Live webchat with top TV chef James Martin - Thurs 25 Oct 3.30-4.30pm

whenim64

Oh, I luuuurve James Martin. Watch him very Saturday morning. I just bought his Masterclass book for my sister and she served up the best pasta she's ever made the other night.

James, can I ask a non-cooking question, please? Speaking as a former hostage to two clumber spaniels - how on earth did you manage to train your lovely clumber Fudge to keep from trampling through your veg plots?

Train and clumber spaniels are two different languages! Fudge has actually learnt, when it's wet, to pull the carrots out the ground and eats them, and he eats the strawberries too!

Just enjoy him as a dog! He's not going to open the fridge for you or any of that stuff!! Great characters though.

glassortwo

Hello James, do you have any good low fat recipes for the slow cooker.

Cooking things in tomatoes and peppers is a great way of doing it. But even things like beef stew can be quite low in calories, as I've been finding while working for the NHS. The nutritionists allow it to be put on the menu for the patients, because you lose none of the vitamins by draining any of the veg off etc.

GraniSuz

I did Beef Stew & dumplings yesterday in my Slow Cooker for the first time - I followed the recipe to the letter but my dumplings still weren't cooked. Should I boil them first & then add them to the Slow Cooker? Thank you James - this subject has come up at just the right time XX

Just cook them for a little bit longer in the slow cooker - it won't harm the stew. Or make them smaller - dumplings will expand to three times the size. If you make them too big it soaks in too much of the liquor from the stew.

GrandmaH

I love my slow cooker but is it necessary to brown the meat before going into the pot? The whole point of the cooker to my mind is that it is really quick & easy. Browning the meat & onions etc first rather spoils one pot idea but I was always told that you had to brown the meat to get the extra flavour. Does it really make much difference?
And to be cheeky please & ask 2 questions- are there any good desserts I can do in it?
hank you
Hx

Unless you do an irish stew, or something like a white chicken stew, both of which don't require browning. The only reason why you brown it is to impart colour to the finished stew. It will impart a little bit of flavour, but it generally adds colour.

Things like jam is really good to make in the slow cooker, because you can regulate the temperature. Figs are in season at the moment, so you could make a nice chutney in the slow cooker.

loudmouth

Did you always want to be a cook? And how did you and your eyes get spotted?

I always wanted to be a cook since working on a farm, and understanding where food came from. but television came about when I was 23 and working as a head chef in a restaurant. That was it!

robbo

hello James
I have 20 family which includes six under 5's for a casual boxing day lunch can you give me a slow cooker recipe that is just a little bit special . Chicken beef or lamb. All three son in laws fancy themselves as gourmet cooks so I am really up against it .Slow cooking great idea so I dont have to spend all my time in the kitchen and can enjoy the day.
Many thanks

Personally, I would do something like a chicken Chasseur, or they sometimes call it Hunter's sauce. It's tarragon, tomatoes, onions mushrooms and serve that with mashed potato. You can do that in a slow cooker, and it uses the whole of the chicken - legs, breast, thighs, everything.

Hattiehelga

I have been cooking for over fifty years - somewhat immodestly I can say with a good degree of success, especially puddings !! However, I have never mastered Flaky or Puff Pastry even after following instructions to the letter many times. Have you any tips James please ?

Keep the butter cold and even the flour cold, i.e. put it in the fridge helps. But with flaky pastry, you must do it by hand.

Puff pastry - the skill is layering the butter into the pastry. The dessert book that I did has got it in a step-by step guide, how to do what they call 'book turns'. It's just all about the way you incorporate the butter into the pastry that's the key.

eGJ

Please James have you any foolproof soup recipes for the slow cooker, that take minumun effort?

This time of year pumpkin is lovely, or a Mulligatawny. The spices require cooking out, otherwise they taste raw. They get better the longer they cook - so you wouldn't cook a pea and ham soup in a slow cooker!

Both recipes are in the book.

distaffgran

Duck breasts. Are they worth buying? And then having bought them, what to do with them?

