- This isn't going to be easy.
You are restricted in what you can use to cook.
- Ceramics are microwave proof.
- Turns out I can make instant mash potato.
Thank God for that.
- It's not cooking.
- It will cook in a minute!
(indistinct)
- 2023. It's like you boys are giving up.
(music plays)
- No, no, no!
That's definitely a fire hazard.
- This is chaos.
- Ah, where's my kettle?
- I don't know what beeps are my beeps.
- [Mike] Mine are gonna burn now!
This is your fault.
(music plays)
- Hello everyone. Now today our three normal home cooks
are gonna create a dish using only
a kettle, a toaster, and a microwave.
This isn't going to be easy.
You are restricted in what you can use to cook,
but I'm pretty sure you'll be all right.
- That is misplaced confidence.
- No, we can do this.
- Right, okay!
- This is gonna be amazing.
- I can do this.
- Yeah.
- Oh, oh, oh, oh. (chuckling)
- [Ben] We can do this. We can do this. I can do this.
- I can do this.
- So I'll whack 30 minutes on the clock. Off you go.
(alarm rings) (music plays)
What's interesting, this particular episode is that
the boys are doing this solo.
These recipes have not been developed by the food team.
(chopping sound)
This is the kind of challenge
that if you're in a little bedsit or a studio flat,
maybe you've just checked into an Airbnb,
you're in student halls,
the kind of places that have limited, if any, hob or oven,
you can still plug in a basic kitchen top appliance,
and away you go.
Jay, what are you making?
- Ebbers, I'll give you three guesses at what I'm making.
- Well, you're holding a tajine.
- And what's gonna go into that tajine?
- Tajine-like ingredients?
- A lamb tajine.
- [Ben] Excellent.
- [Jamie] I've got lamb mince, crispy fried onions,
ginger, garlic, tomato paste, load of spices,
little bit of water, 'cause the lamb mince is quite fatty.
Gonna mix it all up.
It's going into a microwave for six minutes.
I'm then gonna serve that with a fruity and herby couscous.
And pickled red onions.
- [Ben] And?
- And flatbreads.
- Wow.
One question: A tajine works wonderfully
over an open fire, in an oven.
What does a tajine do if you put it in the microwave?
- [Jamie] Ceramics are microwave proof.
- Okay
- [Jamie] We hope. We've not tested it.
(laughing)
- [Mike] Oh my goodness, I would love it if that explodes.
(laughing) (music playing)
- [Mike] Brace yourself! 'Cause I am making
a ham, leek, and mushroom pie.
- Excellent. I've never cooked pastry in a microwave.
- Exactly, and ...
- [Ben] So what kind of pie is it?
- You need to rethink your perception of what a pie is.
Think shepherd's pie or cottage pie.
What does that have on the top?
- [Ben] Do you mind if I think fish pie?
- You can do whatever you like. Fine. But yes.
What does it have on the top?
- It's mashed potato.
- Exactly. I am subbing out
because I can't cook pastry with these three things.
I'm subbing out the pastry top for a mashed potato top.
(music plays)
I've got mushrooms and leeks sprayed with oil,
seasoned with salt and pepper,
and now I'm going to microwave them
until they start to, well, until they cook.
You do normally cover everything in the microwave.
Now I'm really confused.
Let's try two minutes and see what's happening.
(button beeps)
(music plays)
Okay. It turns out I can make instant mashed potato.
Thank god for that.
(laughing)
(spoon clanging)
Right. Gonna need more of that.
I'm using instant mash for a top.
I'm using mushroom soup for the filling.
I'm using, I'm rehydrating porcini mushrooms for umami.
I'm bulking out the dish with fresh mushrooms and leeks,
and then I'm sprinkling the top
with panko breadcrumbs and cheese.
- Baz. - [Barry] Hello!
- We're a few minutes in, what are you making?
- I'm making barbecued tamarind salmon.
- Oh
- Tacos!
- Oh, oh.
- [Barry] So we've got some sashimi grade salmon here
'cause these are, I want them to be
slightly pink in the middle.
- Bien cuit?
- Oui.
(Baz laughs)
And I'm then, I'm also then making
the tamarind paste to go with it:
Tamarind, chili, lime, and palm sugar.
(electric guitar music plays)
- [Jamie] It's not very "tajine-y".
