Original subtitles

Jo, today is all about comfort food.

When I think comfort food, I just think a nice big, warm hug.

Something that makes you feel good. What are you cooking?

Well, so I'm going to do

a fish pie with a tattie topping.

Well, something that makes me feel good

is toasted sandwiches.

So I'm going to be making the ultimate toastie today.

Of course you are. You are the Toastie King.

But I'm putting a bit of a different spin on it.

It's my mi goreng chicken toastie.

I have no idea what's in that, but let's see.

I think there are few things better than a fish pie.

You're wondering what I was going to say there, weren't you, Tim?

You thought we were going to have a philosophical discussion.

No, no, no, we're going to make a favourite dish, a fish pie.

Do you like a fish pie? I love a fish pie.

I'm glad you do, because that's what we're making.

I'm a big seafood fan, and I'm really excited.

Well, me too.

And the truth is that most Australians are not eating

enough seafood, so we can do better.

And really, we want to be having seafood

at least twice a week.

And you know, what better than being able to use frozen seafood?

So this for me is just about convenience.

I'm always looking for ways to make a healthier diet easier

for you to implement, and keeping some really good-quality seafood

in your freezer is one way to make sure

that you get those two seafood meals a week.

We've got salmon, we've got flathead, and we've got some prawns.

And importantly, those prawns are MSC certified.

It's the Marine Stewardship Council which makes sure

that those fisheries are doing it in a sustainable way.

And that's really important, especially for foods like prawns.

So we've got omega-3-rich salmon.

Those are the fats that are very anti-inflammatory.

We're adding it with some white fish and some prawns.

But, honestly, you could use any combination of seafood you like.

I love this idea because you can just take out of the freezer

what you need.

It's always on hand. Exactly.

OK, so can I get you to chop up into nice big chunks?

I like my seafood pie to be quite chunky. Yes!

The salmon and the flathead.

Now, chefs, just settle down.

I know you're not going to be happy with me making a white sauce

with olive oil, but I think it works beautifully.

I've never seen this being done before,

but I'm really excited, actually.

You don't look horrified, Tim, so I'm glad.

I've got you. I've got you. I support you.

Very good for your cholesterol levels,

having extra-virgin olive oil instead,

and I'm always conscious of that.

And personally, I really love the taste.

Essentially, olive oil is a fat, like butter.

It should work. Exactly.

It does work, I promise. I've done this before.

So all I'm doing is making a kind of roux

with your flour and with your oil.

And then we're going to use a combination of milk.

And I am using a full-cream milk to give a nice creaminess

to the sauce, but I don't want it to be too heavy and gluggy.

So I'm combining it with some stock.

So it's about half milk and half stock.

So when I've got a bit of a paste going on, the trick is just to add

a little bit slowly and don't panic.

Don't panic. I think that's the key.

Don't panic. Don't panic.

You know, I think this is one of the first things my mum taught me

how to cook, was a white sauce.

And, yeah, that was her tip.

I think a lot of people get stressed making a bechamel from scratch

and they'll go to buying a jar bechamel.

But those are absolutely... Oh, can you do that?

You can, and it's absolutely horrible.

I did not even know that that was possible.

I didn't know you could buy it in a jar.

(LAUGHS)

There you go. Yeah, that's because you're a classy lady.

Oh, thanks, Tim, thanks.

So, comfort food.

What makes you want to cook a fish pie that is comforting to you?

We actually have really, really good seafood.

So, you know, seafood was a feature of my diet

growing up because the west coast of Scotland and the north east,

Peterhead, these kind of areas, we have really great seafood

and we also have a lot of salmon in our rivers.

Oh, really? So, yeah, so there's a lot of seafood in Scotland.

So this is definitely a dish from the way that I grew up.

In goes my stock.

And I just want to get this to the right consistency.

You will get some liquid coming out of the seafood.

So don't make your sauce too runny and liquidy.

So I don't want it to be gluggy, but neither do I want it

to sort of be overtaking the sauce.

I want it to be a little thinner than this. Coming together quite well.

So all our seafood's chopped up there,

so just give that a bit of a toss around.

I've added the prawns in there.

How good does that look? That looks great.

Peas are classic as part of a fish pie.

Yeah. I am going to season this.

You do need some salt and pepper

and I like lots of black pepper.

