Episode 1 The Little Paris Kitchen: Cooking with Rachel Khoo

'My name is Rachel Khoo. I'm a food writer and a cook.'

Wow!

'My passion is for French food cooked simply,

'the way Parisians do at home.'

I think there's still this cliche of French food

where you think it's complicated.

My cooking is no fuss, just enjoyable.

Oh no, it fell in!

After training here as a chef,

I opened the smallest restaurant in Paris, in my tiny flat.

It was always really flattering that Parisians liked my French food.

Superb.

Fantastic, really.

'In this series, I'm going to take the fear out of French cooking.'

THEY SPEAK FRENCH

From gorgeous patisserie and quick-to-do dishes,

to classic suppers with a twist,

this is French food the way Parisians cook and eat it.

C'est tout, that's it.

I left my Croydon home behind many years ago to come to Paris

and train at the world-famous, Le Cordon Bleu.

Living here, you soon realise it's a culinary melting pot.

It's unlike anywhere else in France.

The influence of so many cultures

and sheer range of ingredients, make the capital truly the city of food.

I definitely think in Paris, you're a bit spoilt for amazing produce.

There's fresh food markets in every neighbourhood.

-What kind of spices do you have on that one?

-Moroccan.

Moroccan spices?

And you still can go to these little shops which are specialised.

The cheesemonger, the fishmonger and you have a personal relationship.

-Rachel!

-Bonjour.

And they pass on their passion and you learn things.

Everybody has a point of view on food.

Most people live here in tiny apartments

and there are some big challenges to overcome.

It's quite small. Look.

I'm short and I can do this.

So you get a sense of how big it is.

This kitchen is the beating heart of my restaurant

and to make it work, I've had to keep it simple.

Will it close? It does.

Woo hoo!

Tonight, I'm going to cook some mouth-watering treats

and I'm starting with one of my favourites.

A simple twist on a classic French recipe.

The Parisians absolutely love croque madame

and I love them too,

but I like to make them a bit different

and put them in a little muffin tin.

The croque madame

is the Parisian version of a British bacon buttie,

but here, it's more of a lunchtime snack.

First thing I need to do is make my bechamel sauce.

I need my pot which is hanging in its special home.

I'm going to start off with a tablespoon of butter.

Tablespoon of flour. In it goes.

Grab a whisk.

Flour and butter melted together is called a roux

and the roux will thicken up our bechamel sauce.

'Pour 200 millilitres of milk slowly to avoid getting any lumps.'

'Add nutmeg and Dijon mustard, then season and that's it.

'My little take on the classic bechamel.'

That's perfect.

OK, now to making our muffin cup.

We're going to use sliced white bread,

which is not something you tend to eat in Paris.

They have some beautiful baguettes,

so, sliced white bread - hmm.

Don't tell the Parisians.

OK, slice the crust off.

'Now grab a rolling pin

'and flatten the bread to about half the thickness.'

I wonder if I could do two at the same time.

Oh, yeah, you can do two at the same time.

Just discovered that.

And then to get that croque crisp,

coat the bread in butter to stop it getting soggy.

No crunch, no croque.

OK, all my bread slices are in there.

I'm going to put some ham in.

If you don't want to use ham, you can leave it out.

It's really nice just with the creamy sauce,

the egg and the cheese sprinkled on top.

OK, for the eggs, ideally, you want to have a really small egg,

but these are the regular size I can get in Paris.

I'm going to do a little trick, which is you crack it open

and then pour out some of the egg white.

If you put the whole egg in there, then it'll overfill the muffin tin

and you won't have any room for the sauce.

OK, I'm going to add my bechamel sauce.

A tablespoon of sauce.

OK, I'm going to grab my grater.

Cheese.

Can't have the croque madame muffins without a bit of cheese on top.

I'm using a Gruyere but you could use a mature Comte,

which is one of the favourite cheeses for Parisians.

The English equivalent would be a nice mature cheddar,

a lot of flavour in there.

I think that's enough cheese on there. There's a little bit left.

I'm going to have that. Yum! I love cheese.

OK, finishing touches.

A bit of melted butter on the edges.

Put your muffins in the oven at 180 degrees for 15 minutes.

If you don't like the egg runny, then keep them in for another five.

That smells really good.

Let's have a look.

Oh, wow! That's pretty amazing.

