Original subtitles

Mike, I'm really interested to know

as a chef what you think about air fryers.

You know what? I absolutely love them.

I'm going to do a chicken with gorgeous vegetables, potato,

a gorgeous curry sauce in my curry puff,

which is not the classic way,

but it is absolutely delicious and super quick in the air fryer.

I like the sound of that.

Well, I think you're going to like my one,

because I'm going to do jalapeno poppers.

Yum.

I mean, if you're a jalapeno fan, which I am,

this one is pretty hard to beat.

So I'm going to stuff my jalapenos with a mixture of mozzarella

and some cream cheese.

And then I'm going to roll them in breadcrumbs.

And I'll give you a little tip about making your own breadcrumbs

in a second, but then cook them in the air fryer.

Honestly, they are the best.

You're going to love this one.

Can't wait to taste.

I love this dish.

Like, for me, curry puffs are one of my favourite things to order

whenever I'm in Indian restaurants.

I think they're just delicious and unctuous and my kids love them,

so I always cook them a lot at home,

and I need a quick version sometimes.

So this one in the air fryer is just fantastic and it's so simple.

Do you want me to start... Yes, please.

Diced onions. Very small?

Yeah. Quite, quite small, Jo.

Mike small.

Not Jo small.

OK.

(BOTH LAUGH)

And then you can peel and dice the potato for me as well.

Peel? Yes, please.

You know I don't like to peel. She's going to whinge about peeling the potato now.

Well, I'm very happy you're using a potato.

You know, you can't take the potato out of the Scottish girl.

But, you know, I like using the peel because that's where the fibre is,

Mike, the antioxidants.

Absolutely. Yeah. So much of the goodness.

And I leave the peel on for so much of my food.

For this dish, I don't want the peel, guys.

There's enough good stuff in the chicken and other bits.

I'll peel your potato, Mike. (LAUGHS)

So we're gonna start off by browning the carrots,

the onions and the chicken.

Thank you.

I'm gonna get all of that in.

What sort of chicken did you use there? Was that breast or thigh?

This is chicken thigh.

Thigh? Yeah. Chicken thigh.

Boneless, skin off, diced up.

Handles being cooked better for longer.

Really nice and moist.

More flavour.

And obviously when you're doing a filling for the curry puff,

you can leave the chicken out.

You can make it vegetarian, you can double the amount of potato,

you could add in sweet potato for the amount of the chicken,

you could add in zucchini.

You can have fun with it. Experiment.

So at this stage now I'm going to add some fresh curry leaves.

Because you just...the flavour and the fragrance of fresh curry leaves

cannot be beat, like it's just stunning.

And then I'm going to add in at this stage

the beautiful Thai yellow curry paste.

And this is a quicker version of making your own.

But it's filled with so much flavour.

For me this isn't cheating.

This is just clever cooking.

You know, you've got... Do you know what I mean though?

It's done for you.

Beautiful lemongrass and galangal and the chillies.

It's so fragrant and vibrant.

It's gluten free.

It's a great product.

So I love cooking with these at home. It is.

And there's nothing...

Nothing nasty is added to this. Nothing nasty at all.

Yeah. I think these are a really helpful shortcut.

So we're adding that curry paste in now.

I like to just cook it out a little bit with direct contact

to help with the flavour.

I'm going to add in some chilli powder as well.

At this stage, I'm going to add the potatoes.

Nice cutting, Jo.

Thanks.

(BOTH LAUGH)

I'm feeling like I just want to eat that on its own.

Do you know what I mean? Is there a better smell?

I love it, I'm such a... I'm such a curry lover.

Like the flavour, the smell.

I love the house just...

It just...it's that aromatic, just deliciousness.

So, Mike, do we need to keep cooking this

until the potatoes are cooked through?

Absolutely. Yeah.

So basically I'm going to add a little bit of chicken stock

to it now.

And then we're just going to let that almost cook

all the way down. OK.

So that will help cook the... finish cooking the chicken.

It will cook all the potato.

Obviously the natural starch will come out of the potato

and will help thicken the sauce.

