Episode 24 Saturday Kitchen Best Bites

Good morning. Sit back and enjoy the tasty treats I have died out

Good morning. In the next 90 minutes, we are packed to bursting

with inspirational Sunday recipes. The edible highlights today include

comedian Rob Brydon joining me to talk about his love of growing his

own veg. There is talk in our household converting part of the

garden into a viable market garden. And to demonstrate his love of the

chocolate brownie I made for him. Gorgeous. Michael Caines holds two

coveted Michelin stars. In with our beef. We have our bouquet garni and

our potatoes. And he makes this perfect beef and oyster pie that

would grace any Sunday lunch table. Another man who knows how to cook

great food is Nigel Haworth. have got meat and duck straws. You

will do most of. He will show us how to make a delicious duck breast

with red cabbage and ducks straws. And EastEnders actress Letitia Dean

faces her food heaven and food hell, with the slow road hog for her food

heaven and esteemed sultana pudding for food hell.

Find out what she got at the end of the show. If you have ever wondered

what chefs like to eat over the weekend, this next recipe, lamb

stew with rows with dumplings, would be on my menu. When it was

cooked by the pride of Wales, Bryn Williams, you can see why. You are

going to cook a great dish today. Yes, lamb stew with rows with

dumplings. -- Rosemary dumplings. There is a cow, which is a soup

cooked for hours on end. But we are not doing that yet. First, we have

a nice bit of Welsh lamb. I am using the neck fillets. Loads of

fat, loads of flavour. We are using carrots, swede, baby onions, but.

You have got lamb stock here. but first we will make the

dumplings. If you could chop a bit are easy to make. So simple. I love

the texture of dumplings. And they absorb all of the juice of the lamb

we will cook. But you are cooking them in an unconventional way,

rather than in the stew itself. This way is clear enough. When you

cook in the stew, or the flour will come out into the sauce. We will

serve them separately, but together in the end. Flour, baking powder,

but of salt. Just enough cold water to combine it altogether. Not too

wet. We are going to cook it in liquid anyway. So if it is a bit

dry, it will absorb more of the stock. You are doing some other

work as well. Doing some bits and bobs. Got the builders in as we

speak. Just want to make it a bit more comfortable. At a carpet

downstairs, put a bar menu downstairs. Just at think a bit

outside the box. Anybody can come in. We serve good food. But now we

have individually priced the menu, so you can come in and have a

starter and a glass of wine, and walkout - once you have paid. It is

fine. We have made it more accessible for everybody, rather

than just fine dining kind of food. Now you leave these to rest in the

fridge? Leave them to rest for five or six minutes. Stick them in the

fridge to firm up. And they will expand? They will go to double

their size. Tell us about a lamb. We are using the neck. Loads of fat,

loads of flavour. You can use the scrag end, but for me, it is a bit

too thin. I like nice, big chunks of meat if I am having a stew.

would not use a leg of lamb for this? No. I think the neck or

shoulder is fine. Anything else would not do anything. We will add

a bit of a leaf and a bit of Rosemary. So you would not put

into �1. Season to flour. Nice colour on the Lam. The flour helps

coloration on the Lam. The colour is flavour. Fat is flavour. Chefs

are trying to create flavour. vegetables are you putting in?

Carrots, baby onions and some swede. You might call it something else.

Turnip. Depends whether you are north of Watford. What do you call

that? Swede. It is the Yorkshire thing. Jason? Turnip. The parties

to to two. -- that is 2-2. I will dice the carrot. Keith so you are

much in the pan just kills the heat. So once they are coloured, we will

start roasting all the vegetables. I am going as quick as I can. So

you are approaching these off. -- we know when these are done? He is

keen on making sure he gets his dumplings right tomorrow. They will

double in size. That is when they are ready. They can sit there for

15 to 20 minutes, and take on that liquid. They will not dry out. It

is a rustic dish. In with our onions? We can add all the

vegetables together. We will colour them before we add our white wine.

For me, this is a dish you can cook on an Aga. I love cooking on an Aga.

There is a trend for slow food. I know you like cooking it slowly at

a low temperature. There is a trend for it. But this is not trendy. It

is just to do with using the cheaper cuts. But you have to work

more at it to get more flavour. good chef can do anything with

cheap ingredients. Yes, if you have more skill. By using all our skills

and what we have been taught in the kitchens we have worked in...

chopped parsley. The bench goes straight into the same pan. -- the

veg goes it into the same pan. A bit of butter to help it along.

chopped parsley, you will use later. A bit of white wine. If people

can't find lamb stock? You can use chicken, but try and use lamb or to

about an hour. It should be at least an hour to an hour and 20

minutes, to tenderise everything. Let me bring this out. Leave the

it all off. Check some of the seasoning. Needs a bit of salt.

you wanted to put the dumplings in it? A 15 minutes towards the end,

but I like to do it separately. Nice, big chunks of meat. The

source might look a bit thin, but when you have it with the

dumplings... It is so simple. part, on the Aga. You can't beat it.

Remind us what that is again? stew, with Rosemary dumplings.

then you get to try it! Smells delicious. This will be extremely

hot. Thank you. How does it compare to your mother's? It looks

beautiful and smells fantastic. is real food. But the point is the

cut of lamb. Yes, it needs to have some fat in it, so it doesn't dry

out. The neck of lamb is the best cut. It is beautiful. You need to

get a bigger mouth full on this show. Do you ever attempt stuff

like this? It is going back to simplicity. I do not do many stews

and casseroles, to be honest. can make these things in the

morning, poppet in and leave it. I would go out to work, and three or

four hours later, it was ready. This is great. That would not go

Williams famously cut the fish course for her Majesty the Queen at

her 80th birthday banquet, but the undisputed king of seafood Cookery

has to be this man, Rick Stein. A look at this glorious dish. All

the politicians can make it. To make this dish, you need about four

kilos of sea shell fruits, with parsley is, tomatoes, garlic and

pure extra-virgin olive oil. This is health, vitamins, proteins,

carbohydrates. You don't need anything else, it just Neapolitan

you will find tomatoes, olive oil, fish, garlic and plenty of parsley.

