Nadiya’s Fast Flavours on BBC2 sees former Great British Bake Off winner Nadiya Hussain on a mission to liven up familiar dishes with surprising ingredients. Lockdown got people cooking more than ever before but, after a few months of trying adventurous new recipes, many have reverted back to making the same old standbys. This is something Nadiya Hussain wants to change in her latest BBC2 series and accompanying book Nadiya's Fast Flavours which she hopes will inject some fizzing flavours back into our meals.
So we caught up with cookbook author Nadiya to give us her guide to Nadiya's Fast Flavours on BBC2…
‘Nadiya's Fast Flavours’ air date
Nadiya's Fast Flavours begins on Thursday Nov.11, 8.30pm on BBC2. It’s a six-part series, with episodes released weekly on BBCiPlayer afterwards. We’ve yet to hear if there’s US or worldwide release date but we’ll update when we can.
What happens ‘Nadiya's Fast Flavours’?
Former Great British Bake Off winner Nadiya Hussain told us: "The kitchen was a good place to be in the pandemic. It allowed us to enjoy being a bit more adventurous and now we’re coming out of lockdown and people are going back to their lives. I want to show that we can do that, but we can also keep doing what we loved during lockdown, such as cooking exciting tasty meals. It just needs to be faster so we can manage the family, work and home life balance."
‘Nadiya's Fast Flavours’ episodes
The six-part series Nadiya's Fast Flavours has weekly themes such as Treat Yourself and Chill-Out Days with the recipes packed with an unusual combination of ingredients to send tastebuds into overdrive.
“In the first episode of Nadiya's Fast Flavours, Comfort Food, I add evaporated milk and Marmite to macaroni and cheese for a sweet, salty depth of flavour and crunch cheesy puff crisps into the cheese sauce,” says Nadiya. “It’s the best mac and cheese you’ll ever taste!”
Nadiya uses custard powder in her twist on French bread, Bombay mix in her burgers and fennel seeds and blueberries in her ice-cream cake.
“I straddle two worlds, British and Bangladeshi, and I used to worry about combining flavours that felt classically British with flavours I grew up with," she explains. "Gradually, I realised the joy of being part of two worlds is being able to throw the rule book away!”
Then for episode 2, Nadiya makes a crabstick po’ boy (a type of sandwich with something fried in it). She mixes together crabsticks, chilli and red onion with plenty of coriander and cumin seeds, deep fries it and then packs it in a soft bread roll with lashings of apple sauce dressing. Dinner is a sweet and sour prawn stir-fry, pudding a cherry, chocolate and cinnamon cake and the final feast is a saag paneer pilau, which looks delicious and is cooked in one pan with very little fuss.
Moving on to episode 3, Nadiya shares her most indulgent dessert recipes. "If you are going to treat yourself, then you may as well do it in style!" is the Nadiya mantra here. She starts with something unusual — a pretzel nut brûlee — which is a new twist on a tart. And yes it looks divine. Then it's time to make coffee and walnut focaccia. This is a cake disguised as bread! For her next treats, it’s lemon and basil shortbread biscuits with a raspberry jam and white chocolate filling . THen the big sugar high ends with a no bake chocolate and mint roll.
When it comes to episode 4 Nadiya's Fast Flavours it’s squash and saffron soup on the menu. Nadiaya uses butternut squash and the juice and zest of a grapefruit to give her dish added zing. Her Thai cucumber salad with prawns is yummy too, followed by a delicious-looking apple and olive cake that is gluten-free and vegan. Finally, it's time for an alternative Sunday roast using a side of salmon covered in a fresh salsa verde, served with roasted onions and salmon-skin crackling.
It's time for banana bread in the fifth episode, which is all about chilling out for some relaxed cooking, and Nadiya promises the best recipe ever for it. She uses thyme and a salty caramel drizzle! Also in her kitchen this week are Bombay burgers, which involve a packet of Bombay mix, a favourite of Nadiya's when growing up. She mixes this with hot water, one egg and a few extra nuts and spices. This special mix is then for covering her burgers. If you'd prefer to to steer clear of red meat for a bit, then Nadiya will also be making spicy BBQ chicken with aubergine. To finish, there's an ‘epic’ apple and custard pie.
The final episode focuses on food for a celebration and it's a special occasion in Nadiya’s house which starts early with a breakfast of soft fluffy lemon swirls topped with clouds of fragrant airy cream on a crisp citrus crust. Her date night dinner is garlic chicken with roti jala, which uses 30 cloves of garlic, but luckily she also has a top tip for avoiding garlic breath. Then there’s a family-sized feast of roast lamb with couscous, while the ‘ultimate’ red velvet cake is the show-stopping dessert.