So we don't need to add any flour to this.

Nothing else.

We're going to reduce it down, let it simmer, finish it with the peas.

And then we're going to cut our pastry.

And we're going to stuff them. That simple.

So the mix is nicely cooled now.

So that reduced down for about 10, 15 minutes.

And then I just seasoned it at the end

with salt, pepper and sugar.

Sugar for me is a seasoning with things like this.

Do you know what I mean, Jo?

Like, it is to balance the heat and the flavours of the dish.

So it just took a little bit of sugar at the end

and now it's cold,

we're going to cut our discs.

Yeah. That was hardly any sugar that you added...

Oh, barely any, barely any. ..in a bowl.

But I always say, like, sugar should be sitting next to...

You won't like this,

but sugar should be sitting next to your salt and pepper.

Ooh. OK. You know, it's a seasoning.

Um, let's move on from that comment, shall we?

Give us some tips for working with puff pastry.

Because, you know, I feel confident with filo,

but not with puff pastry.

So... What's the trick?

It's very similar to filo in respect of you want it to be as cold

as possible when you're working.

You know, any pastry is about the...

You don't want humidity.

Humidity and pastry do not go hand in hand, you know.

And in restaurants and kitchens we invest a lot in pastry sections,

if you want to do good pastry dishes, um, to be able to control

the temperature in there.

Because you don't want... Ah!

That's why there's a special pastry area.

Yeah. Absolutely.

Absolutely.

So keep it nice and cold.

We're going to stuff these.

I love filo. Filo is a beautiful pastry.

But you can't beat puff for me.

Like, puff is just...

It's the Ferrari of pastries.

You know, it's always luxury and delicious and amazing.

Now, how do you make sure it stays closed?

So you almost stretch it into one another

and just pinch it as shut as you can?

You can use water to seal it.

I just like to use the natural moisture in the pastry,

which is going really well.

And then we're just going to do like a roll down twist

and we're going to just go straight into our basket down there.

So it's as easy as that, guys.

We're going to keep going.

Get these in the air fryer.

We're going to cook it at 200 degrees for about 12 minutes,

and then we're going to be back to taste.

Alright.

I reckon these are about done.

Yeah, look at that.

That looks good.

I'm happy. I'm happy, people.

Simple, beautiful little curry mix.

And remember, you can go off piste with it if you want.

You don't have to put chicken in there.

You can add other vegies.

Have some fun with it.

It's a lawless recipe.

Really does, works every time.

And Jo, this one's for you. Is that for me?

Absolutely.

You see, you're looking after me.

I want you to tuck into that one.

Alright. Can I cut it in...?

Yeah. You want to share.

Well, you know, I'm not going to pick it up unladylike.

(STAMMERS)

One day, I'm going to get her to just bite in.

I'm going to make a burger, guys, or something.

No, I've come to know you now.

And I know there's always something that's going to dribble down me.

Oh, look at that.

This looks like the proper kind of curry puff that I grew up with,

including the green peas.

You know, we love a green pea in Scotland.

OK.

Am I going to burn myself?

Probably. Probably.

It's fresh out of the oven.

Mm.

It's gorgeous. Aromatic, full flavoured, spicy.

That gorgeous curry paste

just gives so much depth of flavour to the whole dish.

Honestly, you've got to give it a try.

Look how beautiful these jalapenos are.

This is exactly what you want for this dish.

Sometimes you get them a little smaller, but to be honest,

if you find them nice and big like this...

They're gorgeous.

Oh, they're so much easier to stuff, too.

And then you've got a really decent sized little serve.

I mean, the quality of the produce is half the job, right?

It's going to look sexy as just from that beautiful chilli.

So if I can get you grating some mozzarella,

all I'm going to do here is mix.

I've chosen a cream cheese that's already got some chives.

It's got some dill or chives in there.

So I'm going to combine that cream cheese with the grated mozzarella.

And that's going to be the filling for our poppers.

Now, you want to take a sharp knife.

Just go down the centre.

And I'm not cutting all the way through.

I just want to kind of tease it open.

Squeeze out...

