BEAT THE CHEF: MYSTERY BOX CHALLENGE | Vol. 12 | Sorted Food
hello and welcome to another beat the chef Mystery Box challenge today taking on Chef Ben is normal Barry who With a Little Help from our food team is hoping to knock the chippy chirpy Chef off his perch boys let's have a look at the ingredient that you'll be learning about investigating and celebrating in your dishes open the mystery box oh oh Bryce absolutely right we know what this is can we go in China what that is actually a valid question but no Italy in today's video we're teaming up with b-a-s-f to learn about rice which began with a trip to a farm Southwest of Milan to meet Melissa a rice farmer despite that rice is a tropical plant so we have been cultivating meat for more than five centuries in Italy we produce on an area of 230 000 actors and we produce more than 50 percent of the European rice the reason why we cultivate rice in Italy is because we have the most precious resource that is the water we take the water directly from the melting of the alpins Northfields we direct the water through 100 kernels that are spread around in the poor Valley in order to guarantee the submersion of our Paddy Fields so it literally comes right way down from the mountains from the winter and then just gets channeled and you yeah we direct we direct the water into the rice fields in this field we saw in a dry soil rice is a fantastic plant but it appears of many adversities we have to defend them from a lot of Weights a lot of fats a lot of disease so we have to control it every single day if we want to have a good result at the end after 30 days we closed the Paddy field this is the new way to sow the rice the traditional way is directly in the water so here you can see the wet version we put the iron wheels on tractor in order to be able to go inside the fatty fill with water a little bit strange to see once it's Unique then we Harvest our PADI during September and October it was eye-opening to us that Melissa's Farm was having to adopt different sowing methods depending on the amount of rainfall and that was before the crop was grown harvested cleaned and then dried so we put the Paddy rice in this hole then goes through this kind of tools and this is a cleaner than goes inside this big box where the dry process starts and once it is ready we stop the dry and we carry the Paddy rice in our silos and it is be ready to be sold this year we haven't seen a rainfall in winter here and neither in the Alps so now we have water but we are not sure to have it during the summer time so we are very worried about it anyway I think that the science will the key to solve a part of the problems that climate change we put in front of us this is a reality we cannot wait and we have to do it now but we have to invest in science to invest in technology in genetic Innovation and chemical Innovation and so on without any ideologies in order to be as more sustainable as possible in order to protect our territories to protect our crops to protect our biodiversity as well with Innovation around these issues in mind we went to speak with Michaela a rice breeder to learn about how she was approaching these challenges breeding work is the technique to develop annualized varieties favorable to the increasement of agronomical or qualitative grain breeding works by Crossing two different rice varieties with favorable attributes in the hope of a new variety which carries both of those characteristics Michaela explained that her work focuses on improving the functional value of rice our most important proudest targets are is I think an increase of disease tolerance another Target I think very important is a nitrogen efficiency so less fertilizer utilize less environmentally impact another Target very important is assessment of nutritional compound of the rice grain how long from starting to ending up with a new breed of rice that you can actually pass on to Farmers from six to eight years six to eight years yes in my work it's very important possibility means more safe produce products offered to the consumer means more control for example in Italy the rice cultivation starts from certificate uh that means more safe grain for more Safe products so many things to juggle you might be able to fix one thing but you want to unfix something else so to try and get it all together is is a puzzle and now it was time to eat we went to aquamata restaurant and even managed to tap up Chef Andrea for some last minute tips and try some incredible rice dishes a standout being a cuttlefish risotto I get a lot of stick you do for cooking risotto but this is what I've already been aiming for like this is you can't get bored of it because you can't make it this good well we'll see you get a stick we'll see [Music] The Lads are locked and loaded with inspiration so let's see what you've got in three two one beat the off let's go straight away his boy's entire allotment with him everyone we spoke to in Italy said that their favorite dish to create with rice was risotto it's a true celebration of the grain so that's exactly what I'm doing but I'm giving it extra rice crisp and seasonal British veg rather than the Italian season that we had when we were visiting and now I know I'm gonna get stick because I'm always quick risotto this is how sorted started we are