Bake Off star Nadiya Hussain has left the nation baffled after she added spaghetti hoops to a fish pie recipe.
The 34-year-old shared the traybake recipe on her BBC2 show Nadiya’s Time To Eat. But when it came to adding in tinned spaghetti hoops to the mix, viewers – and the show’s contributor Amy – were left somewhat perturbed.
“It’s my ultimate hack to turn it into a hearty meal in a hurry,” Hussain says on the show. “I’ve always got a can in the back of my cupboard and I’m always looking for ways of using that can.”
“Most people will be shocked when they see you use spaghetti hoops,” said Amy on the show, to which Nadiya replied: “There’s nothing wrong with it. It saves time.”
Despite her justification, people were not impressed.
In a description for the recipe online, Hussain explained that she doesn’t like the taste of spaghetti hoops on their own, but she really appreciates “their sweetness and ability to bulk out a dish when they are mixed with other things”.
The fish traybake also includes pollock fillets, cherry tomatoes, spring onions, red chillies, broccoli florets, salt and smoked paprika, and a breadcrumb topping.
And there’s actually a very good reason why the mum-of-three decided to share the dish, which she used to cook for her three kids when they were younger. It’s easy, and relatively cheap.
The focus of Time To Eat is about creating dishes which reflect the busy, and not always financially flush, reality of many people’s lives. “We need to stop being pretentious and think about the fact some people struggle for money,” Hussain previously told the Radio Times. “There’s nothing wrong with using canned food.”
The TV presenter also revealed there was a time in her life when she had to choose between paying her gas bill or boiling potatoes, which is when she started turning to tinned food.
See the full recipe here.