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Hello, everyone, this is Ben, I'm Mike.
Welcome to Fridge Cam.
- Now, in this episode, we team up
with Crop Life International
and the European Crop Protection Association
to celebrate one
of the world's most staple ingredients, the potato.
- And I try to beat this chef in a cook-off.
Wish me luck.
All too often, we take for granted the huge range
of ingredients that we can grab
from our local supermarket.
With thousands of fresh products stocked
in a single store, we've been spoiled for choice
all year round, but what would happen
if our fruit and veg disappeared from shelves?
(owl hoots)
Luckily for us, farmers are committed
to producing food in ever-challenging times and conditions,
and there are organisations like ECPA and CLI
who help these farmer protect these crops
from pests and diseases
so we all have an affordable, healthy,
and sustainable food supply.
- [Woman] Mm.
- [Mike] Without any protection, in a normal year,
some farmers could lose up to 40% of their crop.
In this episode, we use your questions
to dig in and find out about our favourite crop,
the aforementioned potato, then battle it out
to see if Mike, that's me,
can beat the chef, that's Ben,
in creating a dish that best celebrates the spud.
- Boys, so you have 90 minutes to celebrate potatoes.
- Chef James is ready and prepped
to judge your dishes at the end.
Shall we get going?
- [Mike] But first, to research,
we met with Angela Clutton,
one of London's finest food historians and writers.
Along the way, we found out
that the first makings of a potato dish goes back
to 3,000 BC in South America.
- There's evidence of them doing amazing things.
There's a dish called chuno,
which is probably a terrible pronunciation,
and it would be frozen overnight,
and then soaked, and then stamped on
to get all the water out, and then dried, and so basically,
that's like a freeze-dried potato in 3000 BC.
I know, it's mad.
And so that was showing that, then,
potatoes were thought of as being something
which is really useful, versatile crop,
worth doing something with to protect.
- Celebrate. - Exactly.
- [Mike] We also discovered
that us Europeans weren't too keen
on these strange spuds when they first arrived.
- They were really thought of
as being either something that's gonna make you ill,
or something that very much, just for the poor.
You have this very interesting thing happening in France
in the middle of the 18th century,
middle 1700s, that they were banned for human consumption
'cause they were thought
they were gonna kind make people ill.
They didn't really understand what it was,
this thing that came out from under the earth.
They thought it was like the Devil's work,
which is kinda behind the phrase a devil's apple.
- [Mike] Lastly, we learned all about the potato famine
in Ireland because of blight,
a fungal disease which has affected the production
of potatoes over the years.
- Blight is a form of mould that attacks potatoes,
and it causes them to wilt and rot,
and the potato itself becomes all mushy and horrible,
and it spreads really, really quickly,
so when blight appeared in crops across Europe
in 1800s, it absolutely kinda decimated potato crops.
In Ireland, it was particularly bad.
Potatoes had really become the Irish food
that they relied upon,
though the Irish potato famine was a huge disaster
and led to a million deaths.
- [Mike] Next, we travel to sunny Eindhoven
to see how a particular farmer deals with blight today.
Jacob Van den Borne is a tall Dutch potato-farmer
who was once described as the Elon Musk of potatoes.
Jacob taught us all about precision farming,
and how he uses technology and data
to maintain a sustainable food supply.
- My grandfather only had two or four hectares.
He walked those two or four hectares every single day.
We scaled up a lot, so we run hundreds of hectares
of potatoes, and I'm not able
to get to every field every day
to walk all those fields.
What we did was actually use technology
put into those fields to get the same data out
that my grandfather used to optimise his crop.
So the first thing that we do is,
we scan all the fields, and by scanning the connectivity
of the field, we're gonna get an idea
of the yield potential of a field.
The late blight disease, that's a fungi,
is really aggressive over here
because there is a lot of potatoes,
so usually, potatoes got sprayed every week
on a weekly basis, every Monday or every Tuesday,
so we installed a lot of sensors in our crops,
and we're actually detecting
and calculating when the weather climate is optimal
to infect our crop, and just before that point, we spray.
I always compare that by putting on sun tan.
So, if you would spray your potatoes on Monday,
and you know not only the sun is going out at Thursday,
would that make sense, to put sun tan on on Monday?
- Nope.
- So that's what we changed.
We protect all crops with just a layer of anti-fungi,
so when the fungi comes up
and drops on the leaves, it can't burn my leaves,
or it can't infect.
That's why I always try to make the comparison
with putting sun tan on.
But we only spray when needed,
and that's where all the technology comes in.
- Ben had a great time geeking out about spuds
whilst I was rather distracted by the local talent.
Hello.
- All this geeky tech,
and you're more interested in the ass in the corner.
(Mike brays)
- Potato is a crop
that could probably grow everywhere in the world,
and can fix our food demand.
It has such a high yield potential,
it has such a high nutrient potential
that, with growing potato crops,
you literally could feed the world.
- [Mike] And now, for the battle.
- Three.
- [Jamie and Barry] Two, one, potato.
- Right.
