Mary Berry's Absolute Favourites

(light music) - I'm Mary Berry, and in this series, I'm going to be showing you some of my absolute favorites.

Not too difficult to make, not too many ingredients, and the sort of recipes that the family are going to say, "Ooh, and ah, and please can we have them again?"

These favorites have been inspired by the places I love.

The countryside, by the sea, markets, and gardens.

And of course, my home.

I'll be sharing with you some brand new ideas, and some recipes that I never ever tire of.

Tonight.

Don't you lose it now.

- [Charles] Oh, there you go.

There's your fish.

- [Mary] Food inspired by my love of the countryside.

(lively music) I was brought up in the country, in a village near Bath.

And so the countryside inspires many of my dishes.

We are so lucky in Britain, that our fields, forests, and rivers are teaming with delicious produce.

Whether it's game, hedgerow fruits, wild mushrooms, or wonderful fresh water fish.

What a little beauty.

- [Charles] Isn't that lovely?

- [Mary] I can't help but be inspired.

And tonight, I'm sharing my countryside favorites with you.

A dinner party treat with pheasant, my family's favorite lasagna.

a delicious mushroom feast for any time of day, and a great idea for windfall apples.

But first, these little mushroom scotch eggs, perfect for a countryside picnic.

When you think of scotch eggs, you think of a hen's egg, with a nice sausage coating.

But I'm doing them with a difference, using quail's eggs, and putting a lovely mushroom mixture outside.

To start with, place the eggs in cold water.

Bring them to the boil, and let them cook for a further minute and a half.

Whilst they cool.. That's it.

Start the coating.

I've got two shallots here.

It's important to cut them really finely, because they've got to be small enough to coat 'round those little eggs.

(light music) Fry off the shallots before adding 250 grams of finely chopped chestnut mushrooms.

Then add 30 grams of panko breadcrumbs.

(food sizzling) And mix all that together, and then cool it.

Into the bowl.

Now to get on with the tricky job, of peeling those tiny eggs.

So, take each egg, and roll it on the board, and then peel it.

Not much you can do with the shells.

Some people put them 'round their hostas, I know I do, I give them a good crushing, and it stops the snails eating them.

(light music) This is a very boring job.

If you've got someone who wants to help you in the kitchen, or someone you want to keep busy, say, "Why don't you peel the eggs for me?"

By the time you are done, the mushroom mixture should be cold enough to add a hen's egg.

This will help to hold it together.

I'm now going to take my eggs, and mushrooms, to my production line over here.

Roll the eggs in plain flour, then coat each one with the mushroom mixture.

It's quite a gentle process, because the egg yolk isn't quite hard in the middle, and you've got to do it with great care.

Finally, dip them into flour, egg, and breadcrumbs.

So there they are, beautifully coated, and ready to fry.

Now, if you want to do this a day ahead, just leave them like that on a plate, in the fridge, and fry them when you need them.

Heat a good amount of oil, and shallow fry them until golden and crispy.

(food sizzling) Keep turning them around.

They do look really good, don't they?

These look perfect.

That's it.

Allow them to cool slightly before slicing.

Just go gently around the crispy outside, and then straight through the middle.

And all is revealed.

Just look at that.

Absolutely perfect.

Imagine being on a picnic, on a sunny day, in the countryside, just having that, could you beat it?

I don't think you could.

One of my favorite things to do in the countryside is to forage.

But in the autumn, the woods come alive with one thing I'm a little wary of picking, wild mushrooms.

Many varieties can be deadly, so I'm getting some expert advice.

- [Marlow] Today, hopefully we're gonna find some really easy to identify edible types, like the porcini.

- [Mary] Marlow Renton knows everything there is to know about wild mushrooms, and there's no better place than right here in the New Forest.

- Wait a minute.

- Well.

- And I can see a treasure here.

Just look at that, that's a porcini.

- That is a porcini mushroom.

- Oh!

- Certainly is.

And I'm sure you recognize this mushroom as well.

- I do.

A porcini, penny bun.

- [Marlow] Yeah.

- Or.. - The cep.

- A cep.

The smell, the smell is so wonderful.

And that to me is the king of mushrooms.

- [Marlow] It is just about the tastiest mushroom that you get in the wild in the UK.

- I hope there's some more to find.

- [Marlow] That's the first mushroom we found, this is obviously gonna be a good day.

(lively music) It's very important to know the poisonous mushrooms when you're out foraging, probably more so, than knowing the actual edible mushrooms.

- [Mary] Of the three and a half thousand varieties of mushrooms, about 100 make for good eating, and around 30 are deadly poisonous.

- Over here by the looks of it, there's a.. - [Mary] Oh gosh.

- [Marlow] A very dangerous looking little mushroom here.

The Amanita families are a really important family for foragers to know about, because it contains the most poisonous mushrooms in the UK.

