British Classics Food

 

my all-time favorite shepherd's pie what's the secret behind a really good shepherd's pie i would think the vegetables you use and growing in it so we're going to use leeks and onions and they'll start browning off the mints you know no color no flavor i've never forgotten that you know that yep so good to have color gotta have color otherwise it puts that grey tinge on the shepherd's pie that looks greasy and cheap and nasty they don't want that julie and i know you don't do cheap or nasty let me clear your peelings now huh all right thank you very much there's no nails in there now is there no don't be cheeky i remember your amazing shepherd's pie and that lovely little restaurant used to work in sheep street in stratford so you never got food sent back no sometimes they complained that there were you never ever got a complaint no how long have you worked at that restaurant for six shoes six years oh hello chilly what are you cooking i'm gonna make okay i sort of modern version of nanny's shepherd's pie dad shouldn't manny be doing the cooking because she's the better cook excuse me right mum would you would you top our uh our onion please daddy yeah oh gosh your eyes are gonna water in there we've got a delicious steamed treacle and date pudding let's just separate it for you um how do skeletons call their friends how do skeletons call their phone i'm not too sure on the scalabone i'm just gonna tilly come on okay so two cats are in a race one is called one two three and the other is called under 12. who won depends who's the fastest cat one two three because under 12 cats sank   oh goodness tells why do you make a nice cup of tea for nanny you want me to disappear thank you bye so give that a little fry off okay mm-hmm nice quarter these jokes they get worse oh she's only having a bit of fun sauce worcester sauce that's gonna give that really nice spicy seasoning oh thank you okay yeah tomato puree in you could put a ton of tomatoes in this if you want you could yeah put that mince back in there once it's drained i'm just going to put a little touch i know you'll go crazy at this a little touch of red wine really why the red wine well because i'm going to make it nice and rich okay produce the red wine down yeah and then start covering your with your stock now i'm gonna bring that up to the bowl okay and then get some fresh rosemary okay like it'll taste yes please is it hot it's a little bit hot be careful as it cooks out the wine and the alcohol will disappear it'll be delicious trust me now good spring onions we'll chop up and that's going to go through the mashed potatoes it's going to sit on top of that nicer i like that savory yeah delicious mince that's laced with all that red wine nice so sprinkles into there please mum and i'm going to drain off the potatoes hi there hello hello oh hi jack hi hi hello hello jack have a nice day school yeah yeah so we'll dry out those potatoes and then mash them no oh can i mash them would you okay um holly slice a little knob of butter in there for jack please so what was the restaurant you worked out there were you a chef cook i love the diplomacy were you a chef i was a cookie exactly that not really you used to help me as little right you kids do no potatoes these are nice and fluffy are they aren't they and do you want mom look delicious mashed potatoes yeah with no lumps in there hey weren't you getting it huh it's great having you back in the kitchen mommy now yeah seriously brings back good memories no just why'd you do that dad i just wanted to fork it to get it nice and spiky so i want that nice crispy topping and then lightly grate that cheddar cheese on top and that goes in the oven literally 20 minutes 180 minutes jack can you on the door please that looks lovely doesn't it even though you said you didn't like it earlier okay back in the day mama's meals all came with two veg and this is no different but with a modern twist braised peas and carrots with a fantastic homemade mint butter shepherd's pie glazed on top that looks lovely doesn't it and then the carrots that's why i didn't put carrots in let's put them on the side i'll see last job before serving pour that gorgeous butterscotch sauce over the pudding okay i'll take one at a time that smells incredible this is my ultimate childhood dinner shepherd's pie with crispy cheese champ topping sweet buttery peas and carrots that is the rib eye we've had that in the fridge not wrapped so it sort of almost air dries and it intensifies the flavor gross so much quicker and there's less water in the beef for me the only downside to perfect roast dinner is the fight about who washes up afterwards so meg and i are going to avoid that by cooking everything in one roasting tin starting with the spinach and mushroom stuffing   a little bit of salt and pepper please here we go some of your left shoulder left shoulder thank you in with the garlic and the mushrooms to toss the pan you push down and pull back down and push back off you go take your time push it down and flip back good that's it push down nice that was lovely and again nice oh i'm gonna drop let's see well done well done well then right we're gonna sort of make a little well a little touch of butter in the middle now we need to start putting the spinach in the middle please so you can push that down spinach is cold so you're not gonna burn yourself be confident in the pan toss it and you'll see it wilting and disintegrating away wow who would have thought all that spinach could fit in this pan because it's a very delicate leaf it sort of cooks so quickly put this all on your board now and then i just want you to go and give that a nice chop then when you're confident with one hand we need to pick up the other knife the other hand chop it nicely good now outside and come in gently good regroup and take your time good mmm right i love that smell what is that lemon thyme lemon