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00:00I'm Prue Leith, cook, restaurateur, cookery school founder, and writer of 15 cookbooks.
00:15That is the most delicious thing that we have cooked.
00:19I'm in my 80s, so I haven't got time to waste.
00:23This series is all about the things that really matter to me.
00:26Family, fun, food, and friends.
00:30Come on, what kind of day have you had? Get it out!
00:33Here, you've got it on your chair.
00:35We'll be sharing simple home-cooked recipes.
00:38Oh, brilliant. I'm going to take this bit home and save it for later.
00:41You idiot.
00:43She's such a gourmand. She's incredible.
00:46And celebrating the best produce.
00:50I am lucky enough to live in the astonishingly beautiful Cotswolds
00:54with my darling, sometimes darling, husband, John.
00:59Come on, you've had enough.
01:01Coming up today, Olympian-turned-documentary maker Ellie Simmons is back to bake up a treat.
01:08Do you bake cakes at home?
01:10I wish I did more. I baked more.
01:13But the thing is, when you bake them, you eat it, don't you?
01:17Things get quite heated as John and I cook up a Japanese ramen.
01:21It's quite full of chilli.
01:23And I pick up a hack for picking up egg yolks.
01:28What about that? Isn't that brilliant?
01:31Welcome to my Cotswold kitchen.
01:41Mediterranean food is just so good, isn't it?
01:45A few sun-drenched ingredients are enough to create dishes that are both simple and satisfying
01:53and never, ever boring.
01:56My first dish today is a really simple baked feta with tomatoes, oregano, garlic,
02:05all those wonderful, rustic, Mediterranean flavours.
02:10And it's really easy to do.
02:17So, you get a block of feta straight out of the packet, plonk it in a baking dish,
02:24surrounded with tomatoes.
02:31I always think the cherry tomatoes have the best flavour.
02:35I like the different colours too.
02:38These ones are a bit big, so I'll whack them in half.
02:42And then some oregano, or oregano, as the Americans call it.
02:58Or marjoram, as it used to be called in England.
03:01Some chilli, again, as much or as little as you like.
03:07These are just dried chilli flakes.
03:11And some garlic.
03:13I love garlic.
03:15And, you know, these big garlic things are quite mild, so you need quite a lot.
03:20Some garlic, sort of old-fashioned, you used to get when you got garlic,
03:26they were much smaller and much stronger.
03:28And then, generally, modern garlic seems to be much milder.
03:33It seems like a lot of garlic, but you know what?
03:36This is going to be like a dip at the end.
03:40And it's going to go on bread.
03:42So, it doesn't matter if this is a bit heavily flavoured.
03:47In fact, it should be quite heavily flavoured.
03:50Feta is lower in fat than other cheeses and high in calcium.
03:55So, it's good for your teeth, your nails and your bones.
03:58And then, some black pepper.
04:06From my Chianti bottle.
04:08Ridiculous, isn't it?
04:09I think somebody gave me this pepper mule because they thought I'm famous for liking a bit of booze.
04:20So, they thought that was a good joke.
04:24Right.
04:25And then, some olive oil.
04:26When it comes out, it's going to be a dip and we're going to put bread in it and just, you know, like a sharing first course platter.
04:41Or, we're going to mix it up with pasta.
04:45So, it's going to be... I'm going to show you two ways.
04:48But first of all, it's got to get baked until it's nice and brown.
04:51This goes into the oven at 180 degrees for around 20 to 25 minutes until the cheese starts to brown and the tomatoes are bursting and squishy.
05:02For one of my two feta dishes, I need some pasta.
05:09So, I'm going to put this into boiling water.
05:12This is boiling salted water.
05:14Pasta goes in.
05:15I cook all thin pasta, like tagliatelle, farfali, which is what this one is, or spaghetti.
05:24Anything that's quite fine takes exactly 11 minutes.
05:28So, 11 minutes and we'll get that out.
05:32I'm just going to give it a little stir to stop any bits sticking together.
05:42My baked feta should be ready by now.
05:45So, I'll fish it out.
05:54Pfft.
05:56Smells so good.
05:58I wish you could smell it.
05:59It really smells wonderful.
06:01Do you see it's just beginning to brown and the feta is nice and squishy and soft and the tomatoes are collapsing.
06:08So, that's about how you want it.
06:11And then you just stick it in the middle of the table.
06:14Cut some bread and then cut the bread into chunks for your friends.
06:19I think that tomatoes and feta and olive oil are the sort of essence of the Mediterranean.
06:30I mean, anybody who's holidayed in the Mediterranean will know how good the tomatoes taste, how great the olive oil is.
06:38And, you know, why go further?
06:40It's so simple, it's so lovely, it's so simple, it's so lovely, and this is what you do.
