Roast ideas

[oneuponedown]

Hi all,

I'm the middle of making a Sunday roast, thinking it was going to be grey and raining when it's actually turned out sunny and pretty warm.

Anyway it got me thinking I tend to stick to the same roast recipes, today we're having chicken, roast potatoes, stuffing, honey roasted carrots, green beans and cauliflower cheese,

I wondered if people had other ideas of what meats pair with what sides well so I could make a few on rotation. I did see a creamed leek veg dish I'm wanting to try and ideas and or recipes please share :)

I love braised red cabbage, cauliflower cheese, mashed potato…
I don’t tend to move away from the regular veggies either but if I’m not doing a standard chicken road I sometimes like to tray back a load of veg.
balsamic and pancetta sprouts is a strong favourite!

I did see a creamed leek veg dish I'm wanting to try

😮 That's sounds very yummy, do you have a link?

In the summer I prefer lighter versions so might roast a chicken but will serve with new potatoes and steamed veg or even salad.

Or I love to roast a rib of beef and serve that with hearties salads or light sides - something like a tomatoe salad and an aubergine side "salad" of some.sort.

I also often do a whole roast chicken and serve it on a risotto or pilaf rather than with roast veg. Maybe some steamed greens on the side.

I haven't done this for a while but also something like a slow roasted lamb shoulder or leg on a bed of potatoes, again with simple sides.

Other sides we have had over the years that are more closely linked to a traditional roast are things like potato dauohinoise. I went through a phase a few years ago of celeriac dauohinoise which went down well, should do that again. We also love a mix of red onion, leek and some kind of green cabbage gently sautéed in a butter/oil mix and a hint of garlic. Minted peas are nice (although we haven't had those in years due to an irrational.hatred of mint by dh and ds). There's also quite a nice jamie Oliver peas with a roast diner recipe that uses stock and lettuce.

Roasted butternut is another good choice.

Jamie Oliver's spicey roast chicken is fab. Basically you based the whole chicken in lovely spices and chillis. All the juices collect in a pan afterwards and you make a fab gravy with it. Serve with roasted Bombay potatoes and a green salad

In hot weather, I often cook chicken thighs, rather than a whole roast because the oven is on less time or use the BBQ. I also try to eat what is in season or what I've grown in the garden.

1. Pork ribs with BBQ type sides
2. Corn on the cob or potatoes with some butter/garlic powder/seasoning wrapped in foil and cooked on the BBQ
3. Steamed green beans. Separately I cook serrano ham or bacon till crispy, mix with toasted almonds and serve the mix over the beans
4. Courgette strips marinated in olive oil/lemon juice and garlic then grilled on the BBQ or stove top
5. Bake cauliflower florets until just starting to brown. You can mash for a low carb alternative to potato or just serve with a lemon/tahini dressing
6. Summery medley of whatever I have to hand. Frozen peas and/or soy beans, broad beans, sliced mange tout. You can add cooked onion or leek. Add crispy bacon or just add some butter and fresh mint
7. Purple cabbage with caraway seeds when we have roast pork
8. Last weekend was hot and we had friends around. I had marinated chicken thighs in garlic, ras el hanout and yoghurt then cooked on the BBQ on the day. I made up a packet of Moroccan cous cous, but added sultanas, coriander and pomegranate seeds to look nice. Not north African, but I have a glut of beetroot, so made a beetroot salad with feta, balsamic glaze and leaves. Boiled new potatoes with mint and the pea medley I mentioned above.

In the summer I roast the chicken, roast some veg (courgette, pepper, onion etc) & make a tomato sauce to go with it & serve it on couscous. You probably don't need the tomato sauce but I find couscous a bit dry without.

Yours sounds delicious!

Roasted butternut squash with dried chilli and shallots is good, I think it goes with lamb best but probably chicken as well.

Sweet potato mash, or use swede and SP, plenty of butter!

Braised red cabbage with apples, cinnamon and nutmeg and cider vinegar. That goes with all meats I reckon. I make it the day before on the stove and heat it up to save space and time.

I like adding beetroot to horseradish sauce to serve with beef. Roast beetroot might work well with beef?

Fancy sharing a picture of your roast? If you haven't finished already 😁

Thank you, funny I nearly took a photo but then didn't and it was eaten up a good while ago now!

Thanks all some lovely sounding things here to try: I always like trying new things out so going to make some notes to try and incorporate.

Ill try and find that creamed leek recipe now,
I can't remember where it was from but will have a look if I saved it anywhere.

It’s not very traditional roast, but in the summer, we do a lot of smoked or BBQ meat with veg sides/salads and flatbread or couscous. You probably don’t have a smoker, but a lamb leg/shoulder or chicken in the oven with the right herbs/spices works great too:

So spiced lamb, honey roast carrots, roast or new potatoes, salad or greens, flatbread with mint yogurt is lovely.

If you like lamb, I'd highly recommend pairing it with some roast fennel and cumin or roast aubergine. Also minted yoghurt is refreshing during summer.