Lorraine's Fast, Fresh and Easy Food episode 5
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00:00I'm Lorraine Pascal and this is all about fast, fresh and easy food.
00:09Delicious meals don't have to take a long time to make and for me, cooking from fresh
00:12ingredients is the way to go.
00:17Great food can be fast and delicious with these effortless recipes and a few simple
00:21shortcuts.
00:22Follow my tips and hopefully, you'll never want to reach for a ready-made meal again.
00:33Making quick, tasty food for everyday meals and last minute entertaining, it can all be
00:37so easy.
01:00Sometimes rustling up some posh nosh is the order of the day when you really want to impress
01:04friends and family.
01:06Now these recipes are great for when you really want to show off and no one needs to
01:10know how easy they really are.
01:14I'm serving up a delicious bowl of French onion soup, ideal for a sophisticated lunch.
01:19These white chocolate dipped cherries and white chocolate lollipops always go down a
01:22treat at parties and are a doddle.
01:25For a special dinner, I rustle up some quick-cooked canapé crostinis, a mouth-watering and surprising
01:32A simple dish of maple and balsamic glazed lamb with feta and couscous.
01:38An indulgent chocolate dessert, let the meat cake, cake.
01:45But first, for a really simple posh snack, my pancetta and parmesan puffs.
01:52Okay, so pancetta and parmesan puffs, they're a choux pastry which I think is the easiest
01:59pastry to make.
02:01So, start with crisping up the pancetta.
02:10Right, now for the actual choux pastry.
02:12First of all, 50 grams of butter and then 125 ml of milk.
02:24Cook gently until the butter melts, then turn the heat up to bubble away.
02:28Now, measure out the rest of the pastry ingredients, 75 grams of plain flour, 25 grams of grated
02:39parmesan and chilli powder.
02:41Now, you can put in as much of this as you like.
02:45Now, the pancetta, lovely and crisp, so I'm going to just pour it on there to get rid
02:52of the excess fat.
02:55The butter's melted, just let it bubble for not very long, a few seconds and then off
03:00the heat and pour in the flour mix and give it a really good beating.
03:09So now I've got to add the eggs but the problem is if I add the eggs right now, the eggs are
03:14going to scramble.
03:15So I just sort of smush it against the sides of the pan and then just leave it for a couple
03:22of minutes to cool down.
03:25Right, so this should have cooled down nicely now and it's just about kind of body temperature
03:32so I can add the eggs, one at a time and then I'm going to beat it.
03:42Another egg, in it goes, really hard stir, there you go, it's just going smooth.
03:53Okay, so the last thing I need to add now is the pancetta.
04:01That's the pastry made, really easy.
04:05I'm going to pipe my pastry blobs onto a baking tray, spoon it in, get as much of the mix
04:16out as you can.
04:18There's valuable tastiness in this pan and you want to get every last inch of it out.
04:30And then twist the top so it's nice and taut and snip off the end to give you a hole about
04:35one centimetre, just to make sure that those pancetta bits can come out as well.
04:41Just put four blobs and it acts like glue.
04:45So what I'm looking for is kind of like bite-sized portions
04:50and they're quite spaced apart because they do puff up a little bit.
04:53It's all the moisture in the mix turning to steam that will cause the puffs to rise
04:58rather than any baking powder.
05:03And of course choux pastry doesn't have to be savoury.
05:07With this I've added cheese and pancetta but if you just take the plain choux pastry,
05:12you can make eclairs, profiteroles.
05:17There.
05:18And if you have any bits that are sticking up just take water on your finger and just
05:22push it down because these bits can burn.
05:26So I want to get rid of those.
05:29And these go into the oven at about 170 degrees for 25 minutes
05:37until they're lovely and puffy and golden brown.
05:43Now these little lovelies are a great anytime snack.
05:54A perfectly yummy posh parmesan parcel.
06:01You can find a little bit of luxury in the simplest of flavours.
06:05I love cherries bursting with juice.
06:07They're gorgeous on their own but I'm going to show you an easy and elegant way
06:12of making the ordinary extraordinary with my white chocolate dipped cherries.
06:21And I've got a posh take on a childhood favourite with my white chocolate lollipops
06:25with dried cranberries.
