A Brief History of Astronomy Before the Telescope

Few things bring me more pleasure than cooking. Gosh, that's great, isn't it? And eating. That's a bit of all right. But there are certain dishes that I just can't get enough of. I'm going to show you some of my simplest mouth-watering recipes. That are warming and comforting. And after braving the elements... You can do better! Come on, come on! What could be better to come back to? That looks just like a hug in a car. This is the food that makes you feel that everything will be all right. What could be better than food that reminds us of home? Whether it's what your mum used to make or your favourite couch comfort, my heart always turns to those dishes that make us feel safe and sound. And there are so many people from around the country who feel just like I do. One of those is chef Joe Young, who's taken the comfort food he grew up with in Hong Kong and turned it into his living, with the help of his daughter Chantal. Good morning! Hi! This duo specialises in four different kinds of dumplings. Chicken, pork, prawn and jackfruit. You call yourselves Chubby Dumplings, neither of you look chubby! When I was a kid, my dad used to make the best dumplings and I would just gobble them all up straight away and he nicknamed me Chubby Dumpling because I ate them all. Ah, how lovely! And what made you start up a truck? My dad used to have his own restaurant for 31 years and then retired a couple of years ago. I convinced him to come out of retirement to work hard and make dumplings. And now we have a food van together. Joe's prized recipe is a family one, handed down through the generations. Would you like to come in and give me a hand? Oh, have a go! Dumpling dough is simply flour, water and salt. The skill is in the rolling, if you want a perfectly shaped result. Just the dough in your palm, put a little bit of filling in there, in the middle. It's a fiddly job. First, I need to get the right amount of shiitake mushroom and chicken mix. You put the bottom to the top. I can take that. Yeah. And I give it a pinch, now the trouble starts. You just move your fingers to the top and give it a squeeze. There. Do it one more time. Lovely. It's a bit ham-fisted. I don't think you're going to give me a job. Well, I couldn't afford you. How many dumplings can you make in an hour? Roughly about 180 to 200. Goodness gracious, I would be sapped on my first day. Jo is not only speedy, but very resourceful when it comes to cooking. And you've been steaming there on the top of an ordinary urn. Very useful. Then a quick fry to crisp them up. I love the way that you love your own home cooking, but you're bringing it out here so everybody can enjoy it. Yeah, it's good. And there's so many people come to the van who haven't had dumplings before, and they wouldn't necessarily go to a Chinese restaurant and order this food if they're on the streets. It's a good way to try new things. So these are ready. They smell so good. Just the finishing touches. Spring onions, some fresh chilies going to pop on the top. Not too much, please. Some Asian pickles. So there you go, there's your lunch. Lovely. Thank you. So good. There's nothing like your family's best recipes. But for me, there's one that has stood the test of time. And I hope it will still be cooked by my grandchildren one day. I think roast chicken must be the most favourite family roast. I'm going to put a lovely flavoursome butter underneath the skin and serve it with melting onions. Got some butter, and it's nice and soft. In with the flavour. Crushed garlic, grated fresh ginger, and the zest of half a lemon. Some tarragon. And as you chop it, you get that wonderful aroma. The tarragon gets mashed into the butter, then carefully pushed under the skin. It's well worth doing this. It really infuses the meat with the flavour. If you put it just on top, it drips down into the meat. So that's ready to roast. I'm going to put that in the tin. Add two roughly chopped onions, which we'll cook alongside and slowly caramelise. And drizzle generously with olive oil. I'm going to put a little bit of salt. That just gives a lovely crunchy topping. Into the oven for about an hour at 180 fan. When it's done, the juices should run clear and the skin golden and crisp. I think that looks so tempting. That glorious chestnut colour and the onions look brilliant too. I'm just going to leave it to rest and plate up those gorgeous caramelised onions that will be served alongside. Now to the gravy. I've got all the fat in the pan from the chicken, a little bit of oil from those onions, so I know it's a good flavour. My simple gravy is just how mum used to make it. Two tablespoons of flour will start it off. So I'm working the flour