phoning you up 12 years ago going I've got a date what do I make risotto my wife's sick of it look risotto been there done that you've done at least about a thousand times on dates I am taking those Lotto making it sweet putting it into a cake and then serving it with some nice rice cream Barry there are a few things in your description there that didn't make any sense torta diriso basically it's a rice cake sultanas cinnamon it's absolutely delicious we had an amazing restaurant and I try my best to recreate it now nice and ice cream that's an experiment what I find interesting about Barry is that his confidence is coming from we've had something like this before a really good restaurant and I'm going to recreate it now that level of ego is just impossible to find these days you don't like you're born with it first step for mine is to Shell some broad beans some peas and then to snap off Woody ends from asparagus all of which are going to be blanched and then refreshed in ice water so they're cooked but still vibrant green the rice I'm going for is what was given to us by Michaela and we're going for a short grain round of rice with a higher starch content therefore my pudding should be silky smooth and glorious some cream some milk sugar lemon vanilla paste and then risotto rice what's great about this is because I actually run on the trip and was holding one of the cameras so I can act as a BS filter throughout the entire video no no it's dangerous on top of blanching the broad beans the peas and the asparagus stalks have been cut up I'm then going to blanch Cherville oregano Watercress and spinach all of it again chilled down in ice water squeezed of excess water and then we'll have our green veg done now you can just blend these green herbs and leaves up but the mixture tends to separate by cooking them and blanching them you get a much smoother puree especially when you're adding the bulk of the other legumes too just checking you can see the color green can't you um oh actually no ever's dish is going to be invisible to you so loads of our blanched and refreshed veg plus mascarpone olive oil salt pepper he really loves that blender isn't it that looks vibrant af after 40 minutes of cooking and then cooling down the rice is now cooked it's got really starchy silky and and what is I could just stop there I've now split my rice pudding and with one half I'm making the cake I've got some there we go Blanc hazelnuts and some Amaretti biscuits both blitzed out why why those things it's traditional stuff from the region amary hibiscus Burger as well Italian Italian three egg yolks two eggs and then I've got some Amaretto soaked raisins as well that are going in there as well this sounds unlike any cake that I've ever heard of before laughs [Music] Blended the broad beans whole but the ones I've held back for garnish I am just shelling and once they're cooked much easier to do nip off the top and squeeze from the bottom my rice ice cream Mega simple taking the rice pudding made earlier mixing it with some more milk it's just a bit too thick to go into an ice cream machine so loosen it with some milk blend it up till smooth and then into the machine and let it churn and you've got some bits in there as well for texture no I have not Embers has your dish got any rice in it not yet elevate my risotto so that from the sidelines don't get it's just a risotto I'm going to make a rice Twi so what right tweel tween tween Tweed a Tweed a short grain rice cooked in water for about half an hour so it is overcooked and then I'm going to blend it into a paste with some of the water and then spread that paste over a cling film plate and microwave it till it's cooked at which point I'm going to peel it off and fry it into a riced wheel I can't wait to see how you feel when you peel your Tweed I've got some pre-cooked of the risotto rice okay into the pan hot oil I'm going to cook that get rid of all the moisture until it starts to get crispy and then justice has to go Brown chucking some sugar and some cinnamon I hadn't appreciated that this dish could have been six years in the making six is to breed the right rice then you've got to sew it flood it grow it drain it dry it a bunch of other stuff actually goes here at least at least at least six years so you better enjoy this is brand new to me so I don't really know what I'm doing but I wanted to try it yes it's not working yeah yeah these are our favorite bits less is more this is a celebration of the rice so olive oil and butter combined sweat off the onion and garlic with a little bit of salt until they're really soft translucent sweet it's gonna take a good 10 minutes keep a lid on for that then the rice goes in Stir It cook it you're toasting in the fat so it goes nice and translucent you should almost be able to smell the taste of the rice the fragrancy of the rice then splash in white wine to keep it Regional then once that's reduced down stock in a little bit at a time and this is a chicken stock that I've got bubbling away but it's also had the trimmings from the herbs the asparagus tips so we're always adding in flavor until the rice grains are just Al Dente I'm going to make this quite a dry quite a stiff risotto because then right at the end I'm going to stir in my puree so you're adding that green liquid in at the end along