06:34You'll need a big bar of cheap white chocolate, melted.
06:38I like to use a microwave.
06:3930 second blasts, stir between each blast.
06:51White chocolate's not as easy to melt as other chocolate.
06:53It can go lumpy or grainy if it gets too hot.
06:56It should be smooth, runny and shiny.
07:03But now for the really fun bit.
07:07Holding a cherry by the stalk, pull it slowly through the melted chocolate.
07:29Then put your cherries in the fridge for 15 minutes or until the chocolate hardens.
07:35So pretty for the end of a dinner.
07:37Party.
07:48For my white chocolate lollipops with dried cranberries, lay some lolly sticks on baking
07:52parchment and then drop a spoonful of chocolate on each of the sticks.
08:03Scatter finely chopped dried cranberries over the chocolate.
08:08Then I'm gone, then I'm gone.
08:12Put them in the fridge to set, then carefully peel off the paper.
08:16Simply heaven.
08:17A delicious posh nibble.
08:26It's surprisingly easy to add a little elegance to your day.
08:31Like my French onion and sage soup with big fat gruyere and mustard croutons.
08:35Rich and yummy with absolutely no fuss, no tears.
08:44It's just simple store cupboard ingredients and some fresh herbs.
08:48Put a knob of butter and a drizzle of olive oil in a pan over a medium heat.
08:56Take four large onions.
08:58Even the big ones needn't make you cry if you chill them before you start.
09:02And make sure you use a really sharp knife to slice them finely.
09:11Put them in a pan with a bay leaf and cook them until soft.
09:16It should take about 20 minutes.
09:18That will give you time to get started on those luscious big fat croutons.
09:25Cut some generous slices of baguette.
09:28Grate 75 grams of gruyere cheese and mix it with a big pinch of mustard powder.
09:34Then put the whole lot on the croutons.
09:38Those go in the oven for eight minutes at 150 degrees.
09:50Back to the soup, chop two cloves of garlic and a handful of sage.
09:55And when the onions are looking lovely and soft,
09:58add the garlic and sage with a tablespoon of plain flour and give them a good stir.
10:05Add a litre of good quality liquid beef stock.
10:16Bring it to the boil and let it bubble away for a few minutes.
10:20Season with salt and pepper.
10:25It's so quick and easy, you don't just need a special occasion to treat yourself.
10:38Topped with the gorgeous crunchy croutons and parsley, this simple soup packs a posh punch.
10:55When I was a kid, street food was a greasy burger in a roadside van.
11:01Now there's a street food revolution.
11:03I love it because it makes sophisticated food accessible.
11:06It doesn't cost the earth and you can eat your way around the world.
11:12So I'm here in the great British outdoors, looking forward to some more fantastic street food.
11:17I'm going to try a little bit of this, it's a little bit spicy.
11:19I'm going to try a little bit of this, it's a little bit spicy.
11:22Looking forward to some more fantastic street food.
11:25And this is a real food market in London's South Bank.
11:31Today I'm in search of a traditional Spanish snack with a touch of luxury, churros.
11:36I've always thought of churros as a kind of Spanish donut and I've come here to find out more.
11:41Do come into our little abode.
11:43Now I'm coming to help you today.
11:45Oh good.
11:46Depending on the accompaniment, the little sticks can be savoury or sweet
11:50and they're an extremely social snack, great for sharing.
11:55Leslie Mackay-Garcia learned from her mother and has passed on the secret to son Henry.
12:04Okay, so what goes in first?
12:05First we start off with the flour.
12:07Flour.
12:07What kind of flour is that?
12:08Mostly foreign just because English flour is very overground.
12:11You're not going to tell me are you?
12:12Secret.
12:13Secret recipe.
12:14Pop the sugar in.
12:15And then a bit of salt.
12:18Important salt.
12:19Is it effectively a bread mix?
12:21Yeah, it's basically just bread mix and then you put a bit of baking powder.
12:23You just do all this by eye because you're so used to doing you know exactly what goes in.
12:28He has my churros genes in him.
12:30Then you just mix it together.
12:31Yeah.
12:31Once that's done, you get the water.
