Episode 1 What to Eat Now

Summer, the most exciting time for the seasonal cook, has arrived.

The shops are crammed full of Mother Nature's summer bounty

and the choice of ingredients makes me dizzy with endless ideas.

Bloody hell, that's good!

My name's Valentine Warner, chef by trade, greedy by nature.

Go on, open wide. There you are darling, yum yum.

From barbecues to picnics, lunches and teas, I'll be taking you with

me on a mouth-watering journey around Britain.

If it was any fresher you'd have to spank it!

Go on, get it.

-Very...

-MIMICS SIZZLING

-..but not "haha"!

-Hot, yes.

That's really fantastic.

Showing you what to eat now.

Ah. Ooh!

Tonight it's all about barbecues,

when tong masters and prodding commanders come into their own.

We British love a barbecue,

so I'm going to track down the best seasonal ingredients

to sizzle on the grill.

Singing lobster lullabies...

# Go to sleep lobster! #

Hitting the streets to talk about local beef.

Excuse me, excuse me.

Know the green cross code?

And proving there's more to barbecuing than boring burgers.

Lamb's liver - wow, wow wow.

Wow.

Mother Nature really excels when the summer season hits us.

Our fields and gardens are bursting with a rainbow of colourful fruit and veg.

The sea offers up the tastiest of fish and the fields are full of maturing livestock.

Who needs food shipped from across the world when we can enjoy Britain's flavourful harvest?

Summer, to me, smacks of sizzling meat on the barbecue.

We're Europe's number one barbecue nation,

and there's nothing that gets my jealous juices flowing more

than the smell of somebody else's barbie wafting over the garden fence.

This is my favourite time of year to cook.

The flavours are so distinctive and smoky and I adore cooking outdoors.

I don't really like using fire lighters and fuels, they're nasty.

Making this little wooden chimney is a pretty fool-proof way of getting the barbecue going.

Get some old newspaper. Page No 19, travel. "See Kenya with a different eye".

In it goes.

Roll the newspaper into really tight balls.

They don't want them to go up the minute you've lit them.

Good English woodland charcoal to get it started.

The vents are open underneath, which ensures a good flow of air getting it all going.

# In the summer time when the weather's high

# You can stretch right up and touch the sky... #

And there's nothing to do now,

except wait for the Jenga tower to go up in flames.

It's now fine to drop a bit down the top.

Once the coals have turned white, only then can you get stuck in with the tongs.

Grill on.

Barbecues hanker after big hunks of meat,

but at this time of year, summer vegetables taste great and love a grilling too.

Charred baby courgettes and chanterelle mushrooms

make heavenly companions in a simple and mouth-watering summer dish.

I absolutely love courgettes, especially cooked over wood.

The stalks don't need to be cut off when they're small, they're just as tender as the flesh.

Throw them into a bowl and lightly coat with olive oil.

A good pinch of salt.

The coals are now ready, there shouldn't be any flames.

It's flames that lead to blackened sausages and curiously raw bits of chicken.

Now these can be laid straight over the coals. I'm excited about this already.

Man and fire - simple way to cook.

The barbecue is versatile and can be used as more than just a grill.

It's a source of heat - so whack on a frying pan and prepare your chanterelles.

Tear them up. If you can't find these, oyster mushrooms, which are widely available, are just as good.

Give them a good glug of olive oil, a sprinkling of salt and pepper, and add them to the pan.

These are going to be cooked until all the moisture has left the pan and they start to brown.

Oh, this is hot work.

I get some strange satisfaction out of painful finger tips.

But they'll soon be forgotten once I get stuck into eating this.

Finish the vegetables with finely diced garlic, a splash of olive oil and a squeeze of lemon.

Basil.

And there's lovely summer chanterelles, with baby courgettes cooked on the barbecue.

Everything in here complements each other so much

and what really makes it's that char-grilled barbecue taste.

Fantastic.

Us Brits love slapping meat on the barbie.

Tender lamb chops, juicy pork and crispy-skinned chicken.

My absolute summer favourite is barbecued beef.

All the better if it's locally reared and you don't have to live in the countryside to get it.

Something exciting is happening in our towns and cities.

Cambridge. Famous for the university...

rowing...cycling...

and cows?