Oh, lovely. I've got another job for you, Tim.

You see, I'm never-ending. I do love having a sous-chef.

Keep me working. Keep me working. I like it.

This doesn't happen in my kitchen at home.

We're going to add some dill into this sauce.

Fabulous. One last little ingredient into here,

and that is some lemon.

Tim, go for it. Pop in the dill. Do you want all of it?

Maybe give me half because I might save a little bit for the top. Love it.

Just because you're here and I'll make it look nice.

Can I chop up your taters?

I would love to. Tatties. Tatties.

Taters. Oh, I'm learning. Taters for you.

I'm learning. Scottish fish pie has tatties.

With my complexion,

I would think I would fit in well in Scotland, do you think?

You definitely are. You look...

There's a distinct Celtic look about you.

You could be Scottish or Irish, Tim.

Alright, so nice big, thick chunks of those

because we're going to layer them on the top.

Now, I've par-cooked my potatoes because if you put them on raw

on the top, they cook a lot slower than the fish underneath.

Great point. So you're better to par-cook them, just slightly undercook them.

So now I'm just going to pour over my sauce.

Oh, look how silky smooth your sauce is!

You see?

Extra-virgin olive oil works in your white sauce. And no butter was used.

It was not. My cholesterol will thank me later.

And my brain health and my gut health.

It's a great little tip. Yeah. That's fantastic.

And then don't stir too much

because you don't want to break up that seafood.

Remember, it's a little bit delicate and it's all going to mix nicely,

so I'm just going to make sure it's all beautifully covered

with my sauce.

And then what I'm going to do is just layer these potatoes.

You don't have to be too fussy,

but it looks pretty if you kind of layer them up.

Now, notice I've also left the skins on.

Like most fruits and vegetables,

a lot of the fibre, the anti-oxidants, and even some

of the nutrients are actually in or just under the skin.

So with the potato, whenever possible,

I know sometimes you want to take the skin off

for whatever the particular fancy dishes that you're doing,

but, you know, for everyday cooking

and for something like this, leave the skins on.

This is looking great.

And, look, we did almost just the right amount of potatoes.

Fantastic.

And don't worry if you've got a few extra potatoes.

They can go into a soup or into a salad or...

Chef snack. Chef snack!

To keep you going until this is all made.

Good glug of extra-virge. Good glug of extra-virge on the top.

You know, you should have about three tablespoons a day

for the maximum health benefits,

so don't be shy with your extra-virgin olive oil.

And then I'm just going to do an extra bit of seasoning

and a pinch of salt.

I haven't put too much salt into this.

So, you know, a little bit of salt is OK.

You do need some salt in your potatoes. Absolutely.

Then this just goes into the oven at 180 for about half an hour or so,

just until the potatoes are looking nice and golden-brown

and crunchy on the top.

Oh, Jo, that's a work of art! Isn't it?

It's almost a shame to cut it! So crispy.

But we must! So pretty.

And that's exactly what you want it to look like on the top.

So those potatoes are almost crisped up like roast potatoes.

Oh, I just love this dish.

It's so pretty.

Comfort food. It is.

This is the challenge, is to try to do this

and make it still look lovely when I put it out on the plate.

It's rustic. It doesn't matter.

It doesn't have to look nice. It doesn't.

But, you know, I'm with a chef.

I'm trying to, you know, trying to bring out

my professional skills.

Be generous, making sure you get all that lovely seafood

and the peas underneath.

I would love a little bit of dill on the top.

Look at that. That's dinner!

It smells amazing. Let's have a taste.

Get some of that beautiful seafood.

The prawns are good.

And now I need to have a little bit of the chewy potato.

Potatoes, beautiful and crispy.

And that seafood medley underneath with that amazing bechamel

that you made with olive oil.

I still can't believe it, but absolutely gorgeous.

And you've got some peas in there. You've added some extra vegies.

The potatoes on top. It's a win for me. I love the dill.

I am feeling very comforted right now, Jo.

Thank you. That's your warm hug in a bowl.

I love it.

Jo, there's no hiding the fact that I love a toasted sandwich.

I mean, I've built a whole career out of it, and toasties

are my ultimate comfort food.

I have been waiting to see you do a toastie.

I've been dying to, you know, see the master at work.

I'm so excited that I get to make this on television.

This is my mi goreng chicken toastie.