12:34So what am I looking for here?
12:37Just when you're mixing the dough, you tend to get under and pop a twist over.
12:42Yeah.
12:42And you just want to make sure you don't get really powdery bits.
12:46Yeah.
12:48So can I have a little mix?
12:49Can I just see?
12:49You can, you can have a little mix.
12:51It's quite a stiff dough, isn't it?
12:52Yeah, it gets stiff after a while.
12:54Yes.
12:55Yeah.
12:56With the dough at the right consistency, it's time to shape it into churros ready for cooking.
13:02The mix goes into a churrera, a giant syringe with a star-shaped nozzle
13:06that pumps the churros into boiling oil.
13:09It's like a giant garlic crusher.
13:10Yeah, or a play-doh hair extruder.
13:14All the same theory.
13:16There's a lot of different recipes for churros.
13:18You know, I learned from my mother in the churro shop, the simple, plain way of doing it.
13:21So you're really packing it in there.
13:23Really packing it in.
13:25And then we hand it in.
13:26These are hot, right?
13:27Very hot.
13:27Very hot.
13:30I'm gonna stand over here, wait for the oil flicking.
13:33And we have to do it quite quickly because they're so quick cooking
13:36that if you take too long, the first ones are cooked before the last ones have gone in.
13:41Okay.
13:41If you notice, they don't drop into the oil very far.
13:44They just sit on top like tempura does.
13:45It's got to be a really hot oil.
13:48Every part of the process has to be done really carefully.
13:52So I've had Michelin-style chefs who've come to try out and they just haven't...
13:56The dough.
13:57They just don't have it.
13:58They don't have it.
13:59They didn't have the dough fingers.
14:01All right, so how long are they cooking there for?
14:02Oh, about 30 seconds.
14:04Yes, till they brown.
14:04Till they've gone brown.
14:06And then take them out and that's it.
14:10So I'll let them cool down for a few seconds.
14:12But the effect is when you open it, it should crack open
14:15and the inside should be light and fluffy.
14:18Some people think these are like doughnuts.
14:19That's what people call them, don't they?
14:20Spanish doughnuts.
14:21What do you think about that?
14:23Well, they're no dairy and anything that's a doughnut or a pancake,
14:26they tend to be chewier.
14:28They have that consistency of that.
14:29Okay.
14:29So chewed lots are much lighter.
14:30They're a bread mix.
14:31Snap.
14:32Okay.
14:32So snap.
14:32So for instance, now they've cooled down for a second.
14:35Excuse fingers.
14:36Excuse fingers.
14:37You have the snap.
14:42Okay.
14:44Leslie serves her churros simply with sugar, cinnamon and a thick melted chocolate.
14:51So I've got my churros.
14:52Churros.
14:55I'm going to dip it in the chocolate.
15:01Nice.
15:03Ready to roll.
15:04No, it is really nice because you might think it'd be really greasy.
15:07Yes.
15:08But it's not at all.
15:09It's hardly anything on my finger.
15:10There's nothing, I know.
15:12And it doesn't have that feeling that sometimes dairy products can do.
15:16Yum.
15:18Just dip your finger in when you're finished and finish it off.
15:20Oh, lovely.
15:23So really simple, tasty, fresh, fast snack.
15:28Yes.
15:29Fantastic.
15:32Great things really do come in small packages.
15:36What street food does so well is to dress up basic quality ingredients
15:39and deliver sophisticated and luxurious flavors without the restaurant price tag.
15:45It's posh nosh on the street.
15:49Here's another elegant little idea.
15:51My quick cook canapé crostini.
15:56So easy to do and you can come up with your own combinations.
16:00Get creative.
16:00Slice a baguette and drizzle with olive oil.
16:04Bake for around eight minutes at 190 degrees.
16:08Now for the toppings.
16:11Chop a couple of large tomatoes, add a little oil, some torn up basil and mint,
16:17salt, pepper and a little pinch of sugar.
16:21Combine.
16:24Get the bread out of the oven.
16:25It should be ready in a few minutes.
16:28Get the bread out of the oven.
16:29It should be just crisp.
16:31Cut a garlic clove in half and rub it over the bread.
