Time to Eat with Nadiya (2019–…): Season 1, Episode 5 - Reliable Regulars - full transcript

[gentle music plays]

-[lively music plays]
-[Nadiya] Today, the tried and tested

time-saving recipes I return to

time and time again.

The best French toast

you've ever eaten in your life.

Super easy falafels
made from my number one

store-cupboard staple.

I'll give a fiver to anyone who works out
that there's baked beans in there.

My scrumptious apple pies

I can rustle up in minutes.



Way too easy to make...

and way too easy to eat.

-[filo dough crunching]
-Plus,

my delicious goat's cheese tart

rescues lunchtime for a busy vet.

-Cheese sandwich...
-It's gone.

[bleats]

[soulful music playing]

But first, my savory take

on one of the nation's
most popular go-to dishes.

Who doesn't love French toast?

Bread dipped in egg and then fried.

It is one of my most favorite things
to eat.

And comfort food
does not have to be complicated.



And my twist on this classic
takes no time at all.

My tasty, feel-good French toast

is the perfect fix when you're craving
something a little bit naughty.

I'm starting off with two eggs.

This is the kind of thing...

If I'm on my own, which is very rare,

I kind of treat myself
to a really nice hot lunch.

Salt.

French toast, whether savory or sweet,

always add a tiny bit of sugar,

because when it hits the frying pan,

it caramelizes a little bit,
and that's quite nice.

I'm gonna add a splash of milk.

And then,

I'm gonna add turmeric.

Growing up,
Mom always had turmeric in the house.

And I love it in eggs,

because it gives
this beautiful yellow color. And then,

two of my favorite things
to keep in my cupboard

which I always have stocked up:

garlic granules and onion granules.

They save time,

and they save me chopping up garlic,
which I never, ever want to do.

If I can avoid it, I will.

Remember, those granules, they're all dry.

And just by kind of setting it aside
and leaving it there...

for five minutes,

it's gonna go... [slurps]

Now, when I make a French toast,

first rule of all the rules...

is never, ever brown bread.

Sliced cheese, easy-peasy.

Get it on there.

On top of that, ham.

And you could mix this up.
Like, you could do

cheese and pesto.

You could do cheese and spinach.

See how it's always cheese
and something else?

It's never the other way around,
always cheese.

And then, straight on top.

And I'm gonna dip that
straight into the egg.

Don't forget the sides.

Very important.

And you can see the turmeric.

Look how yellow that is.
That's not boring.

It's bright yellow.

Right. Now, turn the heat up on that.

I've just used some vegetable oil.

Get that really nice and hot.

As soon as it hits the pan,
I want it to go... [blows air]

-[pan sizzles]
-Straight in.

And then, I'm gonna add all my egg.

For me, it's pure comfort food.

It's bread filled

with ham and cheese,

dipped in egg, fried.

And you know what?
There's no one at home.

They can't smell it,
so nobody can come say,

"Can I have some of that, please?"

And you can see it's golden under there.

You know where it catches?
That's where the sugar's melting.

Flip it over.

There you go.

Turn the heat down,

right down.

And this is the only bit
where you have to observe

a tiny bit of patience.

Just, like, let it happen,

and gently...

Just press it down,
encourage it to stick together.

Whoa. Look at that.

It's time to eat.

My gloriously indulgent French toast

is happiness on a plate

and takes moments to make.

Mm...

Comfort food
does not have to be complicated.

It's yummy,

it's delicious, but it's something
that you can make time and time again,

and it'll be delicious every single time.

You've got that oozy cheese in the middle,
that salty ham,

but the best bit,

for me, is that turmeric,
garlic, onion, soaked eggy bread.

And one of the prerequisites
of whatever food you eat

is that your food
has to match your outfit for the day.

Check.

[soulful music playing]

With life so unpredictable,

we all need a range of great go-to dishes

that we can rely on.

Yummy meals
that deliver maximum satisfaction

for minimum effort.

Today, I'm meeting a vet whose busy rounds

have left him desperate
for some time-smart recipes.

[lambs bleating]

It's lambing season,

so I'm heading to a farm
in the Welsh valleys to meet Tom,

who's working around the clock.

