Plating the Perfect Sunday Roast
What makes the perfect Sunday roast? For me, it’s all about balancing flavours, textures, and colours on the plate. Let’s start with some sweet, tender carrots and parsnips. A staple of British winters, root vegetables add a natural sweetness, which pairs beautifully with the more savoury elements of a roast. I love roasting carrots and parsnips. Roasting deepens their flavour, giving them a slightly salty, caramelised taste and a satisfying crunch.
Moving on, for a bit of green, garden peas are the usual, but petit pois are my favourite. They’re smaller, sweeter, and softer, making them a perfect match for the other tender veg on the plate. Add some broccoli to introduce a bit of crunch and a stronger, slightly earthy flavour that contrasts the sweetness from the carrots and parsnips.
Potatoes are a must, of course. But not boiled – they’re simply too bland and lacking texture. Instead, I go for both mashed and roasted potatoes. The best mashed potatoes include a pinch of salt, a generous bit of butter, and my secret ingredient: one egg. It adds richness and a creamy texture that elevates the dish entirely.
Finally, the centre piece: a juicy, roasted chicken with sage and onion stuffing. It’s savoury, perfectly moist, and delicious alongside a Yorkshire pudding, ready to soak up rich, homemade gravy. Perhaps my most controversial addition though, is sweetcorn. Not typical for a roast, but what can I say, I have a sweet tooth!
Words by Megan Ingram-Jones
Sunday Roast Secrets
A variety of experiences are to be had once you find yourself sitting in front of a plate at Sunday dinner; either filled with basic, or complicated tastes, situated in familiar, or new environments. It acts almost like a weekly reminder that Christmas dinner is promised at the end of the year (for those with early festive feelings). Some may like a simplistic roast with boiled veg and gravy on the side. Others prefer everything roasted with golden edges, drenched by all sorts of sauces and sides practically overflowing the plate. My family’s typical traditions might show resemblance to yours, however, an unconventional part of our weekly roasts was that we held them on Wednesdays.
I wish I were able to fulfil the legacy of my Wednesday roasts after starting university, but unfortunately, frozen yorkies and vegetables just couldn’t beat the real thing. And I found myself on the weaker side of the gene pool in relation to my father’s cooking. Yet, I guess, most people would believe their family has unlocked the secret code of the perfect roast. Indeed, there’s nothing worse than being invited to a roast that is missing a key element of the dinner that’s held so dearly by you and your loved ones.
However, I did find the perfect way to make roasted potatoes all crispy while at a family friend’s house (fluff up your boiled potatoes before roasting!). Maybe that’s the key to a perfect roast- concocting a combination of what others (quite literally) bring to the table. A combination of basic, complicated, familiar and new!
Words by Zoe Rayner
To read more about Roasts, read about some Christmas Day Diets, or one persons Perfect Christmas Dinner.
Feature image courtesy of Lisa Baker via Unsplash, no edits have been made to the original image. Image license here.