My Christmas lunch menu this year is:
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Smoked Salmon Mousse, Smoked Salmon, Soda Bread, Salad
Roast rib of Beef, Yorkshire Pudding, Stilton & Port Gravy
Roast Potatoes, Sprouts with Pancetta & Chestnuts, Mustard & Maple Roast Parsnips, Carrot & Swede Mash, Horseradish Sauce
Christmas Pudding & Cream or Brandy Sauce
Coffee, Liquers & Chocolates
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We decided to have a change from Turkey and all the trimmings. I have to confess to several things. First, I've never cooked a joint of beef before. And the one I bought is HUGE. 8lbs or more. Might not seem big to some, but for me, it's approximately 16 times bigger than the only beef I've ever cooked (steak). So, I'm seriously thinking of investing in a meat thermometer. Otherwise I'll just ruin the thing by constantly opening the oven and poking it with a huge knife.
According to Nigella (and indeed, St Delia) this size joint is going to take about 3 hours to cook, for medium. I can't cook it rare, as the in laws won't like that.
Actually, now I think of it, I've never cooked Yorkshire Puddings either, but I'll have two Mum's on hand to assist with that. Although you couldn't get two more different Yorkshire Puds than mine and Roy's mums. My mum's is cooked in a roasting pan, huge and shall we say solid in the middle. The edges rise up the pan and become light and crispy - but the centre section is like a stodgy, centimetre thick pancake (possibly like a Toad in the Hole without the Toad). Roy's mums are cooked in a bun tray, and light as a feather. I like both types - I was brought up on the stodgy version but have to admire the skill of my mother in law in making hers so light. Apparently, the secret was to let my father in law and all of their 4 sons have a good old whisk of the batter!
Second confession - many of the items on the menu will be shop bought. The smoked salmon mousse, soda bread, Carrot & Swede mash, oh - and the Christmas pudding will all be courtesy of Messrs Marks & Spencer, or Tesco.
And third, and possibly most sinful decision for this Christmas is that I am going to try sprinkling my roast potatoes with Semolina for added crunch. Now this, I have resisted for years - ever since I came across Nigella's recommendation of this method. I've transitioned from lard to olive oil to vegetable oil to goose fat over the years. In fact, I've even made no-fat roasties - that would be 1995-1997 when I was fanatical about eating less than 30% of my calorie intake as fat. But, it has to be said, the knack making of perfect roasties is a family thing that I like to think I inherited! It was taught to me by my mum, long before I ever heard of Delia or Nigella, and passed on to her by her Auntie Alice. Auntie Al was my Great Uncle Joe's wife, who sadly died very young (in her early 50's) when I was maybe 5 or 6. I remember her - but vaguely. I recall being fascinated by her as she had a jewelry collection (unusual in my family) and I think she was offering me to choose a ring - just to try on. Must ask Mum about that.
To digress from the roast potato, when she died, Uncle Joe (who my mum was really close to) gave Mum one of Alice's rings - a heavy gold Mizpah ring. I used to wear it when I was in my 20's and took it on holiday to Spain once. I managed to lose it - it came off my finger whilst I was playing in crashing waves...... Mum was not too pleased but I don't think she ever told Uncle Joe.
Anyway, back to potatoes. Mum had learned this method from her Auntie Alice and while I was growing up I knew that wherever I ate roast dinner, the spuds were NEVER as good as my Mum's. Never. So, once I moved out of home I asked her to show me how to make them (you can tell I never helped much in the kitchen when I was at home) and she did. Telling me how she'd got the method not from her Mum but from Auntie Alice. I mean, it's no big secret, and I've since read Delia who advocates pretty much the same method, but there is a lot to be said about the end result when you make your roasties this way.
Boil the potatoes (you should cut some of them lengthways if possible so that you get some nice flat sides and not just all round potatoes) in salted water.
At the same time (or preferably before) you should get your fat heating in a hot oven.
After a while, when a sharp knife just eases in to the top centimetre of the potato, drain them and stick a lid on the pan. Take a tea towel and hold the lid onto the pan and shake it vigourously, in various directions, so as to bash and roughen the edges of the potatoes - this is what gives you the crunchy exterior.
Take the fat out of the oven and tip in the potatoes from the pan, taking care to stand back and avoid splashes! Take a big spoon and baste each spud with fat. Stick them back in to the oven (on about 200) and leave them until the bottoms have gone gold-brown. Turn them, baste again and leave again. About 10 minutes before the end of cooking, tip out most of the fat - again this helps with crunchiness. I can't give precise times, the trick is to know when they are brown enough. I usually allow about 40 minutes in the oven.
So - if my potatoes are perfect - why the semolina? Well, for years I pooh poohed the goose fat trend, and then when I finally tried it, was impressed with the difference. So, having scorned the semolina idea - in my view you should not need it for crunch, if you make the potatoes properly - I do want to experiment with it.... just to prove myself right, I guess. And if I was wrong all along, well - to improve on perfection will be no big heartache for me.
As a caution, I think I'll make two trays of potatoes - one with and one without semolina. Although with a HUGE joint that is going to take hours to roast, I may not have space in the oven for all these things! Wish me luck. I will report my findings.....