into all those drippings. In with 150ml of white wine and 500ml of chicken stock. And some gravy browning to give it a rich colour. You can make it as dark or as light as you want. My family always say if the gravy's a good brown colour, oh, doesn't that look good, mum? Finally, a little redcurrant jelly and a dash of Worcester sauce. That's the consistency. Served with crisp roast potatoes and a green vegetable. What could be better? All I want to do now is round up the family, quickly. My next taste of home is a little slice of Sicily. I'm in Camden at an Italian deli that's been here for nearly 40 years. Una musica dolce suonava soltanto per me. All together now. Welcome, Mary. That certainly was a welcome. This treasure trove of Italian food is a family business run by brothers Antonio and Stefano. Can I let you try a nice bit of pecorino with some lovely truffle, maybe? Oh, that's something different, thank you. Originally from Sicily, the brothers moved to Britain when they were young and weren't ready to let go of their home comforts. Food has always been our passion and my mum infused that into us and she helped us for the first five, six years, Antonio and myself. And she just let us get on with it, but she's always had her eye on us, keeping an eye, making sure it's done properly. It's brother Antonio who's the don of the deli's puddings. This is the most common dessert in Sicily, cannoli. What are the shells made of? Shells is made with wheat, a little bit of red wine and then they're fried. You just pipe. Mary, you're the expert piper here. I'm sure you've done this a few times yourself. We use cotta cream, which is made from sheep's milk. Antonio is dipping the cannoli into crushed pistachio, but they also use candied fruits and dark chocolate. I'd like to have a go. Please. Oh, wait a minute, I think I need to roll my sleeves up. It doesn't matter where your home cooking comes from, it's always handy to know how to pipe. Excellent. That's it. Excellent. She's piping better than a Sicilian, this Mary, eh? There we are, that's so far. And then you give it a little dip in there. OK. I think I've been a bit more generous than you. I've been a bit tight with the pistachios, I think. There we are. Perfect, Mary, perfect. I'm going straight into it. Is this the sort of thing that your mum used to make when you were young? Yes. I remember being young and helping my mum make the shells, and these are traditional foods from us, from Sicily, which have been going for years, you know, so definitely grown up with this sort of food, yes. Their mum's done a great job. Those cannoli are delicious. Before I go, I just want to pick up something for my next recipe. Do you have any burrata? I've got some beautiful burrata, Mary, from Puglia, fresh in yesterday morning. This is absolutely beautiful. Thank you. I'll take that. Such a passion for their taste of home. Bye, boys. It's inspired me to make one of my family's favourites. This is a twist on spaghetti bolognese. My bolognese bakes served with heritage tomato and burrata salad. The pasta sauce is simple. Fry off onion, celery and a crushed clove of garlic. The aim at this stage is just to soften it a bit. Once the vegetables have done that, throw in 675 grams of good minced beef. And you want a really high heat because I want to brown it a bit. Then add tomato puree, red currant jelly and two tins of chopped tomatoes. Canned tomatoes are quite acidic, and if you add just a little bit of red currant jelly, it just brings out the flavour. A good shake of Worcester sauce and 500 ml of rich beef stock. I'm going to turn that right down so it's cooking very slowly and it'll be tender in 30 minutes. While the sauce bubbles away, fry 250 grams of mushrooms in butter. I find that a very quick fry, you get a much better flavour. If I just tip them in with the bolognese, they just get a bit soggy. After half an hour, the sauce will be ready. Some chopped fresh thyme and the buttery mushrooms will bring it all together. That smells simply wonderful. Now to turn the bolognese into a heartwarming bake. Just add 225 grams of cooked penne and give it a good mix. That looks perfect. Now I'm going to tip it into the dish. Finish with a mixture of cheddar and parmesan for a cheesy topping. Just bake for about 25 minutes at 180 Fahrenheit. To show off that wonderful burrata cheese, I've surrounded it with lots of colourful heritage tomatoes. And I'm going to make a simple dressing, Bloody Mary. Four tablespoons of olive oil, a shake of celery salt, dash of Tabasco, 75 ml of tomato juice, a teaspoon of Worcester sauce, and two teaspoons of balsamic vinegar. Depending on what sort of gathering it is, you could always add a little bit of vodka to this. I can