Mary Berry’s Quick Cooking | Series 1:5. West End.

in today's busy world being able to cook from scratch in a flash has never been more important quite nice really so I'm off on a journey to explore the exciting world of speedy cooking [Music] no matter how far from the destination a little bit different very quick close to home [Music] don't forget the dollops the right size I will bring all this wonderful food back to you and it doesn't get much quicker or more delicious [Music] I've always enjoyed a day and a night on the town my favorite places to visit it's the bustling West End of London [Music] with so many exciting things to do we often only have the shortest time to grab about luckily there are hundreds of restaurants here that have become experts in providing the quickest and most delicious dishes I'm going to find out just how they manage it [Music] while the area is slowly waking up for the day my first stop is one of the West End's best-loved cafes the French patisserie Maison Bechtel it's been serving up delicious sweet treats for well over a century but at this time of day people flock here for a quick breakfast it's their pastries that are in most demand Michele Wade has worked here since she was a Saturday girl at age just 15 I've never seen so many classic French patisserie and as I came in I saw course on here these are ham and cheese or cheese and these are the almond possum which is a very heavy recipe which is quite substantial people normally have half and take half home they look pretty generous I remember when I was a little girl you couldn't buy possums anywhere else and now they're everywhere so have you been here forever I've been here very long time but the shops been here even longer shops been here since 1871 that's the picture I know you're not going to be in there really I worked for the man at the end with he's got his arms crossed I went for his son which they are devoted to the shop yeah I love it I love it to bits many of the cafes cakes and pastries follow the original recipes brought over from Paris by the founder Monsieur Beth dough Oh Anna class and it's that wrong this one is a little more blown little Mountain it's chestnut puree and fresh cream Oh but to create all these wonderful pastries takes a lot of hard work chef Nabal kebab starts baking at 6 a.m. and works his magic from the tiny kitchen on the top floor lovely glaze it looks pretty tempting the staff here are so busy that they rarely get talent to cook for themselves so I've offered to make them the quickest French inspired classic that I know by Greer cheese and chive omelet so how do you do a couple of eggs just a dash of water just whisk that with a talked good pinch of salt some black pepper and then I'm gonna put some chives in melt another butter in a very hot pan I stir it because I want that end to get really Brown when I tip it out on the plate the bubble comes just I give it a bang otherwise you get uneven ground when it's nearly cooked to throw in some delicious Gruyere cheese and fold the omelet over [Music] come on have a try come on tell me it's that right well my omelet seems like a success now it may be a little early for a slice of cake but I really can't leave without nabeel's incredible-looking lemon tart a [Music] freshly baked crust or a cheesy omelet is a wonderful way to start any morning I have another breakfast recipe that can be whipped up in next to no time and you can even take it with you when you head out for the day my delicious one pop breakfast on the go and I'm going to do it in individual jars and I'm going to put fresh fruit at the bottom then on top yogurt and on top of that a lovely toasted mixture of oats and seeds first job is the oat topping start by chopping 25 grams of dried apricots I think people associate oats and apricots and fruit has been very healthy it's a good start to the day melt a knob of butter in a hot pan and then add 50 grams of porridge oats and a tablespoon of sunflower seeds because with the butter they can get too Brown so I'm just going to toast them and particularly with seeds or nuts toasting them adds to the crispness as well as the flavor you may get the old snap and pop did you hear it to order as the heat is increased in the pan they're positively jumping about that's take not enough color if you do it too dark it'll be bitter finally add the chopped apricots and two tablespoons of golden honey and you can see now it has taken on that pale golden look and it smells lovely I'm going to tip that onto a cold plate I want it to be cold so while that's cooling down it's time for the fruit and yogurt right I've chosen to use raspberries and blueberries so we'll drop say foreign to each one then I've got these lovely blueberries a nice big ones fruity ones so there they are now add a generous spoon of rich and creamy Greek yogurt soon as that wonderful oak topping has cooled sprinkled over the pot couple of spoonfuls beautifully crispy press it down like that I think that's one of the best breakfasts to have on the go fruit yogurt and a lovely toasted oak topping the West End has always had a vibrant and diverse sculpture it's been home to countless migrant groups over the centuries who brought their wonderful food with them some of the country's first Greek and Italian restaurants opened here in the 1920s and it was an Italian who picked started our modern coffee revolution back in 1953 when he opened the UK's first expresso bar not far from here there are now over 40 coffee shops in Soho square mile alone where there was once just a cappuccino or an espresso on offer today there's a whole menu to choose from it's like a cocktail bar of coffee Deno Shaheen II has been in the coffee business for 20 years and his pride and joy is a beautiful espresso machine it's a pretty good machine its variant it is Italian is 1961 is the oldest one less dense it is my baby [Music] I like is the theater cheers cheese that'll wake you up in the morning it does make me up I have 17 a day no wonder you're so perky you wanna have a go