Help - Easy Sunday roast for 6, what can I do????!!!

[MrsS01]

I'm not a great cook and have promised to do a roast for 6 people on Sunday. What can I do that's easy, my guests like lamb but that looks hard?

I suppose I need to do roast pots, mash pots, yorkshires, cauli, broccoli, carrots, gravy. Any other basics?

A nice leg of lamb for six would be delicious and straightforward but just a little pricey. At this time of year I would do it with roast potatoes (no need for mash) carrots and new peas or broad beans. Very easy and so delicious I want a plate NOW!!!!

Or even baby new potatoes!!

roast a couple of chickens

Delia does an easy lamb here, and she is great at step by step

www.deliaonline.com/recipes/cuisine/european/english/roast-lamb-with-garlic-and-rosemary-and-rosemary-and-onion-sauce.html

I can't think of hot sides at the minute (too hot).
Also I wouldn't serve yorkshires with lamb.

Maybe pavlova for afters? Again not hard and looks beaut.
www.deliaonline.com/recipes/type-of-dish/summer-desserts/pavlova.html

Easiest to do as a straightforward roast IMO is chicken but almost as easy and toally foolproof is gammon. I do the Nigella one where you boil it in Coke, lift out when cooked, remove the rind, glaze it and roast just to brown the glaze. Because it's boiled and fully cooked before going in the oven it's always moist and delicious

This time of year, I do a really easy roast - leg of lamb, roasted new potatoes and carrots with garlic and Rosemary, and some green veg (beans, cabbage, peas).

Boil the new pots for a few mins, then put in roasting dish with bit of olive oil, butter, crushed garlic and some Rosemary, and roast for an hour or so.

Strawberries for pudding - make a raspberry sauce with raspberries and icing sugar through a sieve.

Stringcheese, that Delia Lamb is delicious and baby new potatoes would be fantastic, completely agree certainly don't need yorkies at this time of year.

Pavlova or Eton Mess for pudding. Eton Mess is great for those not too experienced at cooking 'cos it doesn't have to look pretty and you can buy really decent meringues these days.

Not a huge Jamie fan but he does a shoulder of lamb that is sinful in its simplicity and tastes soooooooooo good.

Heat oven to highest temp. Place stalks of rosemary and cloves of garlic in base of large roasting dish. Oil lamb and place it on top and place more rosemary and garlic on top. Season with salt and pepper. Seal dish with foil and put in oven. Immediately turn heat down to 160oc and leave for 4 hours/ It is delicious. You can serve it with any type of potatoes and veggies.

Agree with pavlova/eton mess for dessert.

Good luck.

I think I'm going for 2 small chickens as price is an issue!

Daft questions coming up! :
Can I cook them both in one dish? How long-ish would they take to cook? Can I put roasted vegetables around them - like red onion, pepper - what else?
How do you fit it all in our oven?!

Doing mash and yorkshires - for the kids! Not doing pudding!

What rougepixie says: jamie Oliver's slow roast lamb shoulder is amazing.

U could feed 6 from 1 chicken really, but u would need 2 dishes if u wanna cook 2 at the same time. Rule of thumb with chicken is 180 degrees, 30 mins per 500g of chicken then an extra 30 mins.
I usually put half a lemon in the cavity then brush plenty of oil or butter over the skin every 30mins while cooking and sprinkle over salt,pepper and other herbs like oregano or thyme.
Cover the dish until the last 25-30 mins then take the cover off for the last bit of cooking time and increase the heat to the highest your oven with go in order 2 crisp up the skin.
When the chicken has about 1 hour left quarter 5-6 good sized potatoes and boil them in salted water for about 10 mins. Fish the potatoes out and put on a baking tray, spread some veg oil, lard, or duck/goose fat over the potatoes then sprinkle 1-2chicken oxo cubes over the potatoes and put on the highest shelf in the oven. Turn after about 15 mins then check again at around 25mins, take out if happy with the colour.
2 make awesome mash boil 2 potatoes per person in salted water until soft 20 mins should do it.
Then drain off the potatoes and return 2 the pot with a big knob of butter or margarine, 0.5 tsp of salt and a good few shakes of black pepper. Mash over a low heat adding milk slowly 2 get the right consistency.
Boil some chopped carrots, 1 per person, for 15 mins in salted water.
Boil 2 pans of salted water (or 1 big pan if u r starting 2 run out of pans) then when the water is boiling add the broccoli and the peas (getting the water boiling 1st keeps the veg green). These both only need 4-5 mins.
If u r not a confident cook I suggest u buy in ready made yorkshire puds and stuffing mix and either buy ready made gravy or use gravy granules (u can made up the gravy granules with the boiling veg water)
Hope that helps!

lolly - thanks, brilliant! Are you free Sunday! LOL

P.s I know it seems like a lot of salt as all the boiling water is salted but u only add 2 big pinches 2 the water and it helps the water get 2 the right temp while slightly flavouring the veg, most of the salt is evaporated off and doesn't permeate the veg!

Aww, I'm making my own this Sunday! Its getting harder 2 manage a sunday roast, coz I've only got 3 weeks 2 my due date. Can't go without it tho, even in this weather, gotta have my mega veggie fix! My best advice is 2 be organised, get everything chopped in advance so its all ready 2 go as u need It ;)

i find timing everything so its cooked together is my problem :(