19/12/2015 Saturday Kitchen

# The weather outside is bright # Since we have no place to go

# Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

# As long as you love me so # Let it snow

# #

There's just one more week until the big day and we've got

a mouth-watering menu full of last minute foodie inspiration.

This is a very festive Saturday Kitchen Live.

To help keep the festive spirit going the Overtones are with us

in the studio and they'll be performing for us

And I'm also joined by two very familiar foodie faces too.

First the man with more spice knowledge than all three of the wise

Next to him is the woman on a mission to make cooking easier.

We've enjoyed her many BBC TV series as part of our archive films

and they've covered everything from baking to healthy living.

She's making her first visit to the Saturday Kitchen

Cyrus Todiwala, what are you making? I am making stuffed mackerel,

Guizzado style. So, what is in that? Mackerel with

prawns, a bit of coriander, ginger, garlic and chilli. Rolled in banana

leaf and baked in the oven. Served with potatoes? With a

cumin-flavoured potato. And tomato slices.

And Lorraine, what is on the menu for you? I am doing a vegetarian

roast. It is mini chestnut apple and spinach Wellingtons. Lots of spice

too! Sound good to me. So two tasty recipes to look forward

to and we've got our regular line up of fantastic food from

the BBC archive too. We've got films from Rick Stein,

Nigel Slater, The Hairy Bikers Now, our special guest's career has

seen him do many things from sell out stand up tours to

presenting his own TV shows. But it's his comic creation,

The Pub Landlord that has made him one of the country's

best loved comedians. Welcome back to Saturday

Kitchen, Al Murray. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE.

Great to have you on the show. You are really into food, really? I'm a

big fan of eating. You can tell that! But you genuinely love

cooking? I really love cooking. Ten years ago I did the Hell's Kitchen

programme. I was turned on to buying decent ingredients and having a go.

You learned a lot about the job? Yes, sore feet more than anything

else! My feet ache when I think about the programme! You are about

to start off a big tour, a monster tour? You just finished the last

one! Yes, we finished the last one ten days ago but it is Christmas,

maybe people need to buy tickets as presents! How many days? About 125,

before but this is the initial leg of this one.

Now at the end of the day's programme, we are cooking either

food heaven or hell. So, food heaven, what is it, then? Lamb!

Lamb! Lamb! Any particular lamb? Anything. Lovely, juicy, delicious

lamb! What about the dreaded food hell, then? Coriander. It is

disgusting, isn't it? I mean, Cyrus Todiwala' recipe, the mackerel is

delicious but the coriander! What do you want to do that for? It is bang

For food heaven I'm going to roast a whole shoulder of lamb for Al.

The lamb is simply rubbed in olive oil and roasted slowly on a bed

of carrots, garlic, celery and herbs.

It's served with sherry glazed parsnips, savoy cabbage,

home made mint sauce and the best roast potatoes ever!

Or Al could be having food hell, coriander and I'm going to use it

in a couple of different ways and serve it with a magnificent

First I'll make a paste with the coriander along

with chilli, garlic, palm sugar then cover the fish

It's served with purple sprouting broccoli and raita made with more

But you'll have to wait until the end of the show to find

If YOU'D like the chance to ask either of our chefs a question today

A few of you will be able to put a question to us,

And if I do get to speak to you I'll be asking if you want Al to face

You can also send us your questions through social media

by using our 'hash' tag Saturdaykitchen.

Right, let's get cooking and up first is Cyrus Todiwala.

Hungry? Oh, yeah! I will try to get him to put just a little bit of

I will try to get him to put just a little bit of coriander in!

So, what do we do here? I will use half of that coriander. Now, we have

cut the mackerel into a canoe shape. It looks like a dinghy! A dangery?!

Anyway, this is how we travelled many years ago! He has lost his mind

already. Do you want me to do this? Yes, I

believe you are very good at that. So the secret is to cut halfway

through. Turn it over and cut down the backbone again over halfway

through the other side. Ideally do it with the whole mackerel. The gets

are still inside. So take a pair of scissors and snip it at either end

and the bone comes straight out there.

Skills! Magic! Then you are to take this bit out, the liver and

everything else. So while the camera cuts away from me, you are chopping

the onions! The onions, the chilli, the garlic, and then you have to cut

the banana leaves, if you don't mind.

So, there we are two pieces of mackerel, canoe-style.

A kayak! What else? We need to chop the prawns, then get the banana leaf

warmed up. So cut a nice piece. Heat it on the fire so it becomes nice

and soft and kills all of the germs on it.

You are really selling this! Well, I mean, you never know. The idea is

that because the banana leaf is firm, by heating it on the open

flame they become supple. Where did you get the banana leaf? They come

from Thailand, they can come frozen. This one is straight from Clapham

High Street! There you go. Trim the stem off.

We will trim this off and it does go more pliable when it is wormed up.

-- warmed up. Where does the dish come from? It

comes from Portuguese. So not India? Well, some from Goa.

This is Goa's liberation day, the day that Goa was liberated from

Portugal in 1961. So this is actually Goan.

. The word Guizzado is Portuguese. It is the onion, the garlic and all

of that, cooked in olive oil. These are the potatoes. They have

been par cooked but left whole? Perfect.

I'm nervous. There is a lot of coriander on the coriander plate? We

are going to put it less as we realised you loved it so much. Fish

and coriander, I am not happy. There is garlic, cumin, ginger, lots

of lovely things, you will love it all.

Now, in the pan? There is ginger, garlic, chilli.

Just at we start now with the prawns, with the fish, sorry.

So the idea is making a stuffing to go inside the canoes, the fish? Into

the canoe, yes. Now this is interesting, this is

what people don't do at home. I learned this from you. You put the

dry spices into the water? Yes, the turmeric with the lime juice before

applying it to the fish. It makes the meat a little tighter. So it

doesn't break up so easily. Often you can burn the spices.

It will so, with the coriander and the cumin added to that, we will mix

it all with water. It allows the spices to expand better. It allows

them to infuse the flavour better. But this is purely to sterilise the

fish. It is an antiseptic, turmeric? Yes,

and also a coagulant. It makes the fish firm and prevents it from

breaking up easily. It sounds great. It all sounds good, sir. So, if I

graze me knee, I just get some turmeric out... Absolutely right.

But then your knee turns bright yellow! It is good for a face mask.

It is! Don't go to the doctor with yellow knows, though, they will

think you have yellow fever! So, on the hob are some cumin seeds? Yes,

sprinkle them on top. There we go, the cumin seeds and the coriander

powder. Mixed with water. Allow it to expand and infews the flavours.

I shall pour it in? Yes, sir, in a minute. There we go, sir.

People are amazed, when they visit behind the scenes, how much onions

you use? In our kitchen we use 300 kilos a week.

It is a serious amount of onions. How many dishes are you making? A

lot. In Indian cooking the onion is the thickening agent. But Britain is

growing fabulous onions now. There is a new one called Roseanna Pink.

It is amazing it reminds me of India.

Remember if you'd like to put a question to either of our chefs

today then call us now on: 033 0123 1410.

Calls are charged at your standard network rate.

We are nearly there with this one. I want to get the cooled filling.

And here comes the coriander. No! Just a tiny bit.

In this dish, it is delicious. It is going to be amazing. No! No, it is

not. This is an objective fact! You are using the roots as well? Yes,

the flavour is all there, sir. It is overpowering, metallic... Metallic?!

Let's just do one. Let's go. Let's go, let's go, let's

go. This is the filling I made earlier? Yes, that is cooled down.

We want it cooled down. If not, there will be a problem cooking the

meat before it goes into the oven. It will cook the fish if it is warm?

It will cook the fish and spoil the fish.

Spoil it, you have put coriander in it! So you have to cook the filling?

That's it, the filling is done. The prawns are just cooked slightly.

Season it. We have not seasoned it. Since you

have put it away, we shall leave it as it is. I shall put it on the

tray. This goes in the oven? Yes, sir.

How long for? With the banana leaf, it has good insulation on it, so

about 25 minutes. OK.

There you have the fish. We still have to finish the salad,

sir. I'm on it.

Brilliant. Such assistance! Can you get it

anywhere else?! He is saying you can't get the staff! You can't find

good staff these days but you do get some nice people around.

Now, pile this on. A little bit of salad.

When James is helping you know we are out of time.

When I start plating it up! So... There you go. Open up the fish? A

little bit. You can see that. It looks delicious. You get that real

coriander flavour. CHUCKLES

Actually it is the flavour of the banana leaf. What shall we call

it... Macro with cumin flavour, tomatoes, and a light salad and

fresh coriander. -- mackerel. Wonderful. You get to dive in. Can

-- canoe. We call it kayak. Is there a lot of coriander in it? Little

bit. You can tie it with a piece of string, wrap it in tinfoil. And it

is lovely. The filling is lovely. You try it.

Right, let's get some wine to go with this.

Our wine expert Olly Smith has been getting into the festive spirit

So let's see what he's chosen to go with Cyrus's fantastic fish.

It is the countdown to Christmas. I have come here to revel in the

Christmas spirit and cheer. Before I hit the high Street lets have a look

around. Where is Rudolph? With Cyrus's mackerel, a citrus wine

is perfect. You could choose a Sauvignon blanc. However, with the

cunning spices, you need a wine that is floral and zingy. So I'm picking

this from Chile, the paws-up. -- PX Elqui. The grapes are ripened in the

day and at night it is called, which preserves the zing in the glass,

perfect to rise and shine with this dish. -- cold. It is like a

meteorite dipped in sherbet. Think about the oily mackerel, the most

important thing to having your wine is the citrus flavour. You have this

clever combination of spices which illuminates the dish. The fragrance

of this PX brings out its awesome flavour. It is the exuberance of

this PX which makes it a perfect flavour coition. Here's to your

mackerel, Cheers! It is great. Yellow -- he always picks a great

one. I really like PX anyway. Do you like it? Lovely acidity. Do you like

the dish? I do. What are you doing? Many chess. And Apple wellingtons

with a cranberry sauce. That is your third glass. Slow down.

CHUCKLES And don't forget you could ask

either of our chefs a question if you call this

number: 0330 123 1410. Or you can tweet questions to us

using the 'hash' tag Right it's time for our weekly food

adventure with Rick Stein. He's having a Christmas party

for some of his Spanish friends. And he's serving up an orange

flavoured dessert later but first he's been invited to join a more

unusual festive feast. Enjoy this one. My journey around

and through the heart of Spain in an old camper van was a real

inspiration to me. It taught me some simple home truths about seasons,

traditions, and the importance of the family. There is a lesson to us

all about the joys of eating and celebration. Particularly around

Christmas. I have to say, I love Christmas. It is that time when you

feel euphoric. Everything is going to happen. Travelling in Spain I

came to the conclusion that Spain is the country of festivals. They are

always celebrating something. And Christmas is no exception. This is

my based in London. I have just prepared a little party for all of

the people who contributed to the Spanish series. I'm sure, being

Spanish, we are all going to have a lot of fun. During our travels, our

guide in that fairly undiscovered area of Spain was Vanessa Palas Eos

-- Vanessa Palacios. Lovely to see you. Last time I saw you we were

eating that dish. That was an old-fashioned dish. It brings my

grandma's memories back. We have it every Christmas. It is so convivial.

You just have so much to talk about. In Spain we call it sobra mesa. We

like to talk and be together. We are not an irrational as you can

imagine. Very laid-back. It is all manana. Yes, so we can enjoy the

food. I was asked to observe this wonderful family gathering. It is a

recipe of offal, something most would a void, but nobody wants to

disappoint her grandmother. -- avoid. This is liver, I think that

is blood sausage. Let's try it. This is what we call grown-up's food.