[lamb bleats in distance]

-Hi, Tom.
-Oh, hi, Nadiya. How you doing?

Busy?

Yeah, really busy today.

What with lambs dropping,

calves dropping.

Put me to work.
Let me see what it is that you do.

-There's some gloves.
-Okay.

It's like having, like,
more than one baby.

-There's loads!
-[Tom] There's loads of babies, yeah.

-Give him a cwtch.
-Ooh...

-There he is.
-Look at him.

-And how old is he?
-[Tom] So a couple of days old, this one.

-Wanna have a listen?
-Go on, then.

-You ready?
-Mm-hmm.

There we go.
That should be his heart.

-Yes.
-That's him breathing away there as well.

-He's well, right? He's good?
-Yeah, he's good.

This isn't just, like,
a nine to five, is it?

We have to be ready.

-All the time.
-At all times.

What happens to, like, routine?

-Food slots in.
-Yeah.

We don't work around... around food,

which is disappointing
'cause I love cooking.

-Yeah.
-But, this time of year, not a chance.

[baaing]

-Right in?
-So I think he'll go straight for it.

There he is.
He's getting his lunch then, isn't he?

What's for your lunch, out of curiosity?

Nothing exciting.

-Cheese sandwich, bag of crisps.
-Time isn't something you've got a lot of,

so how can I help?

If you could get rid
of my cheese sandwich...

-[laughs]
-...for lunch,

-that would be awesome.
-Yeah.

What I need is recipes

that I can put together,
maybe before I come to work,

-for my lunch.
-Yeah.

[Tom] Or the night before.

Could be something

-to look forward to, isn't it?
-Yeah.

So we're going back to Tom's kitchen.

I'm going to show him

the ultimate time-crunching hack.

Same ingredients, multiple meals.

My trusty creamy sweet potato
and goat's cheese tart

and this heart-warming soup.

Both guaranteed
to brighten up any lunchtime.

Do you look after any goats,
by the way?

-Yeah, I saw a goat yesterday.
-Did you?

-You like goat's cheese?
-Love goat's cheese.

So to start off,
we're gonna make the sweet potato

-and goat's cheese tart.
-Okay.

And we're gonna start off
with a...

pastry tart shell.

So this is one that I've made,
but you can buy tart shells ready-made,

ready to stick your filling in.

-You cheat.
-Why not?

-So let's get onto our filling, shall we?
-What do you need me to do?

-Do the onions...
-Yeah.

...and peel the garlic for me.
That would be great.

-So could I freeze this?
-Yeah, absolutely.

You don't have a lot of time.

When you do have the time...

-Make the most of it.
-...make the most of it.

-Sweet potatoes.
-[Tom] These as well?

-How do you want these? Chunks?
-Cubes.

Yeah, you might have noticed
that's quite a lot.

I was gonna say
we've got loads here.

We're gonna use half the ingredients here

and stick them in the tart shell
once they're cooked.

But the other half,

-we're gonna turn into a soup.
-Oh.

-Yeah.
-And have it next day for lunch.

-Exactly.
-Homemade ready meals.

-[Nadiya] Now, shall we cook?
-Okay.

-Let's get a glug of oil in there.
-Okay.

-Do you like thyme?
-I love thyme.

That's gonna flavor the oil
so you get that lovely thyme flavor.

-And now, just add the garlic straight in.
-That smell's really coming from them now.

-The thyme's really getting going.
-[Nadiya] Yeah. Season it.

Sweet potato is a great shortcut

if you want maximum flavor fast.

One thing I love
about using sweet potatoes

is that, when I'm short on time,

they don't take very long to cook.

[Tom] How long will that take?

Oh, not long, ten minutes.

While the sweet potato cooks,

let's do that custardy eggy filling.

Whisk those up quickly,

to break those eggs up.

Add the crème fraîche.

-[Tom] All of it?
-Yeah.

Do you like spice?

-Yeah, not too much though.
-So this is great for you

'cause it's paprika,
so it's slightly sweeter.

-[Tom] Okay.
-And then half a teaspoon of salt.