Then you must boil the spaghetti al dente. There is something about the

traditional Italian Catholic family. We have seen it in so many movies,

and it is really like that. Two things Ford this closeness - music

and simple dishes. Not dinner-party food, but food that goes right back

to grandparents and beyond. And this odyssey is about that, simple

dishes that stand the test of time. The main reason I came to Naples

and this island was to make this pasta dish. Look at those. In

England, they are called Carpet shells. These are smaller, but they

are the same sort of clam. They are the best. Look at those. Look at

the back of that. In fact, the our eyes around the other end. It is

camouflage. Very particular to the is a rugged dish. They don't bother

to finely chop anything here, big thick slices of garlic straight in

there just like that. OK. I don't want that to cook too much. Stir

that around quickly. I will talk to you about the main element in this

dish which are these tomatoes. I know that you can buy Italian

tomatoes in England but they just never taste like this. They are

just so full of flavour. Bung those in there. That's fine at this stage.

Now we'll cut the mussels very quickly. Into the pan, a bit of

local white wine. And then the muscles and clams can all go in at

the same time. Doesn't matter. I know some are smaller than the

others and some will open a bit quicker and some slower. Stir those

around in the hot wine and bung a lid on, leave for about two minutes.

Now what I do is get my sauce back, put it back on the heat and just

drain most of the juice into the sauce. I'm going to take that right

down until it's nice dry and reduce sod the pasta is nicely coated with

the sauce. That's come down very nicely. Now to add the rest of the

seafood. First of all, the odd- shaped things with the funny eyes

on their bums. They can get stirred through. Now for the little shrimps

or baby prawns, not quite sure which, little tiny fish in there

too. Now for the clams and the mussels. While this is taking about

15 minutes, something like that, obviously you have to cook the

pasta at the same time which I've already done, about ten minutes so

you start that five minutes into cooking this so it's nice and al

dente to finish the dish off with. Before you add the pasta, throw in

a load of parsley and that will be it. Let's put the dish together and

give it a try. I could go to a restaurant every night and eat this

dish for a week and not get tired of it. To me, it's one of the best

ways of eating seafood, the way the saw wraps itself around the pasta

and the concentration of the why do you love cooking so much?

don't know. You can't explain what comes from the inside. It's

something which you've got under your skin, in your blood. It's a

tradition which goes back thousands of years ago. It's a part of your

blood, of what you are made of. know when you talk like that, it's

sort of like, I hope you won't mind me saying this, but you are very

kind of sensual, almost like you are talking about well, making love,

you know? Yes, this is making love because making love is not always

physical sex, love is for everything, for the sea and what

you see all around you, the flowers. It's not only sex, this is the big

mistake of life. Love for cooking, for flavours, for creating a dish.

If you don't feel that, you'll are brought up on the simplest of

things. You could spend hours discussing the benefits of a lemon,

where the best lemons are grown. If you have that focus on ingredients

and you care so much about them, then everything falls into place.

It comes from the family and respecting the generations and not

wanting to change the latest food fad. The thing that impresses me

most about the Italians is the emphasis they place on quality.

Italy is about passion and flavour. They couldn't give a stuff about

coriander and lemongrass, they just want to know where the best

tomatoes come from. This is a dish called Gremolata prawns, bought on

the market yesterday, very fresh. I love to do simple things with

prawns - get off, you can have a bit of prawn! Mediterranean cats

are a nightmare! Anyway, you just take a big pan and put plenty of

extra Virgin olive oil in it and get it really hot. Put the prawns

in and they're all sort of grey and brown when you put them in, but

they go a nice lovely pink as they fry and you turn them over in the

oil so they are nice and pink on both sides. Then you put in a lot

of coarse sea salt, plenty of that, turn them again and plenty of

freshly ground black pepper, just go around the pan really giving it

lots of pepper. You can put cayenne in if you like, but it needs a

little bit of heat, a bit of a bite there. Then you get one of those

beautiful lemons that come from - oi, get off! Just talking of this,

there was a bar down the road this morning, I was talking to someone

there and he told me that they sometimes weigh three pounds. You

can let them like grape fruit with sugar. They taste a bit like

cucumber almost, the pith. Let it cook down because you don't want

any excess liquid there. You you make up the Gremolata, freshly

chopped parsley, broad leaf. Throw that in, and some very finely

chopped garlic. Then grate the stkpest of the lovely big lemons --

zest. They almost taste like shreds of ginger. Turn everything over.

One final thing, as my new chum here will testify, you can eat the

head. You don't have to eat all the shell, but if you just go like that,

Carolina. A nice story behind why I'm here. There is a journalist in

Philadelphia whoa wrote me a letter, she said one of the best kept

seafood secrets in the whole of the eastern sea board was this place.

I'd always wanted to find a seafood shack, a sun-bleached bare boards

and just nothing to eat but simple shrimp, lobster, oysters, clams, on

open tables, maybe no table cloths and just throw the oysters into a

bucket when you've finished 'em. So bucket when you've finished 'em. So

I'm hopeful. This is it. The ultimate oyster exteerpbs. They've

been cooking oysters like this since the last war and it's not

changed a bit -- experience. The family that own the island just

take the oysters, put them on a hot piece of steel and cover them with

a wet burlap sap to trap the steam. They steam them for about ten

minutes and then just shovel them into the centre of the table. It's

just totally classless. There's lawyers, lovers, politicians,

everybody mixes together. Their link is the consuming love of

oysters. It's not to everybody's taste this way of eating, but

honestly, it is to mine. Just sitting here eating these oysters

just straight out of the creek just over there and these nice little

dipping sauces, what more could you want? This is what I really dreamed

of finding. I'm thinking I can go all the way around the world, as I

do, the best restaurants in the world, but I bet you this is the

Now, there's two things that I'll remember about the cooking of south

Carolina, first shrimp, second oysters.

