Angela Hartnett's Risotto Masterclass & Emilia Fox's Food Favorites | Dish Podcast

New Year's Traditions and Resolutions

• 🥂 The episode kicks off with hosts Nick Grimshaw and Angela Hartnett reflecting on the past year and looking forward to New Year's Eve celebrations.
• 🏊‍♀️ A planned New Year's Day swim is discussed, with a lighthearted debate about the necessity of wetsuits.
• 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 The Scottish tradition of the "first footer" is introduced, where the first person to enter a home after midnight brings good fortune.
• 🗣️ Both hosts and guest Emilia Fox discuss their approaches to New Year's resolutions, favoring taking up new activities over giving things up.

Emilia Fox's Culinary Likes and Dislikes

• 🥄 Emilia Fox shares her love for olive oil, even drinking it straight from the spoon, and discusses its health benefits.
• 🌶️ She enjoys herbs and spices, particularly chilies, and emphasizes the importance of eating seasonally.
• 🥬 The unique vegetable punterella is highlighted, with a discussion on its preparation and a preference for anchovy dressing.
• 🍗 Chicken is a clear favorite, with Fox stating she could eat it every day, unlike her experience with eating fish daily for seven months on set.
• 🧀 Parmesan is a non-negotiable favorite, and she enjoys various types of pasta as a treat.

Risotto Confidence and Tips

• 🤔 Emilia Fox admits to lacking confidence in making risotto, unsure whether to stir constantly or leave it to cook.
• 💡 Angela Hartnett reassures her, emphasizing that the key is to toast the rice, add white wine (which evaporates), and follow a timer for 20 minutes.
• 🌡️ Using hot stock is crucial to maintain the risotto's temperature and cooking consistency.
• 🍄 For beginners, sticking to simpler risottos like mushroom, pumpkin, or tomato is recommended.
• 🍝 If a risotto is overcooked, it can be salvaged by making arancini balls.

Silent Witness and Acting Career

• 📺 Emilia Fox discusses her long tenure playing pathologist Nikki Alexander in Silent Witness, now entering its 29th season.
• 🔬 She notes how the show has inspired young people to pursue careers in forensics and pathology.
• 🗣️ Learning the specialized terminology for the show is likened to learning another language, requiring mnemonic devices.
• 🎭 Actors on the show sometimes lie on the mortuary slab, and Fox describes making the experience more comfortable by treating it like a spa day.
• ⏳ A quiz compares Fox's 21 years on Silent Witness to other actors' long-running roles, including Jennifer Aniston, Angela Lansbury, Nancy Cartwright, Kelsey Grammer, and William Roache.

Fast Food Favorites and Show Finale

• 🍳 Emilia Fox's fast food preferences include scrambled eggs, chicken sandwiches, baked potatoes, rosemary, salt and vinegar crisps, spoons as a utensil, tagliatelle, roast parsnips, pistachios, Marmite on toast, and a Margherita pizza.
• ✍️ For the end-of-show question, Fox creates a motto for Dish: "No dish is too difficult for those who are adventurous in the kitchen."