Exactly. I am glad you are here to taste it. I think it is very nice. I

think a lot of people back in Britain would be put off by things

like blood. You think about it, you do. Would you imagine people of your

age would eat this kind of thing regularly? I don't think so. It is

traditional. But for young people, do you think they would be able to

cook it? I know my children don't really like offal, I think it is a

generation thing. They are about the same age as you. In Majorca they

make a recipe which are similar, similar ingredients, but they chop

up the pieces really small so you do not know what you are eating.

CHUCKLES Wherever Spanish families gathered

to begin celebrating the joys of Christmas, the Christmas Carol is

never far away. Salud! No Christmas meal is never

complete without a serious dessert. And this is a great alternative if

you are hoping to avoid traditional, heavy puddings. It is a variation of

cramp paramount but without any cream. I was inspired to make it

after visiting Valencia, the region where the Orange is king. --

variation of creme caramel. The smell of oranges has such memories

for me. Whenever I make an orange dish I remember the trip I made ages

ago by a third class train from Seville to Valencia. It must have

been about March or April. The smell coming through the windows of the

Orange blossom. Just never forgot it. It is possibly the most

evocative smell in the whole world, I think. I remove the zest from a

couple of oranges before juicing them because they help to give the

mixture a taste sensation. Then Caster sugar and the juice of four

oranges. Reduce, then a slow heat, slowly bringing it to the boil until

all of the sugar has dissolved. Then I strain the mixture. I am normally

a huge fan of Christmas pudding, but I am also taken by the idea of

lighter deserts which are more popular in the warmer climes of the

Mediterranean. Pannacotta Is one example, this is another. It becomes

light and airy when you whisk the eggs. I add the orange juice, put it

to one side, so I can start making the Karen L. I am using a heavy

-based pan, on a low heat, otherwise the sugar will burn instead of

slowly caramelised. -- making the caramel. I leave it to boil for a

few seconds, the sugar will then thicken and take on a lovely golden

brown colour. Then I line the base of the moles. This is so when you

serve it it produces that impressive crown. Many recipes have a story

attached to them and this one is no exception. I was intrigued as to why

this orange dessert had no cream or milk in it. Many egg yolks, sugar,

and orange juice. The reason is, in the 15th century egg whites were

used to clarify wine. The egg yolks had to go somewhere, so they found

their way to the company is where the nuns came up with ideas to make

lovely sweet out of them, just like this one. They found their way to

the -- they found their way to the convents. It is lovely to celebrate

the end of my trip with my friends who have helped me understand that

it is a way of life, it is passion, it is traditions, and above all a

relationship with food. And no family can celebrate without some

singing. So as my guests treat me to a final Christmas Carol, I wish

everyone of you a joyous Christmas, and a New Year pact with the

possibility of new discoveries. -- packed.

What a great dessert idea from Rick and very simple too.

Alternatively you may prefer to serve a cheeseboard on Christmas

There are some amazing British cheeses to choose from.

Including this Lincolnshire Poacher. Colston Bassett Stilton. And I'm

going to use this Olgleshield cheese. I'm going to make this a bit

more glamorous. I will use the walnuts. I will make a stock syrup.

These go into a pan. It would not be Christmas without walnuts. With some

cayenne pepper, just to spice it up. Deep-fried they are delicious. I am

also going to deep-fried cheese. Deep-fried cheese! You won't be on

this earth for very long. CHUCKLES

We are going to take the flour, egg, and breadcrumbs. And deep fry it. I

have had a conversation with my doctor about this, I am sure. It is

delicious. Really? You have launched a new tour. Excuse me. I'm eating

some Lincolnshire Poacher. Tell us about it. Is it the same character?

Still the Pub Landlord, but a whole new set of important messages for

the state of the nation. After his venture into politics this year. We

are going all over the country. I think we start in Winchester and we

end up via Skegness in the Royal Albert Hall. We will be finishing

the touring by the end of next Christmas. I heard this about

politics. The Pub Landlord ran for Parliament. Not me. He had some

great ideas like putting an extra 10p into the pound so it is ?1.10.

When you think about it it makes sense. I'm so disappointed that only

just over 300 people voted for him. It was not a bad score. I heard the

campaign trail did not go well at the start. You were supposed to do

this amazing launch, weren't you? I thought I would parachute into each

constituency. I thought it would be great. We hired a parachute. And

somebody to strap myself to, so they could work it for me. We got to the

airfield. I went on the scales and I was too heavy excavation marked not

allowed to parachute. -- I was too heavy! Can I have some more cheese?

CHUCKLES We had this amazing situation where

we had to do some political spin. We had to make up an excuse as to why

was not able to parachute. It was because I was a victim of the

obesity epidemic, another tragic victim. I started it. You were doing

your bit to keep it going. LAUGHTER

Deep-fried cheese! What was really interesting while

doing it, I came away from the experience with a tiny bit of

sympathy for politicians. People really hate them. They certainly

don't have to do it. I was doing it and some people were angry about it.

It was an interesting life experience.

Where do you get your inspiration from? It can be things people say,

watching the news, often you see another comedian, and you think you

have to write something as good as that. So you sit down and work at

that. You took, followed in the foot

steps, dare I say, of Harry Hill? We worked together a long time ago.

That is when I first came up with The Pub Landlord character. We had a

gap in the show with no way of filling it. We were doing a show in

the bar, we said, let's say that the barman has not turned up and fill

in. So that worked. By the end of the tour I was doing an act. So all

a bit of an accident, really. Not many do that sort of thing. Many

of them are just themselves? Well, they are not really themselves. Jack

Dee for instance, I am sure he is cheerful most of the time but on

stage he is a miserable get. He stuck with that. The way that I do

stand-up, what works for me best is being in Charles Kennedy. I like

being in character. I don't have to be myself and I can be rude to

people. It is quite the opposite from your

upbringing, you studied history at Oxford? Yes. I am really fascinated

by history. When I was doing it at uni, I was

not interested but now I don't have to, it is amazing. There are endless

stories, that sort of thing, you know.

