London - As the Queen of Cakes, she has whipped up hundreds of mouth-watering meals during her celebrated career.
But Great British Bake Off judge Mary Berry has revealed the one dish she will never cook – deep-fried courgette flowers.
While her culinary friends Jamie Oliver and Nigel Slater consider the meal a delectable treat, Berry can barely disguise her distaste for the recipe, which involves stuffing the flowers with ricotta cheese and herbs and then frying them in batter.
The 81-year-old food writer and presenter made the confession while appearing on food journalist Andrew Webb’s podcast Delicious.
She said: “You may well stuff your courgette flowers but I am into cooking really fresh food, and not too complicated. If it is, I leave it to the chefs. If you think I’m getting my deep fat fryer out and putting courgettes into batter – that is just one thing I wouldn’t cook!”
The recipe is also popular with Antonio Carluccio, 79, who owns the eponymous high street restaurant chain.
In a wide-ranging interview Berry opened up about the ingredients she likes to cook with in summer and her passion for fresh vegetables as she urged people to grow their own.
She said: “Before I left this morning I peeled six new potatoes from Cornwall and of course the purple sprouting broccoli is at its best at this moment. I love home grown vegetables. Spinach is also just coming and we still have some leeks left.
“You don’t need a vast amount of space. Now people have learnt to have raised beds and then you’re in control and you can be much more selective on the soil.
“I grow herbs near the back door and you can grow a wonderful selection of herbs and window boxes... My idea is that you should grow what you eat. There’s no point in growing something like celeriac – which is very difficult to grow – if you hate it.”
Daily Mail