Sometimes, it's the simplest of dishes

that gives you the most pleasure.

And this one really brings me a little joie de vivre.

CRUNCHING

Can you hear that crunching?

That's a croque madame muffin.

I live in a so-called up and coming part of Paris

called Belleville or beautiful town.

But in reality, this area is a little rough around the edges.

It's home to a large North African community

who settled here from France's former colonies.

Superb, merci.

Like most districts in Paris,

Belleville has a twice weekly food market.

Oui. Superb.

The North African influence brings with it a wide variety of flavours.

-Last one, last one.

-You try?

No, thank you. I'm good for eating.

Merci, monsieur. Au revoir.

I'm here searching for some mint

and this is the place to find it, as it's popular in Moroccan cooking.

I am making a lamb stew and I need some mint.

-Three bunches, please.

-Yes.

Yes. It's good mint.

-Good mojito, uh?

-Yes, good mojito.

Bye, au revoir.

Most people think French stews, they think of really heavy winter stews.

Winter season is over and now what's in fashion, is a spring stew.

What we're going to do, is a light stew

which has a light broth

with lots of green, fresh vegetables and spring lamb.

Start off by putting garlic and half an onion into a big casserole pot.

I'm a bit lazy, so I try and put everything in one pot.

Anything to save washing up, that's my motto.

I've got a cut of lamb which is fairly cheap. The neck.

The great thing about the neck part, is it has the bone,

which gives you the rich stock and a bit of fat.

That's a perfect combination for a stew.

Searing the lamb will caramelise the sugars

that come to the outside of the meat and create extra flavour.

You can actually smell it.

When the meat starts to brown, it gives off that rich, meaty smell.

Makes you very hungry.

While that's browning, I'm going to grab two carrots.

I'm going to get my other bits and bobs.

'My makeshift herb box is just the job in my little flat,

'as I'm going to need some bay leaf and thyme for the stew.

'Now add enough cold water to cover the meat.

'No need for stock, as the herbs and flavour from the meat do the job.'

I'm going to put the lid on that. And that's that.

Just let that simmer along and in two hours, you have dinner ready.

'In the meantime, start making the mint sauce.

'This couldn't be simpler and it's so tasty.

'Chop the mint finely.'

'Add a teaspoon of salt and sugar,

'some hot water and white wine vinegar.

'The French might serve this with Dijon mustard,

'but for me, it's got to be the mint.'

'Then leave it in the fridge to chill.'

Voila.

'Then sit back, relax and let that stew scrumptious magic happen.'

Wow! That certainly smells good.

So, I think we can finish off with some fresh vegetables.

Now I'm going to add the beans.

I'm using beans and peas.

These are classic ingredients for this type of French stew.

To make it more filling, you could use broad beans and new potatoes.

That's looking very spring-like with that bright green colour

and the orange.

Lamb and mint sauce,

the French always go, "You've got to be kidding."

They can't comprehend that idea of putting mint sauce with meat.

It's like, "Urgh!"

OK, I think the vegetables are done.

Yeah, they look great.

Turn it off because it's all cooked.

Mmm! That's really good.

For me, that doesn't need any seasoning,

because you have the lovely meaty flavours from the lamb,

the carrots, which add sweetness

and then you've got the bay leaf and the thyme.

That's perfectly flavoured for me.

So, there's my spring lamb stew

with a dollop of home-made mint sauce.

A simple but much loved Parisian supper.

And with a big helping of mint sauce,

it's a little taste of home.

My food is influenced by classic French dishes,

but living in this cosmopolitan capital,

you don't have to go far to find inspiration.

I'm meeting Abdul Bijoux at his Moroccan cafe.

He's going to show me another use for fresh mint.

I drink mint tea with every French dish I can eat.

No problem,

because Muslim people don't drink alcohol like French with their meat.

You can add pine nuts, almonds or lemon to your tea

but Abdel's going to show me the classic recipe.

-What's the first step?

-The first step. You take the tea.

Green tea, you put three teaspoons.

Then you take the sugar.

-To make a pot of tea this size, you'll need six sugars.

-Come again?

Six cubes of sugar? Moroccan people have a sweet tooth?

Yes, they like sweet things.

OK, then three branches of mint.

-Fresh mint?

-It is really important.

You can't have dry mint because there is not all the perfume.

You squash it and you put it in the teapot.

Then, you add the water.

-So this is boiling water?