And in this family, there's the death cap, which obviously doesn't sound very.. - Cheerful.

- Very edible.

And this one, which is the Destroying Angel, responsible for the majority of the mushroom poisoning deaths that I've heard about in the last few years.

- [Mary] So if you don't know what it is, don't pick it, don't eat it.

- Exactly.

- [Mary] There's something white over here.

Do you know what those are?

- [Marlow] Oh, wow!

Do you recognize this mushroom?

- [Mary] Not at all.

This is the sort of mushroom that you find in, in restaurants, and all the best markets in France, this is a gourmet mushroom.

First of all, as you said, it's kind of a whitish cap.

- Yep.

- And then underneath, it has these spikes, or spines instead of gills, or sponge.

And that tells me that this is a hedgehog fungus, Hydnum repandum.

This is the safest mushroom to forage in the UK.

There is nothing else that looks like this.

- And these little spikes, you need your glasses on to see them, but they are standing up like a hedgehog.

- [Marlow] One last little thing with the hedgehog as well, when you find the hedgehog fungus, we always scrape off the spines before we put it in the bag.

If there are any spores, any babies mature enough on those spines to actually go and create a new mushroom, we've left them behind to do that.

All right, let's see what else we can find.

- [Mary] What's that?

- It's a very interesting mushroom.

It's in the boletus family, along with those porcinis.

- Yeah.

- The one that we found earlier.

But this one has very definite red on the sponge.

And secondly, when we cut through this mushroom.

- [Mary] Mind your hand.

- [Marlow] It will stain very blue, very quickly.

- Good gracious!

That is unmistakably blue.

And also it looks a little bit frightening.

I wouldn't go for that.

- If you don't really know what you're doing, you should leave them behind, because some of them are deadly poisonous.

(lively music) - [Mary] If you are not brave enough to go picking by yourself, stick to the huge variety you can find in the shops.

Now, to make the most of them, here's a favorite of mine.

These are the mushrooms that I've chosen.

Shimeji, golden enoki, oyster, shiitake, and my real favorite, chestnut mushrooms, sometimes known as brown mushrooms.

Start by frying three slices of Parma ham in a little oil.

It could be Black Forest.

It could be Serrano.

And you can also, if you look far enough, you can get British dried cured ham.

(food sizzling) And I want it to become beautifully crispy.

In the same pan, add a little butter, and lightly fry two slices of brioche.

The aim is to get all this lovely guppage in the bottom from the ham, which is salty and a delicious flavor.

There you are, absolutely perfect.

Now to the mushrooms.

I'm going to take some of the stalk off, and then these little chaps.

In the war, we lived in a house with a cellar, and dad used to grow mushrooms in the cellar.

And it was almost like magic, the day before you wouldn't see any mushrooms, and then there were these little tiny button mushrooms.

So, I've enjoyed them all my life.

(food sizzling) (light music) I find the secret of this is to put the lid on for a few moments, so that the steam comes up, and makes them soft.

When the mushrooms have softened, take the lid off, so any extra liquid will evaporate.

Then I'm going to add a dollop of creme fraiche, full-fat of course.

Don't make the mistake of using low-fat creme fraiche.

It wants to be really rich, and a good consistency.

And it's ready.

(light music) It really looks delicious.

Top it all off with the crispy ham, and a few parsley leaves.

I think that looks so tempting.

Do you know, I'm just gonna pinch a little bit off the side, and a bit of bacon.

They won't miss that bit, will they?

I think that is a great light lunch, especially if you've got the girls coming around, or you've played a game of tennis or golf, or something, come home and have that, brilliant.

(light music) One thing we're lucky enough to have in abundance is game.

But it can seem daunting to cook.

So if you are unsure about giving it a try, here's a pheasant dish that is very simple, and delicious.

When I was young, we had quite a few of the blessings from the countryside.

We'd have rabbit and mustard stew, we'd have casseroled pheasant.

You could go to your butcher, and get those, and they weren't on ration.

So you could imagine, we had them quite often.

Start by seasoning the pheasant breasts.

And sear them in a hot pan, in oil and butter.

Before I turn them over, I'm going to put a little bit of pepper and salt on the second side.

(food sizzling) It's worth giving game a chance, but you could just as easily use chicken breasts.

Look at that for a lovely color.

Just golden just round the side there, and quickly turn it over.

You don't want to cook them through, I want them still raw in the middle.

Put the breast to one side, and start your sauce by cooking one roughly chopped onion, in the same pan.

(food sizzling) So, those look pretty good to me.

They're translucent.

They're not too brown.

I like leaving them in great big pieces.

I think it looks good.

This is one of the recipes that you really don't have to chop them finely.

(lively music) Now, add two level tablespoons of paprika, one tablespoon of light muscovado sugar, and 300 mil of double cream.

This is rich.