okay that's the coffee coming you know it's the coffee can be done well this is a first for me barista berry return and I'm about to do the next order for one of dnews regulars another cappuccino please cappuccino can we do that or cry capturing these ready do you want to press that oh you know this is a penis oh I'm in a pub at this question yeah just put all that we're done and you have to hold it now I know why I always gain for a cup of instant in the morning then we need hot milk yep spinnin others I've decorated a few cakes in my time but never a coffee you're gonna complete these if she's gone she won't come over [Music] tell you George looking to ask but he's good Wow I had it go mmm tastes so fabulous but it wasn't just the coffee that Italians brought to this area they also introduced so many wonderful ingredients that we take for granted today and obviously their food which is still popular with the lunched grounds I have a wonderful Italian dish that is perfect for a lazy lunch because you can make it in next to no time I'm going to make a vibrant mushroom and asparagus risotto all very easy but there are a few basic rules to follow to help this cook quickly make sure to use the widest shallowest pan you have gently fry one large chopped onion with a clove of garlic of course the most important ingredient is the risotto rice I'm using 275 grams away there 2 or 3 minutes you see the advantage of having a big shallow pan there's much more surface so it's really getting a nice even cook now I get 100 mil of wine so let that just evaporate and drive off the alcohol next step is to get the flavor in through your stock I'm adding the stock little of a pilot for you don't add it all at once add it slowly and it begins to sort of thicken up as you do it and that's what starts to give a nice sort of creamy consistency onion becomes beautifully flavored and goes right through the rice when you can see clean patches in the pan you know it's time to add a little more while that's cooking I'm going to prep the asparagus blanch in salted water for just two minutes so it's not to lose any of the bright green color keep stirring once the stock has all been absorbed add 350 grams of button and chestnut mushrooms ready that's looking pretty creamy without having the butter in but let's put it in get all the chives look look and the crowning glory is 75 grams of coarsely grated Parmesan cheese that's it now I'm just going to put the lid on and just leave it for three minutes for all those flavors to join up and the mushrooms to have that extra few moments of cooking once ready just season and throwing the colorful asparagus give it a good stir you see how it seems to liven it up having all this bright green do you know how a younger just me put another knob of butter and why not leave it out if you like but I think that's good and because it's so hot it'll melt in a moment all I've got to do now is to serve it there it is my mushroom and asparagus risotto I think that's one of the best dishes to have when you're in a great hurry all done in under half an hour and very few pots to wash up that's a bonus [Music] luckily for us the 1950s saw the arrival in the West End of even more wonderful food this time in the form of Chinese restaurants they slowly began to open around Girard Street an area we now know as Chinatown and there's nowhere better to explore when it comes to quick cooking local writer and translator fan failure promotes Chinatown's restaurants beyond their community a perfect guide to get me behind the Cedars they are beautifully roasted it's a typical cancer in each style everywhere are they all similar China is such a big place is almost as big as an entire Europe so haven't 8 main types of cuisines [Music] the majority of these restaurants are supplied by one of the oldest Chinese supermarkets in London see whoo do you like it I like it for like that does it there's a bull will during array of ingredients many I've never seen before that's the yellow chives so it's actually chives but grown in a dark the texture is softer than the regular Chinese green chives this is Pak choy allegedly this supermarket is the first to important actually from China and these mushrooms yeah this is my favorite Lily mushroom right in sir because they're crispy you got a different texture Fanpage home in China is the Szechuan province in the southwest of the country well known for its spicy cuisine he's taken me to assess one restaurant to see how the chef's used some of those amazing ingredients [Music] I'm married welcome to English kitchen when introduced master time this is the first for me I have never been and will Chinese kitchen before master tan is making one of the restaurants most popular dishes crispy stir-fried pork made it under five minutes that's a little bit of a spice so now that the pen is pussying women's heads yellow beans with the fresh chili why are you catching it on fire we can't turn back at home I really do have all the kitchens up to speed up the cooking process and a light touch of fire will make the surface of the ingredients slightly crispy [Music] it's really beautiful it's not too hot now it's coming that Chile is coming through and the rind has become soft because we would automatically cut the rind off before frying I have my own take on spicy Chinese style stir-fry and it's just as quick as master tans wellalmost beef and pepper stir fry I love stir fries because they're done so quickly from preparation to finish about 15 minutes first job is to tenderize 200 grams of trimmed rump steak the reason why base is out of it is to get more strips more pieces of meat but I still want it pink in the middle and now to the marinade for the rich marinade mix four tablespoons each of sweet chili and soy sauce and one teaspoon each of Chinese five spice and Muscovado sugar the juice of a lime and finally one crushed garlic cone I'm going to put three tablespoons full of this in with the steak and leave it for about ten minutes just ten minutes in the marinade is going to