Aw, the little (beep)
Beat me to the microwave,
which actually puts my whole recipe 10 minutes behind.
I know, it's gonna be a struggle anyway.
- [Jamie] Ebbers, tell us what you're cooking.
- I'm cooking a really hearty, humble dish of potato,
inspired by stamppot, which was Jacob's favourite classic--
- Musical. - Dutch dish.
- Oh.
- So what I'm doing is taking those ingredients,
but adding in a Spanish influence
as a nod to those who brought potato to Europe
back in the history times.
- Okay, so I am making steak, chips, horseradish, and gravy,
but the really clever thing is that actually,
all of those individual components are potatoes.
So I've taken a whopper, I've halved it,
I've shaved it, peeled it, some would say.
(Jamie and Barry laugh)
Then I've seasoned it heavily in salt and pepper.
Now I'm slowly frying it in beef dripping
to take on all that steak-y, beef-y flavour.
- So the base of my dish is going to be
a kind of potato and kale soup with chorizo,
so an onion, diced and sweated off in oil,
then add in chopped garlic, some chorizo,
and then I've gone in
with peeled and roughly-chopped potato.
I'm using the melody potato
'cause particularly good for boiling and mashing,
so it's gonna thicken the soup.
Then chicken stock, bring it to boil,
and simmer it for about 15 minutes
until those potatoes are cooked.
Interesting you've gone for Maris Piper,
Mike, for all of yours.
You have an all-rounder.
- Yeah, they are an all-rounder,
but they also are really fluffy,
and take on a lot of flavour,
and so, actually, that's why they make
such good mashed potato,
but they would also make a really good steak
'cause they take on all my beef dripping,
so most popular potato in the UK,
that's good enough for me.
Let's celebrate UK cooking in a medium
that we can actually be world class at.
- Feels to me like they actually learned
quite a lot on their jolly to Eindhoven.
- I'm actually a little bit jealous
'cause, when I go to the supermarket,
I look at the selection in front of me
and I go, I don't know what's what,
and what it's best for.
I just pick the one in the middle, the mid-range one.
This is really useful information.
- [Mike] They have browned nicely on each side.
In with beef stock, crushed garlic,
some thyme, and rosemary.
- These skins are super important
not just in the storage,
but also from a nutritional point of view,
so I'm gonna cook them,
squished between two sheets of baking paper
and doused in garlic powder, smoked paprika,
salt, and pepper-flavoured butter.
(funky music)
- These have been in the microwave,
they've baked off for a little bit less
than I'd prefer, but I don't have the time,
so now, I'm going to half them,
scoop out the flesh, that goes into a bowl,
gets seasoned, and then I'm going to make mash out of that
with butter that I've melted in milk.
Season your potatoes with 18 twists of salt,
and 26 twists of pepper, and half of your horseradish.
If I want to get this pomme puree perfect,
I can't overwork it, 'cause it'll go starchy,
and gloopy, and rubbish.
The best way to do that is, mash it as little as possible,
and then just leave it.
I'm gonna take the skins,
and I'm gonna slice them into shoestring fries,
and then fry them off.
- You are actually, what you're doing there is,
you're redefining the term skinny chips.
- I've whipped my potato steaks out of my sauce.
I'm now gonna reduce that right down
to make a slightly stickier sauce
that I'm gonna use for my gravy right at the end.
I am gonna also use a demi-glace,
but we'll get to that in a sec.
- So, look, you can see the texture of this mash.
By microwaving it, it doesn't take on the moisture
that it would if you boiled it.
Inside of the skins, it's now just beautiful and fluffy.
To that, I'm gonna add chopped parsley,
the morcilla, which is the seasoned, black
blood sausage pudding, and some butter,
and then we'll shape it into our sausages.
So far, timing-wise, all is good.
Everything's in control,
and I think it tells a nice story.
- See, you said one time only.
- It's a one-time thing.
- No, I said if I get it right.
Unfortunately, I didn't get it right straight away,
so now, every time I go,
I make it less good.
- You know wallpaper paste, don't you?
- Yeah. - Yeah.
- So soup bubbling away,
and what I'm looking for is the potato
that is cooked through
so even just with the side of a spoon,
it's gonna break up, because I'm gonna add the kale,
cook for three or four minutes,
and then blend the whole lot,
but you want to blend it while that kale is just cooked
so it keeps its green colour.
My aioli is a egg yolk and some sherry vinegar,
which I'm then going to whisk with salt and pepper,
and gradually add in the rapeseed oil.
Then, right at the end, I'm gonna season it
with the saffron water
that obviously has been steeped in boiling water,
lemon juice, and the honey.
It's about balancing that sweetness
with the metallicness of the saffron,
and the tartness of lemon and sherry vinegar.
- I've go some veg oil
that I've brought up to 180 degrees.
Now I'm going to deep fry my potato steak.
- What is it?
- That comes back up to 180,
and then I deep fry my fries as well.
- My third potato choice is the red rooster.
This is another British potato, grown in Norfolk.
- Ebbers, how are you gonna cook your red rooster potatoes
in 16 minutes and 41 seconds?