16:36And just spoon on the tomatoes.
16:41Or how about this?
16:42Grab a tin of cannellini beans, add some olive oil, season and mash.
16:49Dollop the beans on top of some rocket and finish with half a slice of prosciutto.
16:58Or another idea, take goat's cheese, season and crush with a fork.
17:06Add a fig slice, scattered mint leaves and a drizzle of honey and balsamic vinegar.
17:16Fast, fresh and easy finger food that is so quick to prepare
17:20that it gives you more time to join the party.
17:28If you're the type of person who likes the idea of cooking something really impressive
17:32but just don't think you have the time, this next showstopper is for you.
17:38This really does taste as good as it looks.
17:42My maple glazed lamb chops with mint, toasted almonds and feta couscous.
17:50And you start by putting the kettle on.
17:53Right, so whilst the kettle's boiling,
17:55it's going to get this pan on nice and hot for the lamb chops.
18:00Drizzle of oil and then season the chops really well with salt and pepper.
18:07Obviously it adds lots of flavour but also it gives a nice crust once they're cooked.
18:14Some fresh thyme.
18:20And then I'll pop them in.
18:22Nice little sizzle there.
18:26They need to cook for about three to four minutes on each side.
18:33And whilst they cook, I can get on with the glaze.
18:37So it's just a knob of butter, about 25 grams, along with two tablespoons of maple syrup.
18:44And then one tablespoon of balsamic.
18:46And then in over quite a low heat and then once it's all melted,
18:50I'll turn it up so it bubbles away and thickens.
18:54Right, kettle's boiled, so I'm going to put about 300 grams of couscous in a bowl.
19:01And couscous, it's a nice alternative to having rice.
19:05Hot water, just pour it over, about a centimetre or two, over the top.
19:11And then I'm going to add a little bit of water.
19:13Pour it over, about a centimetre or two, over the top.
19:17And then a bit of cling film and that's all it needs to cook.
19:21Really, really simple.
19:24Now with this, I like to serve some spring onions.
19:28I just chop these up nice and fine.
19:31And I like to use the white and the green bit, just the pale green bit,
19:35because some of the dark can be a little bit bitter.
19:39Check these chops.
19:40Flip them over.
19:43Got that lovely golden brown crust.
19:49Right, these are done.
19:50I'm going to put them on a plate to rest,
19:53just for a few minutes while I get on with everything else.
19:56There.
20:00Right, I'm just going to put the spring onions in there
20:04with plated almonds, about half a packet, 50 grams.
20:09I'm going to give them a quick stir.
20:14And I'm just going to finish off the couscous.
20:22So we'll just get this feta and then just crumble it in.
20:27A little bit of pepper, a touch of extra virgin olive oil.
20:33And then I'm ready to plate up.
20:39Put the couscous in a nice big mound with a lamb on top.
20:43Add the crunchy flaked almonds and spring onions.
20:47Beautiful maple and balsamic glaze.
20:50Just drizzle that over the top.
20:53Pomegranate seeds for a touch of luxury.
20:56And fresh mint.
20:58My maple and balsamic lamb with mint, toasted almonds and feta couscous.
21:07So that's some deliciously easy posh nosh.
21:09But the party hasn't started, so you've got a drink in your hand.
21:14Now, I do love a glass of wine now and again, or a cocktail or a mocktail.
21:18And these are a few of my favourites that you might want to try.
21:21In the mocktail corner, lychee and mint slush.
21:25Lychees, lychee juice, fresh mint and ice.
21:30These ingredients combine in a super refreshing palate cleanser.
21:33And I have another easy non-alcoholic tipple.
21:36The old classic, Shirley Temple, ginger ale, grenadine and a cherry.
21:40Take a tall glass, fill with ginger ale, a splash of grenadine syrup and garnish with the cherry.
21:48And then, in the cocktail corner, the Caribbean classic, Rusty Nail.
21:52Whiskey, Drambuie and lemon.
21:57I can't wait to try this cocktail.
21:59Whiskey, Drambuie and lemon.
22:02I go with two parts whiskey to one part Drambuie.
22:05Otherwise, it's a bit too sweet.
22:12And a very, very crush.