with parmesan so do you think you picked up some tips for risotto making whilst you were there we didn't see it being made but we ate it I think the tips I would say is whatever flavor risotto you're going with go seasonal but also the right rice grain and this was Melissa's favorite villaloni Nano I've never cooked with this particular grain how does it differ more starch in it which is what's going to give you that nice creamy finish at the end now for my roasted fruit strawberries nectarines and Myrtle ever heard of it something from Harry Potter so on the first night going out for dinner and they're like doing some drinks to finish the night I was like yeah sure lemon cello will be lovely they bought this out at the end quite strong oh what what so it tastes fruity like it looks yeah but it's got almost like a warmth from almost like a peppery almost and a CD yeah I apologize for the way Barry served it because they said it should always be served ice cold which is the way in the Sardinian restaurant we were in it's the way they served it so you've covered your fruits in myrtles yeah the risotto we had was topped off with cuttlefish but I wanted to find something else in the region that was both a surprise to us when we learned about it but also very symbiotic and that's frogs oh yeah in The Paddy fields whilst we were looking at the rice you could hear frogs everywhere they do not Skip Leg Day but they're going to go into brown butter to be sauteed off sometimes if there are things living in The Paddy Fields they can add back the nutrients that the rice is taking I was hoping it was going to get interesting and he's delivered they're not going to take long to cook a couple minutes neither side get a nice golden color and then finished off with lemon juice salt and our fresh herbs I'm then going to turn them out into a tray and when they're cool enough I'm going to pick the meat off so we'll serve it as very dainty frog meat rather than on the bone okay now it's golden brown on top now there's actually cool then we'll brush it with some Amaretto and then it's time to serve up shape are they what shape do you think they are he's done a Jamie how do I celebrate rice make it the shape of rice I think it works but you're gonna you have to explain to us that it was the shape of rice on the menu it would say rice shaped rice cake with a nice rice very good Bravo 's is having a Paddy over his teeth oh that is a thin [Music] I got a rice Cracker Boys lemon zest pecorino black pepper [Music] one minute to go 30 seconds remaining Jamie that is green ten nine eight so seven Village six ah five four three I murdered everywhere two one step away from the plates good job a celebration of rice [Music] foreign [Music] plates boys stunningly smelling plates yeah should we start let's go Savory first going for risotto get some frog come back for Cracker let me eat my the way I want to eat it cheers foreign frog is excellent don't understand why you're single though you must have a shocking personality because your risotto is incredible the greens within that puree really come through so I mean this in the best possible way but they taste vibrant and they taste earthy and really fresh and full of flavor you get more texture from the toppings plus you get the squeeze of a tomato and the crunch of some asparagus with the parmesan and lemon zest it's delicious mate that's rice it's the first time I've cooked with that particular rice grain and I feel it is both very forgiving but also if you can get it just right those individual grains bite through and hold their shape like it's it is a better rice grain than perhaps the Arborio or other grains I've been using before for risotto Cheers Cheers wow that's delicious I haven't had anything like that before ever no that's so creamy even though I had a piece of nectarine the flavor that it carried of the strawberries that have kind of melted down with that Myrtle syrup that that outtake of this video is you're using seasonal fresh stuff and the right and the best for ice cream and all of those things are the best thing on the plate I was really chuffed for the way mine came out and then I saw how Barry presented his and I was like I've got this in the bag and then you taste it and that is phenomenal do you want to go and confirm by the sink that's not a sink yeah let's do that well done yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah okay we're going to cut straight to Chase our winner is okay well Ben April I'm afraid you did not beat the chef that tastes fantastic and super creative and there's elements there that are I've never tried before but every element on that plate or in that bowl that's just had to be a hundred percent to win and it was 100 and you can't really argue with it we know who our winner was but do you agree comment down below let us know and we'd also love to hear what your thoughts opinions and questions might be around these dishes but also rice production in general and a big thanks to BASF for enabling all of this and if you'd like to see more from Melissa and Michaela then check out our extended extras video in the link down below and whilst you're down there comment on any don't say that it always sounds weird you make it sound weird no you make it sound weird everyone thinks they sound weird
2022-07-12 09:43
