Episode 22 The Box

Across the country, lots of us are working out what to cook

tonight from the ingredients in our cupboards.

To inspire you with throwing away the cook books

and going back to basics...

..we are pitting three resourceful and creative home cooks

against one another to see what they can come up with.

Whoever does it best will be our cook of the day.

Ready to show they can think on their feet are today's three cooks.

Medical PA Katie just loves to watch foodie TV.

I'm totally addicted to any cooking show.

It drives my partner insane.

I'm constantly watching cookery shows, all the time.

Solicitor Adam always adapts dishes to include

more of his favourite ingredients.

A brownie, add more chocolate cos I love chocolate.

Or if I like cooking with beer or meat,

I would add more of that, tailor it to my tastes.

And wedding video producer Hussein

likes taking short cuts in the kitchen.

You just buy a can of, say for example, steak and kidney.

And you add some chillies and other stuff to it.

Turn it into something else, like a steak and kidney curry.

Their first test will be to cook from a box full of ingredients

put together by today's guest -

One Show presenter Alex Jones.

-Alex.

-There you are.

-Welcome to The Box.

-How are you?

I am very well. How was your shopping trip?

-Very good, yeah.

-Very good?

-I'm not much of a cook myself.

-Yeah.

But I do know what I like.

And I just thought about things that I have liked

since I was a little girl.

Things that are comforting.

-I have got a recipe in mind that I hope they make.

-OK.

-Shall we have a look, then?

-OK, go on, then.

-SHE LAUGHS

-Right, OK.

What's the recipe, then? Tell me.

-Um... Well, I was hoping for a corned beef pie.

-Were you? OK.

Yeah.

-You look baffled, James.

-Well, it is not what I anticipated you to bring.

I love corned beef because I think it is an unsung hero.

We always used to love corned beef hash.

-Right.

-Are you a fan?

There is corned beef hash in there with the potatoes

-and stuff like that.

-There you are.

But you've got some malt vinegar and sherry.

Well, I do like a glass of sherry of an evening.

-Right.

-I also like sherry trifle.

-OK.

-So I thought, "Well..."

-Right, OK.

So I am looking forward to see what they can make with it.

-Well, we will see you in 50 minutes.

-All right.

-Yeah, fingers crossed.

-Good luck. Enjoy.

-Yes.

-All right. OK.

I don't know whether ENJOY is the right word.

There is something in there.

If you dig really deep.

Very deep.

OK, guys, welcome to The Box.

Now, you are all here because you are amazing home cooks,

-is that right?

-Of course.

Now, inside the box in front of you - don't open it yet - is

a box of ingredients that has been hand-picked by our special guest.

And they have not made it easy for you today.

Open your box. You've got 50 minutes to create one dish. Best of luck.

My favourite dish of all time is corned beef pie.

Mum makes it. It's fantastic.

Whenever we were ill as children or home from uni or had exams,

Mum would always say, "OK, I'll make corned beef."

Potatoes, peas... Tomatoes are my favourite fruit.

I think tomatoes have got a lovely flavour,

especially fresh ones from the greenhouse.

My grandfather used to grow them and, yeah, I've always loved them.

Rice.

Mint and oregano.

Vegetarian mince.

Recently, I have tried to cut down on the amount of meat I eat.

I do love chillies, Bolognese and pastas with meat in them.

And vegetarian mince, I think, is just brilliant

because it tastes the same and it is a healthy version.

Almonds and cashews. Sherry and malt vinegar.

I'm a really bad cook myself.

I'd love to give today's cooks tips,

but obviously, I'm not in a position to do that.

But what I would say is, enjoy it.

I'm going to love it whatever they make.

So, yeah, just relax and go with the flow, and make some corned beef pie!

Corned beef... It's been a while since I've seen

a tin of corned beef, but I'll think about using that.

Our cooks don't have to use all of Alex's ingredients.

And they also have a store cupboard filled with the basics.

This is probably the most complicated

box of ingredients that we've ever had on the show, to be honest,

cos there's quite a good selection of ingredients

but not necessarily all of them go in together.