06:43I want a bit of tomato.
06:45I'm absolutely dribbling now because I can smell it, and it's peppery and cheesy, and it's going to be gorgeous.
06:58Mmm.
07:09Never mind for a first course.
07:11I could have that for my whole lunch.
07:13It's just delicious.
07:14So, now I want to show you another thing to do with this dish.
07:24So, we're going to serve it with pasta.
07:27So, I'm mashing it up.
07:36I'm going to put the spinach into it.
07:40So, essentially, I'm turning the dish into a main course or light lunch.
07:45And because it's really hot, and I'm about to put hot pasta on top of it,
07:50that will cook the spinach without me having to do anything except add it.
07:57So, my fafali has now been boiling for 11 minutes.
08:08So, it's just nice and al dente, and it's still boiling hot.
08:13And I know I'm putting a bit of water in with it, but it'll all help make that sauce a little bit more liquid.
08:21So, don't worry about the water.
08:24It can go straight in.
08:27People are short on time these days, and for me, the versatility of this dish is perfect.
08:34Half an hour prep, half an hour in the oven, and you have your choice of two dishes.
08:40It's just that feta and all the tomatoes just make the most delicious pasta sauce.
08:47And I want a few basil leaves.
08:54It's very cheesy.
09:05It's absolutely delicious.
09:06Mmm, so good.
09:16Still to come, the lovely Ellie Simmons is back in my kitchen making coffee and walnut cake.
09:22Yum!
09:23That looks fab.
09:25Oh, yeah, that looks really good.
09:27That's nice, I'm awesome.
09:30And I've got a quirky hack for separating egg yolks.
09:33Oh, this is great fun.
09:34I could do this forever.
09:35John and I are very sociable, and we love entertaining.
09:48And some guests are just welcome anytime.
09:50My guest today is no stranger to this kitchen.
09:55Indeed, she is the only celebrity that we've asked to come back for a second time.
10:01She's a gold medalist, Paralympic gold medalist.
10:04She is a wonderful woman, and she is, you have guessed it, Ellie Simmons.
10:09Welcome to my Cotswold kitchen.
10:11Oh, thank you so, so much for you.
10:13I feel so honoured to be the only celebrity that's come back, you know?
10:17I feel like this kitchen now is like my second home.
10:20Well, good, good, good, good.
10:21And I'll tell you, one of the reasons is that I never bake cakes.
10:25In fact, my husband has many times said that he should have married Mary Berry.
10:30Yeah.
10:30Because I never, I hardly ever make cakes.
10:33But you make cakes, and last time you made banana bread.
10:37Yeah.
10:38And it was absolutely delicious.
10:39And I don't like banana bread, but since you made it, I've been making banana bread.
10:43Oh, wow.
10:45And today, you're going to make what?
10:47So, a coffee and walnut cake.
10:54Coffee and walnut cake, you know, it's a really old-fashioned cake.
10:58When I first came to England 60 years ago or something,
11:02it was the cake that posh women had, you know, at any kind of event.
11:07And it's just does stand the test of time.
11:12So lovely.
11:12Yeah.
11:13So, we've got everything here, haven't we?
11:16And I think we've got the marge and the sugar.
11:19So, I think in here.
11:21In with the marge.
11:23And then, yeah, a bit of golden caster sugar.
11:30And then this is the time where I think I'll go steady to start off with.
11:36Yeah.
11:37That's right.
11:38Yeah.
11:39So, what is your favourite cake?
11:41I think it might be this one.
11:42Oh.
11:43This one or a lemon drizzle.
11:45I do love a lemon drizzle.
11:46Can't beat a lemon drizzle.
11:49Ellie is mixing 200 grams of margarine and 200 grams of golden caster sugar.
11:56Yeah, that's looking good, isn't it?
11:58We're going to shove the eggs in now, are you?
12:00One at a time with the flour and this.
12:05So, this baking powder.
12:07Okay.
12:08To go in there.
12:10And a pinch of salt.
12:13You know what I think?
12:15That is a pinch of salt.
12:16Oh, did I do it?
12:17When recipes say a pinch of salt, people think, like, if you're pinching.
12:20Yeah, pinching.
12:21But I think it means three fingers like that.
12:24So, you get a little bit more salt.
12:27The more the merrier, isn't it?
12:29Good.
12:30Okay.
12:31So, let's just make sure it doesn't curdle.
12:34Got to do it.
12:35Ellie adds four large eggs and a tablespoon of flour for each egg.
12:40Mixing gently before adding each one.
12:43Four eggs.
12:45It's looking good, though.
12:47Not going to lie.
12:51Ellie, do you bake cakes at home?
12:53Do you know what?
12:55I wish I did more.