Here, the oysters fro everywhere, and the locals have a right in law

to pick them when they're in season. They grow like stalagmites, brittle

flowers amongst the mud. There are so many of them, they just grow

together in big clumps. Oysters are a main part of south Carolina for

Gumbo. They have a special way of making Gumbo. You need to make a

good stock, vegetables like carrot, onion, parsley, shrimp peelings,

crab shells. And plenty of chicken wings. Fresh bayleaves, celery I

wings. Fresh bayleaves, celery I forgot to mention, plenty of that.

Simmer for 40 minutes to make a really good stuff. I may not be a

Gumbo aficionado, but the secret I know is a really good stock. What

could be better for making a rue than bacon grease. This is real

south bacon grease. It tastes finer than lard. Beautiful stuff, much

more interesting than butter. You can use butter though. Then some

flour. In we go with the flour. Just stir that around and you have

to cook it out very, very gently. What you are looking for is quite a

lot of colour. Funnily enough, you have to get such colour in it that

the famous French chef saw a rue made for a Gumbo and despaired

because he thought it would be burned and frightful. The foreign

of way of cooking is refine and delicate, whereas this sort of food,

it's got bell pepper, garlic, chilli pepper, lots of gutsy

flavour. Smoked bacon. Lovely thick lardons of local bacon. No water in

there. Good dry bacon. Slightly running in this hot, hot sun where

I'm cooking today. In that goes. Keep stirring quite regularly now.

Once you get other ingredients in there, you are past the danger

point of burning it. Stir that in and now pepper, onion and Vidalia

onions, not sharp, just ideal for salads, grown round here. And

celery. Stir that in with the bacon and let it cook down until the

onions are translucent. Now to add the most important thing in the

whole Gumbo, the oak ra. That goes straight into the pot -- ochre.

Cook that for a minute or so. Next some tomatoes, nice local beef

tomatoes, but vine tomatoes are really good in a dish like this. No

problem out here using fresh tomatoes, so much fresh flavour.

Three or four tomatoes worth of chopped tomato going in there now.

Now some chillis, jalapeno which are not as hot as at home. I

haven't taken the seeds out. Now sot #S, parsley, bayleaf and thyme.

-- now some herbs. Gumbo is more like a soup than a stew. Then we

put the bits in that really do matter. This is where you do what

you want. I'm going to put seafood in here of course, but chicken also,

crab, clams, oysters. On with the clams now, these are called little

clams, stir those in for about two or three minutes before adding any

other ingredients. These won't take at all long to cook because they

are all small bits of delicious sweet seafood. This is really the

making of this dish I think. There are some good shrimp and the

shrimping season's just starting around here, so they're really good

fresh local ones. Just look at that. That really is beginning to look

something like it's supposed to be. All that seafood in there. It's the

same sort of dish, absolutely exquisite. Now for some final

ingredients which you need no cooking really for, no more than a

minute. Ois tiers, -- oysters. Beautiful. Nice and salty. Look at

in crabmeat. We've already put whole crab in but some meat is a

very good idea too. Add a few good dal lops of that. A few chopped

spring unJunes near the end -- dal lops. They'll have a bit of crunch

and freshness -- dollops of that. A few chopped spring onions. Freshly

chopped parsley in. Poured over some rice it's fantastic. America

is famous for lots of dishes, and one thing they're always

associating with the State is the classic chocolate Brownie. I've

come across the most amazing recipe that I thought I would share with

you, comes from a Scottish lass called Jane and her son invented it.

Simple, simple dish. We have got some butter, dark chocolate, really

good quality dark chocolate, cocoa powder, plain flour, raspberries

which you can put in, hazelnuts or white chocolate, five eggs and some

sugar. The whole lot gets put together, so we can throw in the

sugar. More shug that are than I need really, purely because of the

fact that the flavour changes when you put raspberries in it -- sugar.

like Ros breezing and Beckett, it turns a bit better, so I offset

that with more sugar. -- when you put fruit like raspberries in and

bake it, it turns a bit bitter, so I put in more sugar. You have

tossed that knob of butter back in with the other butter. Thank you(!)

chocolate. You need to make sure everything is ready, because this

is an all-in-one method. The chocolate goes in with the sugar

and butter. Then we can throw in the eggs. I could just eat that,

thank you. Now, your love of food at? Were you a steak and chips boy?

Yes, I was quite timid with food. There was a boy up the road who

would eat tomatoes from the garden, fresh. I thought that was some kind

of genetic abnormality. Now I love tomatoes. I have heard you want to

grow your own veg. There is talk in the bride and House of converting a

part of the garden into a viable market garden. A little vegetable

garden. My mum and dad do it. Dad grows runner beans, and they taste

delicious. And great for kids to get involved. You have got three

kids. Great way for children to learn about food, get them involved

in the kitchen. You don't bring them up to just eat a steak and

chips, they can taste lots of different food when they are young.

But in Britain, it is hard to do. They are reared on the strength for

convenience foods, and it is almost looked on as a bit out of the

ordinary if you want to give your kids something more interesting.

are just going to ferry in the cocoa powder and the flour, and

then give it a quick mix. There is no need to use an electric whisk.

We are not bothered about the air that has gone in. There are about

73 grams of cocoa powder. You have spilled a bit. It is all right.

Give this a quick minx. Is there anything I can be doing? Just relax.

