Letter M The A to Z of TV Cooking

Fantastic ingredients, delicious dishes,

and some of the nation's favourite TV chefs.

Get ready for a gourmet's greatest hits,

because this is The A To Z Of TV Cooking.

Today, we are looking for things linked to the letter M.

We begin with an Italian cheese that is traditionally made

with the milk of a water buffalo.

This M is mozzarella, and here's Jamie Oliver.

This mozzarella and chilli salad is absolutely superb.

It's definitely one of my favourites.

To get it really good,

what you have to do is blacken the chillies

exactly the same as I did the peppers,

and I just have to prick the skin first

because I had a bit of a dodgy experience once when I was at work,

and I was grilling about 30 chillies and, um...

..all of the sudden they started exploding.

Like, hot, hot exploding all over me and all over my face.

It really, really burned.

So, you've got to prick them first and then they won't do it.

But, they smell wicked.

I love chillies anyways, but when you've got that milkiness

of the cold mozzarella

and the kind of sweet, hot chillies, it's like, ah...

To me, it's just like... I just love it. I love it to bits.

Also, I've got quite a few veggies, well, quite a few...

I've got a couple of veggies coming tonight,

so I want to be able to put

something in the pita bread.

You know, something substantial to eat.

These are basically ready now.

We just want to make them sweet and make the skin come off quick.

So, I just pop it in a pot, and cling film it.

And leave that for about five minutes.

What I'm going to do now is I've got some nice mozzarella,

but I reckon the key to make this a really good salad,

and it sounds a bit funny, but is to have a nice big plate, yeah,

and instead of cutting the mozzarella up,

which looks, I think, a bit plasticky, just rip it up.

Any old fashion, really.

I mean, into quarters is kind of a good idea.

Just so it looks a bit more natural, and a bit kind of more,

I don't know, rustic, I suppose.

I just think it looks funky.

Right, there you go.

Now, these chillies, you can see them, they've been steaming

a little bit and there's loads of condensation inside.

I'll just test one and see if the skin wants to come off.

Yeah, lovely. Right.

They're really easy to peel. You just push away the skin.

Comes off really easy.

So what we're going to do now...

..is just take the ends off the chilli, cut them in half.

They smell absolutely fantastic. And I just scrape all the seeds out.

Which is obviously the really harsh, hot bit.

So, what you're left with is fairly mild then, isn't it?

Yeah, reasonable mild.

I'll try one in a minute and if I'm wrong,

I mean, all chillies are different, different parts of the world.

So, if you ate a really, really hot chilli,

like that, what if that is really hot, what do you do?

It's quite hot. But it's nice as well.

Whoo-ah!

Yeah, it's quite hot.

But, the thing is, even though it's quite hot, it's mild hot.

When it's with that really milky mozzarella, olive oil and stuff,

it's going to be superb. Whoo!

What else would you use these for, these chillies?

Oh, you can do so much.

You can do them with like, boiled rice, in with noodles,

and I like them especially in spaghetti or pasta

and stuff like that.

Over grilled vegetables, in salads,

Loads of stuff.

And just a couple, I don't put loads in,

just a couple just to sort of liven it up a bit.

Right, so what we do now,

is just really roughly sprinkle it over the mozzarella.

Don't be fussy, don't do anything sort of restaurant-y with it.

Just sprinkle it all over.

That's beautiful. So, now what we've got to do is get some herbs.

And we've got some nice herbs.

We've got some purple basil and some green basil.

And I'm just going to like rip that up really roughly just over it.

Purple basil is rather unusual, isn't it?

I suppose it is unusual,

but I think you can get it in all the supermarkets now.

And you know it looks great and it tastes really good.

Does it taste different from green basil?

Slightly different, yeah, slightly fresher, kind of aniseedy, I think.

The thing I like about this, is that even an idiot like me can do it.

You just chuck it,

no positioning or anything, just chuck it all over the place.

Black pepper, very important.

Just do it from a height, so it kind of scatters.

Some nice sea salt, from a height again.

And, I've got some nice olive oil.

You can be nice and generous. Again, just scatter it.

Would you say that's a chef's tip, then?

Well, no, I'm not doing it to be poncey.

I'm just doing it because if you do it from up high then you're

not going to get a whole lot of pepper, a whole lot of salt,

or a whole load of oil in one place.

It looks a bit, kind of, you know...

No, just do it. Um, and lemon juice.

You could go for balsamic vinegar which would look quite pretty,

but I don't want to hide... balsamic vinegar is quite sweet

and I don't want to hide the sweetness of the chillies.

Yeah.

Lovely.