-Yeah.

You can already smell some of the mint. Wow.

Now, you just have two wait.

Leave the tea to boil for about ten minutes

or until the green tea leaves float to the top.

Show me the magic.

'With the tea done, there's the art of pouring.'

-OK, I can see you're pouring it from up high.

-Yeah.

Is there a reason why you do that?

First, it's to mix the water and the sugar. OK?

-And then you have to cool it.

-So you do it twice?

-Yes.

-So it's not all sweet at the bottom.

-Yes.

-That's ready to drink.

-All right.

-Have a nice tea.

Thank you.

'The perfect after-dinner drink to serve your guests.'

My flat is a triumph in making the most of a small space.

One of the things which is a bit annoying,

I have to do every day is fold out my futon.

I have a futon bed, so you fold it out every day,

you put your bed on there,

you go to sleep, and in the morning you've got to put it back.

If you don't put the bed away, you're literally cooking in bed.

And that's not good.

But by night, my modest home is transformed

into a magical little restaurant for two.

-It's so good.

-Thanks.

-It's juicy, it's...

People come from all over the world

and they are always really surprised that A, an English girl can cook,

B, she can cook French food,

and C, she can cook French food which is delicious

on a little stove with a little oven like that.

Even though I love serving home-cooked French classics,

I always enjoy giving them my own twist.

Just like my next recipe.

Coq au vin. French classic, everybody knows about it.

I am doing a coq au vin,

but I'm doing it a bit differently.

I'm going to do a summery version, so we're going to put the coq au vin

all on a barbecue stick,

make a lovely little red wine marinade

and turn that into a beautiful sauce to go with it.

We're going to start off by cutting our chicken into large chunks.

I have got chicken thigh here, which has been taken off the bone.

I would definitely recommend not using chicken breasts.

There is a lot more flavour in chicken thigh,

and also it's cheaper than chicken breast.

The next ingredient is the lardon, which is a smoked bacon.

The lardons have a lovely smoky taste

and that's essential to a coq au vin.

So, to start the marinade,

soften one chopped onion in some butter, then add garlic,

some thyme and a couple of bay leaves.

You want to cook this until it gets a lovely golden brown colour.

My take on coq au vin

might have some French foodies in a stew.

Most people say it's not a coq au vin,

but it has all the ingredients in it, it is a coq au vin,

but just a different presentation. Now we can add our red wine.

500 millilitres, which is like a bottle minus a glass for yourself.

And we're going to let that simmer for ten minutes.

And if you've got a minuscule kitchen like mine,

you can use the time to tidy up the mess you've just made.

TIMER RINGS

That's simmered for ten minutes.

Leave the sauce to cool off then pour all over the meat

so the flavours can infuse into the chicken.

Clingfilm.

Goes in the fridge for at least four hours

or even better overnight.

You can see the meat has started

to take on the red, purple-y colour from the wine.

That's exactly what we want.

Now we're ready to assemble our skewers.

We need a few other ingredients.

I have some mushrooms, potatoes, carrots and onions.

'Before you start, make sure you parboil your root veg,

'otherwise, they won't cook properly.

'Then load the skewers in whatever order you want.'

OK. The chicken is on the skewers.

I have got my leftover red wine marinade.

We're not going to throw it away,

we're actually going to make a sauce out of it.

You need 300 mls of the marinade.

Let that reduce by half. This will intensify the flavour.

Then add a tablespoon of cornflour mixed with a little water.

And a teaspoon of sugar.

A splash of red wine vinegar.

And salt and pepper to taste.

Let's have a taste.

Mmm. That's good.

That's your sauce done.

Rub some olive oil into the skewers

and they're ready for the blistering hot griddle.

You want that sizzling noise when you put them down.

See it sizzling and smoking?

So, about five minutes on each side.

Yay! Look.

When it starts cooking, you get all these smells

and it is really mouth-watering. It's done.

And that is pretty much ready to eat.

That's your coq au vin on a stick.

And if you'd like to know more

about any of the recipes in the programme then log on to -

Paris is heavenly for produce,

but sometimes you have to look in the most surprising places.

For the next dish, there's one ingredient I just can't do without.

On top of Grand Palais is Paris's most unusual honey farm.

Bonjour.

THEY SPEAK IN FRENCH

Super-excited about going up on the roof.

-Let's go in my office.

-Yes, let's go.