12:57I baked more because it's so therapeutic and it's nice to get in the kitchen.
13:02But the thing is, when you bake them, you eat it, don't you?
13:06That is the problem.
13:07And now I'm not an athlete.
13:11I don't do the exercise that I do to burn it off.
13:16Do you still swim a lot?
13:17I try and swim, like, once a week just because, again, it's the sport that I absolutely love.
13:22And I think it's so good for your mind and your body just to swim for half an hour, put the phone away in the locker, just get in and just, yeah, swim and just be with one with the water.
13:33It's nice to do exercise and do sport.
13:36I've got into pickle as well.
13:38Pickleball.
13:39Right.
13:39Have you ever?
13:40No, I've obviously seen it as the sort of flashable thing.
13:46Yeah, pickle and paddle.
13:47But I've got really into that.
13:50I'm just, yeah, I'm not the best at it, but I enjoy it.
13:53Next, Ellie gently folds in the remaining flour and baking powder, then adds 15 grams of instant espresso powder, dissolved in 15 millilitres of boiling water.
14:11So where are we?
14:13So I think it's, do I need to, I might just.
14:15That looks absolutely brilliant, doesn't it?
14:16Yeah.
14:17You've got all the flour in now.
14:18Yeah, just.
14:19Great.
14:20Okay, and the coffee you've gone in, yeah?
14:22Yeah.
14:22Coffee's in?
14:22Coffee, just.
14:24Everything's in?
14:24Yeah, everything's in.
14:25I think it's ready to put them both in.
14:28When you do half, do you just normally do it to eye?
14:31I go, one dollop there, one dollop there, one dollop there, one dollop there.
14:35Before starting, the tins have been lined with baking parchment and greased.
14:40I used to bake with my grandma growing up.
14:43Did she teach you?
14:44Yeah, she did.
14:45Like, she used to make fairy cakes and butterfly cakes, you know, when you put the middle and put a bit of ice in.
14:50Yeah, and the best thing was always eating a bit at the end, you know, putting your finger in when it's...
14:56I know, that is what tastes the best.
14:59Yeah.
15:00Before it's cooked.
15:02I think that looks like it's half, doesn't it?
15:04Yeah, that's perfect.
15:08We can lick that.
15:09Yeah.
15:10Right.
15:10Don't lick it all, half of it's for me.
15:13So this is going in at 160, in for 25 to 30 minutes.
15:19Okay.
15:20Yeah.
15:21My turn.
15:23Yeah.
15:24Here you go on your chin.
15:26That's good, that's the best thing.
15:29I'll have a bit from here as well.
15:32Mmm, that's nice.
15:34And it's really good in coffee, isn't it?
15:36You can taste the coffee.
15:40So, Oli, now we've got your cakes baking, I've got time to grill you, because last time you were here, you were just about to do a documentary.
15:49Or your documentary had been filmed, but it hadn't come out yet.
15:53Yeah, my documentary talking about my adoption, because I know your daughter, she's also adopted.
15:58She's adopted, yeah.
16:00So, yeah, I spoke about that and I spoke about my journey to find my birth mum and also talking about disability in the fostering and adoption and how many children in the care system have a disability seen as harder to place into families.
16:16And, yeah, it was, it went down so, so well and it's really opened up the story and opened up the conversation of adoption.
16:24My husband was adopted, but the fact is there are many, many more adopted people than we realise.
16:31Yeah, very much so.
16:32And I think opening up and talking about it, we've all, I know some people probably don't want to, but having that connection and knowing someone that's similar who's gone through the same experiences,
16:43because sometimes people have trauma, sometimes there could be reasons, it's just opening up.
16:49And I think what it did, I was really, really proud of the documentary and, yeah, it got a BAFTA, so I was like, I was literally, it was one of my proudest achievements.
16:59Of course.
17:00Like, I can't believe we got a BAFTA.
17:03My BAFTA, actually my parents have my BAFTA, it got delivered to theirs and normally I have all my stuff at my own place, but they kept it straight away.
17:12Yeah, and it's in their, like, in their living room.
17:16They sort of deserve it, because they did the adopting.
17:19Yeah, they did.
17:20They deserve it so, so much because they've done amazing things and they've got five of us, but they've also fostered so many other children as well.
17:29So there's so many people like them in this country that just give back to so many people.
17:35I've just done another documentary talking about what the decisions and the support that caregivers and women and couples go through when they get a diagnosis of maybe a disability or an illness.
17:50It was just, yeah, again, to educate society and to educate the UK about having a disabled child and whatever choice a person makes is the right choice for them.
18:02But it's just, again, educated and knowing that there's support out there, no matter what choice you make.
18:07Do we do the...
18:08Yeah, so this is icing sugar.