Right, here is the deep fried cheese.

Can I have a look. This is proper food porn.

Go on! Now, this is an amazing source. This goes brilliantly on the

Christmas table. So there is a Manchego cheese, the quince, and

mango chutney. With a tiny bit of water. Blitz it together it makes

the most amazing chutney. You don't deep-fry that? You can

freeze it into cubes and deep-fry it if you wish.

I lived with a guy who deep-fried eggs. He basically deep-fried

everything. Was he Indian? No, he was basically really skinny. One of

those thin men who eat like a fat bloke! No coriander in the chutney?

You stay over there! Taste that. Tell us what you think? Quincey! It

is delicious. So, basically, the idea is that you

pop this back on to your serving board. So there is the deep-fried

cheese as well. You don't have to go for that bit.

They are actually shaped like the nails in a coffin. Amazing.

Then, these are your deep-fried... Sweet nuts.

They are delicious. With the cayenne as well.

Sweet nuts for Christmas! So, when does the tour start, then? Mmm

September! It goes through to des. -- December.

They are really hot. We have to give them a moment.

Now, dress with the salad, there is little gem lettuce in the salad with

mayonnaise. You are quite good at this, aren't

you? I have been whingeing it for ten years, and nobody has found out

yet! Mmm, fatty boom-ba. Look at that! Now, dive into this. This is

all for me?! Yes. Another light bite! Seriously, take

a little bit of that. Are you doing this thing, sometimes

you do that thing, where you have to do this one first, then go clockwise

around the board to end up with this one, which will blow your head off.

Is that what you are going to do? No, you can eat what you want.

Oh, fatty boom-ba. If you find that cheese it is

Olgleshield cheese. It is amazing. So, what is the name of your tour?

It is called Let's Get Fat Together! No! Mmm... You're a bad man. You're

So what will I be making for Al at the end of the show?

It could be his food heaven, lamb and that slow roasted

The lamb is slowly roasted on just a bed of carrots,

It's served with sherry glazed parsnips, savoy cabbage,

mint sauce and my perfect roast potatoes? hopefully!

chilli, garlic, palm sugar and lemon then cover a whole sea bass with it.

The fish is baked and served with steamed purpled sprouting

broccoli and a raita made with lots more coriander.

As usual, it's down to the guests in the studio

and a few of our viewers to decide, and you can see the result

Right, let's get more great Christmas recipe ideas this time

He's serving up salmon today and he's got a couple of deliciously

Is he going to deep-fry it? He is going to deep-fry it! There is so

much cooking at Christmas! It's quite useful to have something up

your sleeve which is very simple and very straightforward. I have a

really easy little sauce for salmon! I have roasted some garlic and I'm

keeping it warm. It's a whole head. It went in about an hour ago.

Inside the skins... Is the most wonderful, soft, scented garlic. I

drop that into the food processor. Then for the herb that you simply

can't go wrong with, dill. It works every time with fresh or smoked.

Just break off the fronds and drop them in with the garlic. Everything

but the very tough end of the stalks is fine.

And then the only other ingredient is some double cream. Just pour it

in and give quick blitz on the old switch.

What you're after is something that will fall slowly from the spoon,

kind of like that. So that silky salmon and creamy sauce deserve

something crisp to go with it. The crispbreads. So, nice untidy folds

of salmon on the breads. It follows the little grooves to hold the

sauce. Having something that is so straightforward and it is done in

minutes is just very, very useful! Then some of our dill and garlic

sauce... Just a little trickle over the salmon. And a little more dill.

All that needs is a glass of something, very, very nice. A

decadent snack like this, is a great excuse to pop a cork and toast the

day. It never fails to amaze me how

simple it can be to make a really luxurious treat from some smoked

salmon. So good. That is just so good! The

first glimpse of the can pays will guarantee to get your guests in a

celebratory mood. Merry Christmas. This is a shining star on Christmas

Day! Of course, the great thing about salmon is it can be as big a

feature on the Christmas Day menu as you want it to be. And my new take

on the timeless tradition of gravadlax and smoked salmon,

definitely deserves its place on the table. I would be happy to bring

this in on the day itself. Whenever I think of salmon, I always

think of cucumber. They go together perfectly. Because this cue comer is

going to be used as a stuffing for the salmon, I'm going to discard the

seeds in the middle. There is a lot of water in there, it

will give it is soggy stuffing. A couple of cucumbers will give

enough for the relish and the filling.

Into that I want to add seasoning, the first is mustard. It adds a

welcome, intense flavour. About five tablespoonfuls will do the trick.

Then a generous spoonful of honey to sweeten the mix. And something to

sharpen it up, a couple of tablespoons of white wine vinegar.

And then dill. It is absolutely one of my favourite herbs, finally

chopped. Give it a good stir up.

Now this is going to be one of the star dishes of my Christmas. I want

to bake this wrapped in pastry. I just need a piece of ready-made puff

pastry. Rolled on to a lined baking sheet.

So, I will take one piece of salmon and then some of my cucumber

stuffing. And on top of that goes the other

piece of fish. I want this Wellington to be a real

golden show piece. It's just having something to bring

to the table that just looks majestic and festive. Just brush

this all the way around the outside of the pastry.

Pull the pastry up... Over the salmon. Sealing the ends and leaving

a bit of a gap in the middle. That way you can see what is going on and

the beauty of the salmon can be seen when you bring it to the table.

And I'm going to brush it again with a little bit more egg. By doing this

it comes out of the oven glistening. Give it a good seasoning of black

pepper before it goes into the oven at 180 for 45 minutes. And the

cucumber relish goes into the fridge to chill.