Using a teaspoon is the easiest way to do it, I find.

And then just scoop out the seeds and some of that pith

so that you're creating a nice hole for your filling.

Do you make these at home, Mike?

Do you know what? I've never made them.

Really? Never. Not once. Oh!

And it's one of my favourite things to eat,

so I don't know why I've never made them.

OK, a little bit more, I think.

Maybe about half and half is normally how I do it.

Maybe a touch more.

Slice down.

Pull out the filling.

I think these are my favourite kind of chilli.

I'm a little bit addicted.

I have them pickled, I have them fresh.

I put them on things all the time

that aren't supposed to be with chilli.

I love it.

I've got lots of, um, jalapeno little plants

growing in my garden at the moment.

Yeah. Like, it's amazing.

And then all we're going to do to these once we've filled them

is basically just like you do a chicken, you know, crumb chicken

or a crumbed fish,

is put them in flour then egg and then breadcrumbs. OK.

Do you want to do the stuffing for me?

Sure.

And then just as much as you can pack in basically,

but without it tipping out too much.

I was going to say, Jo. You know, you don't want to...

You know I'm an over stuffer.

I don't want that cream cheese bubbling out through my breadcrumbs.

And then literally all I'm going to do is...

And here's a good little tip, though.

I'm going to flour, then egg wash.

And then these are my wholegrain breadcrumbs.

This is the way I use up my extra bread.

So I always buy a wholegrain or a wholemeal.

Sourdough is my favourite.

And you know, it kind of goes off

and it's not so great for eating after a couple of days.

Dry it out on your benchtop,

whiz it into breadcrumbs in your food processor or blender,

and then I pop it on a sort of flat baking tray

into the oven, low oven, for about 15, 20 minutes,

so that it really dries out.

And then you can just keep it like dry breadcrumbs in your pantry.

And I use it for all these kind of dishes.

Next tip is to breadcrumb twice.

So do flour, egg, breadcrumbs, do it twice,

so that it's really, really well coated,

and you get a lovely crumb on your poppers.

OK. So eggs into a bowl.

And just whisk them up with a fork.

And this is the really, really messy part.

You do have to get your hands into this.

OK. So let's pop our filling out of the way.

And we'll do this in order.

Sometimes I try and do one hand for doing the flour and one...

Do you know what?

You just end up in a mess anyway, don't you?

You do.

So coat well in the flour first, then into the egg wash.

Actually keeping the stalk on like that

helps you not be quite so messy.

And then into the breadcrumbs.

And then we'll do the rest of them.

I'm literally going to drizzle them or spray them

with some extra virgin olive oil.

Pop them in the air fryer. They're ready in about 10 minutes.

OK, Mike, I think...

Oh, yes.

Oh, look at those. Oh, yes.

Beautifully crispy on the outside.

And that was pretty quick, right?

Gooey mozzarella, I can see, starting to come out.

Yeah. That was just 10 minutes.

Wow. I did do that at 200.

And do you know what, I'm going to go back to my 180.

Yeah.

Well, I said to you before, "You're only doing four, Jo. Why four?"

They're massive! They are massive.

Those are particularly big jalapenos.

But, hey, I'm not going to complain about a very big jalapeno popper.

Should we cut one open, actually, just so we can see the inside?

I am going to let it cool down a little bit before I let you taste it,

because I don't want you to burn your mouth,

but I just want to show you how glorious the inside is.

Oh, look how pretty that is.

So you want that mozzarella in there

because that's what gives the stringiness.

But then the cream cheese

is just adding a beautiful creamy flavour to it.

Honestly, they are just the best.

Maybe with a nice cold beer. Dare I say it? Dare I say it?

Glass of chardi as well.

Nice. Yeah, works for me.

I'm a nutritionist and I love a good burger,

but I'm going to make you a Mexican inspired halloumi burger today.

And we all know that good Mexican means a good guac,

so let's get that happening first.

A couple of avocados with some fresh lime juice, salt,

pepper, chilli flakes if you like,

and mashing it all together

to get our guac happening

before we create the rest of our burger.