[lively music playing]

-I like the color now as well.
-Good, right?

Before I assemble the tart,

I want to ramp up the flavor even more...

so we're going to make

a punchy watercress pesto.

Drop in a handful of pine nuts.

And the zest and juice of a lemon.

Season it.

And whoosh.

Add olive oil until it's smooth.

It'll be perfect on the tart.

We'll drizzle it in the soup,

and there's even enough for pasta
another day.

So on a Sunday, I could do this...

-Exactly.
-...relax,

-then dinner for the whole week's done.
-That's not bad.

So we've got our pastry tart shell.

Let's put this together, right?

Start with our sweet potato.

So let's put half of that in there.

Let's get that savory custard

-in there. Yeah.
-All of that's going in?

This simple custard
is the magic ingredient

that will bring this veggie tart together.

Take some of that goat's cheese.

-Okay.
-Big chunks.

I mean, you've done this now.

-Did you think that was difficult?
-I thought that was really easy.

Finish off with a few spoonfuls
of that zingy pesto,

then pop it in the oven for 40 minutes.

And next, for my cheeky time-smart hack,

we're going to use the same ingredients

to make a quick and hearty soup.

And it's so simple.
I've got some vegetable stock over there.

Whack it straight in there.

-Turn that on.
-Okay.

And let's get that lid on.

So the oven's taking care of the tart,

and in as little as ten minutes,
the sweet potato should be falling apart.

Just take out the thyme

and give it a whiz.

Doubling up,

or even tripling up your recipes

means you crunch your prep time

and stretch your budget.

What's not to like?

I always feel quite,
like, proud of myself,

and we're like, "Yeah."

You start off with one thing
but you end up with two.

[Tom] We got a huge tart there
as well, haven't we?

-Are you hungry?
-Oh, definitely.

-Look. There you go, that's yours.
-That looks good.

-Cheese sandwich...
-It's gone, like...

-[Nadiya] Obliterated. Absolutely.
-Thing of the past, to be honest.

Yeah, I like that.
I really like the sweet potato.

I think everyone at the surgery

is gonna be a little bit jealous

-of your lunches.
-Yeah.

I think they are. 
I'm gonna have to watch my lunch box.

[both laugh]

[Nadiya] Take your soup

from the simple to the sublime

with a sprinkle of pesto

and goat's cheese.

-Oh, that's good.
-Yeah?

-[Tom] Yep, that's a keeper.
-Do you think...

this will be a part of your

kind of regular things that you cook?

I really think Sunday night,

-make one of those...
-Yeah.

...and then sorted for the week.

-Yeah.
-Yeah.

-And some soup.
-Definitely.

So a couple of months on,

is Tom still making the most

of his limited time

by building up his lunchtime repertoire?

[baas]

We had meatballs last night,
and, as Nadiya said,

you make a meal,
make sure it goes a bit further

and plan for other ones.

So instead of a boring sandwich today,

I've got this incredible meatball sub.

And that's gonna keep me going.

Thanks, Nadiya.

[soulful music playing]

[Nadiya] When life's really hectic,

most of us just don't have the time
to keep popping to the shops.

So give yourself a break

and stock up on versatile,
long-life ingredients

you can just reach for
in your hour of need.

The one thing
I never run out of is baked beans,

perfect for when I want beans on toast.

But I've found a fun way
of taking the humble can of baked beans

and turning them into something
a little bit more interesting.

If you thought you had to use chickpeas

to make falafel, think again.

My baked bean cheat on this classic

is simple, speedy
and a real family favorite.

I'm starting by opening
four tins of beans.

I am popping all my beans...

...straight into a colander.

But you can see I've got a bowl underneath

'cause I want the beans
without any of that liquid.

That's really satisfying,

the way that's dripping out 
of those holes.

Whatever you do,

don't throw it away, we're gonna use it.

That's packed full of flavor.

[lively music playing]

Run them under a tap
to rinse off any remaining sauce.

I'm just gonna whizz those up.

Every good falafel has garlic,

and lots of it.

So I've got six cloves of garlic...

and then an onion.