I know what our guest is like in the kitchen -

just be happy with something to eat, to be honest,

as long as they are not putting the apron on and cooking it.

Right, Adam, what is the plan?

-I'm thinking Italian.

-You are THINKING Italian?

-Yep.

-What, corned beef Italian?

-I'm wondering whether I can get that in.

I wasn't expecting Italian at all with the ingredients in that box,

although I do love Italian food.

What do you think of this box of ingredients, then?

It's quite unusual, isn't it?

The two types of nuts, I'm not sure what the thought process was there.

And then... You can't create a dish, I don't think, just from that.

You could make a trifle, Adam. Make a trifle.

There are some unfamiliar things there that

I don't usually cook with.

-Have you recognised what this is yet?

-Soy?

It is not normal beef mince, I don't think.

-It's Quorn.

-I'm going to use it.

-Oh, good.

Going Italian. What's the plan?

-Just a pasta, like a ragu with it.

-So you've made the pasta?

I saw you making something. Is that in the fridge?

Yes, that's what I'm trying to do.

Some tomatoes on the vine in the oven, just roasting away.

Get some flavour.

Is that the elastic you've put on this bit of herb as well?

Oh!

-Is that for a bit of flavour?

-I thought that was just string.

I love the fact he has kept the elastic band on the oregano,

cos that's something I would do.

So you are making a ragu. That's going to go in there.

-Red wine going in here as well.

-Yeah, red wine.

There is a bit of everything, then, really.

I might put a bit of...sherry in?

-I don't know yet.

-I would just drink that,

-if I was you.

-ADAM CHUCKLES

I'm not a big fan of it, to be honest.

He doesn't like sherry, so obviously, we couldn't be best friends

because if you don't like sherry, you're not in the gang.

But apart from that, I think Adam's dish is probably a safe bet.

Adam has got the right idea.

He is using the veggie mince to make a simple ragu.

It is kind of a healthy alternative, really,

but it is what you add to it that is really the key.

You've got to increase the moisture content

because it basically soaks up stuff like a sponge.

So if you are not careful, it can be very, very dry.

There is one veggie mince dish underway,

but Katie has decided to take her dish in a different direction.

-Right, Katie, how are you?

-OK.

-What are you going to make?

I'm going to go back to my old-school school dinners

and make some sort of corned beef hash.

And a spicy tomato sauce to go with it.

I like the fact that she is making a spicy tomato sauce.

I think it might add, you know,

something different to corned beef hash.

Maybe it'll drag corned beef hash into the 21st century, who knows?

So, the corned beef hash... You're going to use the corned beef.

-Are we going to see the Quorn in there or not?

-No, probably not.

I think I'm just going to keep it classic - potatoes...

So we are not seeing the cashew nuts, the almonds, the peas,

the rice, the malt vinegar, sherry, mint...

It is basically just this, isn't it, really?

-Yeah. Pretty much.

-Just the few herbs and a bit of corned beef.

So defeatist, James.

It is not just about the oregano and the corned beef.

You told me I don't have to use it all. I won't.

I would do exactly the same thing.

-I'd have made an omelette.

-THEY LAUGH

So cheeky, James Martin.

-You fell in love with cooking cos of your mum, is that right?

-Yeah.

I've been quite a keen cook since about the age of seven.

I remember cooking roast dinners

when I was about eight for the whole family.

This is the spicy tomato sauce you're making.

Yeah, I'm making sort of a spicy relish.

Well, that sounds nice, doesn't it?

-These are supposed to be peeled, then, I take it as well.

-Yes.

The key to this is... You've done it the opposite way around.

What you should be doing is putting the cross in that way.

-The other end.

-And taking the eye out.

-Oh, OK.

-What you have done is...

-The other way.

-Anyway, moving on...

-That is why you are the chef and I am the PA.

Exactly. That is why you're burning your onions as well.

-Can I lift those off?

-Yes, please. Thank you.

I think the key to a good corned beef hash really is to incorporate

the cooked potatoes - or you can do it like a little rosti -

but incorporating the cooked potatoes with the corned beef,

moulding it into a cake, then flour and then pan-frying it.