18:12So I've got some bit of coffee, so I'm going to put that in just to, like, moisten it.
18:16We're making butter icing, so next Ellie adds 150 grams of softened butter to the icing sugar before giving it a really good whisk.
18:30This is looking good.
18:32I think that's maybe a bit more, because there's a few little specks of butter and we don't want that, do we?
18:37Yeah, a little bit more, yeah.
18:38Yeah.
18:42That's better.
18:43Yeah, now it's getting lighter.
18:45That's better.
18:46Do you see how much lighter it's gone?
18:48I mean, you can see the difference in colour.
18:50That's how we started and now it's nice and light.
18:52So is it better to be lighter?
18:54Yeah.
18:55Light and fluffy.
18:56Light and fluffy.
18:58It's time to take our cake out of the oven.
19:02So, Ellie, I think we're done.
19:05Ooh, they smell lovely.
19:07They smell wonderful.
19:09They smell good.
19:11I just love it.
19:12Yeah, and you can see they're nicely shrunk.
19:14Oh, yeah, they look good, don't they?
19:15Shrunk round the edge.
19:16Yeah, brilliant.
19:19Leave it five minutes before removing the cake from the tins and then allow them to cool completely before icing.
19:27You said you like it thin, don't you?
19:29Not too thick.
19:30Yeah, it's thin.
19:31This is looking lovely.
19:35The first mention of a coffee and walnut cake was in a 1934 ad for self-raising flour, at a time when companies would frequently put recipes on the back of their packets.
19:48That's perfect.
19:50That looks even, do you think?
19:52Yeah, absolutely.
19:53Now, can I stick this one on top?
19:56Yeah.
20:00Next, Ellie adds a second layer of icing.
20:05Yeah.
20:05Ooh, yeah.
20:06That looks fab.
20:09Ooh, yeah.
20:09That looks really good.
20:11Not saying so much.
20:12She finishes off with piped rosettes and, finally, the walnuts.
20:20So here it is.
20:22I know, go on.
20:23Lovely.
20:25Perfect.
20:26Wow.
20:27Ooh.
20:29Ooh, that looks fabulous.
20:31Then I'll do one more.
20:32And I've got the perfect companion for Ellie's cake, a pot of Welsh tea.
20:38Oh, that's exciting.
20:39It's a good colour.
20:40Yeah, it looks fabulous.
20:42The flavour of tea is said to contrast well with the sweetness of cake.
20:47Well, I'll take any excuse for a cuppa and for cake.
20:51Cheers.
20:52Cheers.
20:53Well done.
20:54I don't think that's brilliant.
20:58Come on, then.
20:59The star of the show.
21:00We need cake.
21:02Ooh, yeah, look at that.
21:04That's great, doesn't it?
21:06OK.
21:06Really good.
21:07I'm going to go for the icing top with the walnut.
21:14Mmm.
21:14Very good.
21:16Mmm.
21:19That is a lovely recipe, isn't it?
21:21Mmm.
21:22Ellie, it's so good of you to come twice.
21:25But I'm so glad you did, not least because this is really good.
21:28It's really good.
21:30I hope to come again.
21:31It's such a great day.
21:32Oh, good.
21:40Still to come, John gets artistic with a local sculptor.
21:44I'm enjoying this enormously.
21:46Will you have to take it all off and start again?
21:48Definitely.
21:48You probably will.
21:48I'll take it all off and start again.
21:49I'll take it all off and start again.
21:50And a food hero is putting tea on the map in South Wales.
21:55Now we'll just take it all off.
21:56Now we'll just take it out and allow it a bit of time to cool.
21:58Welcome back to my Cotswold kitchen.
22:10My husband, John, is never happier than when he's working on some new project for the garden, and I'm a bit worried because he's gone off to see a friend of ours who is a brilliant worker with bronze.
22:26I don't want him to come back with a great bronze statue.
22:31Hamish Mackey is considered to be one of the world's foremost wildlife sculptors.
22:37Ever the art lover, John has driven down the road to Hamish's studio in Oxfordshire to find out more.
22:46Oh, morning, Hamish.
22:47Good morning, John.
22:48Sorry I'm a bit late.
22:49Five minutes.
22:50Well, naughty boy.
22:51Better late than never.
22:52I know.
22:53I say this is so exciting.
22:55Do you know, I would love to have done this.
22:57I would rather have a career in art than anything else.
23:00It all started for Hamish when he made a sculpture for an A-level project.
23:05He sold it for £50 to someone's parents, who then took it to a foundry to be cast in bronze.
23:12When he saw the finished result, it ignited a passion that became an incredible career.
23:19What are you going to show me?
23:20I've been working on some elephants.
23:22Right.
23:22This is a commission to make a family of elephants, which started with a trip to Tanzania.