Next, M for mutton. And that's a meat from a sheep two years or older.

The phrase, "mutton dressed as lamb,"

is probably responsible for giving this wonderful meat

its bad reputation.

However, it is absolutely delicious in slow cooked recipes

like this one from Matt Tebbut.

There's one thing that I'm passionate about reviving.

It's been overlooked and overcooked for far too long.

But when done properly, it can be spectacular. It's British mutton.

Mutton has required a bad reputation as a tough, second class meat,

when in reality it packs a powerful flavour that I believe is

even more delicious than the more popular alternative of lamb.

So, I'm going to be doing my North African inspired dish.

This is going to be my shoulder of mutton tagine.

I'm using the shoulder for this dish,

and this is going to be perfect.

There's lots of connective fat

and tissue going through this lovely piece of meat.

By the time it's finished cooking,

you're going to be able to pull it away with a couple of spoons.

Start by trimming off any excess fat.

Once the meat is cut to a more manageable size, seal it in oil.

So, I first came across this dish in Marrakesh, Morocco.

And this really is one of those classic one pot dishes.

You know, you throw it in the oven, a couple of hours, bring it out,

put it onto the middle of the table, big bowl of couscous,

or rice, or whatever you fancy, some nice flat breads,

and let everyone dive into it.

It's a real kind of communal eating experience.

With just a couple of bottles of wine, it just goes down a treat.

When the mutton is brown, put it in a pot,

and add in some exotic flavours of North Africa.

Coriander...

..cumin seeds,

crushed garlic,

and star anis,

which works beautifully with mutton.

Then, add a few chopped onions

and the rinds of some preserved lemons,

a real secret for a great tagine.

Take the middle out, you don't want the middle.

But the edible part is the skin.

It's got a lovely, citrus, very mild lemony, salty flavour.

Next, add some saffron, tinned tomatoes, some stock,

and two chillies.

And that's going to be just enough liquid to keep it going,

keep it moist.

You don't want to, it's not a stew,

so you don't want to completely cover the meat.

It's a long, slow sort of braise.

This is just going to be a beautiful smelling,

delicious looking pot of mutton and veg

and it's going to be thickened slightly,

and you'll get all of those lovely aromas.

Those sort of Northern African aromas.

So, lid on, heavy lid, two to three hours

until you can just flake the meat apart.

Part of the reason that mutton has fallen from grace is that it

doesn't fit in with the impatience of modern life.

Great food doesn't always come quickly,

and this tagine is no different.

Here you go. This is the best bit.

Uff, wow, it's pretty hot.

OK, so that's exactly what you're looking for. Lots and lots of juice.

Flavours are fantastic,

but what it needs now is just a little bit more kick.

Freshly chopped mint and coriander will give this tagine a real lift.

Like that... Stir that around. You can smell it already.

I'm serving my tagine with couscous

and - in true Moroccan style - on one dish,

so everyone helps themselves at the table.

There you go. That's what you want.

Big slabs of meat.

And you can see how well it's cooked

because if you look at the bone, the bone just comes away, like that.

And that's what you want. Like that.

So, on we go with the meat.

And as you can see it's a pretty sizeable beast.

So, there you go. That is my North African-inspired mutton tagine.

Looks delicious.

Now, something that appears in traditional cookery

in countries all over the world - meatballs.

We've chosen the Chinese recipe for this one from Ching He Huang.

One great dish that always reminds me

of family gatherings is lion head meatballs.

When I cook it,

I'm reminded of the stories my mum told as she cooked them.

I've got here about 500 grams of minced beef

and, it's very simple.

It's a bit like making Western-style meatballs,

but with Chinese seasonings.

So, about a table spoon of Shaoxing rice wine.

You can always use dry sherry. In with some light soy sauce.

About two tablespoons.

Some toasted sesame oil and in with a tablespoon of corn flour.

And in with a beaten egg.

Pinch of sea salt. Some ground white pepper.

Some chopped spring onions.

And about four cloves of chopped garlic,

in with some grated ginger for some heat.

Then, just give this mixture a good mix.

Stir the mixture in the same direction,

cos it helps bind all the ingredients together.

And it does sort of aerate the meatballs

so they are lovely and bouncy.

My grandmother used to make this with a big wooden spoon

in a big, big bamboo bowl.

My grandmother's my biggest source of inspiration

because she used to have to cook for all her family,

and her extended family, my goodness!

Whenever we used to sit down and eat

and it was like a huge banquet every evening.

You can see the meat is all lovely and tenderised.

Now, I'm going to make these into meatballs.

So, good trick is to wet your hands.