You spilled a couple of raspberries. Don't be nervous because am here.

am not nervous. James, you spilled a raspberry. Want me to get it? I

am here to help. He is getting a bit wild. He is smiling, but

underneath, shut up! You can wash up if you want. My help doesn't

extend that far. What are you up to at the moment? I am enjoying the

fine food and smells. Apart from here? You have been busy. You got

into film. Given new start your career in radio? Yes, I started at

Radio Wales as a disc-jockey presenter. And then a TV presenter,

which was where I met Ken in the late '80s. This goes in the oven at

350 degrees Fahrenheit, 170 centigrade, for 30 minutes. Before

we go any further, a little birdie tells me that you used to present

the shopping channel. Yes. Is that something you want to forget?

well, it is so long ago now. It was before QVC came along. I was

selling things, and you had an earpiece, and you would be selling

all sorts of rubbish. What was the most unusual thing you sold? Paula

Yates' and cream. Bless her, she had her own hand cream. You had to

sell it? How many did you sell? many. I did that. But you know

what? Seriously, it is good training in a way, because you are

learning. I did not think that at the time, I hated it. I wanted to

be an actor. But you learn stuff like having to stand and talk for

30 minutes at a time. It all helps you in your career. There we go,

mascarpone cheese, ice, sugar, blitzed. This is what you end up

with. Chocolate-brown Nice. Nice, rich. Those raspberries have stayed

in shape during the cooking. I would have thought they would have

come out a bit slow G. - maxed lurgy. I don't mean yours, but

raspberries generally. Look at that! Bit of icing sugar. Tell me

If you fancy making something hearty for lunch this Sunday,

standby for a Michelin-starred masterclass in pie making from the

busiest chefs in Britain. He holds two Misha stars for the food he

serves in Devon. He is a driving force behind the reinvigorated

cuisine at the Bath Priory, his new venture, not to mention her a load

of other restaurants all over the country. It is the brilliant

Michael Caines. Welcome back. This is slightly different for you. You

are normally very refined. This is a good old earthy dish. I thought

we would do something with a cheaper cut of meat. We have braced

beef and oysters and ale. And we have some pancetta. The oysters are

optional. Here, we have onions, garlic, button mushrooms, potatoes,

bouquet garni, carrot, a bitter flour to thicken, some Dijon

mustard, a bit of stock, local ale and seasonal veg. I will do some of

the chopping. You are going to seal the beef. This is the most

important part? Very much so. Really hot pan. Caramelising the

beef. It is about colour. What cut of beef have you used? This is

braising steak. It is cheap, affordable. A bit of fat in it will

not hurt. A lot of people would not do it this hot, but it needs to be

extremely hot to get the flavour? It does. Don't stare it

straightaway. Just leave it, and stir it later. And get some nice

caramelisation. I am getting a bit of fast colour, because the cooking

will be braising in the oven for a long time. Then we take that out

and reduce the heat a bit. Once we have sealed the beef, we put the

beef in here and then checking the pancetta -- we chuck in the

pancetta. Tell me about your new venture. We have a sister property,

the Bath fire. It is owned by my business partner. It is a wonderful

town house hotel in the middle of Bath. We have just had a new spark

refurbished. It is stunning. 30 bedrooms. I have taken over the

kitchen. I have a young chef in there called Sam. He is doing a

great job. The idea is to capture the synergy between Gidley and Bath.

If you love one, you will love the other. Explain to anybody who has

not been there. It is a country house hotel that has been there for

years? Yes, Shaun Hill was there and then I took over. It is on the

edge of Dartmoor. It is one of those places which is very majestic.

It is a real retreat. We have wonderful ingredients in the south-

west which we champion. Here, I have got my vegetables with the

pancetta. We will sweat that down and add some flour. This will be a

thickening agent. Keep it staring. It is almost like having a resource.

-- a roux sauce. You get a nice effect happening when we add our

stock. Before that, we add our ale. Bring it to the boil. You just want

to burn off the alcohol. And it is not be a? Good old ale. A bit of

stout, if you prefer. Get something local. We do a similar pie in

Canterbury. The idea is to support your local brewery. Then in with

our beef. We have got our bouquet garni and our potatoes. We also

have a bit of chicken stock going in, and water to top it up. And you

have prepared some green veg, which you have got cooking here. We bring

it to the boil. Add the mustard. See, I am actually cooking

something, Nick! And I was going to say it was smelling marvellous, but

now I will not bother. Let me get the pie mix out of the fridge. In a

way, you could serve it as a stew. But you will see that the cooking

of the pastry only takes about 20 minutes. This is the secret of

making a good pie, you almost have to do it in two separate batches.

First, cook the meat, then let it cool down, and then make the pie.

Just open those oysters briefly, James. You were saying something

fascinating earlier about oysters. In the old days, the oysters were

peasant food. In Edinburgh, they found millions of oyster shells

where they would be taken out of the river, Eton and the shells were

chucked away. What is the trick of opening an oyster. There is a flat

part of the shell and a rounded part. These are the native ones.

They -- there is a little hole in there. Insert the oyster knife. Do

it in a cloth. The flat side of the Auster is always pointing upwards.

Just shake the knife across. Remove that part which is stuck to the

bottom of the shell. Otherwise, you will never get the Auster out. And

that is it. Keep the juice. Put a bit of the Jews in there as well. I

have got some puff pastry here, which I will cut out. Be very

careful with the knife. The juice is quite softly. We have

a bit of a squash. All today's recipes are on our website. You can

find the dishes from our previous shows on another website.

Bbc.co.uk/recipes. This dish takes about two Alastair Cook. The idea

is that you end up with your puff pastry reheating - it takes two

hours to cook. I just slipped on the pastry. A lot of restaurants

these days have a different case. That is not a pipe. This is a

proper pie. Do you boys make your own pastry? We can do. But that is

not the question. I can make my own pastry. So you mean I should not

feel guilty about using frozen pastry? As long as you buy all but

a puff pastry. Bake this for how long? 20 minutes, just to reheat

that! I admit I'm not, you know, Michelin star chefs haven't got a

reputation for cooking pie, but in our taverns, we love to have pie.

You can spell pie two different ways, PAYE or PIE. If you are

dyslexic like me, it's PI. Veg on the top here and finally a little

bit of parsley on top. Remind us what that is again? Steak and ale

pie with oysters. Looks delicious. Took some doing in seven minutes

that. There you go. Can I pay you to come here every Saturday morning,

it's amazing, really beautiful. The reason that I said earlier that I

was possibly allergic to oyster, I don't know whether I had a bad

oyster or whether, you know, I am really allergic. We'll soon find

out anyway. Exactly. If you are the colour of the jacket in five

minutes, we knower. It's so hot, it's going to burn the mouth off me

for ages. It's beautiful. Smells delicious. Do it in two batches.

