Roast query

[Glompbot]

I'm cooking a roast for dinner tonight and whenever I cook a roast I always get stumped by what I should serve with it.

Tonights roast is beef, and I'm spiking it with garlic (first time I'm trying this)

Usually i just make a potato bake or something easy like that, but I'm kind of getting bored with that.

[FatherShark]

I think the classic combination to go with Roast Beef is a thick brown onion gravy, mashed potato, peas and carrots.

It'll save you time and washing up as well - I generally only roast my vegies if I'm doing Chicken, Pork or Lamb.

[stinky]

cover the bottom of the tray with garlic ( just chop it up don't bother peeling ), onion, celery and carrots all roughly chopped. Put the roast meat on top of this. at about 2/3 cooking time poor a good quantity of red wine over the roast.

When the roast is ready, take it out and cover in foil to rest. put the roast pan over a hot heat and pour in some beef stock, stir it making sure anything stuck to the bottom of the pan comes up. Poor this into a gravy jar via a strainer and thicken it with cornflour and/or gravox powder.

as for veges... Potatoes ( par-boil first, dry and salt/pepper/rosemary/garlic ), carrots, onions, pumpkin are all good roasting veges.

try stuffed mushrooms:

take the stalks out of mushrooms keep about half the stalks and chop up ( or food process ) them with some cheese and salami and any fresh herbs you may have. put this mix inside the mushroom cups and roast them.

Also if you have any of the jaimie oliver books look up "Hamilton Squash" it's brilliant. Oh and also he's got a recipe for proscuitto wrapped roast ... this also is brilliant.

[Glompbot]

Really? i'm not such a big fan of mashed potato.... or mushrooms

Hm.
I will need to think about this.


I do like the idea of the wine and veges... I'll do that with the next roast.

[ewe2]

i always bake my potatoes with the roast allowing for about half an hour of cooking time or whenever they get golden. i use the juices with cornflower and water to make a gravy mmmm yummy.

[Lina]

My favourite roast side is a baked butter bean, leek and parmesan dish. It's fan-bloody-tastic. I shall give the recipe if it interests you :)

[Glompbot]

i always bake my potatoes with the roast allowing for about half an hour of cooking time or whenever they get golden. i use the juices with cornflower and water to make a gravy mmmm yummy.

My mum & grandma make plain long grain fried rice (with pepper, salt, and some weird seasoning) and use the drippings as a sauce... without thickening it.

so yum.

My favourite roast side is a baked butter bean, leek and parmesan dish. It's fan-bloody-tastic. I shall give the recipe if it interests you :)

Post it! I'd love to see it and see if its something I'd eat.

I like permesan and leek, dunno what butter bean is though...

[dwarfthrower]

Butter beans are similar to green beans, with yellow flesh and a softer, sweeter flavour. Very tasty.

Ratatouille is often good as a side to roast beef. I like it because I tend to favour anything where I can jsut chuck all the ingredients in one pot.

Of course you could always serve roast beef with a traditional Yorkshire Pud.

[stinky]

My favourite roast side is a baked butter bean, leek and parmesan dish. It's fan-bloody-tastic. I shall give the recipe if it interests you :)

woooah!! I'd forgotten about that one ... I make that too ... could be different but this is how i do it.

chop up leeks ( 2 if large, 3 if small, smaller taste better ) finely, cook them in a saucepan with olive oil, some butter and a couple cloves of garlic ( garlic is optional ) until nicely soft. Pour in half a cup or so of cream and bring to a near boil. Add 2/3 a can of drained butter beans and then smush up the rest of the beans in your hands and add them in ( helps thicken the cream ). Season well to taste. Turn off the heat at this stage and leave for 5-10 minutes.

Pour the mix into an oven-safe dish and cover generously with parmesan cheese and bake until cheese is golden brown.

btw, i was originally thinking i made the recipe up but after some more thought I think I adapted it from a cookbook.

[Glompbot]

Well. tonights roast was just with chips cause I got lazy/in a hurry

I poured additional wine over it just before it finished and it was yum

[Snapple]

I like cauliflower in cheese sauce, topped with bread crumbs and paprika.

