The other week, I suddenly realised it had nearly been a year since I'd last seen my family friends Uncle Mike and Aunty Helen, and swiftly issued an invitation for dinner. I also thought it would be the perfect opportunity to try out a full-on British roast beef dinner that I'd been wanting to do since, well, forever!
Mmm... beef. |
A full English Roast Dinner for 6
Roast Rib of Beef
Roast Potatoes
Savoy Cabbage "the best way"
Cauliflower Cheese
Yorkshire Puddings
Horseradish Sauce
Onion Gravy
Bakewell Slice
The above recipes are all from Nigella's Feast, although various incarnations of most of those recipes appear in other books of hers. In Feast, she refers to it as the Ultimate Sunday Lunch. Who am I to argue?
Beef Rib |
Mmm... beef |
Now, the all-important side dishes!
Savoy Cabbage "the best way" |
Cauliflower Cheese |
Roast Potatoes |
Yorkshire Puddings |
Yorkshire Puddings |
Fluffy insides |
But I know what y'all are really here for... pictures of the beef! I tend to either overcook or undercook my meat, so I was relieved that the roast came out just the way I wanted it - browned and slightly crusty on the outside, and tenderly pink on the inside. (Using a meat themometer makes it really easy!)
Medium rare slices |
Mmm... beef |
Not pictured but most definitely eaten were a marsala-onion gravy, and a horseradish sauce. Nigella's horseradish sauce is a mixture of (amongst other things) Greek yoghurt, cream, horseradish and chives, and it was absolutely wonderful! I tell you, chives make everything taste awesome.
Well, after that massive meal, there isn't really room for a proper dessert, so I did the Bakewell slice in half-quantities, just something small and sweet to mark the end of the meal.
Bakewell Slice |
Bakewell pie consists of a shortbready pastry, topped with jam and then an almondy frangipane. (I previously made a version with fresh raspberries here, and very good it was too). This time, I made it in a mini-foil barbeque tray, which means it's very easy to make (no need to roll out the pastry, just press it into the tin). The foil tray also means that the base cooks evenly all the way through, and is incredibly buttery and crispy.
The Bakewell slice went down really well - I didn't think we'd get through more than half of it, but we polished the whole thing off! Even German Sandra, who was suspicious of this strange-sounding British dessert, loved it and had seconds. Even more exciting, Uncle Mike asked for the recipe. That means my attempt at cooking English food for an English person was a success! Yay!
Bakewell slice, sliced |
I spent the next week eating the most wonderful roast beef sandwiches - cold roast beef, grainy toast, cheese and horseradish cream. As if you needed another excuse to get roasting!
6 comments
Oh God, Sarah that has me drooling and my stomach rumbling! I don't eat beef but I would so love a roast meal like that regardless! I've always wondered what Yorkshire Pudding tasted like.
ReplyDeleteYou're such a domestic goddess!
That roast beef looks wonderful - loooove the sound of rubbing porcini powder into it.
ReplyDeleteAh, Nigella's roast potatoes. I'm sure the quantity of goose fat increases with every book!
Oooh, I'm all about the side dishes here! Your yorkshire puds puffed up wonderfully :) I do hope you wore bonnets and had canes while eating this English dinner too...
ReplyDeleteI am now inspired to roast something beef as well. Just for the sandwiches that i can have during work week.
ReplyDeleteWell done Sarah on your English meal, it all looks soo gorgeous, I'm salivating at the thought of it all
ReplyDeleteSophia - Yay! Yorkshire puddings are great. I'll make you a sweet one next time, easy and yum! (There are so many other things going on with a roast dinner that you don't really even need to eat the beef, hehe!)
ReplyDeleteLaura - Lol you are so right! From 2 tablespoons to 2x320g jars in just 5 short books!
Hannah - I agree, I love the side dishes!
Penny - it is so worth it, just for the sandwiches!
Anna - Thank-you very much!
xox Sarah