Gerry on The One Show in the UK

http://www.lep.co.uk/community/gerard-butler-loved-my-patties-1-5249020

‘Gerard Butler loved my patties’

A cookery-mad mum has won a national competition to find the best way to serve your turkey leftovers.


Carol Harris, 48, of Croft Street, Farington, is used to impressing her family and friends with her blend of Lancashire and Jamaican cuisine.

But her cookery skills reached new heights when her recipe for turkey sunshine patties won The One Show’s competition to find the UK’s best turkey leftover recipe.

She appeared on the show alongside presenters Chris Evans and Alex Jones, food critic Jay Rayner and Hollywood megastar Gerard Butler.

Carol, who loves to cook with daughter Ruby, nine, said: “It’s quite an achievement to say I was sitting next to Gerard Butler and he was cramming my food into his mouth. And when the camera wasn’t rolling he was really stuffing it in!”

Carol’s blend of cooking is inspired by her English mum and Jamaican dad, both 84, who she now cares for.

She said: “I have been making turkey curries for a while. I love them. They are completely different to Indian curries.

“Patties are a Jamaican street food, a bit like pasties. I thought of this recipe and just decided to do it.

“The first time I ever made it was for the show, but I knew it would work.

“I served the patties with a zingy coleslaw.”

The three finalists had to take part in a cook-off at studios in Cardiff which were judged by Jay Rayner. Carol was named as the winner and appeared on the show last week to receive her trophy.

She said: “I’m not trained as a chef or anything like that, I just like to cook. I am always reading cookery books, watching food shows and reading reviews.

“I am always experimenting with new dishes and love coming up with something a bit different.

“It is hard to come up with completely original things, but I try my best.

“I try to use influences from my own heritage and I also worked on cruise ships for quite a while, so got to experience lots of different flavours while I was there.

“I will be cooking the patties as part of the Christmas dinner now - I will be in trouble if I didn’t.”

Carol isn’t a stranger to television competitions, after recently being named as runner-up in a competition by Daybreak to find Britain’s Best Pie – serving up a Pepperpot Pie.

She said: “I was so disappointed when I didn’t win and didn’t really want to enter any more competitions, but then my sister told me about this one.

“It’s only the second competition I have ever entered, and I won.”


The Ingredients

700g leftover turkey

Large glug of oil for frying

1 large clove of garlic, crushed

Piece of grated ginger

1/2 of a bunch of chopped spring onions

1 red onion chopped

1tbl thyme

2tbl Caribbean curry powder

400ml leftover turkey gravy, with flour to thicken

200 ml or ½ a can of coconut milk, (you can freeze the rest for later use)

Salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper