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Roasts A roast dinner lies at the heart of English
Cuisine and remains extremely popular to this day. Many people still have a
Sunday Roast, which can be a time for sitting down together as a family or
inviting Members of the extended family. The fare should be simple, fresh and
well cooked. Each roast consists of meat, accompanied by a selection of
potatoes and vegetables, gravy and complemented by a sauce designed for that
particular dish. It’s up to you what cut of meat you use, whether it is rare
or well done, whether you have boiled, mashed or roast potatoes (or all
three) and whether you have just a few veg or lots. I tend to do quite a
large selection. Whichever way, though, a well made
roast dinner is without doubt hard to beat! Roast Beef & Yorkshire Pudding Often considered to be the king of the roast
dinner, a dish that epitomises England and the English rather like John Bull.
We talk of the Roast Beef of Olde England when we
mean traditional England and especially the countryside. The French even call
us ‘Les Rosbifs’! You can choose between different cuts of meat
for your joint. Nice top cuts or silversides that are lean or rib beef or
brisket that needs to be cooked slowly. Served with a choice of potatoes,
steamed and roasted veg, gravy, accompanied with mustard and horseradish
sauce and of course Yorkshire puddings.
Spiced beef Often eaten cold around Christmas, the joint is
gently roasted with a little cinnamon, lemon and sugar.
Roast Lamb with Mint Sauce My personal favourite! Insert a few slithers of garlic and sprigs of
rosemary or lavender into the lamb and cook fairly slowly. Serve with a
selection of potatoes and veg, it goes particularly
well with peas and cauliflower cheese – and of course freshly made mint sauce
and sometimes with red currant jelly. It is not traditional to serve
Yorkshire puddings with this roast – but it does seem to be catching on. In
addition to roast potatoes, lamb goes really well with
baked dumplings which is the more traditional accompaniment than
Yorkshires. A variation on the traditional joint is a Crown of Lamb (see
below).
Crown Roast This classic dish is a sort of rack of lamb,
shaped into a crown and roasted. A similar arrangement, but more horizontal
is known as a ‘Guard of Honour’.
Roast Goat Similar to lamb, but with a somewhat stronger
flavour is goat. Goat meat is not readily available in the supermarkets and
so you would need to buy it at farm shops and farmers markets. Why not try it
as a whole spit for a clan gathering?
Roast Pork with Crackling Start roasting this on a low heat and turn up
high at the end to crisp the skin into a lovely crackling. Serve with the
usual selection of potatoes and veg, though cabbage (white, green or red)
goes particularly well as do roasted parsnips, mushroom and sausages. The
trick is to get a nice crispy crackling on the skin whilst keeping the main
meat succulent. Accompanied by apple sauce, mustard and of course gravy!
Hog Roast For the special gathering, a whole hog.
Gammon or Ham Hock Personally, I prefer my gammon boiled but honey
roasted gammon is good and goes well with pineapple.
Roast chicken with stuffing Roast chicken has become one of the most
popular roasts; traditionally served with stuffing, forcemeat, sausages and
plenty of veg. You can stuff the cavity of the chicken (typically with a sage
and onion bread stuffing) or cook the stuffing separately and stuff the bird
with an onion. It does not need spices or herbs on top, though you can put a
little oregano or sage. You can also cover the bird with bacon to keep it
moist – one of the few times we eat our bacon crispy! It can also be served
with bread sauce, although this is usually reserved for game such as pheasant. Guinea foul is a nice alternative to chicken,
more likely to be free range but tasting much the same as a good chicken.
Roast Chicken with lemon In the summer, we like to put a thickly cut
lemon, together with, rosemary or thyme, into the chicken cavity. This can be
served with any type of potatoes you like, including roasted potatoes with
more lemon and herb on them. In hot weather, this goes well with a simple
vegetable such as green beans or spinach.
Roast Rabbit Not that common on English tables these days,
but rabbit used to be a staple. Tasting a little like chicken, it can be
served pretty much the same way. In northern England it would be covered with
bacon and served with a variety of potatoes (traditionally mashed), veg and
gravy. In eastern England it may be cooked more with a cream sauce and apple.
Roast Venison This is a wonderful and healthy alternative to
the more common roasts. Lightly roasted with a little rosemary and junipers
and served with a red wine gravy. As a typical
autumn dish, server with seasonal veg, especially root veg such as parsnip
and mashed potatoes.
Roast Turkey Commonly eaten on Christmas day and
increasingly at Easter too. The bird is an import from the Americas, but it
is cooked the traditional English way. Served with a variety of vegetables,
the one day ion a year many people eat Brussel Sprouts! Accompanied with sage
and onion stuffing (properly mixed with force meats and a dab of sherry),
chestnut stuffing, sausages wrapped with bacon, bread sauce, cranberry sauce
(another import from America) and mustard.
Roast Duck Quite a rich meat, but very tasty.
Traditionally eaten with mashed potatoes, roast potatoes and parsnips, red
cabbage, peas and or sprouts and accompanied with bread sauce and a red
berry, apple or cherry sauce. The gravy can be enhanced with a splash of red
wine, sherry or port. Roast duck in a sour cherry sauce (picture on the
right) is a nice traditional alternative.
Roast duck with an orange sauce (Canard a l’orange) is a classic French dish
involving a complex orange sauce. However, an English version was developed
in the 1960’s which simply added fresh orange juice to the gravy. We don’t
let go of our gravy that easily!
Roast Goose Similar to duck, but a bit richer. Goose was
traditionally eaten on Michaelmas and, until replaced by turkey, on Christmas
day. Accompaniments are similar to duck, though the sharper flavour of
gooseberry sauce goes well with it. Baked or roasted apple, and or apple
sauce, is also traditionally served with goose. Roast Michaelmas goose is
traditionally served with apples and prunes.
Roast Pheasant As the autumn sets in and winter approaches,
the pheasant season starts! Pheasant is a delicate, but distinct flavour and
stronger than chicken or turkey. Traditionally it was left to hang until it
took on a distinct ‘high’ gamey flavour which you either like or don’t like.
I prefer mine plain! Traditionally eaten with mashed potatoes, game
potatoes (rather like crisps), bread sauce and home made
English mustard. An interesting alternative accompaniment are walnuts
(picture on right hand side), either as a sauce or as part of a stuffing.
Cover with bacon to keep the bird moist and roast on a high oven for about an
hour.
Bread sauce and game potatoes (thinly sliced
and roasted with the bird) are traditional with all game birds:
And then, there’s: Partridge Similar to pheasant, but smaller. Eaten much
the same way, although pears are a traditional accompaniment. “My true love
gave to me - a partridge in a pear tree’.
Grouse Again, cooked and eaten much like pheasant or
with autumn berries.
Quail You may need two of these!
Pigeon Still eaten in rural areas, though you probably
need to shoot your own. Usually accompanied by mushrooms and a mushroom or
walnut sauce of some kind as well as the usual vegetables for game birds. You
need clean, country wood pigeons, not the City pigeons of Trafalgar Square.
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