Feed Me Fast - The Filling Station

SUNDAY ROAST DINNER IN THE MICROWAVE

 The Roast Dinner on a Sunday, Mid-Week or even Christmas Day can be quite a task. The trick is to make sure that everything on the plate is piping hot and your onto a winner.

Older generations have the view that the Roast Dinner is something a bit special, especially those who lived through the years where food was on the ration, where plates were rarely filled up for over a decade as rationing continued for nine years after the end of world war 2. 

Due to the respect of the Roast Dinner, it is considered to be Englands National Dish. The french actually refer to us as Ros Bifs (Roast Beefs)

The origins of the Roast Dinner are from people basically cooking a large meal for after church on a Sunday. Some families would fast before going to church, and would required a large meal for later. The meat would cook while the family were at the church service, and the veg was cooked when they returned.

During the reign of King Henry VII (1485 - 1509) the Yeoman of the Guard were his personal bodyguard and were fed well, usually large haunches of Sunday Beef, which became common knowledge and earned them the name 'The Beefeaters'

Much older references come from medieval times where the villagers would practice battle techniques after sunday service and would have a large piece of meat roasting on a spit while they practised.

The dish has evolved from a simple meal of meat and gravy to adding items from the new world such as the potato, and the Yorkshire pudding (originally served with gravy as a starter to fill dinner guests up before they got to the meat, which was more expensive)

So what components go into a Roast Dinner then. Well to be honest it's usually built up with the people eating the meal in mind. For instance, If Mum is making Christmas or Sunday dinner, then she wont use meat or veg that the family wont eat, it's just a waste of money. However, if we are talking about a Carvery, then at least three types of meat are cooked (along with a veggie option) and as much different types of veg and potato options as possible, with maybe two sizes of yorkshire pudding to suit adult and child.

You might be wondering why I am writing about Roast Dinners when I advocate quick meals on this site, these type of meals require planning, time and organisation. The reason is that a friend of mine has a son in University and asked me if it was possible for him to cook a Sunday Roast for him and his girlfriend, in his Studio flat, which is basically two rooms and a bathroom, with the kitchen area being part of the main living space. There is no cooker, but there is an induction hob, a kettle and a microwave.

Well, I love a challenge, so we got to work.

Firstly, many supermarkets sell pre-made, pre-portioned meals in their freezer section, similar to the American TV dinner in a segregation tray where every thing is seperated. The problem with these meals is that they are just not very good, and lack taste depth and texture. Also, they are made with very cheap ingedients, yet can still be quite costly.

 So, what to do? Well, lets break it down. The Primary is the meat, it's a Roast after all, then Secondary is the potatoes, then Tertiary is the vegetables and finally the accompaniments such as stuffing, Yorkshire pudding and gravy.

So lets start with the meat. Take a joint, season, Then foil and oven. But we don't have an oven! Not to worry we have options. The induction hob and a decent sized pot and lid can be used much like a Slow-Cooker. A small joint in a pot of boiling water with a stock cube and a quartered onion, cook on the lowest heat for a couple of hours until the meat is the right texture for you, bearing in mind that the longer it cooks, the softer it gets. You can also take a couple of carrots cut lengthways into the pot, they come out really soft. The meat can be left to rest, then sliced and reheated either in the gravy, as I do with Beef, or clingfilmed on a plate with a little water and microwaved for about 30 seconds to 1 minute, as I do with chicken or turkey. 

Another option is to purchase a Halogen oven. These things are marvelous, I use mine instead of my double oven, as they use a lot less power.

The quickest and easiest method though is to buy a packet of the more expensive sandwich meat from the deli counter, which is usually sliced meat from an actual joint instead of a square or round processed meat log that it usually sold in larger packs for much less. Four slices of beef in a tub of hot gravy, then microwaved for 20 or 30 seconds. Also, a lot of places actually cook full chickens on a rotisserie and hold them hot for purchase, like my local supermarket.

Ok, the potatoes, easy. Roast potatoes can be bought pre-cooked in the freezer section. These can be microwaved, and if you need to brown them off, just flash them off on a frying pan with a little oil. 

Mashed potatoes can be, either, dried potato flakes with hot water, which I dont recommend, or mashed potato pellets from the freezer section, which are simply microwaved for around 3 to 5 minutes. I would add a little milk, butter and seasoning. 
Personally, I think I would rather microwave a couple of unpeeled whole potatoes until they are soft (about 4 minutes full power, turn over and then another 4 minutes) and scrape out from the skins with milk, butter and seasoning.

But what about something a bit special, such as Dauphinoise. I absolutely love Dauphinoise potatoes. This done without an oven though would be tough. Dauphinoise is an oven baked dish of creamed potatoes with garlic and onion topped with gruyerre cheese.

After a few attempts, I found a way to do it that came out, well, not bad. First you need to peel and thinly slice the potatoes then lay them on a plate and cook them in the microwave until they are hot. They need to be cooked but firm. I did them in batches and clingfilmed them when they came out. In a saucepan, heat some double cream, and add finely sliced onion and garlic (one clove) seasoning and little grated cheese (about a spoonful) keeping the heat about halfway or less, continuously stir until the liquid thickens. What I then did was to layer in a microwaveable dish the potato slices and sauce, as one would do when making a lasagna, then top with a little cheese and a little pepper. Now microwave for a good 2 to 4 minutes, depending on your microwave and what your looking to do is to, sort of, over cook it in the microwave without burning the cheese on top. This can be eaten or left to cool and reheated later.

Now the veg is an easy one. Any veg that is cooked can be reheated in the microwave, or you could use a pan of hot water to reheat then flash off in a frying pan with a little butter. Frozen veg can be tipped into a dish and microwaved for a minute or two, or alternatively, you can get steamed veg in little micro bags. 

Tinned veg (such as marrowfat or garden peas) can be microwaved in a dish, but dont cook in the fluid from the tin, always drain and use fresh salted water.

Sage and onion stuffing can be made by boiling the kettle, mixing and microwaving, and Frozen yorkshire puds can be microwaved for 10 seconds, turn over and another ten, turn again and a last ten seconds. Lastly, Gravy granules, maybe with a half a stock cube, in a jug with boiling water. 

Other accoutrement such as mustard and horseradish should be availible and always make an effort to provide the traditional sprouts and honey glazed parsnips when possible, especially on christmas day.

This was all done by accepting a challenge and coming up with a solution. I came up with varying solutions, including cooking everything in a slow cooker and deep frying the roast potatoes. Sometime, cooking is combat, or a puzzle, but the results can sometimes surprise you. I mean, chefs are now charging a fortune for 'Sous-Vide', but when I was a kid it was called 'boil in the bag' and it cost sod all!

Have a go, see if you can come up with your own way of doing this, because there is nothing to say you can only have a roast on a Sunday, I do a mid-week roast every Thursday. 

T.T.F.N.