Very much so. You can use it as a stew. That is hot! It's great.

Happy with that? Mm... As Michael said, if you don't fancy

the oysters, you can leave them out and you can find the recipe on the

website. Here is Lorraine Pascal with

another easy baking idea for you to Italian side to my family and on

the occasional weekend we have these big Italian feasts. I do

still cook some of those dishes but they are just a little bit updated.

And this is my favourite Italian. Hi. Hi, how are you? All right, how

you doing? Hello, gorgeous. You came in at the right time. Look.

Thank you. Mm... Very good. big. Honey I need -- Amaretti.

Perfect. Thank you. Bye. You are welcome. Great. I'm to bake Italian.

I love experimenting with different cake flavours. The other day I was

making a tiramisu and I thought why not make a tiramisu cake but rather

than make a big one, I thought I would do mini ones, they are so

much more playful and this dessert really knocks people's socks off.

165g of softened butter and 200g of sugar. Half of the sugar is soft

brown sugar, giving such a beautiful caramel flavour. Two eggs.

Free range, organic, if you can. 260g of flour which I add in two

lots. 260 there. I'll start that slowly, give it a good mix. I just

find this way of doing it in two lots is so much quicker and so much

easier. You don't have to worry about folding and all that, just

bung it in. The other two eggs. It's also less likely to curdle.

Two table spoons of instant coffee powder in four table spoons of hot

water. The funny thing is, I don't even like coffee, but in this, it

tastes absolutely divine. Now the ricotta. 80g of this. This makes

the sponge extra moist. Give that a really good beat, make sure it's

all nicely incorporated. I'm happy with that. Just crumble in 8-10

amaretti biscuits. It gives it wonderful flavour and extra texture.

Lovely crunch. There you are. Another stir. OK, it's done. So I

find the easiest way to put mixture into small muffin cases is with a

mechanical ice-cream scoop. I remember as a child making fairy

cakes, messing around with two teaspoons. This is much more

efficient. This goes into the oven I've cut them in half. I've made a

mascarpone cream here and this coffee sugar syrup. I'm going to

slab this all over the cakes. Not only does it add more flavour, but

it also makes the cakes very, very moist.

It's just so easy to make. 165g of granulated sugar into a pan with

165ml of water. Then add two table spoons of coffee powder and put the

pan on a really low heat. Then once the sugar is dissolved, just turn

up the heat and pour boil the syrup for two to three minutes. You can

afford to put as much as you want on. This is my secret weapon when

making sponges. It just makes them really, really moist. Now for the

mascarpone. Again, ice-cream scoop. And a dollop. Let me tell you how I

made it. This is so delicious, it's 500g of mascarpone with a couple of

drops of vanilla extract. A handful of crushed amaretti biscuits with

about four table spoons of icing sugar. A few good glugs of massala

and then mix it all together. The last dal dollop. Now we'll get the

lids on. Squash the lids on top. Oh, have the mobility of a dessert but

the flaiflness of a cup cake. I'm going to put them on this --

playfulness. Just oozing with mascarpone cream. I'm going to

drizzle these with a coffee sugar syrup. I tell you, everyone,

tiramisu lovers or not, will adore a take away pizza, but on the

occasional weekends when I've got a little bit of time, I like to make

my own. So I've got mozzarella at home and proscuitto and now I'm

going to buy some figs. You go, what, figs, on a pizza? But trust

ingredients for the pizza topping. I know making the pizza dough isn't

the easiest thing in the world, but here is my basic recipe.

Start with 500g of strong white bread flour, add two teaspoons of

salt and 5g of fast action-dry yeast. Mix together and make a well

in the middle. Pour in 290ml of warm water, mix with 60ml of extra

Virgin olive oil and stir it to make a soft but not sticky dough. I

take a short cut and knead the dough in a mixer by fuef minutes,

by hand it will take about ten -- five minutes. Shape it into a ball

and leave it to rise in a warm place for about 30-40 minutes,

covered in oil cling film, that's it. See what I mean about simple.

Nicely risen, lovely and pillowy. I'll roll it out into a rough

circle shape with a rolling pin. So it doesn't have to be a perfect

circle. Whatever shape is fine. You want it to have that rustic look.

What I do when I roll out, rather than roll it like this, I find it

easier to take one end and kind of just push it down like that, do it

all the way round. Now I'm going to prick it with a fork, all over

randomly. This is going to stop it puffing up too much in the oven

because I like my pizza crusts nice and thin and crispy.

Need a good tube of tomato puree and just squelch it all over the

pizza. Then take a palate knife or the back of a spoon and just spread

it all around. Very roughly. Doesn't have to be perfect. So now

you want two hunks of mozzarella, I say hunks, they're balls of

mozzarella. You can either slice it like that or just rip it up into

chunks which is what I prefer because it's all going to melt,

ooze and go gooey in the oven anyway, this is much quicker. Rip

it up all over really roughly. That's it. And now you can use any

ham, any good ham, prosciutto, really good ham. This is going to

give the pizza wonderful saltiness and just add to the colours. The

red of the tomato and the Pinkyness of the ham. Can't wait to eat it.

And then the figs! Oh, you just can't beat a good fig! Such a

gorgeous thing to eat. They just add so much colour and beautiful

sweetness to the pizza. A little bit unusual. Just slice it up,

quarter them, eighthth them, whatever you wish. You know, figs

and ham may sound like a really odd combination, but it's actually

quite classic, especially in the Mediterranean. It's just wonderful

saltiness of the ham and the sweetness of the figs, it's just so

beautiful together. So I've got five figs and I'm going to put half

of them on now and save the other half until after the pizza's cooked

because then you get a wonderful contrast of flavours because the

raw ones will still have a bit of bite to it. A nice pinch of salt.