What Katie is doing is just chucking it all in a pan.

-And stirring it all together.

-I'll get it out and mould it in a minute.

She is going to mould it out in a minute, apparently.

Oh, now that is interesting, isn't it?

Corned beef hash can look a bit like a bit of a splat on the plate.

Hussein is also having a go with Alex's retro ingredient.

Right, Hussein, you are looking pretty organised over here.

-Trying to be.

-So what is the plan? What are you going to make?

The plan is like a spicy corned beef hash.

-Where is the pie?

-I'm going to add some eggs to it.

-OK.

And I'm making some kind of kedgeree.

I don't like kedgeree. Kedgeree's...

Kedgeree's got eggs and fish in it. Ugh! Uuuuugh!

-Corned beef hash and kedgeree?

-Yeah.

So the kedgeree is going to be the base

and the corned beef is going to be on top.

No!

Now, kedgeree normally has got smoked haddock,

-you're just using potatoes and rice.

-Vegetarian option.

-Have you got any spices in there as well?

-No, no spices, just butter.

Right. Now, I thought there'd be spices cos you used to work

in an Indian restaurant, didn't you, when you were younger?

I know, but I'm just being safe.

THEY LAUGH

-You are a cinematographer, is that right?

-No, no, no.

I just make wedding videos.

I put a title on it - cinematography.

We just do mainly Asian wedding videos, all over the world.

-All over the world?

-All over the world.

So one week we'll be maybe in Italy, France, or elsewhere.

The Indian ones that we do, they run, I'd say,

a maximum of four to five days.

I've known marriages that last three to four days.

HUSSEIN LAUGHS

Hussein is doing two dishes, really. Indian-inspired kedgeree.

He is using the corned beef, garam masala, onion, tomatoes,

all gone in there with some egg. And mix that altogether.

So it is two classic sort of dishes, really,

not using sort of classic ingredients in those dishes. So...

I'm not too sure whether this one is going to come together,

but certainly the taste is going to be there.

Come on, Hussein, pull it out of the bag, go on!

Don't plate up yet, Hussein, it'll be cold by the time I get in there.

You've got eight minutes.

Oh, he is plating up. Has anybody got a microwave?

Cos we are going to keep this up now.

With cooking time running out,

I want to find out how Katie plans to finish her dish.

You don't see a fried egg with the hashed brown?

You're from the North, aren't you? Anything with a fried egg on.

Yeah, I think I might have to do a fried egg now you said that.

It's not a Northern thing!

They do have fried eggs down South, you know.

Oh, I don't like fried egg.

Adam's tagliatelle is ready

and he has found a pretty good spot to dry it out.

-Can I have a taste of this?

-You can, yeah.

-I'm not sure if it is balanced yet.

-OK, James is tasting Adam's food.

What should I be tasting?

A rich ragu.

-I'll tell you what that needs - sugar.

-Good tip, James.

-A bit of sugar with the tomatoes.

-Tomatoes can be quite bitter.

-OK.

-A pinch of sugar will really help it.

-All right.

-That's a good effort.

-Great.

-Good effort.

-Thank you.

OK, one minute left. One minute.

I'm looking forward to tasting them and, to be fair, I'm just

pleased they have all gone to the effort of making something for me.

OK, that's it, time is up. Well done.

OK, guys. Well, well done.

50 minutes to create a dish using that selection of ingredients is

a tall order.

But I can put you out of your misery because the person who went shopping

for those ingredients, from One Show,

is the fabulous Alex Jones.

SHE GIGGLES

-Hello.

-Alex, great to see you again.

-Hi. Oh, I am so sorry.

-You need to apologise to everybody, I think.

-I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry.

Where is the pie? Where is the trifle?

-Sorry.

-You got pasta. What did you do with it, then?

So I made fresh pasta. Got Quorn spag bol and garlic bread.

-Are we digging in?

-Yep, go for it.

-Are you ready?

That is really quite nice.

I just really like Italian food.

-And I am glad you used the vegetarian mince.

-The pasta, absolutely perfect.

I've got to say. Perfectly cooked.