Isn't that beautiful? So I have layers of salmon, cucumber and

crisps pastry. A slice of these delicious flavours

will delight your guest at any time, on the big day or beyond.

It's a lovely change to Christmas food. It's something fresh, bright

and light. This dish is a triumph. It's earned

its place on the Christmas menu and will doubtless be back year after

Merry Christmas Nigel if you're watching!

Still to come this morning on Saturday Kitchen Live.

She's got her friends over to share her turkey stuffed

with cranberries, honey, caraway seeds and plenty of spicy

Now because it's Christmas and we're cel-EGG-brating today things

In fact, OMLETT-ING Cyrus and Lorraine off the usual Saturday

You can see what plans we've HATCHED, live,

a slow cooked shoulder of lamb with roast potatoes and mint sauce.

a slow cooked shoulder of lamb with roast potatoes and mint sauce?

Or food hell, coriander covered sea bass with purple sprouting broccoli

You can see what he ends up with at the end of the show.

Right, let's get our next recipe and it's from Lorraine Pascale.

What are you making? I'm making mini chestnut apple and spinach

Wellingtons. Right, OK.

So, this is great for the vegetarian in the family. It is really simple

to do but packed, packed full of flavour.

We have started things off with the onions going on here.

Onions, squash there, fresh thyme, rosemary as well but it is important

when you are doing vegetarian food that it has lots of flavour.

If I can have apple in there, that would be great. I have cinnamon and

paprika. I will give it a stir. I just want to sweat these down

until they are nice and soft like that

You can just really smell the cinnamon. Good! Make it nice and

festive. We have been watching your shows on

the TV but what are you doing at the moment? You are doing bits and

pieces in America? I am doing a lot in America. That goes in there. Oh,

can you do the cranberry sauce, please?! I can get that on as well!

Come on! Get it on for me! So a big baking show in the States. I'm a

judge. That is takes up lots of my time at the moment. So a good amount

of salt and pepper in there. What is different to there in the

baking than here? It is more like fact fact fact. It is very fast.

X Factor?! Or a popular TV show. It is faster -- XFactor.

Do they go to judges' houses, then? Yes, they come back to mine.

Do they cry a lot? Yes. We have to tell some people to stop

crying. No more crying.

The chestnuts. These are vacuum packed. Tasty.

There are some sweet and savoury. So buy them with the right label on the

tin. Both could work in this to be

honest. I am using dates rather than sugar, just to be a bit healthy. You

still get the sweetness, but not the insulin spike because of the fibre

in the dates. Is this in your book? You have a new book. Tell us about

it. Do you have deep-fried cheese in it? I don't. When you say healthy

everybody gets annoyed, so I just say it is eating well. Eating well.

All of your favourites everybody likes to eat all the time. But I've

made them a little bit healthier. In here I have lentils, chestnuts, fine

nuts coming in, as well. I have a pre-cooked squash, onion, and

cinnamon, and paprika. It needs to be cold to go into the pastry. What

is going on with this pastry? It is made with spelt flour. Less gluten.

Really tasty. Of course. What is spelt flour? Spelt is an ancient

grain. It isn't gluten free, but apparently you can get it. I will

cut this into a square. Robert B not a good place to put that... --

probably not a good place to put that. One big square then four

smaller squares. You can make this into a version with lamb, or any

meat if you like. Lamb! Cut this into an even square. You have

butter, salt, water, then the flour. I put butter in to make it nice and

rich. Because sometimes if you are messing around with shortcrust

pastry it is crumbly. Just a little bit of water and butter, you get the

richness and it is easier to handle. Where does your love of food come

from? I grew up largely on pizza and chips.

LAUGHTER But my father developed a love of

cooking. Beautiful Italian food. I loved going to his house. He cooked

the most amazing pasta. That is where it came from. And at school

when you cooked once a year, the annual cookery class. I cooked at

school. Yeah, I loved that, you bring the ingredients in and cook. I

don't know if I liked it. It was always on a Thursday, and my mates

used to go in with their PE kit for rugby, and my mum used to send me

off with a wicker Baskett. I knew every Thursday I was going to get

abuse on the bus. -- basket. But everybody would eat the stuff on the

way back. Did you enjoy it? I failed to see the. I did it. Did you pass?

I did. How did you fail? I could cook without thinking about it. I

did not want to know about the genetic compound of an egg. Yeah, I

know, I know. This is quick to cook and the Cranberries are popping. You

put spinach in, as well? Yes, I will did it... Well, you did.

CHUCKLES These are cooking down nicely. They

are, then you just pop the mixture inside. It is good to make this the

day before so you are not worrying. It is like when you are cooking the

big roast, it is so good to do things ahead of time. This is a good

dish for that. Can you freeze these? 100%, they freeze really well. Using

the dates like this it thickens the source. I love them. You can get

them, they are quite expensive, Medjool dates, but as long as you

get sticky ones you don't have to spend so much money. Why do they

thicken it, is it an enzyme, is it a compound? It is magic. Kitchen

Magic. CHUCKLES

Fill them like a little parcel. I have used bags this year for

Christmas presents. So I don't have to wrap anything. Get a bag, put a

ribbon on. Done. They cost you 5p now. Not a supermarket bag! Happy

Christmas! There you go. Egg wash over the top. And a little cut in

each one. A slice in each one. I will put these in. Onto a baking

tray. That's all right. They will go in. And here they are, all cooked.

Do they take 20 minutes? 20, 25 minutes. Let's get ready to plate

up. Do you want me to do a little salad? Yes, just some rocket. Slice

that up. Onto the plate. Yes! Where is that... It is coming. It of

coriander on top! CHUCKLES

It will go well with the lentils. I was really into this recipe. There

is no coriander on it. CHUCKLES

Lots of sauce. Lots of moisture. A little bit of rocket on top.

