They really were! I mean the Sunday lunches to die for. Who we offered an invite to, would make Hugh Hefner green with envy. It was like Clubbing on a Sunday afternoon. Girls could come free. Guys, tough for them they had to be invited. They needed to have something to offer that we needed.
Girls always had that!
The flat we had in Bath was on a small quiet street between the Royal Crescent (the really Posh part of Bath) over looking the Royal park and the Circle, Brock Street. The Circle was a dull sinister circle of Georgian houses. The Circle had a green in the middle with large trees growing. These kept out the daylight and made the Circle quite sinister. Especially on rainy days, which there seemed to be a lot of in Bath.
The flat we had in Bath was on a small quiet street between the Royal Crescent (the really Posh part of Bath) over looking the Royal park and the Circle, Brock Street. The Circle was a dull sinister circle of Georgian houses. The Circle had a green in the middle with large trees growing. These kept out the daylight and made the Circle quite sinister. Especially on rainy days, which there seemed to be a lot of in Bath. |
| Royal Crescent from Brock Street |
Back to the Sunday lunch. All it was, was just a traditional English Sunday lunch. If there is such a thing as a "Traditional English Sunday Lunch". Anybody (such as a French Cook, you know those who are even worse than us at the World Cup) who says that British food is the worst ever is talking through their derriere. The different tastes blended together only by nature of a Traditional British Sunday Dinner are unbeatable. Just like a British Breakfast (more of that later).
The Menu:
Any of the traditional meats for an English roast dinner, Beef, Lamb or Pork.
Plus a roast Chicken as a supplement, not everyone likes meat dripping Vampire style with blood. Also I would say Chicken is not a traditional meat for an English Sunday roast. Chicken is relatively new on the English dinner scene. Since the advent of battery raised chickens. Not tried a chicken raised running free around the farmyard. Try one and taste the difference, you'll not want a battery chicken again. I'm sure it's to do with all the farmyard crap they eat.
Vegetables. Go for colour. So obviously carrots, (I read in a Men's Health magazine "if there is one vegetable you should eat every day, it's a Carrot). For green, well Broccoli seems to be all the rage. Through out the year there are different and just as good options. Not so expensive either.
Other root vegetables varieties if you like them, roast parsnip seems to be popular.
Other root vegetables varieties if you like them, roast parsnip seems to be popular.
Small Yorkshire Puddings or A Large Yorkshire pudding.
How to make later
How to make later
Gravy home made a must.
Horseradish sauce.
Probably a dessert but that would be shop bought. We weren't pudding-cooking guys.
What You'll need.
You can cook a Sunday Lunch using a microwave, slow cooker, A WOK and a small grill oven.
I will go through that later.
Otherwise a traditional cooker with oven and top hob, large roasting tin, big enough for your roast meat. I roast the potatoes separately so I can use the meat juices for the gravy.
Back in the halcyon days of Brock Street we would have saucepans going with steam everywhere from the boiling vegetables. Now days I boil most things in the microwave. No steam saves energy, smaller pots to wash.
First just a few musts for your roast. It doesn't matter who likes what. Don't over cook the beef, a nice deep brown on the outside but still nice red and juicy in the middle. It's safer to keep the Vampires happy. "Some of them lived in the Circle". I feel the best beef to roast is rib of beef on the bone. Nearer the bone, sweeter the meat. The bone holds it all together and it has plenty of fat to keep it moist. You can put it on a rack in the roasting tin or not. Some people cook on the rack with water in the roasting tin to help keep it moist. If it doesn't dry out you can use it for the gravy.
Lamb is easier to roast than beef, as it's easy to let beef over cook. Remember the roast will go on cooking after taking from the oven. The leg of lamb can be cooked on the spit in your small oven. It will cook quite quickly so watch the time.
The roasting spit is ideal for roasting pork, especially a joint with a good layer of pork skin (crackling). If cooked in the oven it will need regular turning and basting to cook the crackling evenly and crisp.
As with all my cooking, a bit of trial error is the best way for you learn how you like your roast.
Vegetables are quite straightforward. Just don't over cook them. One minute in a microwave is a long time on high setting. Learn to use different level settings. It’s surprising what cooks on the de-frost setting.
