, there you go.
1:23:05 > 1:23:07- Yeah.- Now, in we go with our courgette flower.
1:23:07 > 1:23:09- You see these beautiful courgette flowers.- Yeah.
1:23:09 > 1:23:13Piece of mozzarella, bit of basil going to go in there, as well.
1:23:13 > 1:23:15And we kind of fold these over.
1:23:15 > 1:23:18Like Daniel's saying, traditionally in France they would put
1:23:18 > 1:23:22salmon mousse inside here, which you can place inside, as well.
1:23:22 > 1:23:26But they would be poached, and not deep fat fried,
1:23:26 > 1:23:28how you like them...
1:23:28 > 1:23:30which is this way.
1:23:30 > 1:23:34So, we've got a tempura batter here, with cornflour, some plain flour
1:23:34 > 1:23:37and, most importantly, ice cold sparkling water.
1:23:37 > 1:23:38That's going in our batter.
1:23:38 > 1:23:42- Sparkling water?- Ice cold sparkling water, that's the little secret.
1:23:42 > 1:23:46Otherwise the batter gets too heavy. If you can... Here we go.
1:23:46 > 1:23:49Thank you, little bit of that.
1:23:49 > 1:23:53- I've never heard of that. Sparkling water.- Sparkling water.
1:23:53 > 1:23:56If you can chop me some basil, guys. So, once you get to this stage,
1:23:56 > 1:23:58we'll bring over our courgette flowers.
1:23:58 > 1:24:02Nice, hot oil. That's the thing. Really, really hot oil.
1:24:02 > 1:24:04Dip your courgette flower in there, straight in.
1:24:04 > 1:24:10And don't drop it in, just place it in, because it'll spit everywhere.
1:24:10 > 1:24:11But that's the secret of that.
1:24:11 > 1:24:14But also, with this batter, particularly tempura batter,
1:24:14 > 1:24:16it's quite thin. You can also do it last-minute.
1:24:16 > 1:24:18This is not a batter that'll keep,
1:24:18 > 1:24:22so literally after about 15 minutes, you've almost got to throw it away.
1:24:22 > 1:24:23You need one of these, though, don't you?
1:24:23 > 1:24:25Well, you can do it in a pan,
1:24:25 > 1:24:28- but make sure the pan's quite deep, that's the thing.- Yeah.
1:24:28 > 1:24:31That's the thing with this one. So, straight in.
1:24:32 > 1:24:34And these little courgette flowers roughly want
1:24:34 > 1:24:36sort of about a couple of minutes, no more than that.
1:24:36 > 1:24:39That's what you're looking for with these ones.
1:24:39 > 1:24:41- So, literally just... - That looks fantastic.
1:24:41 > 1:24:44But really hot oil, that's about 190 degrees centigrade, that oil.
1:24:44 > 1:24:46So, nice and hot.
1:24:46 > 1:24:48Into this, now.
1:24:48 > 1:24:52Now, it ain't Italian. This is very French, innit, really, I suppose.
1:24:52 > 1:24:54You get about another two ton of butter and throw it in as well.
1:24:54 > 1:24:57But I love doing this with fish, particularly
1:24:57 > 1:24:59- if you've got a pan-fried piece of fish. Basil.- Basil?
1:24:59 > 1:25:01Just to finish it off. How we doing?
1:25:01 > 1:25:03That's it.
1:25:03 > 1:25:07Turn that right down now. So, that's our sauce to go with it.
1:25:07 > 1:25:12In we go on the tomatoes - the tomatoes have been de-seeded.
1:25:12 > 1:25:14I've used the flesh, there.
1:25:14 > 1:25:16Don't be frightened to use a bit of olive oil as well, there.
1:25:16 > 1:25:19Keep it nice and loose. That's that one.
1:25:19 > 1:25:23And then, grabbing your fish, you can then spoon this over the top.
1:25:23 > 1:25:27Just make sure the fish is nicely cooked.
1:25:27 > 1:25:30But also, the secret with fish, don't cook it thoroughly in the pan.
1:25:30 > 1:25:32Almost, like - almost like medium,
1:25:32 > 1:25:35so by the time it gets to your table, and you're eating it,
1:25:35 > 1:25:37it's going to be nicely cooked.
1:25:37 > 1:25:41- Just keep... You keep doing that, boys.- Sure.- That'd be great.
1:25:41 > 1:25:44Right, courgette flowers. Like I said, back over here.
1:25:44 > 1:25:47You can fill these with all kinds of different cheeses,
1:25:47 > 1:25:50like I said, ricotta, you could use.
1:25:50 > 1:25:51I'm using mozzarella.