You were right to leave it till the last minute.

And I like the ragu, to be honest.

-You've got nice flavours in there. Well done.

-Thank you.

Thank you very much.

-Katie. How did you get on?

-Hiya, Katie.

-Hello.

-Nice to meet you.

-Nice to meet you.

-What did we end up with in the end?

I have made a back-to-school style corned beef hash with

a tomato spicy relish and a fried egg.

I don't really like fried eggs.

You don't like fried eggs?

SHE GASPS

If you take the fried egg off,

then you have just got corned beef, you see?

Right. Shall we give it a go?

Have some of the spicy sauce with it.

Oh! It takes me back to my childhood.

That is exactly my thinking.

The spiced tomato sauce was an excellent thing.

-You have kind of dragged corned beef hash into the 21st century.

-I tried.

Which is brilliant.

Sort of the traditional flavours of the corned beef and potato.

And then on top of it, there is like a hit of a really spicy,

fiery tomato.

Oh, I could sit in front of the telly eating that all night.

Well, first of all, the hash brown is exactly how I would do it.

You cooked the potatoes

just enough to keep them whole as well, so you can still see

the pieces of potato - you've got nice texture in there.

Taste wise, it is absolutely spot on.

Right amount of seasoning, particularly black pepper.

-That is a cracking dish, well done.

-Yeah, thank you, Katie.

-Really well done.

-Really, really nice. Thank you.

-Really.

-Now, what did you cook?

-Hi.

-Curried hash with kedgeree.

Shall we have a taste?

So you've used the rice, that's good.

It's like...

A load of flavours exploding in your mouth,

not particularly in the order you'd expect.

It's like a sweet and sour corned beef hash on a bed of buttered rice.

-Thank you.

-I have to say, the rice to me really does work.

The flavour of everything else combined as a whole

tastes really nice. Yeah, it kind of works altogether, so well done.

-Thank you, Hussein.

-Thank you.

So, on the whole, what did you think?

I think they have done incredibly well

because I just picked random ingredients that remind me

of childhood, things that I like to eat now.

And your face was enough to clarify that actually the box was quite hard.

-But you have to pick...

-Yeah.

..which one you like the most out of the three that you've tasted.

Which one would it be?

I'd have to say...

Katie's.

Katie, well done. You look surprised.

-I am a bit.

-Are you?!

I like corned beef hash.

Potatoes and corned beef and onions are just three great flavours for me.

Really comforting, remind me of childhood.

Well, well done, Katie.

Round Two. In front of me, are three separate boxes.

You'll be pleased to know I've gone shopping for the ingredients

in these. We have got posh.

Pasta.

And a bird box.

Now, Katie, because you were Alex's favourite dish of Round One,

you get to decide not only which box you'd like to cook with but also

which box you would like your fellow contestants to cook with.

What would you like Adam to cook with?

Uh...

Adam, bird.

Thank you.

Which leaves two left. And Hussein.

Is he any good at pasta?

Or is he any good at posh cooking?

I'm going to give Hussein pasta.

-Hussein, the pasta box. Are you pleased with that?

-Very much so.

Which leaves you the posh box of ingredients.

And all three of you, 50 minutes to create a dish

to impress me this time.

-Good luck. Collect your boxes.

-No pressure(!)

Katie chose the posh box.

It contains halibut, prosciutto, butter beans, white asparagus,

sea purslane.

There is also capers, pea shoots and rosemary.

You got to decide what everybody else is cooking,

-which then left you the posh box of ingredients.

-Yes.

What are you going to do with it?

-Um, I have wrapped the halibut in the ham.

-Yeah.

And I am making a butter bean

casserole kind of thing to go with it.

-Sounds pretty good.

-It sounds really good.

Well, Katie got the posh box of ingredients.

What she is doing is basically wrapping that halibut with

the prosciutto, which is the right idea, which she

will pan-fry it to get that prosciutto nice and crisp.

To go with that, we've got some butter beans.

And what she has done is make a nice little casserole, a cassoulet.

Now, the key to that is use chicken stock.

A touch of butter to finish it.