It is full of flavor.

It is sheer luxury.

Gosh, that's a wonderful color.

Now I'm going to add the pheasant back into that wonderful mixture.

Wait a minute, there's a bit of juice.

I want that in there.

That'll add to the flavor, and I've got that on a very low heat, and I'm just going to let that cook away for a few minutes.

In a separate pan, fry off 250 grams of sliced chestnut mushrooms in a little butter.

May seem fussy to do them separately, but it makes all the difference.

They get a little bit of color, you evaporate some of that liquid, and they don't look sort of pale, and insignificant in the dish.

Finish it off with a handful of chopped parsley.

This is the part I like most, everything's ready.

I like to serve it with some creamy mashed potato, and some young broad beans, what could be nicer?

And lastly, here comes our pheasant.

And plenty of sauce to go with it.

Now, who could resist that?

My pheasant breasts with a rich creamy sauce, with mushrooms and paprika.

(light music) Whilst our forests are bountiful with wonderful game, we're also lucky enough to have some of the world's great fly fishing rivers.

Here on the River Test, people have been fishing since Roman times.

And no one knows these waters better than fly fishing expert, Charles Jardine.

- [Charles] It's so special, because the water that has come up through the short springs is fueled with all sorts of nutriments, great for insect growth, which is great for fish growth.

And it's that, that makes this so special.

And that's why the fish gets so legendary, and big.

- Charles, this is a very exciting day for me.

I've always wanted to learn to fly fish.

- You couldn't come to a better place, at a better time of the year.

- Really?

- Yeah.

- Oh, well that's comforting.

- And you can see how clear it is.

Look at it.

I mean, it's beautiful.

- [Mary] It's so peaceful, you could hear a pin drop.

- Well, that's why we do it.

This is a sport where you can just immerse yourself in it, and just become at one with the river.

(light music) - [Mary] These rivers are a host to some of country's finest fresh water fish, such as grayling.

But what this area is most famous for, is its trout.

- Now the idea is to cast, and what I want to try and do, is make a big plop.

Lift and just tap.

You learn that?

And here we cast over there.

Oh, you got one!

(Charles laughs) There's a fish!

It's so cool.

It's there.

It's a minnow, but you've got to start somewhere.

There you are.

You've caught your first fish on a fly.

- Now isn't it?

- [Charles] It's not colossal, it's a minnow.

- [Mary] A minnow.

That was a second cast.

But I've never seen a smaller fish.

Should I just chuck that back in there?

- Yeah, just pop it back in.

- [Mary] There we go.

If Charles and I want a decent lunch, we're going to need something rather bigger than that.

- There is a big grading up here, and I'd just like you to see one really.

(pole whirring) Here we are, there's our grayling.

Now, what I want you to do, is to feel the fish, and then I want you to catch one.

Just feel what it's doing.

This is where you need soft hands.

And you just wait until I've got my net.

And then I'm gonna show you one of nature's little joys, and just move the rod tip towards me, and then slide the fish across the water.

(Charles grunting) There we go.

That's a grayling.

And if you look at this beautiful thing, yes, isn't that beautiful?

It's one of the original white fishes that came down from the Arctic Circle, and came down with the Ice Age.

You can eat grayling, and they're very good to eat, but you wouldn't eat this one.

It's too small.

- So he's going back.

- [Charles] That one's going back.

There you are.

That's gone quite happily.

I'll spend hours putting fish back.

But that's the grayling.

Now we want a trout.

(lively music) - [Mary] With no sign of the elusive trout, we decide to try our luck a bit further upstream.

(water splashing) - It's a rainbow.

You got your trout here.

It's a lovely little wild fish.

There it is.

There you go.

That's a proper fish.

Don't put on the line, just put the hand by me now.

- [Mary] Now, I'm watching it swim.

Isn't it beautiful?

- It's fantastic.

Now just wind the handle just a bit.

- [Mary] There it is.

Now that's a fish and a half.

It's bigger than my minnow.

- [Charles] Just a bit bigger than your minnow.

- I'm winding.

- [Charles] Yep.

Just keep everything smooth.

(water splashing) Whoa!

There you go.

There's your fish!

- [Mary] Have you ever.. Have you ever seen a bigger fish?

- [Charles] There's your fish.

- Come here my little fellow then.

Now, just look at that.

I think that's a sheer beauty, and I reckon it weighs a couple of pounds, something like that.

- I think so.

- Would serve two.

- [Charles] Absolutely.

Gosh, it would.

- Lovely.

(light music) I can think of no better way to enjoy a freshly caught rainbow trout, than to simply fillet it, and then fry it in a little butter.

Look at that.

- [Charles] That's fantastic.

- Not bad.

- Shouldn't have catch such big fish then, should we?

- That's beautiful.

Now I'm just going to add to that a little bit of dill in here.

- Oh, right.