Angelika Von Heimendahl always wanted to keep cattle,

but like many, she never imagined she'd be able to become a city farmer.

She's taken advantage of ancient laws that allow people to keep cattle on common land,

and now has 60 cows dotted around the city.

-Hi.

-Valentine.

-At last, the cattle queen of Cambridge.

-One way of putting it.

There's cars all around us, it's the middle of a city.

It's bang on in the middle. You couldn't have more traffic all around them.

And how does everyone feel about having the cattle around?

I think people have been very, very positive. It's a lived-in space, rather than an empty green.

There's common land available for grazing all over the country.

These cows are red pole, which are the original East Anglia breed,

and they're farmed for both milk and meat.

But city living poses many challenges.

Last night the self-closing gate got caught in a bush and stayed open,

so they wandered off towards Elizabeth Way.

It was quite difficult to get them back in.

Do the cattle ever get into town?

Well they aren't allowed in clubs,

because, obviously they're not 18 and they don't carry identification.

-I was really nervous.

-Do you get attached to your cows?

-21 is very sweet.

-21.

-Yes. And the ladies that feed him have asked if they can buy him and it's very difficult.

-They want to sponsor the cow and keep it?

-Yes.

-Where is No 21?

Well, we'll see in a second.

Come on boys! Come on!

Ha-ha! Come and get it.

Come on boys. Come on!

Don't go too fast, Valentine.

Summer is the best season for juicy beef, as the cattle are fattening up on the season's lush grass.

There you go, guys.

33 doesn't like to be touched.

No 33 is a dangerous steer.

Steer clear.

And there's 21.

I've heard a lot about you.

Particularly friendly.

21 really is.

In an age where you could say we're quite removed,

cities and country are quite removed, this is kind of wonderful.

-I think it's great for children around here to see cattle in Cambridge.

-And you're farming it.

-And it produces wonderful meat.

-D'you get people knocking on your door at night going,

"Got any of those steaks?"

I have neighbours who say, "Have you got anything in the freezer?"

I think what Angelika is doing is amazing,

and I want the people of Cambridge to know that eating locally

and keeping cattle isn't just for country bumpkins,

so I'm hitting town with my trusty steer.

Nothing weird about this at all(!)

Excuse me. Excuse me.

Hold on. Know the Green Cross Code.

Are you aware that, as residents, you have rights to graze cattle

-on the common? You can become bedsit beef farmers.

-Fantastic!

Do you have time among your studies to look after some cows?

-Well, full-time work and two children.

-Full-time work and two children.

-Excuse me.

-I'm in a bit of a hurry.

-Fair enough.

Excuse me.

Time for me to cow down on this particular mission, I think.

I'm hosting a barbecue later, and have invited the herd's nearest neighbours, the local rowing team.

So I need to get my hands on some of Angelika's beautiful beef.

-Hi, are you Andy?

-Yes, I am. Good to meet you.

-How are you?

-Very well.

That's a splendid looking piece of meat.

It's been lovely hanging out with these cows this morning, what 200 metres from here.

It's so important now, with customers' satisfaction, where the product's come from.

They can see it themselves, cycle past it on the way to work.

No food miles to worry about here. A happy cow and a happy butcher.

Could I have a tiny taste of the fillet...raw?

-Wow. Yes, of course.

-Because I really like it raw.

It's incredibly good.

-Hold that for me.

-I'm having a great time.

Most people go for steaks on a barbecue

and if you're watching the pennies, skirt steak is a cheap alternative.

But if you're catering for a group, a whole sirloin will wow the socks off them.

That's a handsome piece of meat, good colour.

It's a nice bit of marbling.

That's a splendid thing.

Go on have a look at yourself.

While the rowing team work up an appetite,

Angelika has agreed to give me a hand with my recipe

of sirloin with chimichurri sauce.

Looks like something they used to burn witches on, doesn't it?

Well... Yeah, are there any witches? I can see one of your cows right down on the end.

-And I'm standing on the other.

-They've moved away from us, haven't they?

-I don't blame them actually.

We're gonna go Argentinean,

chimichurri sauce to slosh around on top. A lot of chillies and garlic.

-So you're going to cut one, so do you want to stink or do you want to sting?

-Stink.

Stink. OK, you can do the garlic.