- Very "tajine-y"? (chuckling)
This looks very ad lib, Jay.
(electric guitar music plays)
He's just made it in the Tupperware!
- [Jamie] Well, it didn't sit ...
Save the bowl.
- I like it. I approve.
- Save the bowl.
- [Mike] You're make, you're making couscous,
and you're making "cush-cush". (indistinct)
(laughing)
- What is this?
(beeping sound)
- Well I don't know what beeps are my beeps.
- I think you're the only one cooking.
- [Jamie] No, there was another beep over there.
- Here's a beep.
(beep)
(laughing)
- [Mike] Mustard in there.
(electric guitar music plays)
- You've had half your time!
- [Mike] Need to make my soup.
- Are you gonna make it in another bowl or you gonna make it
in the bowl you've already got your filling in?
- I think that's risky.
- How would you make a pie filling if it was in a pan?
- Well, yeah, I'd do it all in the pan, but I'm not,
I've never, I've actually never made this before.
So I, and it needs to be a very specific ...
If I pour water on this in that, and it ruins it,
then this is your fault.
- [Ben] If you are enjoying this,
there are some small things you can do
that make a big difference to us.
"Like" the video.
Subscribe if you aren't.
Click the notification bell, and select all.
Thanks!
(guitar music plays)
- [Barry] Once that is piping hot,
I'm gonna drizzle it over my salmon to start cooking it.
- Baz, one question.
You're pouring a little bit of hot sauce
over a fair amount of cold salmon in a cold bowl.
- [Barry] I don't need to cook this thing whole way through
because I'll be finishing cooking it later.
- Oh okay. That changes everything.
- I've got a barbecue,
a barbecue salmon skewer, haven't I, Ben?
- You've only got 14 minutes left!
(music plays)
You're not chopping. You're just going in.
(Ben laughs)
Hey honestly, 2023.
It's like you boys are giving up!
So far, my idea of a tajine is something
with lots of liquid and vegetables,
a little bit of meat and bone to beef it up.
But yours is just meat.
- Yes.
(Ben giggles)
The "tajine" has had six minutes in the microwave.
It's been stirred every couple of minutes.
That is ... cooked.
I've got red wine vinegar, demerara sugar,
and sliced red onion in the microwave
to create a quick pickle.
Only thing left to do after that is to toast my flatbreads.
I'm thinking I might do something slightly different
to what I had originally planned,
but we'll see how it goes.
- [Mike] So I'm covering a plate in panko
and adding some Parmesan to the top as well.
I'll microwave that. This is gonna be an experiment.
We're gonna see what happens.
I'm also gonna spritz it with some oil
so that it almost ... fries?
This is too ... why is this so angry?
(music plays)
(plate clinks)
(button beeps)
(bowl clangs)
That gets hot, didn't it?
- This is chaos.
(percussive music plays)
- No, no, no, no, no, no!
(indistinct)
- Is there only one toaster?
'Cause we're gonna be a little bit screwed.
Mine's gonna burn now!
'Cause it's trapping all the heat in.
That's not a toaster, that is an oven.
- But no, no!
- You're burning ... You burned my bloody ...
My salmon needs a crunch.
I've got panko breadcrumbs, sesame seeds,
little bit of veg oil, into microwave.
- [Ben] Four minutes.
- Yep, you could cancel it rather,
'cause now, the toast is still cooking.
- I need it on raging,
'cause that's also my barbecue in a minute!
(music plays)
Excuse me.
- Seen the salt?
(music plays)
- So Baz, your salmon is marinating.
It's not cooking ...
- It will cook in a minute!
- [Ben] You have three minutes left.
- Right, now I've got to just dress my salad.
I've got some watercress here,
and I'm gonna dress in some tahini,
and some meat, and some hot water.
Where's my kettle?
(music plays)
- [Ben] Jay's looking good.
He's starting to plate up with two minutes left.
(music plays)
- [Mike] So my filling's now going into my pie dish.
I've seasoned it. I'm happy. It's good.
- [Barry] Well how am I gonna do this?
- [Jamie] When? How was that ever going to work?
- Remember Barry, you're on your own for this one.
(laughing)
- [Barry] I put, I put some into the toaster ...
- [Jamie] There is no way that's gonna be ...
