Food
The Delicious
Miss Dahl {BBC series}
Sophie's 2010 BBC Two programme The Delicious Miss Dahl saw her cooking up delicious recipes and reminiscing about some of her own food memories to 1.9 million viewers on average throughout the series.
For Sophie, food and emotion are inextricably linked. Each episode, therefore, is themed around an emotional thread - selfish, romance, nostalgia, melancholy, escapism and celebratory.
Guide
Episode Guide
Episode 1 - Selfish
In the first episode, Sophie revels in the joy of cooking for one on a purely ‘selfish’ day. Shutting the world away and answering to no one on a day that is indulgently independent, Sophie cruises the food boutiques and cooks simple dishes for one with the finest of ingredients. Beginning at breakfast with her take on an ‘Arnold Bennett’ omelette. Then after a sweep of a local cheese shop, for lunch Sophie constructs a bruschetta with a tower of buffalo mozzarella, shaved fennel and courgette salad on top. For dinner, roasted halibut with a spinach and watercress sauce, sweet potato chips and wild mushrooms followed by rich chocolate pots with brandy soaked cherries.
Episode 2 - Romance
In episode two, in a loving mood and inspired by the romance of book shops and Brief Encounter moments at train stations, Sophie talks us through her perfect dishes for the three stages of romance. Sophie’s perfect dish is scallops roasted on a barbeque in their own shells, with garlic and chilli marinade accompanied by minty peas. As romance develops, the honeymoon phase is all about serving long, lazy breakfasts and brunches and her dish of choice is cheese soufflé blinis with scrambled eggs and smoked salmon. By the time the relationship reaches the cosy, settled on-the-sofa stage, the focus is on individual dishes that show you care, so she shares her recipe for rich and flavoursome individual shepherd’s pies with champ – with meat for her man and, being vegetarian, puy lentils for her.
Episode 3 - Nostalgia
Episode four deals with nostalgia, in particular the nostalgia sophie feels when she is away for homely british food. From roasted tomato and thyme soup with double baked cheese and chive potatoes which evokes memories of her teenage years in Camden to a perfectly British afternoon tea with her twist on a traditional Victoria sponge made with homemade raspberry jam and orange buttercream. Her nostalgic day is topped off with crab, salmon and dill fishcakes with homemade tartare sauce, roasted red potatoes and wilted spinach followed by the king of British desserts, the crumble, made with toffee apples and pears.
Episode 4 - Melancholy
Programme four tackles a 'melancholy day' with indulgent and restorative delights. Bubble and Squeak Cakes served with red onion gravy, Chocolate Orange Sauce poured over ice-cream, and for the soul the curative power of chicken soup for which Sophie demonstrates her own luxurious version made with roast chicken, crispy croutons and parmesan. Lastly a spicy Tom Kha soup, made with exotic vegetables and huge pink prawns awakens the senses and inspires her to open the curtains and let the sunshine back in once more.
Episode 5 - Escapism
Eposiode five follows an escapist weekend. Friday night is a soothing New England-style clam chowder with crunchy thyme and lemon breadcrumbs. On Saturday, its a saucy Mexican brunch of blackbean quesadillas with peppers, home-made guacamole and lime sour cream dip served with spicy hot chocolate. Then it's a late lunch of calamari salad with chargrilled peppers, red chicory and herby lime dressing to summon up the warmth of lazy Mediterranean holidays.
Episode 6 - Celebratory
Episode six is all about celebration and Sophie creates a generous banquet from her tried and trusted crowd pleasers, cooking as much as she can in advance for stress free entertaining. The evening starts with a hot pink borscht, served in a vintage glass punch bowl, and delicious fresh oysters are laid out with bloody mary and shallot and vinegar dressings. The centre piece of the table is a trussed up sea trout with a goat’s cheese, almond and herb stuffing served alongside a wild rice risotto terrine.