Roast potatoes. After peeling the potatoes cut them into a regular size, half or quarter depending of the size of potato. I boil the potatoes till they are fully cooked. Drop them into a sieve to drain and shake them around to roughen them up. This will make the outer crispy. While they were boiling, heat some canola oil in your dish till quite hot. Not too much oil. Put the potatoes in the hot oil. Turn them over now and again and roast until a crispy brown.
Depending how many you're cooking for you may have to boil the potatoes separately for the mash. Mash is easy, just boil till fully cooked. Drain off the water in the sieve, back in the pan and mash with milk and butter. Not too much milk, it might go too runny.
The gravy. Most important part of a meal. It can cover up all your mistakes.
Ingredients. Amounts depend how much gravy you will make. Water, Onion, 2 Oxo cubes (beef stock cubes), bisto for thickening, juices from the roast. Extras: 1/2 glass red wine, squirt of tomato puree/paste.
Boil the onions (I do this in the microwave, stops the smell spreading) and simmer till going soft, crumble in the Oxo and simmer a bit longer, put in the red wine and tomato puree for a richer gravy, simmer a little longer. Put the gravy mixture aside until meat is cooked. All this is done in the microwave.
Take out the meat and keep warm to rest, before carving.
Pour the gravy mixture into the dish with the meat juices. Stir well to scrape all the bits from the bottom of the cooking dish. When you have all good bits from the roasting dish, stir in the thickening. Bisto is the easiest though can make it too rich. Corn flour well mixed in cold water with NO lumps is just as good. Back in the microwave to heat up, never worry about making too much gravy. If there’s any left, freeze for next time
The secret and the hardest part is to have it all ready at the same time.
Don't forget to warm your plates.
You can cook a Sunday Roast any day of the week and for as many as you can seat or have plates for.
Even a romantic meal for two. Don't forget the flowers, candles or the bubbly while your cooking. Get her or him to come early. You can impress them with your cooking prowess. Also it will make time for the bubbly to work!!
Our Sunday’s dinners at Brock Street did not start off romantic that may have come later. They were boozy noisy Sundays. Luckily there was no one around Brock Street on a Sunday in those far off days.
We would take it in turns to do the cooking and the washing up afterwards. No dishwasher for us. Probably not around in England in those far away days. The lucky ones would go off to a nearby pub while the cooking was in progress, The Porters, another cosy Bath pub. No one was ever back late for the dinner.
The rest is history. The three of us all become married. No, not to each other.
My thanks to my flat mates: Dick Bourget and Jim Butts, wherever you are. My Best wishes.
Ingredients
Traditional Yorkshire pudding
• 110ml/4fl oz water
salt and freshly milled black pepper
Preparation method
• Pre-heat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7.
• Begin by placing a sieve over a large mixing bowl, then sift the flour in, holding the sieve up high to give the flour a good airing as it goes down into the bowl. Now, with the back of a tablespoon, make a well in the centre of the flour and break the eggs into it. Add the salt and pepper.
• Now measure the milk and water into a measuring jug. Then begin to whisk the eggs with an electric whisk and as you beat them the flour around the edges will be slowly incorporated. When the mixture be comes stiff simply add the milk and water mixture gradually, keeping the whisk going. Stop and scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula so that any lumps can be pushed down into the batter, then whisk again till all is smooth. Now the batter is ready for use and although it's been rumoured that batter left to stand is better, I have found no foundation for this - so just make it whenever is convenient.
To cook the Yorkshire pudding, remove the meat from the oven (or if it's not ready place it on a lower shelf) and turn the oven up to the above temperature. Spoon two tablespoons of beef fat into the roasting tin and allow it to pre-heat in the oven. When the oven is up to temperature remove the tin, using an oven glove, and place it over direct heat (turned to medium).
You can use small bun tins, this seems the popular way these days. Just drop a little oil into each bun cup.
Then, when the fat begins to shimmer and smoke a little, pour in the batter. Tip it evenly all round and then place the tin on a high shelf in the oven and cook the Yorkshire pudding for 40 minutes or until golden brown and crisp. Serve it cut into squares presto pronto.
You can use small bun tins, this seems the popular way these days. Just drop a little oil into each bun cup.
Then, when the fat begins to shimmer and smoke a little, pour in the batter. Tip it evenly all round and then place the tin on a high shelf in the oven and cook the Yorkshire pudding for 40 minutes or until golden brown and crisp. Serve it cut into squares presto pronto.