1:25:51 > 1:25:54The most important thing with these is, when you do actually
1:25:54 > 1:25:56fill them with the cheese, dip them in almost straight away.
1:25:56 > 1:25:58Because what's going to happen is,
1:25:58 > 1:26:00particularly in a hot fat fryer, with cheese,
1:26:00 > 1:26:01if it's not sealed in correctly,
1:26:01 > 1:26:04and you haven't dipped them thoroughly in the...
1:26:04 > 1:26:08- It'll all start seeping out.- And then you're going to need a new fryer.
1:26:08 > 1:26:10- Nasty mess.- Yeah.
1:26:10 > 1:26:11Or certainly...
1:26:11 > 1:26:15This all gets put on here, now. But these'll be nice just with a...
1:26:15 > 1:26:19- Oh, lovely!- ..a little tomato salsa,
1:26:19 > 1:26:21something like that, they'll be really nice.
1:26:21 > 1:26:23Can eat those as they are. Lovely and crisp.
1:26:23 > 1:26:26- Nice, crispy batter. - Ooh, that's lovely.- Beautiful, huh?
1:26:26 > 1:26:29And then, simply, just to plate this up...
1:26:29 > 1:26:30you can then put...
1:26:30 > 1:26:32It's almost like a little ratatouille, I suppose,
1:26:32 > 1:26:33this sort of stuff.
1:26:33 > 1:26:36But, again, all cooked in real-time.
1:26:38 > 1:26:42That does look like the Food Heaven, for me.
1:26:42 > 1:26:44- Does it look like your Food Heaven? - It certainly does.
1:26:44 > 1:26:46Bit of oil over the top.
1:26:46 > 1:26:48- Which we can take. - Nice and colourful, huh?
1:26:48 > 1:26:52- Yeah.- Don't be frightened to use really good olive oil, as well.
1:26:52 > 1:26:53That goes on the top.
1:26:53 > 1:26:57- And what we do is grab... - A bit of my favourite fish.
1:26:57 > 1:26:59I know you like these.
1:26:59 > 1:27:01Pile a few of those on.
1:27:01 > 1:27:04- There.- Fantastic. - And a little bit of basil.
1:27:04 > 1:27:05Grab some knives and forks, guys.
1:27:05 > 1:27:07- That'd be nice. - Thank you for voting for that one.
1:27:07 > 1:27:11- Oh, yeah! Yes.- There you go.
1:27:11 > 1:27:13- Fantastic.- How exciting.
1:27:13 > 1:27:17Your version of Food Heaven. Dive into that, tell us what you think.
1:27:17 > 1:27:18Yes, please.
1:27:18 > 1:27:20- Where do I start? - Anywhere you want. Start!
1:27:20 > 1:27:22I can smell the basil.
1:27:22 > 1:27:25The basil is gorgeous.
1:27:26 > 1:27:27Mm-hm.
1:27:27 > 1:27:30- Dive in, tell us what you think.- OK.
1:27:30 > 1:27:32Oh, looks gorgeous!
1:27:32 > 1:27:35Cheers.
1:27:35 > 1:27:36What do you reckon, then, lads?
1:27:36 > 1:27:39- That is lovely. - You happy with that?- Mm!
1:27:40 > 1:27:43Like I said, literally last minute, that's the secret with this batter,
1:27:43 > 1:27:46is you need to cook it really hot oil, last minute...
1:27:46 > 1:27:47I haven't had any of the fish yet.
1:27:47 > 1:27:50Ice cold sparkling water, and it's the combination of cornflour,
1:27:50 > 1:27:53plain flour. You must use cornflour on it.
1:27:53 > 1:27:55Isn't that gorgeous? The courgette flower, yeah.
1:27:55 > 1:27:57- Wonderful.- Beautiful.
1:27:57 > 1:28:01- You've got some nice wine. - And that's a lovely bit of halibut.
1:28:01 > 1:28:04- Hot.- Happy with that?- I'm more than happy with that.- That's really...
1:28:04 > 1:28:07See, he's full, and if you're watching him this afternoon,
1:28:07 > 1:28:09at least you know he's been well fed and not drunk a thing.
1:28:13 > 1:28:16Well, that's all we've got time for on today's Best Bites.
1:28:16 > 1:28:19If you'd like to try cooking any of the great food you've seen on
1:28:19 > 1:28:22today's programme, you can find all the studio recipes on our website.
1:28:22 > 1:28:24Just go to bbc.co.uk/recipes.
1:28:24 > 1:28:27There are plenty of great dishes on there for you to choose from,
1:28:27 > 1:28:30so have a great rest of your weekend and I'll see you very soon.
1:28:30 > 1:28:31Bye for now.