think of a few parties as it would go well. Just drizzle over the salad and finish with some fresh basil leaves. Now it's all about the bake. I tell you, it looks amazing. It's crispy brown on top and underneath it'll be soft with the sauce. Let's have a look. I think that looks wonderful. I can't think of anything I'll enjoy more with family on a weekday than this wonderful pasta bake. We all love the food our families cooked when we were younger. As it's Diwali, the festival of light, I've been invited to see how Chef Dipna will celebrate later with some very special family recipes. Hello, Adil. Hi, Dipna. Happy Diwali. Happy Diwali to you as well. Now, I call these Indian pretzels, crispy hot jalebis, the best dessert ever. These sweet treats are made from a fermented batter that's fried and coated in sugar syrup. You can eat them all year round, but specifically on times of Diwali and Indian festivals. So what we generally do is just twist the wrist. I generally like to count to eight. One, two, three, four. It's a bit like using a piping bag, so hopefully I've got this. Ever seen such a mess? The trick is, I gather, to make perfect circles quickly. I think they've got character. It's quite a skill, as Adil makes around 1,300 of these a day. This is a hot sugar syrup which is dipped in, and the sugar wouldn't latch straight away onto the actual jalebi. The proof of the pudding is always in the eating. The joy of eating jalebis on a cold day with the syrup trickling down your face. Oops, here's something else. Absolutely love it. The best sweet in town. And look at it, it's dripping with the syrup. It is, yes. I'm taking a jalebi for the road. Very happy Diwali to you. Enjoy the rest of the day. Thank you. She's addicted, you know. She is. I won't tell you how often she's here. Inspired by all this wonderful food, I want to show you my version of this paneer curry. It might not be very authentic, but I promise you it's absolutely scrumptious. The base will be roast cauliflower and sweet potato. Just pile it into an oven dish and drizzle generously with olive oil. I'm addicted to roasted cauliflower. Why did we never roast it in the past? Pop the veg into the oven at 200 fan for about 15 minutes. Now for the paneer. I have a 226 gram block of this versatile cheese. It's either a sheep's cheese or a goat's cheese and you love it when it's cooked because it's taken on the flavour of all the wonderful spices that you have in Indian cooking. Cut the paneer into cubes and fry in sunflower oil. Once it's golden brown and crispy, set the paneer to one side. For the sauce, fry two onions and grated ginger. What will really make this dish sing are the spices. Medium curry powder, garam masala and ground cloves. Oh, the smell is lovely. Smells of Friday night takeaway. In goes two tablespoons of flour. Give it all a turn and then add 600 ml of vegetable stock. Slowly to start with and allow it to thicken. That's it. The aroma is lovely. To bring it all together, add a couple of tablespoons of mango chutney and some double cream for a lovely rich sauce. That's just the right amount of thickness and it's a glorious colour now. Just in time as the roast veg are done. These are perfect vegetables to use in a curry because they hold their shape as long as you don't overcook them. Spinach and paneer are a marriage made in heaven. This is baby spinach and it'll wilt down in no time. A squeeze of lemon juice and finally back in the pan goes the paneer. That's bubbling away, the paneer's getting hot and I think it's time for me to taste. I think I've got a bit of everything here and gosh it looks tempting. Do you think I'll get it in one go? I know I will. Well, I've managed it. It was sheer heaven. My paneer and roast vegetable curry. So delicious with some warm naan and mango chutney. Dittmer's house Diwali preparations are in full swing. Everyone will be here in a few hours and it's all hands on deck. One of the family's most loved recipes is vegetable samosas. The secret to making great samosas is you don't want to make a dough which is like a chapati, nice and soft. We want a nice hard dough so they're easy to fill. And what's that there? So that's potato and peas infused with coriander seeds and cumin and I've finished it with coriander, garam masala and also kasuri methi which is dried fenugreek leaves. So it'll have a hint of curry and not too strong. Correct, so we've spiced it just right. Who actually taught you to cook? So my dad and my mum, so I have the best of both worlds. So my dad has been a chef for many years. He opened the first restaurant in Southall in 1975 but my grandfather opened the first brilliant nightclub, hotel and restaurant in Kenya, Nairobi in the 50s. So all the recipes have