Sunday Roast Dinner | Exploring British Culture | British Cuisine

The Sunday roast. A meal that for us Brits is not only a national treasure but it's an absolute necessity. Hi guys my name is Anna English this is English like a native and if this is your first time here then be sure to hit the subscribe button and the bell notification button so you don't miss any future lessons. In today's lesson we are learning all about Britain's most traditional meal and that is the Sunday roast. So let's get cooking. As you may have imagined a Sunday roast is a dinner that is cooked in the oven. It is roasted. Now we call it a Sunday roast because it's enjoyed on a Sunday but you can also enjoy a roast dinner on any day of the week and sometimes we shorten this all the way down to simply a roast. Are you having a roast tonight? Now there are a number of very important parts to consider when creating a roast dinner. And the first thing to think about is the centerpiece. What will your whole dinner center around? I'm talking about the meat. So typically we like to eat roast beef but if you're not a fan of roast beef then you might opt for a roast or alternatively you could have roast lamb or even pork. But if you're a vegetarian like me then you won't be interested in putting meat on your plate and instead you will opt for a nut roast or something like a stuffed mushroom or my favorite a brie and cranberry Wellington which is cheese and cranberry sauce sometimes with nuts or pine nuts wrapped in a pastry. Yum yum yum. The meat that you choose will then dictate what additional extras will go on the plate. For example if you're having roast beef then you should definitely consider making some Yorkshire puddings. If you opt for pork then crackling is a must. Those of you choosing turkey as a lean alternative to chicken will need to have cranberry sauce among your condiments displayed on the table. Talking about condiments if you go for lamb then it's expected for you to add mint sauce to the table. With pork applesauce is a must and with beef horseradish or mustard should definitely be on the table. In my household when I was growing up chicken was a firm favorite so that's what I'm going to be cooking for you today. The first thing we're going to cook is the meat. You'll want to prepare it so that it really brings out the flavor. Sometimes we stuff chickens. In this case I'm not stuffing it but I am covering it with butter and then adding a little salt and pepper. Then you put the meat into the oven and the next thing to think about is probably what I consider to be one of the most important parts of the meal and that is the roast potatoes. Traditionally the roast potatoes are peeled and quartered, put into a pan of cold water and brought to the boil so they can be parboiled. Then you drain off the water, shake them around a bit so they become fluffy, cover them in oil or any other flavorings that you would like to flavor them with. Some people use duck fat or goose fat to make them extra tasty. You put them on a baking tray and pop them in the oven for about an hour. Next we should think about any other root vegetables that you want to add to the meal because root veg takes a little bit longer to cook. Traditionally roast dinners will have parsnips and carrots. Now the parsnips and carrots should be peeled and topped and tailed. This means you take the ends off. With carrots you can do so many things. You can boil the carrots, you could roast the carrots or you could even mash the carrots and that's one of my favorites. But on this occasion I'm making you honey roast carrots. So the carrots will be sliced down the middle and laid in a tray full of honey where they will then sit in the oven for around half an hour until they soak up the honey and taste divine. The parsnips however I've chopped in half and thrown in with the chicken so they take up all the chicken juices along with a few onions and garlic as well for extra flavor. Stuffing is called stuffing because traditionally you would stuff the bird with it. I'm sure you can make your own but I simply buy the granules, add water, let it set, then pop it in the oven so it really browns off. Now we should add the greens. So you can choose all sorts of green vegetables, peas, sprouts, yuck, leeks, cabbage. There's so many different things to choose from but today I've made you broccoli and courgette which I'm simply boiling. And then a little added extra, something you would see on a Christmas roast dinner. You don't always see it on a Sunday roast because it's a tad indulgent but I've added it for you today and these are pigs in blankets. Pigs in blankets. Pigs in blankets are sausages wrapped in bacon. A nice little treat to sit on the side of your plate. Then once everything is cooking you've got most of your food in the oven, some stuff on the hob boiling away. Now it's time to think about the final finishing touch which is the gravy. Now everyone has their own secret recipe for the best gravy and if you don't mind sharing I would love to hear how you make gravy down in the description box below. Though I have to say I'm sure that my mum's gravy is the best gravy in the whole wide world. I still don't know how she makes it but normally gravy is including a stock cube or gravy granules or it's using the water from the vegetables and the juices from the meat. Lots of different flavours maybe thickened up with a little cornflour and voila you have a wonderful gravy hopefully which you smother your dinner in. Yum yum yum. So there you go a Sunday roast. In fact that's the first roast dinner I've made in all the time I've been living in this flat so you are very honoured. If you did enjoy this video then please come and tell me about it on Twitter. My Twitter handle is down in the description box below along with my Instagram and my Facebook and I would love for you to come and join me on those different platforms. If there are any special bits and bobs that you prefer on your Sunday dinner then tell me about it in the comment section below and as always please remember to give it a thumb up, click the subscribe button and the bell notification button so you don't miss out on any other lessons. Until next time guys enjoy your meal take care and goodbye