on meat

the british take their meat seriously. and well they should, especially since a pillar of british social tradition is the sunday roast. it's a big affair and important that everything is done in a proper fashion.

the roast in question can be any meat; since we've been here, we've been treated to beef, chicken, lamb and pork. stuffing is optional, but always a welcome treat. the british, perhaps in a cue taken from the italians (possibly originally taken from the chinese), surprisingly appreciate pork 'crackling', the skin of the pig, which becomes crispy/crunchy when roasted.

then there's gravy. sometimes it takes the form of au jus. other times (the less often, the better), it's made (did we say made? we meant reconstituted...) from gravy granules. but it's always present on the table.

and the trimmings. who could forget the trimmings? we're continually surprised at how the british go all out. it's not just meat and potatoes. of course, the potatoes are usually beautifully done, especially when properly roasted in duck or goose fat (sold quite commonly in little tubs for this express purpose).

but that's not all. a roast would not be complete without parsnips and carrots. now we had never really taken a liking to parsnips. but this was likely because our previous experience had been boiled parsnips, which were quite bland. but when roasted, they have a lovely sweet taste that brings a nice contrast to the rest of the savoury dishes. incidentally, we recently discovered parsnips crisps, which are also quite tasty. cream cauliflower with cheese is another possible addition to the roast lineup and very rich in flavour.

that being said, we're still on the hunt for a good roast that hasn't been cooked by friends. when you do it yourself, you can prepare it exactly the way you want. when you go out, you're leaving too much to chance. our first couple of forays did not go well. in hindsight, that was to be expected, since we were trying the roasts at chain pubs. the good thing (or maybe bad thing) is that london has a lot of pubs (a LOT). gastropubs, which place more emphasis on the quality of food, should deliver a good product, albeit at a price. hopefully we'll be able to find a happy medium (rare).