Perfect English Roast Dinner...

Cooked Flyingpops a nice birthday dinner last night and just thought I would document it as a "how to"...so, step by step, how to cook the perfect roast dinner (Fink-style)...IMHO, of course... ;) I took the pictures at extremely high resolution, so if you want a close up, click away...you might need to log on to Flickr to see them at full res though... ;)

#1 - Peel 'em and boil 'em
Buy some nice Maris Pipers, peel (with a speed peeler), chop (small, roughly 1.5" randomly shaped chunks, tapering ends work really well, as do thick disks) and boil them for no more than 15 mins with a little salt. You can test that they are ready by poking them with a small knife, if the blade penetrates easily then they are done...

#2 - Strain and distress
Strain the spuds, as shown here, then pop them back in the drained pan and "distress" them - i.e. bang them about a bit (thanks Delia)...this step helps boost the crunch factor later on... ;)

#3 Heat herbs and oil
Meanwhile heat the oil with shredded rosemary and thyme in the oven (180C) warming for the meat...fresh herbs from the garden if possible...careful as you lift the tray out! ;)

#4 Pop into the sizzling oil and turn
One by one arrange the spuds on the tray, kitchen tongs are *not* optional here unless your fingers are made of asbestos...gently turn them in the hot, herb oil until each is coated then pop them into the oven...they will need around an hour and a half...

#5 - Add a herb crust to the joint
Get your rolled and trussed joint (boned leg of lamb) and pat it down with more shredded rosemary, thyme and a little mint before popping it in the oven for the minimum cooking time (it should be pink in the middle and juicy, moist and succulent when cooked)...this one took about 70 minutes so it followed the spuds after about twenty minutes...

#6 - Don't add a 2cm cut to your palm with a large knife
Stormbringer (my trusty but extremely large/heavy Victorinox blade that I prefer to use for chopping swede) once again gashed me...bah...however it's so sharp I actually didn't notice the cut until the blood dripped onto the work surface! Anyway, speed peel the carrots and parsnips, then chop everything (other veg I chose were cabbage, swede (as I mentioned), cauliflower, leek and brocolli), all this goes into the steamer, carrots and cauliflower on the bottom, cabbage, leek and brocolli in the middle and minted garden peas on the top...this gets turned on for the last twenty minutes (i.e. ten minutes before the meat comes out to rest)...Chopped parsnips join the spuds for around 40 minutes in the oven...

#7 - Crispy, and fluffy roasters, fink-style
Remove the meat ten minutes before the spuds are done (if timing is slightly off, don't worry, just turn the oven down just to keep them warm) they will be crunchy on the outside and (because they were sealed by the oil) fluffy on the inside...let the meat "rest" for about ten minutes, then carve generous slices (too much for each person is better than not enough)...

#8 - Jus and Swede
Red wine jus in the front, a reduction of red wine and deglaze of what was in the bottom of the roasting tin...in the rear, swede (*boiled* for 20 minutes) about to be drained and mashed with butter, cracked black pepper and a little sea salt...

#9 - Assemble components and consume
So here we have it, Flyingpops' birthday dinner is finished (this is actually my plate)... ;) So attach your napkin, pour a glass of chilled wine and tuck in! Bon Apetite!