Now the Vegetables

NOW THE VEGETABLES

Number one a must. The Roast potatoes, my way.

Good quality white potatoes. Pick’em yourself, not those all ready bagged. Even “Wholefood market (posh shop in USA) manage to mistakenly slip in some “not so good” ones. Look for those that have a green tinge of colour and make sure you don’t pick’em. Too much of the greenness in a potato is actually poisonous. www.wholefoodsmarket.com

Fat! You can use dripping**. What’s that I hear our American friends ask? It’s the fat you’ll have left over from roasting chicken, beef or lamb. Maybe even the fat from frying fatty bacon.

In the UK it is known that we pour all our fat into a bowl and use it for roasting or frying. Unbelievably unhealthy but very tasty especially for fried bread.

In UK you can buy dripping from the butchers and Supermarkets. Some of the smaller local butchers may make it themselves.

I used to work in a butchers shop when I left school. One of my weekly jobs was to make the dripping. This entailed keeping all the fat cut from the meat during the week (Kept in the freezer).

There was this big Harry Potter like electric cauldron that the fat was melted in. 
What went in, what didn’t? Everything! All the leftovers from the week.

I had to stand over this cauldron, stirring most of the time to stop it burning and to get it all to melt. I can’t remember how long I stood there but it was a few hours. I stank rotten of this melting concoction. 
When it was ready I had to put it into metal butcher’s trays. This had to be done quite quickly before it started to set when the heat was turned off. Fortunately there was a tap (faucet) that the dripping could pour out of. I just had to make sure it did not block with the stuff that didn’t melt. 
I was allowed to leave early that day as I stunk too much to serve the customers. I felt sorry for anyone who had to sit next to me on the bus.

This might sound awful and unhygienic. But, our regular customers knew what day the dripping was made. The next day, they were around making sure they had there weeks supply.

Of course you can use lard or Olive oil.

I use canola oil.

After peeling the potatoes cut them into a regular size, half or quarter depending of the size of potato. I boil the potatoes in my microwave till they are near to fully cooked, about 12 minutes. 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 and turn them over a few times to coat them in the hot oil. Turn them over a few times while cooking, roast until a crispy brown.

You can also do a pan of mash potatoes. If the mash is not eaten it is great for a leftovers meal of bubble and squeak.

Tell you about that later.

Eaten with cold turkey pickled onions and red cabbage and just about anything left from your Christmas turkey dinner

The Brussel sprouts. Just cut off the bottom and slice a deepish cross. Boil for as long as you think necessary. Not for too long though as they are better a little crisp. Cook’m too soft and they certainly get the flatulence going. (I’m too polite to say Farting).

These can be cooked in the microwave while the potatoes are roasting. You can cook the carrots at the same time.

Roasted Parsnips can be roasted the same way as potatoes. Sprinkle some fresh herbs of your choice over them while cooking.

That should sort out your Christmas Turkey dinner.

Wishing you all a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.