Not too much. The ham does have a little bit of saltiness. And

embarrassingly large pepper grinder. A bit of black pepper. So this is

going to go into the other now for 15-20 minutes at 220 degrees. Once

cooked, take out of the oven and put the other figs on it. Fresh

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 48 seconds

Basil and drizzle over some extra We are not cooking live in the

studio today. Instead we have some of my favourite recipes from the

Saturday Kitchen archives to share with you. Still to come on today's

Best Bites: Ready, three, two, one, go. Matthew and Pru have to

demonstrate their culinary skills as they go head-to-head in the

omelette challenge. The secret with this, we mentioned this earlier, is

the salt. Nigel Howarth may be from Lancashire but the food he makes is

my kind of grub. Pan roasted duck breast with cabbage and duck straws

will have you drooling over your Sunday papers. It's nice and spicy.

Letitia Dean faced her food heaven or hell, will she get that slow

roast shoulder that was her food heaven or the hellish steamed

sultana pudding instead? You can see what happened at the end of the

chicken from John to matter. It is stuffed full of sun-dried tomato

butter and is bound to inspire you to try something different today.

I mentioned your restaurant. For those who have not been there, it

is an amazing place. How many Poles are in the restaurant? About a

million. But they are not real. -- pearls. It is an amazing restaurant,

with them hanging from the ceiling. It used to be the old Pearl

Assurance building, which was why have renamed it Pearl. What are we

cooking? Roast chicken, but we will staff the breasts with a sunblush

tomatoes butter. It is one of the best ways to cook chicken, because

the butter melts when it cooks and keeps it moist. And you want me to

do a casserole sort of thing? yes, with roasted peppers, to read

so, a bit of Chile and some Spanish butter beans. You can buy these

Spanish butter beans in jars. Firstly, you need to take the legs

of the chicken. The thing about roasting chicken, I always say you

can't rest a chicken perfectly when it is hole, because the legs will

always cook slower than it takes the breasts. Then you get the best

so overcooked and the legs just cooked. Yeah. So I would take the

legs off and cook them separately for a bit longer. I have just

scored the joint here. You want to keep the skin on top of the breast.

If you remove the skin, the bottle will come out. You can get the book

just to do it for you. So you would roast these legs off now? Yes. Or

keep the legs for a curry or a casserole. Use a cleaver. Take them

off. If you have ever suffered a nightmare, particularly at

Christmas, carving the turkey, this is what to do before you cook it.

Get the wishbone, and us great pit until you can see the wishbone. Get

your knife, and a slide it either side of it. Then it should just pop

out using your fingers. It should be nice and whole. Makes it a lot

easier when you carve it. I am really watching this. I find using

old-fashioned turkeys at Christmas that the legs are small and the

breasts are bigger, and therefore you can cook the whole thing at

once and it works. But with the more modern chicken, you have that

issue. Anyway, we keep the skin on this. And this is important? Yes,

you don't want to rip it. Just stick your hand underneath and

loose and it up. Be careful not to rip the skin. This is a great way

of stuffing it. We mentioned Turkey. We are obviously a long way off

Christmas, but this is a great way of putting stuffing into a turkey.

It keeps the meat nice and moist. And also, you don't have to baste

it. Recipes normally say you have debased a turkey or a chicken to

keep it moist. But because you have got the butter inside the skin,

that the self pastes. What have you got here? Some sunblush tomatoes,

which free bread comes, -- wheat free bread crumbs and unsalted

butter. You do not want it to sell tea. Just a touch of seasoning.

Sunblush tomatoes are different to sun-dried. There are almost half

cried, so they are still quite soft. Sun dried ones are more solid.

you know this recipe, you can also change it. You can put some fresh

herbs in. Wild garlic is in season at the moment. It is delicious.

Blend this all up. Here, I have got my red peppers and yellow peppers.

We have got onion. The chorizo has gone in as well. The potteries in

the piping bag. And that goes underneath -- the butter is in the

piping bag, and that goes underneath the skin. Once it is in,

just use your hands and give it a mass charge. Say you can mix and

match any butter with herbs in. Black olives are nice as well. Just

spread it all out, squeeze it all to the edges. It is such a simple

thing to do. Get a baking tray. Season the inside. Over the top.

Bit of olive oil on top. That is a big chicken, so it will take about

25 minutes. A hot oven? About 200. All 400 Fahrenheit. Gas mark 6.

Give it a squeeze to tell if it is cooked. It should feel nice and

firm. You would normally rest that for at least ten minutes. I have

got my garlic going in with the chillies now. Don't add it at the

start, or it will burn and go bitter. And now these butter beans.

They are fantastic. The great thing about these beans, or chickpeas out

of a can or a jar or whatever, he can just drain them and throw them

we have just got some fresh basil. With chicken, I always think you

should not overcook it. People get too worried. It should be just

cooked through. If people want to see you out and about, you are

appearing at quite a few showers and food festivals. It is that time

of year. Taste of London - biggest event of the year. But outside

London? If people are in London, they can go to your restaurant.

Hampton Court. I am promoting my new book. And then yes, taste of

London. Have you been there? You should go. They do not invite

me. As if you need an invitation. It is the other channel. Salt and

pepper. Bit of sherry vinegar, to give it a bit of a kick. Sherry

vinegar is fantastic with peppers and tomatoes. This is a really

summery dish, packed full of flavour. I could have that as it is,

just with some chicken on the barbecue. The best goes on the top,

and that is it. Remind us what it all is? Rich chicken with sunblush

tomatoes butter, chorizo, beans and peppers. To keep the producer happy,

you can have that as well. Now, you get to dive into this. I will try

it. I love chorizo. Have you ever tried doing chicken that way?

worked out later in life than I should have that you should not

stuff inside so that there is no air, but this is lovely. Oh, hello!

Yum. Delicious. Is it something you would attempt? Some people might

think it was complicated. I would work out a way of keeping their

legs on. I can't be bothered with taking them off. You can cook them

at the same time, but just for a longer period. OK, I will do it

tomorrow. What do you reckon? Fantastic. And put in the butter

under the skin keeps it really moist.

It was good to have a chance to turn the tables on two Great

British Menu judges to see if they're cooking skills were up to

scratch. See what you think of their Omelette Challenge.