[Jimma]

Jeez you people aren't very old fashioned. What's wrong with roast potatoes, and some peas and carrots?

[annie]

Whenever we have a roast the veges always have roast potato and sweet potato and gravy as well. Peas are nice with it, as are garlic mushrooms.

[rickbitch]

A rule I follow whenever I cook is that there are no rules. If it feels good, do it.

I LOVE a good pork roast, and I tend to keep it simple for the meat. Just a little gravy and it's good.

Vegies are the shit. Potato's, butternut pumpkin, sweet potato, carrot, onion (small whole ones are the best), whole button mushrooms, squash...... whatever you like. Coarsly chop up some fresh garlic and throw that in as well, with some fresh basil, oregano, and thyme. Distribute the herbs evenly on top of the chunky vegies, and it will rock your world.

You can use almost any herb you like, and for something different, whack in some fruit as well. Use your sense of smell to guage compatability.

[Lina]

Here's the version of the butter bean, leek and parmesan dish that I do:

400g tin of butter beans
3 medium leeks
2 cloves of garlic
knob of butter (hehe...knob)
olive oil
140ml cream
parmesan

Slice leeks thinly and fry with crushed garlic, butter and a splash of olive oil. Season to taste. Stir in butter beans and add cream. Place in a oven-proof dish and sprinkle with a handful of parmesan. Bake for 10 - 15 mins in a hot oven.

[banga]

like the above posts say i sometimes cut up a couple of red onions in halves put them into the dish and place the roast over the top when theres an hour to go i chuck in heaps of spuds and in last half hour put in the pumpkin yum yum , you use the onions for the gravvy!! tastes great

[smiff_f]

Just make sure you let the meat rest after taking it out of the oven.
This is perhaps the most important thing to remember.
I've seen so many Roasts ruined as a result of impatience.
At least 10 minutes.

Were you making the gravy with all of the juices as well?
Yummmmmm....

[Glompbot]

Yeah, i <3 drippings.

I usually do let it rest.... its too hard to cut when steaming hot.

[Benwah]

brussel sprouts lightly boiled in salted water.

[Lina]

Ahhh! Another brussel sprouts lover...we are a rare breed :D I love brussel sprouts boiled in salty water and then tossed with parsley butter.

[Benwah]

I crave sprouts! they have these new fangled ones called 'baby sprouts' sweeter but just as full of that rotten egg/sulplur smell that I love.

[Glompbot]

You guys are just as bad as my mum and younger sister.

BLECH.

[Benwah]

you either love 'em or hate them it seems, a little like blue cheese.

Anyway, hope your roast was tops.

[rickbitch]

Ahhh! Another brussel sprouts lover...we are a rare breed :D I love brussel sprouts boiled in salty water and then tossed with parsley butter.

I used to call brussel sprouts baby cabbages. Fuck, they are foul things when cooked, but they're great when they're raw.

[FatherShark]

I love brussel sprouts boiled in salty water and then tossed with parsley butter.

I really like them tossed directly into the compost heap in my backyard.

[muppet]

so how'd the roast turn out sapia?

[Glompbot]

LOVELY

It was delicious.

[Buffy]

brussel sprouts ftw! All sprouts actually, yuummm! :D

[ewe2]

sprouts are evil. i like soy broccoli and mashed parsnip/carrot tho.

[Glompbot]

Just create a brussel sprouts appreciation thread and stop hijacking my roast thread!

:greenwink

[ShinymetalASS]

I just chop up heaps of different vegies into big chunks (potato, parsnips, carrots, onions, pumpkins, sweet potato, etc). Whack it all in at once. When your vegies are all brown and crispy, then the lot is done.

Also recommend marinating the roast in bbq sauce and garlic.

:)

My roasts are teh best!!!

[stinky]

Where did you get that recipe from Lina? I was sure that the beans&leek recipe was either my own or at least fairly well modified by me ... it's kinda weirding me out that we make almost the exact same dish.

[Lina]

I think it's originally a recipe I picked up from a Jamie Oliver book...