23:29And working in Tanzania, I worked from life.
23:31So back of a vehicle, direct observation, which makes me get the subject into my head.
23:38I sculpt something while I'm there, take lots of pictures, and then I bring it back to my studio.
23:42And then from these maquettes, I then start making the real things, slightly bigger things.
23:49Hamish's work can sell for tens of thousands of pounds.
23:53I just hope John doesn't get too carried away.
23:56The sculptures start with what we call an armature.
24:01So this is an anatomically correct skeleton of a baby elephant that I can change the position on,
24:07depending on what I want it to be doing, what sort of position I want it in.
24:11And the next stage is to sculpt it using plasticine.
24:14So what I'd really like to do is to get you to have a go.
24:16OK, I'd better get my coat off.
24:20OK.
24:21Let's have a go.
24:21I'll get you some plasticine.
24:23Show me just how you apply it.
24:24So literally just sticking it on like this.
24:26And at this early stage, it can be quite...
24:29Rough.
24:29Crude.
24:30Yeah.
24:31So I'm sort of thinking about the guts.
24:33And you want to think from the inside out as you're doing it.
24:36I'm enjoying this enormously.
24:38Good.
24:39Out of interest.
24:40Is what I'm doing...
24:42Will you have to take it all off and start again?
24:43Definitely.
24:43You probably will.
24:44But this is just the start of the process.
24:48In Hamish's foundry, the real magic takes place,
24:52under the guidance of his expert team.
24:55Right then, John, come on in.
24:57Thank you, thank you, thank you.
24:58So this is the first stage.
25:02And James is chief mouldmaker.
25:05Morning, James.
25:06So I make a sculpture, which is a positive original.
25:10And then it comes into here.
25:12And James' job is to make a silicon rubber mould,
25:15which gives you a negative.
25:17And then from that negative, we then produce a wax.
25:19Right.
25:20I can show you one.
25:21Amazing, amazing, amazing.
25:23Matt's working on over here is a roadier.
25:28So this is the silicon rubber mould.
25:31Right.
25:31And you can see it's a negative of my clay original, which is positive.
25:37So we've obviously got a mouth and an eye, ear.
25:40And it gets painted up with wax to produce a hollow wax positive.
25:45Right.
25:46So once Matt's finished seam lining the wax, it then gets sprued up.
25:52And the spru system is basically a feed system for bronze to pour in there, as you say.
26:02These are called runners.
26:03Yep.
26:04These thick ones.
26:05And then the gases will come out of the risers.
26:07The wax is then coated in a couple of layers of ceramic, inside and out.
26:13It's all about creating and strengthening a final ceramic mould that can hold the bronze.
26:20The next stage is to pour in the molten bronze.
26:25I hope those boys have got good oven gloves.
26:28So this crisper weighs about 60 kilograms.
26:31And the bronze is at about 1,140 degrees.
26:35Just a little bit hotter than a pasta bake then.
26:41This is Felipe.
26:42Felipe is one of our chasers.
26:45So here he's, we've cleaned up all the runners and risers, the pipes.
26:49We've got rid of all the ceramic.
26:50This was cast in two halves.
26:52And Felipe is now going to weld across here.
26:54Yeah.
26:55And then eventually this weld line will be chased with hammers and chisels and files back to my original texture.
27:01And it's one thing for me to put a fingerprint through wet clay.
27:06The skill of these guys is to put that fingerprint back across a weld.
27:10The end result is these incredible pieces of art that not only capture every stunning detail of the animal,
27:17but they sit so majestically in the landscape.
27:21I've never seen John so quiet.
27:24No, John, you're not having one.
27:26We've all done it.
27:34We've failed to separate eggs properly.
27:36So here's a nifty hack for dealing with unruly eggs.
27:40First of all, separating yolks from egg whites.
27:54If you've broken the whole egg into a bowl and you're only meant to drop the white in,
27:59then you're supposed to be able to do it with the bottle.
28:02Now, I have to say, I've seen this on the Internet, so this is a steal.
28:07So if it doesn't work, it's not my fault.
28:10If it does work, I'm very impressed.
28:14What about that?
28:17Isn't that brilliant?
28:21Well, I don't know what I'm for, if the Internet can do it all.
28:26This is great fun. I could do this forever.
28:32While we're on the topic of eggs, I've got a couple more tips and tricks to show you.
28:38The way chefs are taught to do it is to make a good round crack all the way like that
28:43and then just break it apart and let the white run off
28:47and then do this, you know, backwards and forwards
28:49until you get the white in the bottom and the yolks in the top.
28:53But you know what?
28:54If you can't do it like that, just do this.
28:58Nice, clean hands.
29:01Drop the white.
29:04Lastly, here are some nifty ways to remove unwanted eggshell.
