We do love a traditional roast dinner. If it's chicken, it has to be free range. Partly because it tastes better, partly because I prefer knowing the chicken has had a reasonably happy life and got to see the outdoors rather than sitting in it's own urine all day. Other meat is usually high welfare too. I buy half a lamb now and again from a local farmer, and I bought half a pig from a friend of a friend. If I'm cooking beef, (which is hardly ever) then I go to the butcher rather than the supermarket. More expensive, but worth it for a treat.
To be honest, I'm a little bit scared of cooking beef, because it does cost a lot I have to do the cow justice and I'm always worried I'll overcook it. I did once cook a massive rib of beef that only just fitted into the oven and cost £55(eek!) and it was successful. Also I am not great at Yorkshire pudding, it's a bit variable, but if you cook it round the meat at least it tastes nice, even if it doesn't rise so well. Individual Yorkshire puddings are just a bit boring.
Speaking of boring, there are ways and means of turning a plain roast into something a bit more interesting. If it's a chicken, instead of the usual veg and roasties, we sometimes have chips and a Greek salad as an accompaniment. Or I marinade it in a coating of spices, cream and yoghurt, and have it Indian style with naan bread and raiita. Or make a creamy sauce with butternut squash, creme fraiche and tarragon.
Chicken legs are a good alternative to a whole bird, nice roasted with garam masala and black onion seeds with chunks of parsnip. One of our favourites is a Jamie Oliver recipe for chicken leg portions roasted with cherry tomatoes, garlic, basil and chilli. We had this yesterday, but I took the meat off the bones after cooking and mixed it with all the juices, tomatoes etc into cooked spaghetti. Poaching a chicken is another alternative to roasting, and healthier as you don't eat the skin. I mentioned in a previous blog post how I poached one in Asian stock and had it with salad and homemade chilli jam. Roast duck is good too, I like to make a warm duck noodle salad with pak choi and sugar snap peas. Or duck legs with crispy potatoes and a fennel salad.
Pork can be jazzed up too, with five spice or crushed fennel seeds rubbed into the crackling with salt, the secret to good crackling is to remove it from the joint once roasted and put it back into the oven while the meat is resting. Belly of pork can be slow roasted, I love another Jamie Oliver recipe for pork belly with brasied fennel but it's a bit extravagant as it uses an entire bottle of white wine in the sauce, worth it though! I've also made "pulled" pork, so called because it just pulls apart when slow cooked for a long time, we had it in bread rolls with hubby's delicious homemade coleslaw.
Five spice pork with crackling.
Gravy is a bit tricky sometimes, I can't use the traditional method of putting the roasting tin on the hob as I've got a ceramic hob which would be scratched by a tin; and I usually use my stoneware baking dish rather than a tin anyway. I deglaze the baker or tin and pour the juices into a pan, with stock, wine, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce or whatever flavourings I want, and thicken if required, and I do add gravy granules sometimes (shhh).
Recently though, we have gone off roast dinners somewhat. Maybe it's because the wintry weather has been going on for so long it feels like we will never be eating a summery meal again! In the sumer we often have a lighter Sunday dinner at the garden table, or a barbecue... but those days seem to be gone forever. I've almost forgotten what it's like to sit outside in a sleeveless top with ice tinkling in a chilled glass of something. Roll on some warmer weather and a Sunday lunch al fresco...
Today I'm cooking at my parent's house. I often do that to give my Mum a break from cooking. They can't come to our house so easily because they live with my great aunt who is 99 and needs someone to be there all the time, so if they go out they need to arrange cover. Hence it's easier for me to go there. Today they are going out for lunch to a special event in their village so I'm taking the children and cooking for us and GA. We're having chicken with creamy sherry and chorizo sauce, followed by baked bananas with ginger liqueur, maple syrup and pecan nuts. Sundays are a time when we usually have a pudding, as there's time to create one, and I can indulge myself with something out of a new recipe magazine.
More soon, thank you for reading,
Caroline :-) x
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