Nicolas Geant has been keeping bees up here for four years.

Merci.

Wow!

The Grand Palais was originally built over 100 years ago

and because of its central location, the honey has a distinctive taste.

It's a pretty cool office you have.

'There are over 400 parks in Paris bursting full of exotic flowers.

'This makes the honey taste very different

'to anything you can find outside of the capital.'

Over there you have Notre Dame.

-Be careful, follow me.

-OK. You don't mind? Thank you.

I have lived here for six years,

but I have never seen Paris like this before.

Due to the time of year,

the bees are safe and sound in their hives.

-They are just here.

-Yes, I can see.

But now it's winter, bees don't go out because it's too cold.

-We can't open now, because if I open, it will kill them.

-No.

In the countryside, bees produce less honey than here.

Here we can produce around 30 kilograms per year.

In the countryside, only ten kilograms.

'Nicolas tells me the bees produce more honey in Paris

'thanks to the greater variety of flora

'and because pesticides are banned in the city.'

I really love the idea of keeping bees in the city

and I think it's absolutely beautiful to be up here.

-But I really want to try some of your honey.

-OK, no problem.

I have got for you honey from here and another honey,

for example, it's an orange honey, a good honey,

but a very different taste.

'First up, is the orange honey which comes from the countryside.'

Merci.

That one, already it's like, whoo!

It kind of... It's very overpowering in your mouth.

It's very bold.

'The taste has a real citrus kick

'as the bees that produce it live only in orange groves.'

'Next up is Nicolas' city honey.'

It's very subtle, it's not...

It's not as hard as this one.

Exactly. Some honeys are very overpowering in flavour,

this is very light.

It's the kind of honey you can use for baking,

for eating on your toast.

And with yoghurt for example, it is very good.

City honey sells for three times the price of regular honey

making it one of the most expensive in France.

I have this really yummy madeleine recipe

where I need to use some honey.

I think your honey will be perfect for my recipe.

-Do you think I could have that jar?

-Of course.

-It's for you.

-Thank you.

-You're welcome.

The honey will come in handy for my next sweet treat.

This recipe is a real part of Parisian culture.

An afternoon snack for the children

and a blissful childhood memory for the grown-ups.

If you really want to impress your friends

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

'My motto it is, butter makes everything better.

'So take your time and let 200 grams melt slowly.

'Then it's on to the sweet stuff.'

Plain caster sugar, 130 grams.

Three eggs.

Let's do some whisking, some hardcore whisking.

We're going to get a little workout here.

You just want to whisk it until it's pale and fluffy.

This is a great workout to combat bingo wings.

I've got a tired arm!

If you have an electric whisk, you can do it with that,

but otherwise have a bit of a workout.

I think we're there. The butter's melted. It's hot!

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

200 grams of plain flour, baking powder.

I am going to zest my lemon. Just going for the top layer.

Smells really good.

We've got the honey from the Grand Palais beekeeper

and then I need 60 millilitres of milk.

And it's not semi-skimmed or skimmed,

this is full fat.

French patisserie, you 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.

Yay.

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

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

BANGING AND CLATTERING

Will it close? It does.

-SHE LAUGHS

-Woohoo!

'Traditional madeleines are always baked in shell-shaped moulds.

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

I am going to use a piping bag.

I'm going to grab my cocktail shaker from up here.

The great thing about that is you've got two hands

to help put your dough in.

What we're looking to do to fill our madeleine tins,

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.'

You want the hollow bit facing up

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

We are going to put these into the oven.

Let's have a look at our madeleines. Are they done?

Lovely, golden round the edges.

Still a little pale in the middle.

To make them extra-special,

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

You take your madeleine and then you just pipe it where the hole is.

And you want to pipe

the lemon curd into your madeleines while they are 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 can't resist madeleines straight from the oven,

'and nor it seems can my friends.'

Mmm, mmm, mmm!

'For an English girl like me,

'afternoon tea doesn't get any better.

'Good home-cooked French food, like Paris itself,

'should stimulate your senses and leave you wanting more.'

Next week, I serve up my twist on boeuf bourguignon.

Find out why the legendary baguette beats the British loaf...

Your bread and French bread, the biggest difference is in the crust.

Two-thirds of the taste is in the crust.

..and I bake the lightest choux pastry puffs in Paris.

I might just have one right now.

Mmm.

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