29:09What you do is you can either just stick your finger in,
29:12put it against the piece of shell
29:14and pull it all up aside like that and it'll come out
29:17or you can use the old eggshell and fish it out like this.
29:22That also works.
29:25Or you can put your finger on a cloth, which works even better than a bare finger.
29:30So there are lots of ways to get the eggshell out.
29:32Don't worry.
29:33Not really difficult.
29:34My food hero today has taken on anything that the British weather has to offer.
29:44It's an almighty challenge.
29:46But you know what?
29:47She's winning.
29:48A hundred miles south from here, in the Vale of Glamorgan,
29:54second generation farmer Lucy George is doing something seldom seen in the UK.
30:00We're at Peterton Tea, which is still the only commercial tea farm in Wales.
30:05I have heard of tea from the south-east, but south Wales? Really?
30:11So this is leaf that we picked yesterday.
30:14It's been withering overnight, which is a physical and chemical change for the leaf.
30:19You can smell the leaf and start to smell the aromas coming through.
30:22Well, I take it all back.
30:26How has she managed it?
30:29There's two main types of tea plants.
30:32So there's Camellia sinensis sinensis and Camellia sinensis asamica.
30:36I think the complexity of tea has really surprised me from a growing perspective.
30:44There's so many different methods you can employ.
30:47Jeanette helps Lucy to harvest and plant.
30:51As a local person, I have known this field all my life, basically.
30:56I've known this field when it was just a proper meadow with cows grazing on it.
31:01And then now here we are today, I suppose 50, 60 years later.
31:07What we're producing is a speciality tea product.
31:10So it's focused on a loose leaf, whole leaf.
31:13And the idea behind that is that it's infused several times.
31:15So we recommend it's infused at least three or four times.
31:19And on each infusion, it will give you different flavour profiles as the leaf unfolds and the flavour develops, basically.
31:27But growing and planting in this environment hasn't been straightforward.
31:32In the very beginning, we started to plant out.
31:36Some like to live.
31:38A lot decided they wanted to die.
31:40And it was a bit frustrating.
31:41Over the years, it's safe to say that I have killed off a lot of tea plants, probably more tea plants than most people see in a lifetime.
31:50It certainly hasn't been kind on production here.
31:53And for me, it actually just sparks that sense of, well, I'm determined to make this work.
31:59And to actually see these through and to come up with a way that they could be adapted to suit this climate, basically.
32:07The tea plants are grown both outdoors and in polytunnels.
32:11Having originally planted seeds she bought from Georgia, Nepal and Western India,
32:17Lucy now collects around 25,000 seeds a year from her own farm.
32:21From what was a fruit farm in 2014, Lucy's properly turned over a new leaf.
32:29The number of tea plants has grown and the yield is going to keep increasing over the next five years.
32:35So the signs are good.
32:38I'm getting, obviously, more experienced in the picking.
32:41It's only the bud and the top two leaves that we normally pick.
32:47And I say pick, they're plucked.
32:49They're not picked as such.
32:51You don't pinch them, you pluck them.
32:53You bend them over and then snap it off.
32:56So the oxidisation of it doesn't start until it goes into the tea processing room.
33:03Growing and picking is only half the story.
33:06Once picked, the leaves are withered so they lose their moisture.
33:09They are then rolled and oxidised so they begin to brown.
33:15Then they go in a dryer where the leaves become what we recognise as tea.
33:21And the flavours begin to come out.
33:24This is black tea that's now fully dried.
33:27So now we just take it out and allow it a bit of time to cool.
33:32It smells really good at this stage.
33:34The whole process takes 24 hours.
33:37After that, I bet Lucy could do with a good cup of...
33:42Ah, there you go.
33:44The tea here is grown organically.
33:46And promoting biodiversity is key.
33:49By planting certain trees to help shelter the plants from strong winds,
33:54what's good for the tea is also good for local wildlife.
33:58And very little goes to waste.
34:00When Lucy began, the farm was only producing whole, loose-leaf tea.
34:06Now, any broken leaves that would have been discarded in the past
34:10get used to make the fashionable drink kombucha.
34:13And Lucy's not done yet.
34:18It's been a very long ten years, I'll give it that.
34:21It's certainly sort of, yeah, been a very long journey.
34:25Very difficult at times.
34:27But also, I don't think anything beats actually sort of having a cup of something
34:33that you've grown from seeds, seen it through all the years.
34:36The nation's favourite drink, made in South Wales.
34:41What an achievement.
34:43I'll certainly raise a cuppa to that.
34:49Still to come, John gets stuck into some Japanese food.
34:55It's slightly more untidy than spaghetti.
34:57You have the biggest mouth I've ever known, so...
35:00Really good.