You wanna be generous with the herbs.

So lots and lots of fresh parsley.

Add an egg

and then season it well.

Then we're gonna add

some chili powder,

and about a tablespoon
of ground coriander,

and then cumin. I love cumin.

So now, just to bind everything together,

I'm gonna add chickpea flour.
And I grew up

using this, making pakoras.

You know, that's the flour we had.

What I love about it

is that it's a very distinct nutty flavor.

It's a tasty alternative

to regular flour and perfect for falafels.

You can feel, like,
the whole mixture kind of tighten up.

You know it's ready

when it doesn't just kinda gloop off,
it's stuck.

I mean, that's going nowhere.

I've got a baking tray lined

with some baking paper
and I've got some water at the ready.

If I dip my finger in,
look what happens.

It all sticks to my finger.  

But if I stick my finger in
with wet hands,

it doesn't stick to my finger.

[soulful music playing]

Falafels are normally deep-fried,
which means they need constant attention.

To free up precious time,

I'm going to bake them in the oven.

They still need a little bit of oil...

just so they crisp up around the edges.

I've got the oven preheated to 200,

and these are gonna take
about 25 to 30 minutes.  

I bet you thought I was joking

when I said I was gonna use the sauce.
No, we're gonna use the sauce.

It's going to transform

these onions, carrots and cabbage
into an effortless, zingy slaw.

It's already packed full of flavor,

but I'm taking it to the next level
with garlic...

parsley,

spicy sriracha,

and a good pinch of salt.

Then there's lemon juice

straight out of a bottle.

And creamy mayonnaise.

All my store cupboard stuff

has turned my baked bean juice

into something that doesn't look like

baked bean juice anymore.
And you know what?

It doesn't taste
like baked bean juice either.

Oh, they smell amazing.

Look. Like, crispy on the outside,

but lovely and soft in the middle.

We all need our go-to fail-safe recipes,
and this is one of those.

It's the kind of thing that I'll make

in double, triple quantities,

stick 'em in the fridge,
stick 'em in the freezer,

and then, there.
I've got them as soon as I want them.

My sweet and spicy falafels

turn an everyday ingredient

into something extraordinary

in no time at all.

What started off life as a can

of baked beans,

has now become delicious, crisp,

soft falafels in a burger.

Full of flavor with all that coriander
and cumin.

Crisp on the outside,
and lovely, and soft,

and not dry in the middle.

I will give a fiver to anyone
who works out

that there's baked beans in there.

Those are good falafels.

[cheery music playing]

My family aren't the only ones

who enjoy a baked bean.

In the UK,

we buy around 800 million cans a year.

To find out what makes them so moreish,

I'm heading to Wigan,

the home of one of our most iconic brands.

Heinz has been a household name
for 150 years.

They produce more baked beans
than anyone else in the world,

and I can't wait to find out
how they do it.

This gigantic 54-acre site

is the largest food factory in Europe,

producing nearly half a billion cans

of baked beans each year.

Eight hundred and fifty people work here,
and I'm joining operations manager John

on his morning shift.

[machinery humming]

You know, John, I absolutely love beans,

-but this is where it all begins.
-It is, yes.

[Nadiya] How many tins of beans
are you producing

in 24 hours?

In 24 hours, we produce over three million

-cans of beans.
-Wow.

To satisfy our insatiable appetite,

every day,

over 650 million dried haricot beans

arrive on site

direct from the USA.

Those are the beans.

[gasps] Actual beans!

[John] Actual dried beans.

These beans, from the point

-that they're emptied out...
-Yes.

...to the point where they're in a can,
how long is that process?

Approximately two hours.

That's insane.

First, the beans are rehydrated

using steam.

Every single bean is checked for color
and shape by a state-of-the-art laser.

Any that don't make the grade

are given the boot.

For me, a can of beans...

The thing that makes it...

is that really delicious,

distinct sauce.

Now, where does all of that start?

[John] This is raw tomato pulp.

Oh, I can see it!

Like a big tomato bath.

I've got some to show you.

-Oh, wow. So this is the pulp?
-That's the pulp.

-Can I taste some?
-Of course you can, yeah.