'Chimichurri for me is the ultimate summer barbecue sauce, so why bother with that bottled stuff?

'I chop a handful of spicy red chillies, whilst Angelika sets to work on ten cloves of garlic.'

-Would you like a bigger knife?

-No, I'm all right.

You chop like my mother.

Well.

I hope the rowers aren't in any rush.

Add a generous amount of dried oregano and salt.

They're building up an appetite for us later.

And I've taken over the chopping so they actually get fed today.

Add plenty of parsley, red wine vinegar, olive oil and cold water.

What's the water for?

Just to loosen it up, it's not something that should be too thick

and the thing is that it has to sit for a while.

One, two, three days it's just gonna get better and better.

Rub the beef with a little sunflower oil and add a generous scattering of salt. This will go nice and crispy.

We're not worried about salt?

Do I look like it? I might check out in the next 15 years, but at the moment I'm really happy with it.

-You're enjoying yourself.

-Exactly.

With such big pieces of meat, I'm gonna cook with the lid

and then whole thing acts like an oven, rather than being bashed from one side.

'Don't be frightened of cooking big joints on the barbecue, they'll be fantastically juicy.'

-Do we agree we both like it rare?

-Yes, I like it rare.

-Well, the rowers can just have what they're getting.

-Whatever's left over!

Add the beef fat-side down and sear.

-Smell it already.

-Straightaway. I'm really excited about eating this.

We want ours rare, so cook for about 40 minutes.

This is the perfect summer alternative to the Sunday roast.

And lid on.

It's so tasty, all it needs is a simple tomato, red onion and basil salad on the side.

You can hear it sizzling away in there.

Ooh.

The sirloin needs to rest for a good ten minutes,

which leaves the rowers plenty of time to sort themselves out.

Oh, my goodness me.

COW MOOS

Ah, that was approval, approval from the cow.

Come on, guys. Dinner's ready.

Come and get it. It's her beef.

Those cows.

You can't get it more local than this if you tried.

-Amazing. Awesome.

-Good.

Lovely. It's wonderful.

That sirloin, I think it's fantastic,

really fantastic and flavoursome.

The chimichurri on top, slightly pokey,

it's a very joyous affair going on on the plate.

Proof positive that fantastic local food is available everywhere,

even in the most unusual of places.

There must be no beef left.

-Is that a challenge?

-Yeah, it is, actually.

-Including that?

A big lump of sirloin's great for a crowd,

but if you're cooking for two, how about lovely British rose veal chops?

At this time of year, I like to serve mine with a delicious Italian salmoriglio ressing.

First up, the marinade.

Coat the chops with olive oil, fennel seeds and the rind of a lemon.

Roughly slice a whole bulb of garlic and scatter on to the meat,

along with a handful of rosemary.

Add some thyme and roughly torn sage leaves and mix.

Leave to infuse in the fridge for a few hours.

Then add the chops to the grill and season well with salt.

The heady, herby, lemony smell will definitely whet your appetite.

Five minutes each side should do.

Whilst the chops cook, prepare the sauce.

Finely chop lots of marjoram leaves and add a generous amount of olive oil.

Zing it up with a squeeze of lemon and a pinch of salt.

Allow the chops to rest and then spoon over the dressing.

And there you have it - herby, heavenly barbecued veal chops.

Wow, wow, wow.

Wow.

You can cook almost anything on a barbecue.

Don't stop at sausages and burgers - be creative.

Here are my top five weird and wonderful summer sizzlers.

First up, lamb's liver.

Not what springs to mind when you think of a barbecue, but why not?

Brilliantly cheap and deliciously tasty.

Thread on to a skewer.

It is sensational on the barbecue.

Sprinkle with ground cumin and salt. Then grill.

Snatch them away quite quickly.

They'll be perfectly pink in the middle.

Finish with onions, coriander and lime.

I can't tell you how good that is.

If like me you love to make bread,

why not barbecue it? It's so much easier than you might think.

Make a simple dough, roll it in to hand-sized piece

and throw on the grill.

Look at that - magic bread. It's impressive stuff.

Turn up with the bread, fling it on, puffs up, everyone goes "wow".

Lettuce - not just for the salad bowl.

Gem lettuces.

Perfect dressed with olive oil and salt.