35:02Oh, that looks really good.
35:03Oh, God, that's good.
35:07That is delicious.
35:16John loves it when I have a go at recreating any meal we've enjoyed on our travels together.
35:22So today, I'm going to try to make a now-famous Asian dish
35:27that started life as a modest street food.
35:30When John and I were in Japan on holiday,
35:33we had a couple of absolutely beautiful ramen.
35:43So this, I reckon, is the most simple but beautiful ramen.
35:48So we're going to make it.
35:50So you have to peel the ginger.
35:53Scrape.
35:54Oh, I've watched you do that.
35:55Yeah, okay.
35:55Scrape a bit of that.
35:57Yeah.
35:57And then...
35:59Am I skinning it or getting some ginger off?
36:02No, just skinning it.
36:03Okay.
36:04And then you're going to grate it to get about a teaspoon of grated ginger.
36:08What I love about ramen is that it has three main components.
36:13The broth, the noodles, and the topping.
36:15But the combination of elements is endless, which means you can really experiment with it.
36:21And in the meantime, I'll tell you about the stock.
36:26This is freshly made chicken stock, and I do recommend making a good chicken stock.
36:31Next time you have chicken bones, simmer them gently with any vegetables you can find,
36:37without bubbling them too strongly, because you just want the stock to stay clear.
36:43And this stock is perfect, because it's absolutely clear, but it's really well-flavoured.
36:48However, I'm now going to turn it into Japanese stock by putting a few extra flavours into it.
36:56A bit of soy sauce, about a tablespoon.
36:59I'm going to put a little bit of chilli, not as much as this, because this is quite strong chilli flakes.
37:05And then you need to add a teaspoon of grated ginger.
37:09Although my assistant seems to be struggling in that department.
37:13It's being a chap that does it.
37:18Go on, keep going.
37:21I'm just taking a bit of my thumb off.
37:24Are you wounded?
37:25Yeah.
37:25Are you great at yourself?
37:27With my casualty now nursing a plaster, let's crack on.
37:32So, I'll tell you what, you'd have found this much easier if you'd peeled both sides of the ginger, not just one side.
37:39So instead of just trying to do it on the side, you can do it from the top.
37:44And then you just...
37:48And then...
37:51Oh, no, that works.
37:53And then to get it out, you just go bang.
37:55And it comes up there.
37:56So it's quite a good little machine, really.
38:01Okay, I'll give in.
38:03In goes the ginger.
38:05I hope John can slice a couple of cloves of garlic without injury.
38:09You're doing chopped garlic, not sliced garlic.
38:12So now I want to cook the noodles.
38:15Is that okay?
38:17Yeah.
38:17That's perfect.
38:18So that needs to go into that stock.
38:21Do I do that?
38:23Yeah.
38:24In there.
38:27Good.
38:27These are Japanese noodles, and they are absolutely delicious, and they cook very quickly.
38:37Now, do you want me to do this chicken?
38:39Yes.
38:40And then when you've done it, you can put it...
38:42Equal portions.
38:42Yeah.
38:43Half of it in that bowl, and half of it in this bowl.
38:46I've already cooked around 400 grams of chicken, which is about two breasts.
38:52And this is spinach, which is going in the bottom of the bowl.
38:56Well, we went to Japan for three weeks, and we thought we'd see all over Japan in three
39:01weeks.
39:02We never got out of Tokyo.
39:04It was so interesting, and so...
39:07Until we didn't...
39:08We went to four islands.
39:10Oh, yeah, and the islands.
39:10We went the length of breadth.
39:12We only didn't do honshu, the top one.
39:14We didn't go Kyoto, where everybody says you have to go.
39:17So we have to go back, is my point.
39:20How long do you boil that for?
39:21Two minutes.
39:22Two minutes.
39:23So put your chicken in there, please.
39:25Put my chicken in half and half.
39:27Yeah.
39:29Half and half.
39:31And then you can peel those eggs.
39:37These are hard-boiled?
39:39Yeah.
39:40They're just running in the middle, jammy eggs.
39:43Oh, okay.
39:44But be careful.
39:45Don't squeeze them too much.
39:46Don't...
39:46Yeah, be careful with them.
39:47Okay.
39:49The eggs won't be added to the ramen until the end.
39:52So then I'm going to put the noodles in.
39:54I was trying to keep them separately so that they'd be easy.
39:59Right, so in go the noodles.
40:06I mean, you can see why ramen is a proper meal, because, you know, the bowl is full of food before you add the stock.
40:16So it's more than just...
40:17Watching them making the stock was fascinating.
40:20That was the secret of ramen, was the stock, wasn't it?
40:22Go on, tell us how they did it.
40:23Well, I mean, they seem to spend days putting absolutely every bones and...
