Happy New Year everyone! Yeah, I know, I have been lazy and not updated for the WHOLE of the new year, how shameful of me! But here it is. A nice roast that I'm sharing with you, including a cheaty way to get your delicious roast vegetables.
A major problem with -having- those lovely roast vegetables, is how the devil do you know when to put them in? And if you -do- put them in and they come out cooked when the roast is done, you lose the delicious crispy to the pan, tray or foil! Dilemna! Never fear however, I shall help you make wonderful, delicious roast vegetables.
First of all, you're going to need some potatoes and carrots. Around one potato and one carrot per person you are serving. You want to cut the carrots in half crosswise, and then half them again down the length. Cut the potatoes in half, on the longest side of a decent potato. A 'decent potato' is the type known as nadine, they are about big enough to fill your hand, without your fingers curling over and connecting, white skin and white flesh.
An appropriately sized roast, I had a net rolled chicken roast, available from a chicken-specialist butchers, so I won't go into the preparation of how to make one. Wrap a baking tray in alfoil, tinfoil or whichever you want to call it. Put the rolled roast into the tray, net and all, if you take the net off, the roast will fall apart while cooking. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celcius, and once it is ready, put the roast in for fifty minutes. This is to cook the first side and make sure the skin is crunchy. While this is going on, you put the roast vegies on. But wait! I haven't said -how-!
If you've got yourself a banquet frying pan, then you're sweet. What you want to do is put some dripping into the pan, as it is heating, to melt down. Dripping is the fat that melt out of red-meat roasts, so like beef, lamb, the clear film that sits at the bottom of the tray, when it is still liquid, you pour that into a jar, and put it in the fridge to solidify. If you haven't kept/got any no drama's, butter will serve. BButter mind, not margerine. Duck fat as well, if you want to get expensive. Another alternative is to use cooking spray -and- vegetable oil. The cooking spray keeps the oil from sticking, and the oil keeps the vegetables from sticking, and you have a lovely crunchy roast vegie, undeniably the best method is the dripping. So, start saving the fat from your roasts!
Pop all your vegetables in -- you can also roast a whole onion in the same way, if you like, one onion per person that wants it. Cook on medium to low heat, checking them periodically, and turn them over when you have a lovely golden crispy layer forming.
Like so! Around this time, your oven should 'ding' and your roast is asking you ever so politely to turn it over. Do so, and roast it for another 20-30 minutes. If you're not sure, stick it with something sharp -- cake skewer, tip of a thin knife -- and if the juices that come out are clear, it's good to go.
This is when you get to polish up on your multitasking skills, as you also put on the frozen vegetables you want to add to the meal, peas, corn, beans, brussel sprouts... put them in cold water, bring to boil on the stove on a medium to low heat -- I cook with gas, and 'high' is insta-burn because of how hot the flame is. Now you just need to keep track of the time passing.
If your roast is done early, before you have finished doing all the vegetables, no need to stress, or worry, just turn the oven down. 80-90 degrees celcius will keep your roast nice and hot, without cooking it further. When your pot-vegetables (peas, corn etc) are boiling, put on the gravy.
Packet stuff, it's usually six teaspoons of the mix to a cup of water, or there abouts, and it should serve four people. Put the powder in a glass, (or cup measure) stir the powder and water together, put them into a pot and put it on high, while you are -still- stirring. Don't take my hazarded guess measure as gospel, read the packet for the precise requirements. Once the gravy starts to thicken -- you'll notice it -- turn the heat DOWN while still stirring. For the love of all that is holy do NOT let the gravy boil. If it boils you get brown water. Seriously, it does not thicken for love or money. Keep stirring until the gravy is completely thick and gloopy and delicious, the way we all like it, and turn -off- the heat. For everything!
Take your roast out of the oven, and it should look gloriously golden and crispy and delicious, like so;
But! We have a net around our food. And this is bad! What you want to do, is using a pair of tongs, and pair of scissors -- scissors, NOT a knife -- grip, and snip through the netting at the end, and work along the length of the roast. Being careful, and using the tongs to hold the roast, using your fingers peel the netting back. Do so gently, and patiently, and you will have a delicious thing in one piece ready to carve, if you rush, bits of the skin will stick to the netting and on the whole, it will look a lot less appealing. We -prefer- to eat things that look nice, not all mangled after all.
Carefully slice your roast, and serve, putting two halves of a potato, two to four bits of carrot, a serve of peas/corn/beans etc and drizzle gravy over the top. I am sure I have mentioned this in previous posts, but just in case I haven't, the serving sizes per person for the frozen vegetables, is one handful. So if there is peas -and- corn, then it is a half handful of each, per person. It doesn't seem like a lot, but it is all you need.
Enjoy your lovely roast and easy roast vegetables!
Deliciousness Delivered.
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