All the chefs that come on the show battle it out against the clock to

test how fast they can make a three egg omelette. Matthew, you may be a

judge, but you are not cheating. It is like working with children. Off

you go. Usual rules apply. It must be a three egg folded on it, cook

as fast as you can. Leave the butter in. Three, two, one, go.

omelette, Peru? Last week. Who do you want to beat? I set my sights

very low. Raymond Blanc. It has to be a cook, afforded a three egg

omelette. When was the last time you did an omelette, Peru? Last

week. And what's more, I did it with Canada geese eggs. It has got

to be cooked. It is cooked. I shall is unique. You have made an

omelette and kept the whites and yokes together -- separate. That is

the Matthew Fort method. It is like a big fried egg. Talking of eggs,

that would look like an egg. Right. How do you think you have done?

think I might have sneaked in ahead of Raymond. The man is a

perfectionist. You did. And you would have had to have done. You

did it in a pretty respectable time of 57 seconds. But you... Don't

even bother looking up here. This is the moment we have been waiting

for. What do you reckon? You did not, by of May. She came well above

me. But only just above you, with 52 seconds. Pretty good. You have

not lost your magic touch. I wanted to beat 25 seconds.

That has probably put you off your breakfast, so here is something

tastier - Nigel Haworth. He cooks a duck breast.

Good to have you on the show, boss. What are we cooking? We have got

used duckling. We will do spicy cabbage, Mido and duck straws. And

you will do most of it. I did most of it in rehearsal. This is the

need? Yes, reduced down. Mead is honey and water, fermented. It goes

well with duck. And turnips in the style of she? Yes, just a bit of

salt, butter, water. I will season the duck now. Tell us a bit about

to see? These are the corn-fed duck breasts. It is a local farmer, Reg

Johnson, who has built a local business over 20 years. We started

using his produce about 20 years ago. He is probably watching. These

are just a great product. He does chicken's as well. Fantastic local

there. The sauce for this, which I'm going to do again. Yes, a

simple white wine based mushroom, shallots, caramelise them. Even

simpler when you are not cooking it yourself! Duck breast in the oven

now for eight minutes on about 200. OK. So I'm going to do the most

difficult job, which is the red cabbage. Ouf only got two jobs.

Exactly. No heckling over this. People find it difficult cooking

red cabbage. There's a sink in the back if you want to wash your hands,

just in in case your mother's watching. That was a cue to wash

your hands. I wasn't slow there. Sorry about that folks. I'll cut

this as finely as I possibly can. You have the easy job, James, don't

start complaining. Tell us about Northcote Manor? It's a 14-bedroom

country house Hotel and we have had a Michelin star for a long time now,

since 96. I run it with my business partner Craig Bancroft, we have

been there 26 years now, can't believe it. I look so young don't I,

relatively speaking? Kind of, yes. You have gone into the pubs as well,

very topical on the news with the pubs. So you have got four pubs?

One in the Lake District, two in Lancashire and then even chured

over to mischeefiously to Yorkshire -- ventured over to Yorkshire

mischievously. We have a new pub, six months old. It's been an

interesting venture. Wasn't too sure whether they liked me in

Yorkshire at first. Well, you though... I think they are getting

used to me now. I'll put the cabbage in there. The secret with

this is the salting of it. We are going to salt the cabbage in a

little bit of sea salt, coarse sea salt, doesn't matter which one.

This is the secret of the cabbage? The spicy cabbage, yes. Cook that

for four hours, enhances the flavour and gives you colour.

could do that with normal cabbage as well? Yes, you can do that with

white cabbage as well. If you are doing a sour Kraut you do that.

Here is one that I did earlier. Pop that into the frying pan. Sesame

oil makes it a bit nutty. Pop that in. Get rid of those. And my

spicyness comes from the chilli. We have got a little bit of ginger

here as well. White wine and sherry vinegar there. I'm doing the sauce

for this. Caramelising those nicely. White wine and stock. Bring that

down, yes? Yes, that's down. this, which is the duck confit. We

have done this before? Yes, a slow- cooked duck leg which you will make

it to a kind of duck pate. You are doing them in straws, so you are

using this, well I'm using this spring roll rack? Basic spring roll,

cut it in half, four and water to help stick it and you put a few

peppercorns in the duck and the salt will be balanced so you don't

need to season it. Remember, it's duck straws, not cigars. I'm going

to need to peel my ginger. So you want a thin layer of this? Yes. You

have been busy too because you have a book out?

Yes, Obsession Ten. I lovingly sent you a copy down. I'll get a bill

later. Not at all. Can't believe it. Icing sugar. A free book from

Nigel! That helps me caramelise my red cabbage. What is the Obsession

then? Tell us what it's about? started a food festival ten years

ago and it just became an obsession so I thought it was a really apt

title for the book so it's called Obsession Ten, ten years of the

food festival. I believe you are going to be doing it hopefully,

James? He's waited until we go live... Yeah, I'll do that, yes.

The ethos is, you take what, 50 chefs? 54 chefs have actually

cooked at the food festival, so we've got 108 recipes, 54 recipes

based on the res pies from the festival and 54 recipes at home.

History about Northcote and the festival itself, yes. He didn't do

much on that week I was there either, James. Didn't he? That's

being nasty, Mr Rankin. No, never. Popping in the chilli and ginger.

You are gangingp on me, you Yorkys. Although you are on an island, you

haven't changed much, have you. Icing sugar, caramelising and

mixing with the rest of the cabbage and cook that for about two minutes.

Then you want me to pass this sauce -- pasta sauce. Straws are in?

Straws are in. I'm going to put my vinegar wine in there. Do you want

some butter in the sauce? A little bit and give it a quick blitz.

Might as well while I'm here. Black pepper. Salt. Get rid of that

for you. Carry on. What is this in the bottle? Sesame oil. Caramelise

the icing sugar in there, yes? gives it a lovely flavour. Like you

with the Jersey Royals, using the sesame gives you that nuttyness.

Got my duck breast. So the cabbage, you cook this for how long now?

minutes. Just reduce all the juices off and then we should be ready.