Now, I know a lot of you out there are thinking,

"Mi goreng noodles in a toastie?"

But trust me. Out there, in here.

You're thinking it too?

But once you try it, it just absolutely works.

You ready? You with me? I am, I'm with you. I'm onto it. Let's do it.

So, a lot of fun.

We've got some chicken that I'm going to marinate

in some sweet soy and sweet chilli.

I just love these flavours together.

They make a really quick marinade.

While I'm doing this, would you be able to start slicing

some spring onion for me?

Of course I can. That's going to go in our toastie.

And I've got some jalapeno and chilli-infused cheese

just to pack some more flavour in there.

We're getting a bit spicy. Yeah.

If you could grate a good whack of that, that'd be fantastic.

Done. Lovely.

So I'm going to squeeze on some of our sweet chilli

straight onto our chicken tenderloins.

Love it.

And a little bit of our sweet soy.

We will add some more into our toastie as well.

Sweet soy or kecap manis, whatever people like to call it.

I just call it an absolute flavour bomb.

It's like an Indonesian soy sauce, isn't it? It's lovely.

It's a bit thicker, a bit sweeter. Sweeter.

But absolutely gorgeous.

Now I just want to give this a little toss around.

I've got my skillet pan preheating, Jo,

so I'm just going to throw some of our tenderloins.

That's the sizzle we want to hear.

Now, these only need three, four minutes either side

just until they're nice and caramelised.

Yeah, that's the trick, isn't it, with these?

Not to overcook them or they get a little tough.

Chicken tenderloins can overcook really quickly.

So, yeah, you want to be careful.

Now, bread.

I've got a gorgeous loaf of sourdough bread.

Love it. That's my go-to for toasties.

Now, sourdough is really good for your gut health. It sure is.

This is a fermented food, right?

So, you know, the fermentation process

means that the microbes

are used to create that rise in the dough.

So they're creating some gas which gives the rise.

But also, in fact, you tend to get a little bit

less gluten, which isn't...

Gluten is not a problem for most of us,

but some people have a little issue.

So, many people report anecdotally that they find sourdough easier

to digest than other types of bread.

But I just think, you know, you're getting those acids present

in the bread, which gives it

that very distinctive sourdough taste.

Mm. But, in fact, those acids are very, very good for the gut.

So I'm really pleased to see you using it.

Might just get a little bit of olive oil into our pan as well,

just to lubricate a little bit.

OK.

I'm just going to check our...

Ah! Look at that.

That's what you want to see - that beautiful caramelised colour.

It gets me excited.

And these are already cooked.

So these are literally just a packet

of your run-of-the-mill mi goreng noodles.

And we've added the sachet packets to them.

But I always find they don't quite have enough flavour.

So can you pass me the sweet chilli and the sweet soy again? Sure.

I'm just going to hit our noodles with a little bit more sweet chilli

to the noodles.

My cooking, Jo, is just about ramping as much flavour into my food

as I can, so if I can get more flavour into these noodles,

I'm going to do it.

Alright, just a little bit more. OK.

And then just toss that through.

Stay with me, stay with me.

Alright, noodles are done.

I think our chicken is pretty much ready to rock'n'roll.

I might give that another minute or two.

Once the chicken's cooked, we are going to be ready to build

these amazing toasties.

I can't wait!

Jo, the chicken's ready.

Let's build this toastie.

I want to do a little layer of our chilli jalapeno-infused cheese

just on the bottom.

Yum.

And then we get a couple of our lovely, sticky,

caramelised chicken tenderloins.

Do you know what I'm most worried about?

Is how my mouth is going to get around

the size of this toastie!

It could be an issue. I'm going to be nice and generous.

Three beautiful tenderloins on our toastie. Wow.

We top with some of our noodles.

Sorry, I just, I'm trying to get over the idea of noodles

in a toastie.

But, anyway, go on, go on! Double carb, double carb!

This is comfort food. This is comfort food!

Oh, I'm not objecting to the carbs at all.

OK, so a nice layer of our spicy,

flavour-enhanced mi goreng noodles.

Some of our spring onions...

..for a little bit of greenery.

I was wondering, was that just to keep me happy?

And it also adds another burst of flavour as well.

I love spring onions.

Then this absolute goodness.

Japanese Kewpie mayo. I'm just obsessed with it.