- And can you squeeze some lemon?

- Yeah, sure.

- Your hands are drier than mine.

Into there.

That's perfect.

(light music) I'm just so excited to try it.

- That's truly lovely.

- It is sheer perfection.

All I've got to do is to thank you for such a memorable day.

- No, thank you.

- Do you know something?

I think I've got the bug.

(light music) (light music) After a long day out in the countryside, I like something quick to prepare, and hearty to eat.

And this lasagna, using sausage meat and mushrooms is a real favorite of mine.

I've been making this lasagna for quite some time.

And my family think that it's the very, very best.

And I'm very pleased with that, because it's so quick and easy to make.

Start by frying off 450 grams of sausage meat.

(food sizzling) Every little bit wants to be a lovely golden brown color.

Sausage meat has wonderful spices that are so good for the lasagna.

Add two tablespoon fulls of flour, two cloves of crushed garlic, and one chopped chili.

I suppose it's quite unusual to put a bit of chili in, but my lot seemed to like chili in things more, and more, and more, so, up to you whether you put it in or not.

Gosh, that looks quite colorful with a fleck of red in there.

Then, mushrooms, thinly sliced.

Fry those for a few minutes.

Then in goes the creme fraiche.

The creme fraiche is to replace a bechamel sauce.

And it is so simple, easy, and a lot less effort.

At this point, add a generous handful of chopped spinach.

Plenty of interest there with the spinach, the mushrooms, the chilies.

It looks good, doesn't it?

I could eat that right now, but it's going into lasagna.

Now, for a very simple tomato sauce.

Mix two tablespoons of sun-dried tomato paste, one teaspoon of light muscovado sugar, 500 mil of passata, and some freshly chopped sage, and thyme leaves.

And that's it.

And now it's an assembly job.

So a third of this.

All right.

Then, you take the sauce, and the sauce, you just dribble informally over the top.

Soak the pasta sheets for 10 minutes in hot water, to help reduce the cooking time, before adding them to the lasagna.

That's it.

And then you do the whole procedure again.

(lively music) Top it with the final layer of meat, and the last of the tomato sauce.

And just to finish that off, giving you a lovely crispy top, some cheese.

I like to use cheddar cheese, but you can use any hard cheese, or end bits that you've got left in the fridge.

And that will all melt, and become crispy on top.

Cook it at fan 180 for 20 to 30 minutes, until the pasta is soft, and the top is gold.

Oh.

Just a gentle bubble around the outside.

So, I reckon that'll serve about six people, and it's best served the moment it comes out of the oven.

Oh.

Look at that.

How is that for a different pasta?

Little bit of spinach, little bit of chili, not too much pasta, lots of sauce.

It's a bit hot, but I think I'll have a quick taste.

I'll take it from around the edge, like you tell the children to.

Oh, you can't beat it.

(light music) There is nothing I love more than a long country walk, with my husband, Paul, and the dogs.

Oh, there look, some good ones over there.

It's a perfect excuse to gather blackberries for a pie.

I'm not the only one that likes blackberries.

Sloes for sloe gin, even winfall apples, ideal for my next recipe, these mini apple and almond cakes.

To start with, I'm using melted butter.

There aren't many cakes, except for gingerbreads, that you use melted butter.

It's cool, and I've got 75 grams.

Then, a hundred grams of caster sugar, a hundred grams of self-raising flour.

This is really so simple to make.

(bowl tapping) Add one egg, and half a teaspoon of almond extract.

You just start beating it, and it's not difficult, I wouldn't bother to get the machine out for this.

That's it.

Nothing could be simpler.

(bell chiming) I usually use a cooking apple, a Bramley would be ideal.

And if you haven't got perfectly shaped apples, and they're windfalls, and bruised on one side, perfect way of using them up.

(light music) Slice the apples, and we're ready to assemble.

Start by placing six buttered rings on non-stick paper.

A spoonful of the mixture in the bottom.

And once you've put those six sort of dollops, then hold the ring, and just spread that to the edges.

And then the apple, it'll take about three slices of apple, and try not to let the apple touch the ring, just put it just inside the ring.

There we are.

Then, I'm going to put the rest of the mixture on top.

These are so simple.

You could knock them up in no time if you get a surprise visitor coming for tea.

(lively music) Level the tops off with a back of a spoon, and sprinkle with flaked almonds.

That's it.

They're ready for the oven.

Now, those go in the oven at 160 fan, and they will take about 25 or 30 minutes.

Leave them to cool for 10 minutes, before removing from their rings.

Oh, they do look lovely.

I love the straight sides.

They look very professional.

I'm going to eat one while it's still warm, and I'm going to have it with a nice blob of creme fraiche.

(lively music) That is sheer heaven.

(lively music) Next time.

They should grow really well.

It's dishes inspired by my love of fresh herbs.