I'm going to drain these off. The straws, they want to go in for what,

a minute, a minute and a half? minute and a half would be perfect.

You can see how that's kept its colour, nice and red. Don't forget,

cabbage is certainly spicy anyway. That's those ones. Butter in the

sauce. I've seasoned that as well. This meat doesn't require anything

in there, it's just natural sugars as it reduces down, yes? Yes,

absolutely. Gosh, sloppy there.... Serve half a breast there.

Beautiful and pink. I know the weather's turned good, but you

didn't get that tan from Lancashire, did you? I went to Egypt or Thegypt,

as they call it in Peter Kay land! Pop your duck straws on like so.

Your sauce? You can if you want to put a little bit of the meat on to

the breast before you put it on. Well hurry up cos the national will

be on in a minute! Better slow down now. I'll miss my flight. I do warn

you that it's nice and spicy, the cabbage. Remind us what it is

again? Made it particularly hot for you guys. It's duck breast, duck

straws, spicy red cabbage. There you go. Fantastic. Come on over

here. You get to dive into that. Tell us what you think of those

cabbages. The straws are made a little bit thinner this time. There

you go. That cabbage, I have to say is a great way of cooking it, like

you say. Not just great with duck, I suppose, a sea bass would be

wonderful Absolutely, yes. It's cooked. Some people worry about

having to cook it for 20-30 minutes, it's fine. Fantastic. Happy with

that? Yes, got a nice little kick with it, the chilli as well. Your

perfect show? Yes. Just keep bringing it on!

EastEnders star Letitia Dean's food heaven or hell would go down well

on a Sunday so it's even slow roast shoulder of hog git or sponge

pudding with custard. What did she get? Let's find out. Time to find

out whether Letitia will get food heaven or hell. We have made our

minds up. Food heaven would be this. The lovely lamb. It's out of season

at the moment, we've got hoggit at the moment before it twos to mutt

ten, but it tastes delicious. Could be slow roasted with parsnips.

Alternatively, we have lovely raisins, currants, sultanas,

different types of grapes, by the way. Apple juice,... Lovely. Can't

wait. How do you think this lot have

decided? I think they like me. it was a lamb-slide! A bit of a gag

there, there you go. Lose this out of the way. We have got the

shoulder of lamb here. I love you boys, thank you. Jew nan mouse

heaven. I'm going to get my onion puree on first. I'm in the way.

that straight on because we haven't got a lot of time left. This is a

different way of flavouring mash potato, all right. I'll just nod

James, you know. You need to take the bit of white onion here. If I

can have a little bit oaf butter there, guys, over here. I'm feeling

really stressed just standing here. Use a wok, use a wok, make her feel

at home. Miss add bit. Back in. Nice and thin. I can't thickly

slice it, babe, I'm poorly prepared. We could have cooked this without

colour, don't colour it. Put in the white wine, turn the heat up. Then

some double cream. You are into this health kick at the moment, so

this is the healthy bits. Part of my regime. The idea is now to

reduce it until it's thick. That's what we want to do. Reduce it until

it's thick. A bit like me this morning. Just to make you feel

happy and content, you can stir it. Give me a job! Hoggit is a year old

lamb, ready for the spring season. That's a big one. You can do the

same with the leg but particularly shoulder is one to look out for for

fuller flavour, great-tasting meat. It's absolutely delicious is as a

shoulder of lamb if slowly roasted. That's what I'll do now, at least

four or five hours it wants. The flavourings I'll put on the top.

Rosemary is ready. Do I still keep doing this? Yes.

Rosemary in there, and Annie seed which is delicious. -- aniseed.

Salt. Zest of lemon. We are going to throw that in. Classic flavours,

rosemary and lemon. The aniseed gives it a nice little kick. How we

doing, boys? The pan's ready when you are. Would I be a commis chef

or not? You start off as pot washer. I would be there for years.

like the flavour of that. Smell that in there. Gorgeous. Incredible.

That that flavour of lemon zestiness and the aniseed as well.

You are doing the healthy bit there. I'll work in your restaurant.

don't use much better. Honey, salt and pepper and roast them in the

oven. I thought that was the butter. I need to wear my glasses, I'm

telling you. Honey. All good for you. Mix this together with the oil

and everything else. So you have got this paste. If I lift this off,

look at that. Very strong this, aniseed and rosemary. A lot of

rosemary there. I'll lose that out of the way. If you can mash me the

potatoes, nald be great. Me? don't panic. That look of fear in

you -- that would be great. Roast this in the oven. Roast for at

least four-and-a-half, maybe five hour, keep basting it every half

hour. Gentle oven 300 degrees, 150 centigrade, so a low even, gas mark

four. We have got in here our roasted shoulder. The bone should

heaven ready over here, there is your pudding, straight out of a

microwave, that you could have had. I am so glad we didn't have it.

This is nice and quick and simple. Take the onions. Blend it together.

Could you put the parsnips in the oven? I am getting anxious, and I

am only standing here. We have got a bit of onion, mix it with the

potatoes. So you have an onion- style potato mash. Seasoning. Salt,

black pepper. Parsnips when you are ready, guys, and a plate. Look at

those! Lovely mash. Can I steal this? It will feed me for a month.

Could do. I love you. You are so kind and generous, unlike James.

The idea is with this, I will do it my way. Get a fork and repeat all

up. -- rig it all up. That is how you eat it. Pilot in the middle of

the table. Like Henry VIII would have done. With a nice buxom wench

beside you, James. Dive into that. Tell us what you think. Use your

hands. I'm a lady, if you don't mind. She needs more space. There

is nothing better at this time of year than a shoulder of lamb,

slowly roasted like that. Gorgeous. That would really be like the Last

A great dish. Huggett is well worth getting hold of when it is in

season. If you talk to your butcher, he can get some for you. If not,

use some lamb shoulder. But is all we have got time for today on Best

Bites. We have more class tickets for you next week. I will be back

here cooking live next Saturday morning at 10 o'clock, as always.