Everybody is a vegetarian winner. What is the name? Many chestnut,

Apple, and lentil wellingtons -- mini chestnut apple and lentil

wellingtons. We get to enjoy this. Tell us what you think. Spelt flour.

How do you spell that? I'm not sure. Careful, it will be quite hot.

CHUCKLES With the sauce, the two things

together. It keeps it nice and moist, doesn't it? I would like some

myself. Right, let's head back to Ashford

to see what Olly has chosen to go With Lorraine's champion chestnut,

spinach and lentil wellingtons, I am looking for something with a bit of

spice. A great that with vegetarian dishes is often a light read, like

this Burgundy. However, when I cooked the dish at home all of the

fabulous fruit put us into the white wine category. -- light red. So I

have chosen this Zalze Reserve Chenin Blanc. Chenin Blanc is a

soloist in South Africa thanks to an abundance of sunshine and furtive

soils which adds character to the great. All I want for Christmas is

you. The biggest flavour in this dish is the cranberry sauce with the

Apple and cinnamon. Chenin Blanc is famous for its Apple zing, which

will harmonise all of those beautiful flavours. There is a

earthiness in the dish from the squash and chestnut and lentils.

That makes this perfect for the dish with depth and resonance. Then you

have the spice, cinnamon, nutmeg, and paprika. Chenin Blanc has mellow

aromatics which make it spot on to duet with those festive treats.

Lorraine, here is to your wonderful wellingtons! Cheers! He never leaves

that supermarket. Wait until you see him after two hours. What do you

think? Crisp, fresh, delicious. Probably perfect for this type of

year because you can have it with anything. He has done it again.

It's time now for more festive fun and food

They're attempting to cook their way through the song the twelve days

of Christmas and they're up to 9 ladies dancing.

They cannot cook ladies! CHUCKLES

Now I must warn you that this film features close up pictures of large

Yes, man! What a great theatre. All of the major acts have been here.

Gracie Fields, Max Miller. No, man, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin. Right,

now it is our turn. Michael Flatley's Lord Of The Dance are on

tour and performing here. That allowed us to have nine ladies

dancing and laws are leaping. The ninth and ten lines of the song. --

tenth. Now we are going to cook a beef and ale stew with a leak

colcannon. You can leave this to cook so you can party and enjoy the

festive period. -- leek colcannon. I am so looking forward to this. They

fly across the stage. It is levitation, dude, on a Celtic scale.

Let's see them fly after eating this!

CHUCKLES This is an -- this is like an Irish

stew. But it is a Christmas one. And for our colcannon we are going to

use leeks. We will poach the leeks in milk. Top tip, poach your

potatoes, do not boil them. The mash will be fluffier. Bring them to the

boil, two or three minutes, then leave it. Seasoned flour. A bag of

flour. I will heat up the oil. David will show you a trick about how to

put an even coating of season flour all over your meat. Take your beef,

not too much at a time. In the plastic bag. Shake it. Are you

getting it? The flour and seasoning will flavour the piece, it will give

us a golden coating. It will also thicken the stew. When the beef is

sizzling, chop up onion, sweat it in tomato puree. Then deglaze the pan

with Christmas ale. We are going to take the flavours off with a bit of

moisture, which is our lovely ale. Look at that lovely Alexia of

flavour. Oh! Beef and ale is a classic accompaniment. -- elixir of

flavour. Next, carrot and chopped celery. Beef stock. Comfortable,

luxurious food. Look at that. And some raisins for that Christmas

pudding vibe. And once you put them in, they will plump up and you get

that hint of sweetness. It is lovely. Another great thing, for

flavour, caraway seeds. One teaspoon. And that is it. Put on the

lid, and that is one of the best you will ever taste. We can get the

colcannon ready. It is easy to do this. Because we poached the

potatoes the mash as a lovely texture. This is truly wonderful

comfort food. -- has a lovely texture. Now it is time to dance.

This time it isn't Michael Flatley, it will be us.

Oh! Hup! Oi! Sweet, Jesus! That is hard work,

lads. What do you reckon, a couple of months training and we are ready?

I think you are ready for the show tonight! We are not ready for all of

this leaping about on the stage. But it is time to put the finishing

touches to our feet of flame beef stew and colcannon.

And with a touch of a flourish, just a little bit of parsley for the

garnish. Now, time to serve.

Ladies first, gentlemen! This is it, dude, we were born to be dinner

ladies, us! Thank you! How is it girls? All right? Yes! It's good.

So, everybody's eaten? Yes! Everybody is happy? You like it?

Yes. # Christmas time soon be over

# Then we'll join the band. # Christmas time soon be over # Then

we'll join the band. Merry Christmas boys and there be

more from them next week as part of a special edition

of Saturday Kitchen which you can Right, it's time to answer

a few of your foodie questions. Each caller will also help us decide

what Al could be eating I think it is Sue from dashingshire.

What is your question for us? We are having wild boar for dinner on

Christmas Day but I don't know how to cook it.

You don't know how to cook it?! Make a lovely vindaloo with it. That is

how it should be. The beautiful garlic, chillies, onions, cooked

together but cook the wild boar slowly. There is a little fat. Don't

take it off. Let it sit for a day or two before you start eating it. Cook

it now for Christmas. Leave it in the fridge.

It doesn't have to be hot? No, that is a fallacy. It is just vinegar and

garlic it breaks down the fat and preserves beautifully.

That sounds fantastic. What dish would you like to see for

Al at the end of the show? Heaven, please.

Tom, what is your question for us? I have a whole octopus.

Octopus? Easy. Is it a vindaloo?! No! Pour boiling

hot water. Let it silt and drain it off. If you have a pressure cooker,

cook it gently. Take the sinews off. It is a bit of work. Chop it fine.

Olive oil, garlic, green chillies, lots of parsley and simmer it and

keep it. It is amazing with pasta? Anything.