Because that means that the meat mixture

doesn't stick to your hands when you're moulding them.

And in China, the artist would make them

as big as possible to resemble the head of the lion.

And the emperor used to eat this dish

because it was a symbol of power.

My mother, when she first cooked this dish for me,

she made a big thing about it. She said,

"You know, if you eat these lion head meatballs,

"you'll be strong as lions."

And I believed her.

Wok on, oil in.

Now, the oil is nice and hot.

We can add the meatballs.

You don't want a broken meatball.

That might symbolise broken power.

Spoon oil over the top to help brown them.

Put the browned meatballs in an oven-proof dish.

Set all but two tablespoons of the oil aside for the sauce.

To go into the sauce, I've got here some dried Chinese mushrooms.

Really fragrant, it's going to impart a woody, earthy aroma

and just compliment all the other flavours of the meatballs.

If you can't get these, then you can use fresh chestnut mushrooms.

Back onto the wok now.

So, just going to heat the mushrooms

And it's going to be cooking in the oil that's had all

the flavours from the meat.

Next, just add good vegetable stock, or you can use chicken stock.

And just give that a good stir.

When the sauce is bubbling, in with a little bit of light soy sauce

and some toasted sesame oil.

Then, all we do now is let the flavours of the stock

and the mushrooms infuse with the meatballs,

so just pour them into the dish.

Now, it's not just the meatballs that's going to finish the dish

and make them look like lion heads.

You need the mane, so this is it.

What we want to do is just slice long, thin strips like this.

Wrap one Chinese cabbage leaf around each meatball.

Cover in foil and into the oven for half an hour

on a low heat, about 100 C.

And after 30 minutes, out they come

with the Chinese cabbage beautifully wilted,

the stock infused, and the lion head meatballs fit for an emperor.

Ok, pudding time now.

Let's join Rachel Khoo for an M that proves a real taste of France.

If you really want to impress your friends

with a Parisian teatime treat, then I've got the recipe for you.

My motto is: Butter makes everything better.

So, take your time and let 200g melt slowly.

Then, it's on to the sweet stuff. Plain caster sugar, 130g.

Three eggs.

Let's do some whisking, some hardcore whisking.

We're going to get a little workout here.

And you just want to whisk it until it's pale and frothy.

This is a great workout to combat bingo wings.

I've got a tired arm!

OK, if you've got an electric whisker you could do it with that,

but otherwise, have a bit of a work out.

I think we're there.

Ooh! The butter's melted. Ow, it's hot.

When your fingers have cooled down, mix the dry ingredients.

200g of plain flour. Baking powder.

I'm going to zest my lemon. So, you're just going for the top layer.

Smells really good.

We've got honey from the Grand Palais bee keeper.

And then I need 60ml of milk.

And, it's not semi-skimmed, or skimmed, this is full fat.

French patisserie you kind of do everything full fat.

Nothing half measures.

If you're going to do a cake, you might as well do it well.

Diet cakes, out the window.

Just whisk it in.

OK! I'm going to add the flour.

While training at Le Cordon Bleu,

they taught me a special technique when stirring.

At school you have to move with the bowl.

Don't worry if you spot little lumps in there.

It's more likely to be little bits of lemon zest. OK.

And then we're going to cover it and put it in the fridge.

That's if there's any room, of course.

Will it close?

It does. Whoo-hoo!

Traditional madeleines are always baked in shell-shaped moulds.

But, if you don't have one then you can use a mini muffin tin.

All right, I am going to use a piping bag.

What I'm going to do is I'm going to grab my cocktail shaker...

..from up here.

The great thing about that is that

you've got two hands to help put your dough in.

What we're looking to do to fill our madeleine tins is actually

you're kind of filling it just a little bit below the shell shape.

So, you're not filling it right to the brim.

Raspberries go in the middle.

The French sometimes dip these in chocolate,

but I think my raspberry and lemon version

adds a little modern twist to a classic.

We want the hollow bit facing up

because we're going to pipe some lemon curd into there.

We're going to put these in the oven.

Let's have a look at our madeleines. Oh, they're done.

Lovely golden round the edges. Still a little pale around the middle.

To make them extra special,

I'm going to pipe a little bit of lemon curd into the middle.

So, you take your madeleine, then you just pipe it where the hole is.

And you want to pipe the lemon curd into your madeleines

while they're still warm.

Piping the curd when the cakes are hot

will help the curd to melt through the sponge

and make the cakes extra moist.

Mmm!

Very, very yummy.

I hope you've enjoyed all of today's recipes.

A big thank you to all of our chefs today,

and do make sure you join us for more, next time.