A slight char-grilled taste on the soft crispy lettuce is really fantastic.

As are spring onions done the same way.

Well, fried onions - it's always a good smell.

A squeeze of juicy lime.

You can't get easier than that.

And finally, the wonderful.

Fruit can be great barbecued and pineapple has to have a place on the grill.

Chuck it on the hottest part of barbecue.

Burnt sugar always smells good.

Even better splashed liberally with white rum.

Boozy, refreshing, hot, caramelised, delicious. Grilled pineapple.

Fish is a summer staple on the barbecue,

but what about shell fish? For me, lobster is the king of the grill.

I absolutely love them.

I want to get my hands on one and at this time of year,

I won't be needing a boat or a lobster pot to do just that.

I've been looking forward to spending a sunny day at the beach, bagging one for myself.

As Britain's coastal waters warm up over the summer,

lobsters become more active and will scuttle inshore.

This makes them easier to catch,

their price comes down and this is good news

as I love delicious, sweet lobster.

And what a glorious day for going to try and catch some.

This typical British summer weather isn't going to put me off.

Freshly caught lobster is such a treat, it's definitely worth getting your socks wet for.

So I've come the North Devon to meet local lobster gaffing expert, Charlie Braddick.

Charlie, I can't say I've ever met anyone like this before,

knee-deep in a rock pool.

There we go, we've got to get wet to get these things.

You're going to tell me about the secret art of lobster gaffing.

'Gaffing pre-dates lobster potting and is the art of catching lobsters

'in the rocks during low tide with a gaffe.

'Charlie uses a bamboo cane with a hook on the end.'

Try and hook it into them and then you can pull them out.

You lead the way. Time to get wet!

'He's worked the area's rocks his whole life,

'so knows exactly where all the little hidey-holes are located.'

If I was a lobster I'd be in there too.

You would? And I'd catch you.

I feel like Bilbo Baggins crossing Mordor.

Come on, keep up.

'Despite the weather, Charlie insisted that I come gaffing today.

'It's the spring tide, meaning the tide should be a long way out,

'leaving plenty of lobster hiding places exposed.'

This is rock-pooling for grown-ups. It reminds me of childhood holidays.

But you had a little net then. I've got a gaffe now.

'And I'll brave anything to land a lobster.'

Feel anything boxing your cane?

Oh, yes, yes.

Shall I have a double check?

Come on, maestro.

That's what was boxing it.

A velvet swimming crab.

Not what we want. Edible, but slim pickings.

In Devon, as we're eating them ourselves, there's no limit to how many lobsters we can catch.

But frankly, I'd be happy to get just one right now.

There's a lot of good, tasty seaweed lying around.

Rather you than me.

-Another hole here.

-Great.

I feel like I can hear something moving around.

Can you? In you go.

Is there anybody in...? Yes. Oh.

There's a lobster here.

Well now, it's another crab.

-Next hole.

-Next hole.

Gaffing is dependent on the tide being out and unfortunately for us,

it's now coming in and time's running out for our lobster hunt.

Here we go.

Got one? Yes!

'Spoke too soon.'

Clipped his claw off.

We had a lobster for a second.

Sadly, it...it was all rather a disarming experience!

Lobsters regularly shed limbs to avoid danger,

but are able to re-grow them,

so this escape artist won't be armless for too long.

But time and tide wait for no man and I'm going to have to look for lobster elsewhere.

-Well, that's fishing.

-That's fishing for you.

Charlie sent me to meet an old friend of his,

who thinks she's special powers when it comes to this elusive crustacean.

-Felicity.

-Val, hello.

-The lobster whisperer at last!

-That's right.

Retired fish monger, Felicity Sylvester, is mad about lobsters.

And she's got two big uns at the ready for me.

But before I'm allowed to cook them she's going to show me her peculiar skill.

I'll hypnotise this one. I learned it from an Indian gentleman.

He said to me, "If I threw you in a vat of boiling water you'd tense up and be very tough."

Because the terror before you entered the water would make you un-relaxed.

So he convinced me really, that to hypnotise the lobster

would actually enhance its favour.

So this is lobster yoga?

You use the claws to put him, as you said, into the yoga position.

And you say...

Go to sleep, lobster.

Go to sleep, lobster.