40:31Lots of bones.
40:32Vegetables, everything.
40:34Yeah.
40:35Okay.
40:35And then we're going to pour stock on top.
40:44Is the stock bones and vegetables and everything?
40:47Yeah.
40:47This one is the chicken bones and veg and onions and garlic.
40:52And then you put...
40:54And then you put...
40:56Do you remember there was always a couple of...
40:57Okay.
40:59...eggs on the top?
41:00Yep.
41:02And the spinach will wilt just with the hot stock.
41:06Spring onions to finish, along with some sesame seeds.
41:14I mean, you can have more than...
41:15I mean, that's a hearty meal, isn't it?
41:18And it's healthy.
41:19I liked it.
41:19It was very good.
41:20We want one more thing to have, which is very Japanese, which is soybeans, which are edamame.
41:28And they come frozen and raw.
41:31Edamame are young soybeans harvested before they ripen.
41:35And they're a nutritional powerhouse.
41:39Loads of protein, fibre, vitamins and minerals.
41:43Most UK supermarkets stock them.
41:47These go into the microwave for three minutes.
41:56Now we want to flavour the edamame.
42:00So, two tablespoons of cider vinegar.
42:04Two of sesame oil.
42:08Two tablespoons of oyster sauce.
42:11And then, a little bit of chilli.
42:17Not too much for me.
42:19So, if you love chilli, you can put all that chilli in and all the sriracha.
42:25Sriracha is chilli sauce.
42:26But I'm going to put half the chilli sauce and half the chilli.
42:36And a few sesame seeds.
42:40Next, we fry it all in a hot pan for not very long at all.
42:44Maybe 30 seconds.
42:46And then dish up.
42:47Right, taste time.
43:02So, you're hot stuffed with the chopsticks.
43:04Okay.
43:05This is a real Italian job, isn't it?
43:10This, uh...
43:12Chum, chum, chum.
43:19Well, as you know, I don't normally like pasta.
43:26But this is very tasty.
43:30It's quite full of chilli.
43:34You love chilli.
43:36This makes me cough a bit.
43:38Oh, that is really good.
43:40Mmm.
43:41It's a really, really nice stock.
43:45It's, um...
43:46Mmm.
43:48And the soy in it gives it a bit more flavour, too.
43:54It's slightly more untidy than spaghetti.
43:56You have the biggest mouth I've ever known, so...
44:00Really good.
44:03Really nice.
44:05Adami beans.
44:07Mmm.
44:11Delish.
44:13Now, um...
44:15Woodchester Valley.
44:16It's a Cotswold.
44:17White wine.
44:182023.
44:21Now, you wouldn't naturally think of having a drink alongside a soup.
44:24But the crispness of white wine can cut through the richness of the broth just perfectly.
44:30Oh, God, that's good.
44:32Absolutely lovely.
44:33And goes really well with this stuff.
44:34I'm discovering that there are now five or six, maybe more by now,
44:39um, vineyards in the Cotswolds.
44:41I thought there were none.
44:42I thought they were all in the south-east of England.
44:46Anyway.
44:46Let's keep going.
44:48I must say, I don't mind John forking out on a good bottle of wine.
44:54Indeed, I heartily approve.
44:55I got a bit nervous when you went off to Hamish, because I know he is so expensive.
45:02And I do love his sculptures.
45:05And I just thought you'd get carried away and come back with a huge, great thing we couldn't afford.
45:10Well, I had the angel of the devil on my shoulder, plus you.
45:13So, however tempted I was, I didn't.
45:17But I still am.
45:19There was a hair that I really, really wanted.
45:22It was about this size.
45:24I mean, an extravagance is normally...
45:28No, what is an economy is normally regretted, and extravagance rarely is.
45:32So I think I'm going to go back this Sunday and have another look.
45:34No, no, no.
45:35Looks like we'll be cooking ramen all weekend just to keep John in the house.
45:44I feel so guilty, because we loved ramen when we had it in Japan.
45:49I thought I'd be cooking it the minute we got home.
45:52We never have.
45:53I think I've done it once.
45:55And this is so delicious and so healthy and not expensive.
45:58So I'm changing my...
46:01I will try harder.
46:02Really?
46:02I think this is delish.
46:03Very, very, very good.
46:04And the nice thing is that you put it together so quickly.
46:09Yeah.
46:10There we go.
46:11Good health.
46:13So that's it for now.
46:15But next week we'll be back with another interesting guest
46:19and, I hope, more delicious food.
46:22See you then.
46:22Like, say, of course.
46:33Good health.
46:34Bye-bye.
46:34Bye-bye.
46:44Bye-bye.
46:45Bye-bye.
46:46Bye-bye.
46:50Bye-bye.
46:51You
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