22:14Blackcurrant, blackcurrant liqueur, rum and soda water.
22:19An effervescent summer favourite.
22:21It's delicious.
22:23For a decadent finish to a meal, I really don't think you can beat a gorgeous cake.
22:28Of course, you can cheat and buy something.
22:32But I like to pull out all the stops.
22:36With my homemade, let the meat cake, cake.
22:46It's the most indulgent, chocolatey showstopper I know.
22:49So, it starts with 150 grams of soft butter.
22:51And I'm going to weigh everything into the bowl.
22:56And then, 250 grams of caster sugar.
22:59So, I'm just going to zero out my scales and then weigh in 250 grams on top of the butter.
23:06And then, 150 grams of self-raising flour.
23:11And then, sour cream.
23:13Now, this is going to help make the cake be really, really fluffy.
23:16Now this is going to help make the cake really moist and soft.
23:23Almost the whole pot.
23:26And then four medium-sized eggs.
23:30What's quite important when you're making cakes
23:33is that the eggs are room temperature.
23:35If all your ingredients are quite cold,
23:37they're not going to blend in nicely and the mix will curdle.
23:42And then 50 grams of cocoa powder.
23:46Not too much cocoa powder because it really dries out the sponge.
23:50So just enough to give it some flavour.
23:52A little bit of baking powder.
23:54So one teaspoon.
23:56And now vanilla.
23:58Pure flavour.
24:01A little pinch of salt.
24:04Now into the mixer.
24:06Put this tea towel over the top
24:08so the flour and cocoa powder don't fly everywhere.
24:11And start it off gently,
24:13just to get it beginning to mix in.
24:19Once all the powder's kind of been moistened with the egg,
24:22just turn it up quite high
24:25and then beat it for a few minutes.
24:28Right, I'm just going to get this mix into the two cake tins.
24:35Smells good.
24:38These are 20 centimetre tins,
24:40and they've got a loose bottom.
24:42It just makes it so much easier to take the cake out.
24:48I'm just going to mix it in.
24:50I'm going to mix it in.
24:52I'm going to mix it in.
24:54I'm going to mix it in.
24:57And I'll pop these into the oven.
25:01And they'll go in for about 25 to 30 minutes
25:04at 180 degrees.
25:06Next, melt 100 grams of plain chocolate.
25:10So I'm just going to leave that to cool down just a little bit
25:13so that when I add it to the buttercream it mixes in nicely.
25:16Now for the buttercream.
25:18So I need 250 grams of softened butter.
25:21The whole thing, put it in.
25:23And then 550 grams of icing sugar,
25:27which is rather a lot, but it's worth it for this recipe.
25:32And then about two tablespoons of milk,
25:35just to loosen up the buttercream a bit.
25:42And then I'll give this a good mix.
25:46Low to start off with.
25:53And then I'm going to mix it in.
26:01OK, chocolate time.
26:09And then mix again, get it all nicely combined.
26:19Now that is just what I'm looking for.
26:21This is perfect.
26:23Time to get those cakes out of the oven.
26:28Leave the cakes to cool slightly in the tin for a couple of minutes.
26:33Then gently remove them to cool completely on a wire rack.
26:41Now I'm going to sandwich these cakes together.
26:45I'm going to put a big blob of buttercream on the plate here.
26:49That's going to stop the sponge from sliding off.
26:57And just smooth it all around the cake.
27:01It just needs to be thick enough so that the malted balls can stick on.
27:07OK, I'm happy with that.
27:09Now for the malted balls.
27:12Right, let's go.
27:19MUSIC
27:35This cake is a real showstopper.
27:37That'll make any occasion really special.
27:44I've shown you how easy it is to add a little luxury into your cooking.
27:49Whether it's an elegant snack like my parmesan puffs...
27:53..indulgent chocolate treats...
27:56..or a fuss-free meal fit for the most sophisticated dinner table.
28:01I believe we all deserve a bit of posh nosh in our lives.
28:06So, next time you really want to wow your guests,
28:08I hope you'll try one of my recipes.
28:10They're so easy and make a big impact.
28:13Right, cake anyone?
28:15MUSIC
28:19CHEERS