It's just like the pulp you get at home.

-Nice?
-That's intense, it's very sweet.

But what turns these tomatoes

into baked bean sauce

is the all-important spice mix,

the same recipe they've relied on

since 1896.

Spices. I like spices. Now, see,

when you look at the back
of a can of beans...

[John] Yes.

...it doesn't say what spices.

No, it'll never say what spices.

-Will it never say?
-No.

-So this is top secret?
-Yes.

So how many people know the secret?

In the world?

-Yeah, whole wide world.
-Four.

No!

Four people.

I kinda wanna be the fifth person.

-I really wanna know.
-[laughs] You can imagine

-our individual flavor is all from here.
-Yeah.

I like the look of that. That, to me,

-is the color of beans.
-It is, yes.

-[Nadiya] Let's have a taste of that.
-Little taste?

Ooh!

-Whoa!
-Spicy?

Wow, that's concentrated.

It is very concentrated.

-[clears throat]
-[laughs]

My dad is gonna be so disappointed.

He's like, "What kind of girl

-can't eat spices?"
-[laughs]

Once the spice has been added

to the tomato sauce,

it's poured into the tins,

which are then sealed shut

at a rate of 1,200 a minute.

From here,

once you've actually put
the can end on the can,

we then need to cook the product.

So they get cooked inside the can?

Yes, inside the can.

Okay, I was not expecting that.

They're cooked
in huge rotating pressure cookers

for precisely 32 minutes.

With three million cans of baked beans
leaving this factory every day,

it's Katherine and Joanne's job

to make sure they all taste

exactly the same.

Ooh.

-Hello.
-[both] Hello, Nadiya.

-I can smell school dinners.
-[both laugh]

Is this what you do every single day?

Every single day, twice a day,

we taste these beans, yes.

What are good beans?
What are we looking for?

Well, we always have a standard.
What we aim every other bean to look like.

Okay, so this is the perfect plate...

[woman 1] That's the perfect plate.

[Nadiya] How do we start tasting?

[woman 1] Well, you have to have
two spoons.

Any tasting where I have to start

-with two spoons is always good for me.
-[laughing]

[woman 1] Transfer it to your own spoon

and taste it.

-Tastes pretty perfect to me.
-[woman 1 laughs] Good,

-and then you'll move on to sample one.
-[Nadiya] Yeah.

[woman 1] And we want to make sure
this bowl tastes the same.

The sauce can't be too sweet or too salty.

And they can't be too wet,

too dry or the beans can't be hard.

[Nadiya] How many years
have you been working here?

I've worked 35 years.

-And you've worked...
-[chuckles] I've done 20.

-[woman 1 laughs] Yeah.
-[Nadiya] That's a lot of beans! [laughs]

It's a lot of beans in our house.
Your husband works here.

I met my husband here.

We were working opposite each other.

-So you met him over a bean belt.
-Over a bean belt, yes.

And the rest is history.

-And your husband...
-I met my husband here.

-You did not!
-Yeah.

So this is the place to come
if you wanna meet

-your future husband.
-[laughs] Yeah.

[chuckles] Definitely.

[techno lounge music playing]

Shifts last 12 hours,

so we're taking a well-earned break.

I'm keen to find out

what the experts make
of my baked bean falafel.

I like to use my baked beans

as an ingredient.

So I like to cook with them,

so I've made you some...

-baked bean falafel burgers.
-[man] Ooh.

Have a taste.

There you go.

-Ooh. Thank you.
-[Nadiya] There's that lovely sauce...

that you work so hard to make.

[group] Mm.

-[John] That's nice, yeah.
-Delicious.

-They're really tasty.
-[John] Very good.

[woman 1] I'd never think
of doing what you've done,

where you've drained the sauce off,

made something separate out the sauce.

I might make these
and see if my family can guess

-what my main ingredient is.
-[gasps]

-That's such a good idea.
-I'll do that.

[woman 1] Yeah. [laughs]

[upbeat music playing]

Life's too short

to settle for boring,

so if there's one thing everyone needs,

it's a quick and reliable
crowd-pleasing sweet.