- I'm not gonna lie,
I've been taking this really casual.
(all laugh)
And it's beginning to catch up with me.
For nothing more than the internet points,
I'm gonna use a kitchen gadget.
See, Mike spent ages cutting shoestring potatoes.
(Mike groans)
Joke's on you.
Wrappy, wrap, wrap.
It needs to be careful, and a single layer
so that it cooks.
- He's mummifying his sausages.
If that oil isn't at temperature,
then Ben may have lost this battle.
- I'm now boiling some chard in some salted water
for about five minutes.
They're just the stalks at the moment,
but then I'm gonna chuck in the leaves
because they need less, obviously.
(intense rock music)
- [Barry] Mate, you're finished with that now.
What are you doing now?
- He's cooking it again.
- Now this is going to reduce down almost immediately,
and create a really, really sticky glaze.
Do not want it to be in there too long
in case it becomes overcooked.
- [Ben] Excellent.
- Those just look like the phrase
you can't polish a turd,
but you can wrap it in shoestring fries.
- [Ben] Battle-winning excellence.
- You know that mashed potato
that you're only supposed to mash once?
- [Barry] Yeah, he's mashed it four times now.
- I'm gonna finish off my dish
with pea shoots, broccoli shoots,
and some edible flowers as a nod
to when potatoes were made chic again in France
by offering potato blossom flowers
to Marie Antoinette to put in her hair
because they thought potatoes were bad,
and ugly, and disgusting, and actually,
it made it more of a celebration again.
I'm gonna finish with that.
I just need to get it on a plate.
Blended up the soup,
added another cup of water
just to get it the right consistency,
but it should be thick, and hearty, and wholesome.
- Two minutes left.
- What?
Oh no.
He's mashing again.
- All of a SPUD-den, you're running out of time.
There is one minute left.
- [Jamie and Barry] 10, nine, eight, seven, six,
five, four, three, two, one.
- Step away from your potatoes.
(intense electronic music)
Congratulations, boys, 90 minutes,
a celebration of potatoes.
They're looking great.
- They look great.
- Oh.
- I'm gonna say.
- You were looking at that one when you said that.
- Should we start here?
- Yeah.
- [Jamie] I'm so intrigued by the steak.
- So what's the steak supposed to feel like?
- I want it crispy on the outside
and sticky from the glaze.
I want it soft in the middle, but not too soft, not fluffy.
I want it to have some give,
but I want it to have taken on some of that steak flavour.
- Okay, some beefy flavour.
- Some beefy flavour, yeah.
- Wow.
- It had to, right?
- [Jamie] Yeah.
- I've gotta admit, I was a little bit sad
when I saw the plate.
- Yeah, I would've liked to have plated it better.
- Did you run out of time?
- No, I was flapping like a mofo, that's why.
- It's got all the textures you want.
The pomme puree is really, really good texture,
and the flavour of the steak is really good.
Shall we move on?
- They are so crispy.
- Aw, I went for the burnt one
that you hid in the middle.
(Mike laughs)
- I want to have some of this.
That is a glossy aioli.
As celebration dishes go,
I think that looks like a celebration.
- Changing the coating from being a pané
to being the fries around it is really interesting.
I really like that.
- I think the aioli in the soup
would work really nicely.
- There's still time, go for it.
- Don't let me stop you.
- I've already had a little bit of aioli in the soup.
- Two completely different dishes,
both celebrating potatoes in completely different ways.
- Aw, aw, this is so difficult.
When I first saw it,
Ben's stood out so much,
but when I tasted Mike's, the flavour was there.
It made up for it.
I'm gonna go with Mike.
(Ben claps)
'Cause it was just,
it crept up, and although Ben's, I think,
had more variety of flavour compared to yours,
'cause yours really was just potato and beefiness,
I think yours just packed a punch.
- You beat the chef.
- With a lot of help from the food team.
- That's not a nice position to be in.
It probably was half to do with the fact
that I was so upset by the plating,
and so happy to find that it actually tasted amazing
that you added an extra element of wow.
- Well done, well done, sir.
(all clap)
Wow, not only the result,
but love a potato.
Unbelievable. - Love a potato.
And if you enjoy potatoes,
or you want to find out more
about what Crop Life International
and ECPA get up to to protect crops for the future,
then there's a link in the description box.
Go and check it out,
and it includes some behind the scenes footage
from when we were over speaking to Jacob.
- Now, neither of us have got kids,
but we've both got dad bods.
Here's a dad joke.
(lively horn music)
- I had to turn down a job the other day
'cause they were paying in vegetables.
The celery was unacceptable.
- Oh.
I never thought I'd say the phrase
bring back Jamie. - Don't groan.
- [Mike] But I may do that.
We've also built the Sorted Club,
where you can get tonnes of foodie inspo
using the Packs mid-week meal app,
discover and share restaurant recommendations
using the Eat app, listen and contribute
to our "Feast Your Ears" podcast,
and send us ideas for new cookbooks
you'll receive throughout the year.
Check it all out by heading to sorted.club.
And now a blooper.
Donkey, donkey.
All the ladies love me.