tan that's right so you get your little thyme stalks and you pour down you sort of strip lemon thyme in now tarragon taste brilliant with the beef fantastic with chicken and fish roughly chop the tarragon when i sprinkle the fresh breadcrumbs so the breadcrumbs almost sort of bring the stuffing together next we're gonna get an egg yolk now with the beef this is the exciting part slice with the bone and then come inside and go two thirds of the way down hold that open for daddy salt and pepper and then look we pack our stuffing in there this is amazing it's incredible now just gently hold that there like that okay yeah i'll see you tomorrow what tying string around the rib will keep it all together during roasting not too tight if we tie it too tightly what happens the stuffing will come out that's right that's ready for roasting but we're gonna protect it and sit it on a trivet so trivet basically is almost like a sort of little little bed a little bed that's right if you want to enjoy these delicious roast vegetables at their best make sure you remove them from the hot oven after 35 minutes and reheat before serving with your beef a little mix for the top a couple of teaspoons of mustard powder in salt a couple of tablespoons of olive oil mix that in i'm gonna pour my mustard powder over the beef so this forms a really nice glaze my one pot roast dinner goes into a hot oven 15 minutes at 230 degrees then down to 170 degrees for another two hours for a delicious twist on traditional yorkshire puds i'm going to lace mine with fresh horseradish   start with plain white flour in a bowl and crack in the eggs adding only half of your milk at this stage makes it much easier to whisk all the lumps out and if like me you like your puddings a little lighter and crispier add a dribble of cold water and add salt to season when you're happy your batter is lump free whisk in the remaining milk peel and grate horseradish and add a handful to the mix we can leave the batter to rest while we get the meat from the oven that is beautiful and this is where you really need to let it rest how long would you say to rest it for um i like to rest the meat for at least 20 minutes just the right amount of time for us to whack up the oven and to get our yorkshire puddings in i love using the rich dripping but vegetable all is a healthier option to get the fluffiest yorkshires your tray and fat must be piping hot for best results take your jug of batter to the oven and pour the mixture in there it takes just 15 minutes for our yorkshire puds to puff themselves up and turn a delicious golden brown that up place that onto the board parsnips parrots you can see why we kept them in half they've got all that flavor one beautiful big slice for daddy one for maggie and then from the side the stuffing the stuffing the bit that's the best to die for now fantastic yorkshire they're amazing aren't they beautiful mm-hmm that's for you my daddy on that one that's for me beautiful roast beef with a twist wow   i go fishing a lot and scotch eggs are the perfect  each-  by- one mini  fun and games breakfast first thing  get your eggs cooked bring the water up the boil onto the spoon and lower them into the water that way they don't hit the water and crack four and a half minutes that'll keep the center nice and slightly runny now ground sausage meat i'm gonna make mine a little bit spicier i'm gonna crumble in black pudding that helps to season the scotch eggs inside a little touch of salt and pepper and then just to make it a little bit sweeter and a lot easier for the kids to eat some grated apple   combine that blend in the apple and the black pudding eggs once they're cooked drain them and then run them under cold water cracking and cooling the eggs  snappily will  help the  thralldom  turning argentine  valve them on the side of the  visage put them back into the water and  what happens the water seeps underneath the shell see the shelf come off so much easier eggs still slightly soft in the center i want that little bit of richness with the yolk next you need to get yourself organized with a mini assembly line seasoned flour a little egg wash and breadcrumbs take your mince golf ball size spread the pate manipulate with your thumb and then sit your egg in there and spread the sausage over the egg and you just seal that over it's really important to keep that nice indeed coating of  link meat around the egg you do not want it too thick  else it gets too  thick and it’s brackish give them a light dusting  in the seasoned flour if you don't put the flour on the egg wash won't stick and if you don't put the egg wash on the breadcrumbs won't stick into the egg roll it round shake off any excess egg wash and roll it into your breadcrumbs you can use this same three-stage method to breadcrumb anything you like from chicken guzons and fish fillets to fina schnitzel these are panko breadcrumbs japanese white breadcrumb so no crust you can experiment by adding flavours to your breadcrumbs like parmesan herbs or citrus zest i always like to push the actual breadcrumbs into the sausage meat so it gets that really nice golden brown and stops any of the outside burning once breadcrumbed lower the eggs carefully into a four centimetre deep bath of hot vegetable oil for 10 to 12 minutes the eggs are actually cooked soft and running the center so the objective is just to cook the sausage meat and the black pudding looks great don't they go and grenades there's something so magical about a scotch egg keep that nice indeed coating of  link meat around the egg you do not want it too thick  else it gets too  thick and it’s brackish give them a light dusting  them some greaseproof paper that for me is the perfect start to the fishing trip it's no wonder i never catch any fish because i'm always too busy eating my scotch eggs   my ultimate black pudding lace scotch eggs an irresistibly delicious picnic breakfast you