It has all the hallmarks of a great dish.

-If it was me, I would steer clear from the posh box.

-Really?

Because there was a lot of ingredients in there that

I didn't recognise.

-Like what?

-Well, I think the white asparagus.

-Right.

I think that dish could be really nice because halibut

is an amazing fish. Capers, really good flavour.

I wouldn't know where to start, in fairness.

Hussein got the pasta box.

I put in some dried cannelloni, butternut squash

and rainbow chard, along with goat's cheese and Parmesan,

pine nuts, sage, basil and olives.

I love dried cannelloni. My feeling is with this,

it goes particularly well with that butternut squash.

That and the goat's cheese work fantastically well together.

You stuff that inside the cannelloni, make a sauce

and bake the cheese on the top.

You have got a simple, wonderful dish.

I would go with the box Hussein has got, the pasta box,

because there is no meat, no fish.

So essentially, I couldn't kill somebody.

-Cos it's just veg.

-Right.

-JAMES LAUGHS

-Right, Hussein, what are you doing?

-Butternut squash ragu.

-Yeah.

-With pasta. That's all.

-OK.

You've got the right idea, because I did put in sage.

-Sage and butternut squash go brilliantly together.

-Thank you.

We've got wonderful rainbow chard from my own garden.

Oh, that is what I'm going to use.

Yeah. You prepare it like spinach.

Basically. You just peel it.

-As you peel off the leaves...

-Oh, right.

The leaves you could just pan-fry, wilt in a bit of butter as well.

-They are really pretty.

-They're beautiful.

And rainbow chard is so often underused. Are you going to stuff

the cannelloni? Or are you just going to leave it as it is?

I'm going to just leave it as it is.

-I'm going to pour the ragu over the cannelloni.

-Yeah.

Let it absorb all the juices.

Then I am going to add some of your chard on top.

Now, Hussein got given the pasta box,

and he's done the right idea, really.

He has made a sauce using that butternut squash

and some spices in there as well. The cannelloni has been blanched.

I would like to see that stuffed the centre,

but he has decided not to do it.

Adam has to cook from the bird box.

Inside, there is a chicken supreme, smoked, streaky bacon,

and Cambozola cheese.

There is also a savoy cabbage,

parsnips, potato, walnuts

and fresh tarragon.

-What is the plan, Adam? What are you going to make?

-Posh roast.

-Posh roast?

-Yeah.

It is going to be a creamy sauce, parsnip puree, roasted chicken.

-I've got the skin in the oven as well.

-Crispy chicken skin.

-Yep.

What is the sauce made out of? What are you going to do?

Use garlic, blue cheese, butter, cream...

The white sauce is kind of your replacement gravy,

-is that what we are saying?

-Yes, you always have to have a sauce, for me.

-Yeah.

-I'd usually do a gravy with Marmite,

-and we haven't got any Marmite, so...

-Right.

Is that normal?

My mother does it, yeah. My mother does it occasionally, you know.

See, we've got some tarragon here. This goes amazing with chicken.

-Have you tried this?

-Yeah, I think... Yeah, yeah.

I know I am from South Wales, but I have heard of tarragon.

Adam has got the chicken in the oven, wrapped in the bacon.

That is colouring nicely.

Instead of making a traditional sort of gravy or jus-style sauce,

he is going to do a cream sauce by adding some onions to the pan,

a bit of garlic, white wine. In went some cream.

And we've got some cheese going in there as well.

All of those combination of ingredients will come

together as a nice little sauce.

With cooking time almost running out,

I want to show Katie a quick tip for sauce with her fish.

I don't know whether you have used this before. You know what this is?

-Marjoram?

-No.

-It doesn't smell of much, does it?

-What does it taste of?

-It tastes a bit like celery.

-It tastes salty, doesn't it?

-Hm.

-Salty?

-Is it some sort of sea vegetable?

-It is, sea purslane.

It is great with a simple little sauce.

I've got some butter here, look. Right, you make this little sauce.

So this is a little bearnaise.

Really, really great tip to go with fish.

-So, in we go with the capers. Like that.

-OK.