Do you know, it's funny, isn't it?

Everybody talks about this, that Kewpie mayo is different

to any other mayo.

What is it about it?

It could be the MSG. Um...

Well, that's just a salt, to be honest.

It's just nice and thick and luscious. It's different.

I just absolutely love it.

So a good thick layer of Kewpie mayo.

If you're going to put mayo on, you want to taste it.

And then another layer of our cheese.

Oh, yeah.

And then pop on the lid.

This is a toastie like I have never seen before.

Now we need to cook it, OK?

So we want a whack of good quality salted butter

for that little salty goodness that we want from a good toastie.

And this is organic butter as well.

So you know it's good.

Into our frying pan.

It's time for our toastie to go into our swimming pool of butter.

I didn't want to say, Tim.

I was going to say, are we deep-frying?

What's happening? A little bit ambitious.

And of course, you could do this in olive oil.

Yes, of course, of course.

The toastie goes into our nice warm pan,

and now we just wait...

Now we weight-watch. ..a few minutes either side.

Till all the cheese is nice and melted and the bread

is golden and crispy.

Alright, it's done.

It's looking epic.

I mean, Tim, I am intrigued.

What on earth made you think about putting noodles in a toastie?

Well, Jo, 20 years ago, when I was a poor uni student...

Oh, it's a student story!

Maybe after a few too many sherbets the night before,

all I had in the cupboard was noodles, cheese and bread.

And this is how this toastie was created.

OK, OK.

So you're telling me it was a hangover cure, basically.

Pretty much. Pretty much.

Let's slice through. You want to hear that nice crunch.

That's what you want to hear.

And let's have a look.

Oh, my goodness. Wow.

You've got that beautiful, moist chicken.

The noodles.

Let's pop it on our plate.

I don't know about you, Jo, but when I think comfort food,

that is what I think about.

I always like to finish my toasties with a little sprinkle

of salt flakes.

There we go, Jo. Comfort food personified.

Mi goreng and chicken toastie.

Let's taste.

Well, it was made with so much love and enthusiasm,

I can't not taste it, Tim.

OK, there you go.

Good luck.

Wow.

OK, here it goes, here goes. Here we go.

Take me back to my student days.

You know what?

It actually works.

I told you!

Who'd have thought

noodles in a toastie were going to work?

I've made a few toasties in my time,

and I've eaten a few toasties in my time,

but I am not sick of them.

The crunchy outside, there's a bit of salt.

There's a kick of chilli. A bit of spice.

There's spice, the creamy mayo and the noodles.

Well, who'd have thought? It's good. We'll go for a run later.

I'll have to. I'll have to after this.

I'm getting all of my kilojoules in one bite.

So this recipe was almost born out of my love of burgers

and pizzas and wraps.

It's the love child of all three, and it's so simple

and easy to put together, and it's become one of my go-tos.

When everyone's out, I'm home by myself,

it's such a quick one to pull together.

So I'm literally using a beautiful, like, Turkish-style wrap.

Some barbecue sauce.

Yep. Barbecue sauce.

Barbecue sauce is actually one of my favourite sauces to use.

Like, it's always in my store cupboard.

All of these ingredients are always in my store cupboard or my fridge.

You know, it's one of those. You just.... You've got it there.

You throw it all together.

I'm going to use some pepperoni and champagne ham.

Again, as much or as little as you like.

I like a lot.

It's so quick to throw together.

Just the ham on there as well.

And one more slice in the middle.

Some pickles.

This is where the burger element comes in.

I love pickles.

And mozzarella.

Just rip it.

I always find mozzarella cooks better when it's ripped

rather than cut.

Cheddar cheese.

I mean, this is just simple, quick.

And it's not a pizza, but it's also not a wrap.

And it's not a burger. It's all three!

I'm going to literally pop that on a tray in the oven,

200 degrees for about 10 minutes.

So quick and easy.

Beautiful little love child of your burger-pizza wrap.

And then to give it that more burger element - American mustard.

American mustard with pickles, for me,

is one of my absolute flavour combinations.

Just a little bit of mustard.

And then crispy shallots.

It's not a burger, it's not a pizza, it's not a wrap.

But what it is, is a quick meal. Great to make with the kids.

Easy, fun for the family.

Enjoy.

Captions by Red Bee Media