I've got one that never fails
to make my family happy.

Apple pie is one of our favorite desserts.

The one thing that,
whenever I say to the kids,

"What do you want for dessert? Pudding?"

"Apple pie." Always apple pie.

So I'm not making one apple pie,

I'm making lots of apple palm pies.

Good things come in small packages.

My effortless apple pies

are a scrumptious alternative
to the classic,

and take a fraction of the time to make.

If you think I'm gonna spend
the next 45 minutes

peeling and coring those apples,
you're wrong.

My first biggest cheat

in the whole wide world

is that I'm using chunky apple sauce.

And I know this is, like,
a popular thing with pork,

and with meats, and cold meats,

but it's apples.

Surely that's the best base
for an apple pie.

It's already got all the sugar in it.
Half the work's already done.

So that's a whole jar.

You've saved 45 minutes.

Easy-peasy already, right?

So let's, like, jazz it up a little bit.

I've got some chopped mixed nuts.

I'll add about three tablespoons. 

[soulful music playing]

Some raisins.

Three tablespoons.

They're gonna get really plump
and juicy.

And half a teaspoon of mixed spice.

Don't let anyone tell you that...

your apple pie
made out of apple sauce isn't fancy.

Look, we're fancying it up now.

And have you noticed
we're not adding any sugar?

This is sweet enough.

Look at that.
All of those apple pie flavors.

And all out of things
that we've got in the cupboard.

Easy.

Okay, so I was never gonna make
filo pastry.

Who in their right mind
has time to make filo pastry?

Great if you can, but even if I had...

twelve hours free on a weekend,

I'm telling you now,

I wouldn't make filo pastry.

So my second biggest cheat in the world

is the shop-bought stuff.

It's paper-thin,

perfectly formed and easy to handle.

I always keep a pack in the freezer.

And I'm gonna cut those

into eight equal squares.

Don't bother doing it
one sheet at a time.

Grab it all, all at once.

What I love about filo pastry
is the layers.

Every mouthful, it's just, like, crunch.

So my apple pie mix is done,
my pastry's cut.

All I need is my spray oil.

This should be in the toolkit
of every time-poor cook.

Much quicker than messing around
with melted butter.

Spray the base.

And then, that's one sheet.

I'm not even gonna push it in yet.

Spray.

What I wanna do is create those ruffles,

so kind of turn it round.

Next one.

Spray again.

And then, just push it in. That's it.

Next one.

[gentle music playing]

It's nice to kind of randomly place them

and not have them in a neat pile,

because what will happen is,
when we put our filling in,

we'll get those little...

crisp points that come up.

So I'm gonna add my apple pie mix
straight in.

The temptation is to get loads
in the first one,

and by the time you get to number 12,
nothing is left.

Okay, so that's the last one filled.

Each one, I'm gonna pop the top on.

Give it another little spray,
and then just kind of tuck...

it all in.

You don't have to be gentle.

Like, you can just, like, really...
push them down,

make them really lovely and neat.

Again, same with all of them.

Go all the way around.

Anything repetitive is my thing.

Love it.

Who needs meditation when you can bake?

I'm gonna give them

a little spray on top,

just to make them really crispy.

And then, I've got some demerara sugar.

And as that bakes,
that'll stick to the top.

I like the sweetness and the crunch.

If I was making a big apple pie,
it would take me about...

40 to 45 minutes
just to bake all of that in the oven.

But these, at 180,

take 14, maybe 16 minutes. That's it.

[lively music playing]

My mouth-watering mini apple palm pies

should be in everyone's repertoire
of easy go-to recipes.

I mean, I love a good big pie, but...

[quietly] ...look at that.

That's why it's an apple palm pie.

Only one thing left to do.

[filo dough crunching]

I kid you not.

-[soulful music playing]
-There is not one trick in the book

I haven't used.

I cheated all the way through.

And if the results are that delicious,
I'm just gonna keep cheating.

My goodness, they are so good.

And way too easy to make,

and way too easy to eat.

When life gets busy,

we all need easy recipes

we can rely on
to help win back quality me time.

[upbeat music playing]