The British are often derided internationally for their supposed lack of culinary skills. And yet, the fabled Roast Beef and Yorkshire Pudding Sunday dinner is famous world-wide! You probably won’t find many recipes in high-end cookbooks for this particular meal because it is one of those that is handed down from generation to generation and most people just learn it from watching and helping as children and then naturally transition into making it themselves. This is the very essence of the Art of Cooking without Recipes.
Every time that I take a trip home to the UK, I try to take in at least one tradional Sunday Roast dinner. My last trip was no exception. I went to see my brother Kenn and his wife Kym and conveniently worked it so that I would be there on a Sunday, knowing full well that they were a family that normally honoured the British tradition of Sunday Roast.
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- Roast potatoes going into the oven
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- Roast potatoes and Yorkshire pudding
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- Typical English roast beef (well done)
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- Carving the roast chicken
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- Traditional English Roast Dinner
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- Kenn, the wine steward
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- Mother and daughter working side by side!
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- Mango & Pineapple Sponge (before adding custard!)
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- Georgie’s crêpes
This particular day, I was indeed fortunate. Whether it was because it was Father’s Day, I am not quite sure, but Kym and her daughter Georgina pulled out all the stops. The meal consisted of roast chicken and roast beef along with Yorkshire pudding, roasted potatoes and parsnips as well as a medley of fresh vegetables. In keeping with the general theme of our site and Un-Cookbook, I am not going to go into detail here about how to cook and prepare each of these. Suffice it to say that the Un-Cookbook includes all of them and much more besides (see full table of contents here).
Dessert, typically known as ‘sweet’ or ‘pudding’ in England, was a double treat of Mango and pineapple sponge with custard as well as crêpes with lemon and sugar. In a single afternoon, I was treated to a plethora of foods that took me right back to my childhood. It also made me realise just how far I had personally strayed from the typical cuisine that I grew up with.
Watching Kym and Georgie prepare the meal, they did it, by and large exactly as my mother would have. For example, vegetables were boiled, something I NEVER do. Potatoes and parsnips were roasted from raw in traditional open metal pans. I would typically partially cook them in the microwave and often finish them on a griddle after basting them with bovril. The beef was cooked open until well done (and grey). I would usually cook mine mostly covered and only until medium in the centre.
All of the foregoing is just to remind you that in The Art of Cooking without Recipes, very are very few hard and fast rules. It is all about finding your own comfort level.
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