'Felicity believes that by hypnotising the lobster,

'it invokes a becalmed state and therefore a more relaxed death and juicier, more tender meat.'

Go to sleep, lobster. Go to sleep.

'Even I'm starting to drift off.'

He shouldn't move now. So, it's your turn.

So, I upend my lobster.

And sort of try and make sure it's got a nice yoga position.

Go to sleep, lobster. Go to sleep, lobster.

You cannot resist the power of my charms, lobster.

Go to sleep, lobster.

He's succumbing to your charms, Val.

Ignore the chillies, lime and garlic.

Oh, now, don't be cruel to it.

Sorry, sorry. No, I am taking this deadly seriously.

I'm not thinking foodie thoughts.

No. No, no, no.

Whisper to it.

(Go to sleep, lobster. Go to sleep, lobster.)

That's one of most extraordinary things I've ever done or seen.

There you go, you see.

'And with the lobsters deeply hypnotised,

'my preferred method of killing them is by piercing them firmly through the indent on the back of the head,

'which kills them instantly.'

Any movement that might occur in the lobster

after it's been cut in half is purely nerves, the animal is dead.

So we're going to go Mexican on this one. Lots of garlic and chilli.

'I'm making Lobster Mojo de Ajo, a dish inspired by my travels in Central America.'

'Whilst Felicity peels a whole bulb of garlic, I chop up a couple of chipotle chillies.'

I like this chilli, because of it's fantastic, fruity,

strong, smoky, taste.

'The chopped garlic goes into a pan with some light olive oil for about ten minutes.'

Glug that in just so the garlic's coloured.

'But it mustn't burn, so keep the heat very gentle.'

That garlic, it's changed colour, it's a dark ivory colour. Take that off.

'Add the chopped chillies.

'Throw in a teaspoon of salt and the juice of one lime.'

Can you taste that little bit of lime in the oil?

Mmm.

I'm going to crack the claw.

Cos you don't want to be doing that once it's cooked.

Brush the punchy oil on to the lobster and barbecue for around four minutes each side.

I'm feeling very lobster-like.

Stand on your head and I'll hypnotise you!

Once it's turned a bright pink colour, it's ready to eat.

Dress with the chilli and garlic from the oil, and tuck in.

Mmm, that's so good! Whoa.

It's fantastic.

I have to say, that's the way it should turn out.

Tasting extra tender, don't you think, because of it being hypnotised?

Of course, a very tender hypnotised lobster

and the rich, sweet meat, the smoked chilli.

Yes. It's lovely. Absolutely lovely.

I'm going to finish this half.

Right now, the shops and markets are packed full of seasonal summer goodies,

so if you can't run to price of a lobster, there's plenty of other great stuff for the barbecue.

Sardines are great value and delicious.

A fantastic cheap alternative.

Other summer favourites that will be brill on your grill

include thinly-sliced fennel, the flames bringing out its aniseedy flavour.

And peppers of all kinds,

charring them over the flames gives them a wonderfully sweet, smoky flavour.

After all the hot work on the barbecue,

it's great to have a pudding that you've prepared well in advance.

One of my great favourites is peaches in dessert wine.

It feels slightly unfair on other things that I really, really love,

but I have to say, peaches are my favourite fruit of all.

Something about that baby soft skin.

Slice the plump, peeled peaches into a bowl.

Summer days for me are happiest started with a peach, yoghurt and honey.

Next one, maybe two, un-waxed lemons.

And take off some nice, long strips of zest.

This is going to give that lovely, twangy fantastic lemon skin thing.

That the juice of the lemon can't do.

Now, for the fruity and delicious dessert wine.

This is really sugary, and with peaches, absolutely fantastic.

And with lemon added, lots of brilliant things start happening.

Finally add a few stems of lavender.

Super, super, simple and the most refreshing,

crisp, cold, delicate, perfumed pudding there is.

So make the most of long summer evenings,

be adventurous with the food,

invite a few friends over and barbecue to your heart's delight.

It's really good this. It's delicious.

Next week I'll be zinging up your picnic.

Ah! Ooh.

Being bossed about over the broad beans.

-Keep going, keep going.

-Your bossy side is coming out.

And using my loaf to make picnics perfectly portable.

Really, really seriously delicious.

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