been passed on. It's a legacy, yeah. Add water to the pastry edge and shape it into a pouch. I'm not overloading this but I just press it down with my fingers. Dad, can you just come and help please? Can you please do these ones? Then I just pinch it across the top like that. That's it, so you're just sealing the whole thing. I hope it's up to the family's standards. How about that? That's very good. I've just got a little bit of the curry on the outside but it all adds to its character, okay? The shape's perfect. While the rest of the family are working on decorations for Diwali, Guru's making his favourite semolina pudding called suji halwa. It starts with semolina and butter. So I'm just sort of roasting it. We've got to keep on stirring it, yes. You can tell when that is ready because the buttery smell starts to release. As we know, the semolina is perfectly cooked. Yeah, this is like one of my favourites. Not again. Everything you like has got sugar in it. Sweet, yeah. When you go to the temple, the Sikh temple, what they give you when you pray afterwards, they give you prasad, which is a holy offering. So that's traditionally served in the Indian temples and you take it in your hand. I ask for obviously double when I go. The next stage is to add hot sugar syrup. It smells really buttery. And keep stirring. So it's not sticking to the edges. So that means the suji halwa is almost ready. So how many years have you been making this dish? Just about 45 years. Well, you should know. To finish, Guru's adding ground pistachios and almonds. Perfectly cooked now and I'm happy with that. Does it look good? So good. Just the way I would make it. Is it good? Almost like mine. I'm going to have a taste and see what I think. I would go for that. That pudding is extraordinary. It makes me think what my favourite dessert is when I want the comfort of home. The one that always springs to mind is my blackberry mousse with rich, buttery shortbread. I so well remember when I was very little going out, blackberrying, it was a ritual in the autumn and then we'd come home and you'd make jam and mousses and all sorts of things. And it was food for free. I've got 600 grams of blackberries and these are real whoppers. Tip them into a pan and gently cook with the juice of half a lemon and 75 grams of caster sugar. Let the natural juices come out. While they cook down, soak five leaves of gelatin in cold water. While that goes soft, I'm going to strain the blackberries. Just push that through like that. You don't want to waste it. Give that a stir. And there you can see the beautiful puree. So I'm putting that back on the hob. Squeeze out the water from the gelatin and add to the puree. When it's dissolved, transfer to a bowl to cool. I'm very careful not to splash myself because it's such a vibrant colour and it wouldn't look too good on this pink jumper. What makes this mousse light and fluffy is plenty of air. So whip together two egg whites and 100 grams of caster sugar. It looks a little bit like cloud. Now I have three bowls to mix. The blackberry puree, lightly whipped cream and the egg whites. Cream in first. Then fold in the egg whites. And just be as gentle as possible because you don't want to knock out the air that I've already put in. Pour into a serving dish and the mousse should take about six hours to set in the fridge or ideally overnight. Beautifully set. Just a little decoration needed. Put it in the centre. I'm going to then put blackberries on top. Keep it informal. If you pick them with children, let them decorate it. There you have it. Wild bramble mousse. Light and yet so comforting. Served with some buttery shortbread. That's it. Couldn't be more simple. A perfect food for any occasion. Back at Dipna's house, it's all hands to the pump. All that's needed now is the finishing touches for the Diwali celebrations. Before the party begins, a platter of food is offered to Lakshmi, the goddess of good fortune. Thanksgiving. Now all that's left to do is enjoy. We certainly won't go hungry with this magnificent spread. This is the savoury vermicelli, chickpeas, potatoes, tamarind yoghurt. It looks so beautiful. But I'm starting with some of those samosas and raita. Oh, that is good, isn't it? On offer, there's also a paneer curry and the spiced cauliflower and potato dish. Aloo gobi. And now for Dipna's favourite course. Who's ready for dessert? Wow. The jalebi topped cheesecake is going down a treat. What a wonderful evening. It's so heartwarming to see families celebrating together around the food that they love. Next time, I'm braving the elements in Yorkshire. This is certainly pushing it. Cooking up warming dishes. Do you know something? That's perfect. And watching the skies come alight.