Salad. Pasta. You can put it in a jar and keep it in the fridge. What

dish would you like to see at the end of the show? Heaven.

Yeah! Mark, happy Christmas to you. What question would you like to ask.

It is my 10th anniversary tomorrow, I have a duck.

Can you give me an idea as to how to serve it.

So, you are cooking a whole duck for the anniversary? Yes.

I love duck Peking style but probably not a good idea to cook it

that way. I would probably cook it with a plum gravy and coriander and

some spice. But the plum gravy will set it off nicely.

Or roast it whole and serve it with orange. It is a classic but not so

orangey. But with a little sauce and gravy that you add to the oranges.

And also with a sherry vinegar. That lifts it and cuts through the fat of

the duck. I would roast it whole. Yes, a lot of fat comes off that.

Cook that with the roast potatoes alongside it.

What dish at the end of the show? Heaven, please.

It's time for the omelette challenge.

Now because it's Christmas and we're all in the seasonal spirit

we thought we'd do things a little differently today.

We've put away the stop watches and the board and I want Cyrus

and Lorraine to make me a fabulous festive omelette instead.

The Overtones are going to accompany the cooking with another number

and the chefs have until the guys stop singing to get their omelettes

You don't know how long they are cooking for. But you have to cook me

a festive omelette in the time it takes the boys to sing. So ready?

Off you go. Take your time, boys!

# A beautiful time # We're happy tonight

# Walking through the winter wonderland

# Gone away is the blue bird # Here to stay is the new bird

# He sing as love song # As we walk along

# Walking in a winter wonderland # Yeah, we're walking

# Walking in a winter wonderland # It is per affect weather for a

sleigh ride together with you # Outside the snow is falling

# The friends are gathering too # Come on, it's lovely weather for a

sleigh ride together with you # Sleigh ride together with you

# Yeah! This did not work in rehearsal, did it? Talk about being

under pressure. I don't know about an omelette. But what is this?! And

that? We have langoustine, chilli, chopped parsley and garlic.

What do you have in your drink? Well it is egg nothing and I have added

fresh thyme and chestnuts. It did work in rehearsal but not now! You

have it with a straw... So it is a new kind of omelette for the festive

season! OK. Look at that omelette. So while we

are waiting for the other omelette. Cyrus, do you know what time you did

it in? I would have thought two-and-a-half minutes.

Well, we have spared no expense. We have made you a Cyrus bauble. It is

very amusing. Lorraine, you have finally done it.

Kind of with a few chestnuts on top. Put that on your tree.

So will Al get his food heaven, slow roasted shoulder of lamb

Or food hell, coriander stuffed sea bass with purple sprouting broccoli?

Our chefs will make their choices whilst we drop into the luxurious

and very Christmassy world of Nigella Lawson.

It's turkey time and she's got an Italian inspired stuffing for us.

Right it is turkey time but not quite as we know it. I have 100

grams of cranberries but not cranberries as we know it. I am

steeping them in 1 hundreds mils of Marsala. Then I put it on to the

heat as it comes to the bubble and then I turn it off and leave them.

Well, the cranberries are steeping. I will get a bit of oil in the pan.

And the cranberries, apart of the stuffing, and the stuffing goes

inside a boned and butterflied turkey breast joint. You know what a

huge fan I am of the big bird. I'm always up for new ways of

cooking it, especially for a party. This makes my life very, I have

simple. On top of the shallots I want a bit

of festive spice which means cloves. Not too much. Or we are in toothache

territory! And all-spice. Warm, comforting.

Fabulously festive. I'm going to snip in some sage. The shallots are

sweet, the Marsala soaked cranberries are sweet, so I want a

bit of bitterness. Always the balance.

And now, I have more spicing, courtesy of one kilo of Italian

sausage meat. A lot of fennel in there.

Although it's definitely Italian-inspired, it would be more

accurate, I think, to say that the inspiration here is

Italian-American, rather than outright Italian but whatever it is

delicious! What's more, it makes life for the party very, very simple

as carving is very easy and you get a lot of flavour with relative ease.

I'm not looking to cook the sausages now, after all, they are going to

get a good long time, about two hours or so, in the oven later. But

I want the meat to lose its pink edge a little.

The final turn in the pan, I could eat it straight like this! Right and

on with the dance. My seasonal sausage stuffing can

cool just a bit while I beat some eggs, just two.

I also need some breadcrumbs. And of course the British banger does

contain bread but Italian sausages don't. So breadcrumbs and now moving

smartish to Italy, some parmesan. The eggs! Ah, sun light in winter.

And finally, my syrup slicked jewels. Beautiful. I am going to

mess it up now. I have asbestos hands, if you don't, use gloves. I

will mix it together but not overwork it as the idea is that this

stuffing will be tender and succulent inside the turkey and not

compact. And now time for the big bird!

That's two years of Pilates paying off, so a very heavy turkey breast

joint. All I have to do is open it out a bit. Although you must go to a

butcher to have a whole butterflied and boned turkey breast joint, the

ones in the supermarket that are single are more work. Rolling up a

joint and tying it is harder work than this. All I am doing is

squishing it in and folding it over. Just as I would Brighton a whole

turkey in the traditional way, this stuffing does the same job, that's

to say it keeps the meat from drying out and it oozes flavour all through

as it cooks -- brine a whole turkey. The turkey will will be succulent

and tender and very easy to carve. Here it goes. Lifting a side of the

wing over the other and convey it to a chin of your choice.

The weight of the joint itself should keep everything together.

But it's helped by being secured with a couple of secures. So

puncture this and that... This time it isn't Michael Flatley,

it will be us. with a couple of secures. So

puncture this and that... I want to anoint it with goose fat. This needs

about two, two and a half hours in the oven. It is difficult with the

joint like this to tell if it is cooked through. I put in a meat

thermometer, and when it reaches 75 Celsius it is cooked. When you have

a lot of people to feed it is a winner. The hardest part of this

operation is lifting the tin. Here goes. Oh!