-A bit of lemon.

-You throw in the sea purslane.

-It is very simple, isn't it?

You pour it on there.

Look at the colour you get from it.

-You get the nutty brown colour.

-Yeah.

-Just taste that.

-BOTH:

-Mmm!

That is a great sauce.

-Things are looking pretty good, don't you think?

-They are.

I like the look of Hussein's dish, though.

You know, ahead of the game, ready, plated up.

-That halibut looks good.

-Oh, the halibut looks great.

And your roast chicken dinner at the far end is coming together nicely.

I'm glad I haven't had any breakfast.

OK, stop cooking, guys, that's it. Well done.

We are starting with Adam's dish from the bird box.

-So, what did you cook?

-So, I have done a posh chicken roast.

-Is this parsnip puree there?

-Yeah, parsnip puree.

I usually have gravy, but I did a creamy sauce this time.

Ladies first. Dive in.

A bit of sauce.

Mmm!

I really like that dish. It tastes really rich.

The chicken and the bacon is lovely. The sauce is really, really creamy.

It's lovely.

-Thank you.

-Well, first of all, the chicken is nicely cooked.

It's coloured on the outside. It is perfectly cooked in the middle,

which is a good thing cos it kept it nice and moist.

I love the crispy chicken skin to go with it. Great effort.

Great tasting meal. I'd eat that, it's good.

-Thank you very much.

-Well done.

Katie chose the posh box to cook from.

So, what did you cook?

I made a prosciutto-wrapped piece of halibut

with a butter bean casserole.

-It looks pretty fancy.

-It does, yeah.

You can still taste the fish on its own, sort of a clean taste.

But the butter beans, in this buttery sauce, is delicious, isn't it?

I'll tell you what, I really like it.

I really like it cos I shopped for these ingredients,

and this is kind of the dish that I had a mind, really.

The fish is perfectly cooked.

It is lovely and moist. That is so difficult when you wrap things up,

to see if it is cooked in the middle.

You can overcook it, particularly halibut.

Sea purslane I absolutely love. And you kept the colour on the top.

You know, that is a cracking plate of food.

-You should be very pleased.

-Yeah, very nice.

-Thank you.

-Well done.

Finally, Hussein had to come up with something from the pasta box.

So, what did you cook?

I made a butternut squash ragu with chard,

and I have drizzled it over the pasta.

-OK. We have just got the goat's cheese over it at the end.

-Yes.

-Which is nice, all right.

-It is nice and colourful.

I really like that about it.

It is very spicy. Wow, it has just hit

the back of my throat. JAMES LAUGHS

You have really gone to town with your chilli flakes, haven't you?

No, it is very nice. And the butternut squash is nice.

The chard is lovely in it.

-Goat's cheese on top.

-I am pleased you used the rainbow chard

because I absolutely love it. But that lovely hint of sage...

That sage and butternut squash work fantastically well together.

And it's just a great bowl of tasty food.

-Thank you.

-Well done.

The three dishes we have just tasted were tremendous.

I'd hate to be in your position, having to judge them.

It was a tough decision based on the three dishes that I've tasted

cos all of which I would go back for seconds, to be honest.

But it is up to me to decide who is today's cook of the day.

Today's cook of the day, and well-deserved...

..goes to Katie.

You did the right thing with the white asparagus.

It was just nicely cooked. It was blanched. Amazing butter beans.

-Very moreish.

-The fish was nicely cooked.

On the whole, it was a great tasting plate of food, well done. Well done.

Thank you.

-You won Round One and Round Two. There you go.

-Thank you so much.

-Oh, Katie, well done.

-How do you feel?

-Um, surprised?

-Overwhelmed.

-Thank you very much for coming, Alex.

Today, I've loved it, tasting great food.

Thank you very much for coming along.

That is all we have got time for today. Join us next time.

We will meet three more enthusiastic home cooks,

some more big celeb names and some more boxes of ingredients.

I'll see you again soon.

Bye for now. Come on over, guys. Hussein, you nearly did it.

I tell you what, tasty plate of food. Tasty.

Well done, boss. Well done.