They are worth buying, but you wouldn't slow cook them. You would cook them skinj side down in a dry non-stick pan for 3-4 minutes until golden brown and then turn over and roast in the oven for ten minutes 200 degrees.

Great with figs or sherry roasted parsnips this time of year!

cleopatra

Ha I seem to be having an interview the top chefs on gransnet day today!

I love roast beef - I like it rare. But is there a way I can cook it for longer so it is meltingly tender but still pink in the middle? Thanks in advance

I did a recipe in the book that I also did in Saturday Kitchen - it's seared fillet of beef, wrapped in clingfilm, then cooked in the oven at 65 degrees centigrade.

This will keep it beautiful and pink and nice and tender. Sounds odd, but it works.

JayP

Hi James, love your show and my slow cooker. I have a friend who cooked rice pudding in his slow cooker but when I tired it always turns out dry and horrible. Any ideas ?

Put more liquid in! The secret I find with rice pudding is at the end add some clotted cream, and then demerera sugar, and then under the grill.

merlotgran

Hi James, Your book is well timed as I suspect slow cooking will become very popular this winter as fuel costs continue to rise and we're all watching the food budget. I also like using a pressure cooker for cheaper cuts of meat. Have you any plans to include recipes for pressure cookers in future books?

There are alternatives in this book for using pressure cookers, so you can use the same recipes!

glitabo

I have a small slow cooker for 1 or 2 servings. Do your recipes convert easily to smaller quantities? I have ordered your book but have not seen it yet so I am assuming that most recipes are for 4 people. Thank you.

It's easy to reduce down, yes. Some of the larger joints you might have to be careful of in terms of cooking time, but most things, yes!

zither

Are there any slow recipes for fish? Apart from fish pie, I mean. Doesn't cooking fish slowly destroy its texture and delicacy?

No, because things like squid, octopus, monkfish when it's cooked slowly with peppers and tomatoes just like you have when abroad, like in France and Spain it's delicious. Certain fish you would never slow cook. But take, for instance, cooking in salt, is another prime example of slow cooking.

firenze

Are you a fan of cooking chicken slowly or fast? Elizabeth David wrote that everyone cooked chicken for far too long so now I try to do it in about an hour or less depending on size, obviously. What do you think?

Thomas Keller cooked the best chicken I've ever tasted and he cooked it after it had been in brine, for slightly longer than I used to do. 9 Michelin stars, two 3 starred Michelin restaurants, once of the greatest chefs alive today. Saying that, Elizabeth David was great - I never got to taste her food though!

Grannyknot

Hi James, I read somewhere yesterday that you used to date Barbara Broccoli and that she showered you in expensive gifts, so I'm impressed that you even bother with slow cooking! Here's my question: do you always have to have everything you cook in the slow cooker swimming in liquid? For example - what is the best way to do a 'pot roast' of say a rolled brisket in the slow cooker? (if that's even possible).

It is possible. The definition of braising is to half cover. This is what I do with the brisket, so it keeps it moist but coloured on top.

pottedshrimp

Apart from your beloved slow cookers, what piece of kitchen kit couldn't you live without? And what is totally useless? <pretends not to have strawberry de-stalker at home>

A garlic crusher, I can't abide - use a pan to whack it! My favourite bit of kit is my new thermomix - proper chef's toy. Blends and heats - it's brilliant!

glassortwo

I am terrible for throwing this and that in a pot without any real thought, what basics would you use in a savoury dish as your base flavours.

Onions are always the key. If you look at Indian cooking - they colour the onions really well before adding the spices etc, which can change the flavour of the food massively.

marionh

What cuts of meat are best for long slow cooking? When I am in the supermarket there seem to be so many and I am never sure what is best for what

Generally, it's the part of the animal that does the most amount of work that takes the longest to cook, but also has the best flavour. A fillet of pork doesn't taste anywhere near as good as a slow-roasted shoulder of pork.