Now, my challenge, carving the turkey. It is very easy to carve, I

have said that. What I omitted to tell you is that I am a bad carver.

I will take this off first. It isn't pretty but it is tasty. I have my

eye on this for a sandwich later. Thick slices are better. If it is

choosing nothing holds together -- if it is too thin nothing holds

together. They are giant slices. But still... Beautiful. It is like

butter. My sister always says quite rightly that the whole point about

Turkey is to make sure you have enough for leftovers.

My house never looks like that, how about you? No. Arguments. Arguments,

dog, usually for me. Right, it's time to find out

whether Al is facing food heaven So Al, your food heaven would be

this shoulder of lamb which I'll roast slowly

with garlic and vegetables. It's served with perfect roast

potatoes, sherry parsnips Or you could be having food hell,

coriander which I'll use to make a paste to cover a whole sea

bass then serve it with purple sprouting broccoli and

a raita made with more coriander. This one looks like a meal, this one

doesn't. Everybody agrees with you. Justice! We have chunks of

everything with this. Chunks of celery, carrots, garlic, take all of

it and put it into a tray. We will cook this for a long time. If you

could peel the past that has potatoes that would be great. If you

could do the mint sauce that would be great. If you could peel the

parsnips and potatoes -- if you could peel the parsnips and

potatoes. Tiny bit of olive oil. Then the great thing about this is

you take some stock and pour it over. Lamb stock? It is difficult to

get lamb stock because it is very fatty. You can use beef or chicken.

I am nervous, if you are free, help me out.

CHUCKLES We will take the tinfoil. 150

degrees in the oven. Put it straight in. You leave it in there. How long?

Four five hours. Minimum. It can ideally go in for longer. I'm going

to get the cabbage. In real-time. Most of the vegetables at Christmas

Eve can do it beforehand. Cabbage, leave it until last-minute. -- most

of the vegetables you can do it beforehand on Christmas Eve. But it

is school dinners, cabbage, that is its problem. True, but take a bit of

water and butter. Equal quantities water and butter and it also is. Is

but a healthy at the moment? I'm not up to speed.

CHUCKLES Little bit of salt and pepper. While

that is cooking you have some tweets. I am planning creme brulee

over Christmas, how do I stop it splitting? I would suggest putting

the oven at a lower temperature. Hopefully they are being cooked in a

band Marie. This will make sure they do not overheat -- bain marie. Why

would anybody want a crusty cup of cold custard? You are not answering

these. Marilyn says can you recommend a cake using Clementines.

Sussex Pond pudding. Traditionally done with an orange, but you can use

clementines. The best thing is to use the rind, take out the white

pieces, shred it. You can make a lovely steamed cake with it. Steam

is beautifully. Lovely custard sauce with it. These are the parsnips. Did

you put honey on the earlier? Yes, with some butter, seasoning. I find

them tricky. They need about 20 minutes. Do you ever parboil

parsnips? I don't. You take them like this. Drain off some of the

fact. I have another tweet. Claire says what else can I do with Gammon

instead of boiling it? Cider. Lots of apple juice. Put some spices in.

Green, and red peppers. A little bit of coriander. Marmalade would be

mine. Glaze it with marmalade. Sherry roasted parsnips. Oh! Nice.

Do not do that near your net curtains at home. Mint sauce, as

well. For anybody waking up just now, you are here because you are on

a new tour. I have a tour next year from September. I'm sure you will

find it on the Internet. Your viewers have the initiative to go

online, don't they? Many do. Fantastic I'm also here to eat some

lamb. Roast potatoes. Get some dripping. Can you use beef dripping?

Of course. Bring it to the boil. Two minutes. Drain them off. Into a hot

tray. Straight into the oven. How long? About 45 minutes. Because the

lamb is taking ages you have plenty of time to do all of this. That is

the beauty of it. Look at this. Oh! Mama! And the boys have a gift for

you. This is for you. CHUCKLES

Thanks, lads. You are welcome. CHUCKLES

Could not have come at a better moment. This is the cabbage. You see

this butter and water. It also I is. This is the key. Mint sauce. What

you have in it. -- it emulsifies. Mint, sugar, and vinegar. I always

use maltman Agger. It doesn't work with white wine vinegar, or balsamic

vinegar, you must use malt malt vinegar. -- I always use malt

vinegar. Boiling cabbage is not the thing to do. It has enough water in

it. Roll it around in the dripping. I will try beef dripping next time.

What potatoes are these? King Edward potatoes. This is the key. Dive in.

Oh! Not too soft for me. Perfect. This is the way to do it. Melting

off the bone. And, of course, we have two sources macro. Basic gravy?

-- tee sauces -- two sauces. In a parallel world I am about to eat

some fish. CHUCKLES

And great this over the top. Just not. I love that. -- grate this. You

go first, you have been waiting ages. And only has chosen Extra

Special El Meson Rioja Gran Reserva. -- Ollie has chosen. The key to this

is you can just leave it in the oven. Forget about it. Also,

Gusbourne Estate Brut Reserve, priced at ?30. Either one will work.

This is a perfect sort of meal. That is all for today.

Thanks to Cyrus Todiwala, Lorraine Pascale, Al Murray and Olly

Cheers also to the fabulous Overtones who've been singing for us

all morning and again in just a minute.

That's our last live show for this year but next weekend you can enjoy

a special Christmas edition of the programme which features

an unforgettable performance from Cyrus Todiwala!

Which just leaves me to wish you all a very Merry Christmas

Here with Santa Claus is Coming To Town from their Good Ol'

# You better watch out You better not cry

# Better not pout I'm telling you why

# He's making a list And checking it twice

# Gonna find out Who's naughty and nice

# He knows when you're awake He knows if you've been bad or good

# Better not pout I'm telling you why

APPLAUSE Merry Christmas, everyone. Have a