- [Ben] But maybe not all of it in case it doesn't work!
(giggling)
- [Barry] It's now in the toaster ...
Now I've got a (indistinct).
- [Ben] Right! Plate up!
- That's definitely a fire hazard.
- Salmon's coming out, the toast up!
Oh, look at that.
(Jay snickers)
I'm happy with that!
- [Ben] Twenty seconds!
(laughing)
- [Barry] God! It's really hot!
(music rises)
- [Ben] 3, 2, 1 ... (alarm rings)
Step back
from your microwave toaster and kettle concoctions.
- Let's get these into the (indistinct)
and put that toaster out.
(giggling)
(lively music plays)
(Mike sighs)
The point of these challenges is to prove that
delicious food can come out of simple appliances.
When all three of you are doing it together,
it's obviously a bit chaotic, but I am already impressed
at three very different ideas again.
- Do you wanna start with food poisoning?
- So! It'll be fine!
(music plays)
- Can we see if Ebbers thinks it's edible first?
Has that had any heat applied to it?
Look at that!
- It's sashimi, right?
- It's perfect!
- It's okay to serve this quality salmon like that.
It was glazed with the hot marinade and then barely toasted,
but it was kind of unique.
The flavor, however, is incredible.
- The flavor's great. It's really good.
- [Ben] The lime, the palm sugar, the tang,
the little bit of chili and garlic.
- Next time I reckon another minute in the toaster.
It'll be perfect.
- It's so good, mate. I'm so, I can't believe it!
(music plays)
- Cheers! Cheers! Cheers!
- Tastes damn good!
- Ooh ...
- You got all those spices we love
of that North African cuisine.
- That is a delicious bowl of meat.
- [Ben] Couscous is fruity and herby
which is what you said it would be.
- [Jamie] Mm huh.
- [Ben] It is meaty. It is a feast for two or three.
I like the fact you've saved it with lots of fresh herbs.
Not saved it, that's unfair.
(laughing)
Balanced it with lots of fresh herbs.
- No, I heard that. I caught that one. Yep.
- I like the idea of also serving all that meat
on that bread, with some yogurt, and that's it.
- The spicing is good. It's different.
And I'd be very chuffed if that came out of a microwave
in a little bedsit or studio flat.
- That is true!
- Or an Airbnb, where you are limited with equipment.
Great job!
(music plays)
I saw this one being created,
and I knew it was gonna taste like that, which is delicious.
Mustard, you've got the mushroom,
from the dried mushrooms and the whole mushrooms.
You've got a lot of the smash, which is very smooth.
You've got the cheese, you've got the crunch,
and you've got the cheat of kind of MSG from the sauce
which is a hack and a flavor bomb.
The leek's got a slight crunch to it,
maybe a slight too much.
- Oh
- But other than that, I struggle to ...
- I don't know, I'm a little annoyed a bit.
(chuckling)
- I tried them, and I think those leeks are perfect.
It just goes to show.
- No, I mean it's all subjective.
- My shortcomings. (chuckling)
- For me, they've just got a bit too much of a bite to them.
- I liked it.
- Thanks, Jay. I like it.
- That is out of the box thinking and absolutely delicious.
That is big and bold, quite familiar in flavors.
- Oh good.
- And that ... No, I wasn't
(laughing)
- Sorry, the second portion was unfair.
- And that, if I'm honest,
is something I just want to sit and eat with a spoon
and be very, very happy. It's a bowl of comfort.
With that in mind, I've gotta pick a winner,
and we often go with a loser as well.
- Yeah, that's only fair. It's always (indistinct).
- But I'm gonna go and say, "yes, there is a winner",
but there are two second places.
There are, I literally couldn't pick,
I like them all for very different reasons.
But for me today, there is a winner.
And for me today, that is ...
Barry! (cheering in distance)
And I can't believe I'm saying that,
but it tastes so good and is so weird
to cook in a toaster and yet it has worked.
The weird thing is I wouldn't recommend you do it at home.
(laughing)
But it's not up to me.
You comment down below.
Which do you think was the most impressive meal
to come out of a microwave, a toaster, and a kettle?
- I'll be making these three at home quite a lot.
- [Ben] And if you're looking
for quick and speedy microwave recipes,
then check out our Sidekick app.
It's free for thirty days.
(Music ends)