Now, this burger is very, very simple

and with one of my favourite cheeses, halloumi.

So lots of avocado for our guacamole,

because honestly, you can never have too much guacamole.

Some fresh lime juice in for that zesty flair.

And if you save the limes as well,

these little bits, after you've squeezed them,

pop them in your drinks with some soda water and fresh mint,

and that's a really nice accompaniment to this burger as well.

Salt, pepper and mash it all up.

So, once you've finished mashing up your avocado,

the all-important taste test.

Perfect.

Alright.

Time to make the spice for our halloumi.

I've got a combination of cumin and smoky paprika.

And I'll get those into a bowl to mix together.

And I'll use that as a little crust on the halloumi

to give the Mexican spice

that you would otherwise find if you were making your Mexican beans.

We're going to get that onto the halloumi,

and it's the perfect way to put the spice

with the salty, cheesy creaminess of the halloumi.

Halloumi is hands down one of my favourite cheeses

to get onto a barbecue,

and in particular in a burger,

because it has so much flavour.

And when it is paired with the guac

and all of the other delicious Mexican inspired condiments,

it just makes the ultimate vegie burger.

I like to get some of the water out of the halloumi first,

to give it that really crispy fry,

and then cut it in half.

This will serve two people.

We'll crank up our pan so it's nice and hot to get the halloumi on.

We're going to drizzle our pan with a little bit of avocado oil,

which is quite neutral in flavour.

Obviously, also matches up well with the avocado in the guacamole,

and has a high smoke point too, so it's good for frying.

Get our pan nice and hot.

And in the meantime, we'll get our spices onto the halloumi.

Now, you can sprinkle them on.

Or if you had a more shallow dish,

you could actually just drop them into the dish.

Pretty generous with the spices.

Give them a little rub in.

Flip them over and coat the other side as well.

Perfect.

Now, I'm not sure about you, but if I eat halloumi out

and if I order a halloumi burger out,

often, there's not quite enough halloumi in there.

So I'm being lovely and generous with my portions.

And now that our pan is lovely and hot,

we'll get it in there and frying.

That'll need two to three minutes each side.

And while that cooks, I'm going to make some extra condiments

to go into our burgers.

So tomatoes are very much a key ingredient of a burger,

but I'm going to toss mine with some chopped coriander and red onion

to give that Mexican flare.

You could also add in some chilli flakes or Tabasco at this stage.

Totally up to you.

And a little bit of red onion.

Love the raw red onion in this burger.

Just makes all the flavours shine.

And then some coriander.

One of my favourite herbs.

We're going to check our haloumi, though.

Make sure it's not burning.

There we go.

There's a nice little burger-like crust

on one side of the halloumi.

Flip it over to the other side and get that...

..heat through the other side

so it becomes that chewy haloumi that we love.

Bit of the coriander in with our tomatoes and onion.

A little bit of salt.

And then we'll just gently toss those together with our hands.

OK. Our condiments are ready.

And then it's time to build our burger.

Now, I like to get the salad ingredients onto the burger first.

I once learned that this was the secret to a good burger,

because then the heat and the pressure of the patty,

or in our case, the halloumi,

pushes all of the salad ingredients down to make it easier to eat.

I thought that was a really cool trick.

We'll get our tomatoes on with the onion and the coriander,

making sure that we get that onion and coriander in with our tomatoes.

Then on comes our lettuce.

And a nice big wedge of that halloumi too.

Guacamole, of course.

And instead of serving a halloumi burger with fries,

you could serve it with corn chips.

That'd be fun.

We'll get some Tabasco on the top to spice it up.

Oh, it's looking juicy!

I like to add a little bit of extra coriander.

That's totally up to you.

But given it's my favourite...

Get some more on there to finish.

And that is a pretty epic-looking halloumi burger,

if I may say so myself.

Plenty of veggies, lots of delicious halloumi in there.

What a burger!

Who needs meat when you've got a delicious piece of halloumi

to make your patty inside a burger?

Now I just need to find a mate to enjoy it with.

Captions by Red Bee Media