Joining in with the tradition of ‘Sunday roast’ has to be one one of my favourite things about moving to England. In a cozy pub with a pint of ale or at home cooked with friends and a few glasses of wine, it’s just the perfect way to make Sunday feel relaxing and fun and to completely forget you’ll be back at work the next day. But despite all those lovely words about roasts, I have to admit I’m a bit picky when it comes to choosing one…
As a vegetarian I think I’m a bit more sensitive to bad roast dinners as they often mean over-boiled vegetables and a bland ‘nut roast’ which basically just tastes like a dry spoonful of stuffing. No. Thanks. But when a roast is good, it is damn good – and my top request is for vegetables all cooked separately in ways that best bring out their flavours – so here are my favourite ways to cook my veg for a Sunday roast…
My ultimate vegetarian roast ideas:
- Vegetarian mains: for me, a veggie pie is the best centrepiece for a roast dinner if you don’t eat meat as I think the richness of the pastry and the different ways to cook the vegetable fillings mean you’ve got lots more tasty options than with nut roasts. My current favourites are this pie I made for Christmas, or a simple mushroom and chestnut pie. If you must go the nut roast route these suggestions from the Guardian look like some of the best I’ve seen, or this nutmeat in brioche is something a bit different which I’m aiming to try soon.
- Roast potatoes: I’m not sure I ever had a roast potato while growing up in the USA, but I have learned a lot about them since living in England. They’re one of those dishes that any cook is judged on, with lots of debate and discussion about the right method, which fat to use etc. We follow the tried and tested par-boiling, roughing up, and hot (olive) oil method and it seems to work every time. But if I’m honest I’d always prefer a bowl of soft, comforting mash. Sorry England…
- Honey roast parsnips and carrots – Another essential, despite the difficulty I seem to have getting them to crisp in our fan oven – the best way seems to be to add the honey right at the end and crank the heat up way too hot to almost burn them and get the crispy bits everyone loves…
- Swede mash: Also known as ‘rutabaga’ in the USA, I really love this veggie, and not just because of the cool name. Perfect simply mashed with plenty of seasoning and butter (or even a dash of cream) – they seem to be forgotten except as an accompaniment to haggis on ‘Burns night‘ in Scotland – but they should be eaten so much more often.
- Buttered peas: This isn’t even really cooking but gently heating some frozen peas and stirring in plenty of butter and seasoning creates one of my all time favourite side dishes and a perfectly fresh, sweet dish to go with all those dark roasted vegetables. I also really rate buttered cabbage (also nice with leeks) – just as long as you don’t boil it, it tastes so much better and you won’t get that overcooked sourness that makes people hate cabbage. Speaking of which…
- Brussels sprouts: Hated by many, I really rate these cute lil greens – like the clementine is to an orange, they’re a smaller, sweeter version of cabbage and if you roast or fry them you might be surprised at how tasty they can be.
- Caramelised onion gravy: My go-to veggie gravy recipe, this is simple but effective and easy to make in advance. I add a big spoonful of redcurrant or cranberry sauce for extra flavour and sweetness to balance the sour note in the recipe and it always gets devoured.
- Yorkshire puddings: This side was new to me when I arrived in England but it seems to be the icing on the roast cake for most people here (if that makes sense!) They have a reputation for being hard to get right but as far as I can tell there are only two key things to do for perfect yorkies – heat the oil before pouring in the batter and don’t open the oven until they’ve finished cooking. Done and done. Now go impress all your friends with this simple recipe from Delia (I make mine individual size in a muffin tin instead of the big tray she uses though).
And of course there are many more veggie sides out there – braised red cabbage, roast cauliflower, broccoli cheese… Mmm! But my other favourite thing about a roast has to be the condiments – mint sauce, horseradish sauce, mustard – I prefer them to gravy to be honest. But maybe that’s just the ketchup-loving American in me…
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