give the steak a wonderful depth of flavor I want it beautifully pink let's add one and a half minutes just look at that gorgeous golden crispy around and the other side any Chinatown they add water to the pan to put it down for a bit I'm not going to do that procedure because I don't want any flames in my kitchen I think that's just about time and leave that to rest so on with the fish I've sliced 1 onion 2 red peppers and half the Chinese cabbage Chinese leaves are perfect for quick dishes it takes a load especially the leafy part that's it in goes the onions bend the strips of pepper when the onions and pepper have taken on some lovely color mix in the heart of the Chinese cabbage add the rest of the spicy marinade and 150 grams of precooked egg noodles all that remains is to add the delicate leaves from the top of the cabbage and some freshly chopped coriander stir that makes sure that it all gets coated in that wonderful marinade and then I've got to just serve it and carve the steak on top doesn't that look good very colorful and you just look at that for me it's perfect you want it cooked a little bit more cookie do it more but I think that's just right I think that looks wonderful so that's it my Asian beef and pepper stir fry all in 15 minutes you don't get much quicker than that with the evening drawing in China towns restaurants become a magnet for anyone rushing to eat dinner before heading out for the night can you believe that almost 14 million theater goers flocked to a Western show every year one of the longest-running ones is ladies around I'm lucky enough to be an invited backstage to meet the stars of the show d in Chisinau and Carly Stenson my best friend's mom made me a cushion of all the shows I've done before and it's taken pride of place in my room Lamesa garb runs for almost three hours with lots of costume changes and all those barricades to climb they must work up quite an appetite there's no canteen here so how do you survive because you I mean it's a very physical job little things in my cupboards to nibble on but I tend to eat before the show and the same isn't lame is that oh well I'll eat when I'm dead cuz noon of every character dies which is why I can't eat during the show I can't tell you about how much I'm looking forward to seeing the show but could have a sort of preview of what's going on course you can sure do a backstage tour yes please follow me so this is the stage right wing we're heading on to the bit where you have to be dead silent but you're alright to talk today it's a little bit like a rabbit warren and so here you're sort of in the wings the heart racing and the butterflies are going what are these scribbles on the wall those scribbles of people who've been in the show over the various years first person was Judi Dench because then she was in a play next door so she asked if she could sneak on they dressed like a boy so then she signed a name and then since then everybody please do come on Mary berry is now coming on to the barricades it's wonderful to see from this angle because I've only ever seen it watching and it's a beautiful set of I mean actually the people who are sitting there don't get the viewers that we do know we get the best view in the house really how lucky I am to get to see both sides of the curtain [Music] what a joy to see such an epic performance I can't believe that these few streets are packed with so many people watching shows of this scale I have one very last recipe to share with you that is all about enjoyment my chocolate cappuccino tart it's rich and indulgent and you're going to enjoy every single mouth this start is so quick to make because the base is made with rejected biscuits instead of pastry we often do to adjust if biscuit crust but this one's got chocolate in it which makes it beautifully firm also makes it much easier to get off the base firstly melt 75 grams of butter and then add 50 grams of dark chocolate it's got to the stage of just being runny not a lot in size add the smooth mixture to the crushed digestive biscuits and give it a good stir then I'm going to put it into the base of this planting then with a spoon just press it down all the way around and that push it into each of these little indentations that will help when it comes to turns out pop the base into the fridge and while it chills start on the coffee and chocolate filling add 250 mil of double cream to 350 grams of dark chocolate and 50 grams of butter real butter no substitutes and then I've got some strong coffee it's a heat teaspoon full of coffee and a tablespoon full of hot water there are a lot of very rich ingredients in there so when the time comes a small slice place the bowl over a pan of hot water and carefully bail to a smooth and creamy texture [Music] just look at that it looks like a pair of shiny boots but always see your face in it when it's cooled stir in 200 grams of creme fraiche and pour over the crunchy biscuit base indulgence chill until the filling is firm and removed from the tin magic finally spoon on some whipped cream and finish with sprinkle of delicate chocolate shavings so that's my wonderful chocolate cappuccino tart such a treat and so indulgent I promised you it was going to be special as night falls the streets restaurant and bars of the West End are just as busy as they were during the day before I head home there's just time for a quick nightcap I hear the patter of feet good I took ordering something for you I loved every moment and the were a few tears lovely espresso martini I love a night on the town and I've certainly loved eating my way around the West End what sheer bliss next time I head behind the scenes seeing how speedy cooking we did 378,000 covers last year so over 1100 covers a day it keeps this busy Airport moving it's an option between tea and champagne it's champagne every time

Channel: Luke Plays

Views: 305,323

Keywords: Mary Berry, Baking, Chef, Quick Cooking, Mary Berry's Quick Cooking

Id: RCRIOAnAdTQ

Length: 28min 32sec (1712 seconds)

Published: Mon Oct 28 2019