Traditional British Sunday Dinner
Some people call it a Sunday roast, others a Sunday dinner. There is no single way to make a Sunday dinner, quite often the veg and meat will vary from house to house, but they all follow the same sort of pattern. This is less a recipe and more a guide on how to make a traditional British Sunday dinner.
Since this is more a guide and not a recipe, measurements aren't precise. I don't think I've ever made a Sunday dinner to a strict recipe before because it's like a loose set of rules. I realise that makes things a little more difficult if this is your first time, but it's something you need to try and learn your own way instead of just following instructions.
I always aim to make it with leftovers in mind because the leftovers form a fry-up for the following day's dinner - recipe for that coming soon.
Essentials
Protein
A small chicken, a beef joint, pork joint, nut roast, Quorn/other meat-free alternatives: There are plenty of options and all viable for a Sunday dinner. Personally I find pork joints the easiest so they're what I tend to do the most. Plus, crackling!
Potatoes
There is always potato. Mash or roast potatoes being the most common, but boiled potatoes also a viable option. Personally I'm a fan of the roast potato, but if making them from scratch is too time-consuming a bag of frozen roasties is 100% allowed.
Vegetables
You need at least two veg on your plate, but more is better. Carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, sprouts, cabbage, peas, leeks, green beans, asparagus, even baby sweetcorn - All viable options. Pick your favourites and prepare however you like. If it was me I'd probably go roasted broccoli and green beans fried in butter.
Yorkshire puddings
These are not a dessert. Yorkshire puds are made with a batter similar to that of pancakes, but there is no sugar involved and they're savoury, not sweet. Using a special Yorkshire pudding tray (or a metal muffin tray) a little fat/oil and some intense heat is used to make the batter puff up like a cup, which is then filled with gravy.
They were traditionally served as a starter with the intention of filling you up back when meat wasn't so cheap. These days most people serve them with the meal itself.
Example Ingredients
- 700g pork joint
- 500g frozen roast potatoes
- 1 head of broccoli
- 200g green beans
- Tablespoon of butter
- Salt & pepper
- 100g plain flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3 eggs
- 200ml milk
- Ideally lard, but sunflower oil or some other oil with a high smoke point is fine
- Instant gravy
Steps
The day before I will roast the pork joint according to package instructions based on the weight. I usually rub a little oil over it, then sprinkle over salt & pepper and run it in to the meat. Once cooked I let it cool and keep it in the fridge for the next day.
On Sunday I start by prepping all the veg. Wash and trim your broccoli and green beans, then keep them to one side.
Next I prep the Yorkshire pud batter. Start by measuring out the flour, then add the eggs and mix. Bit by bit, add the milk and keep mixing. The trick to good puds is to really beat the hell out of that batter! Once all the milk has been added add the 1/4 salt too, and give it one final mix through.
The hardest part of any Sunday dinner is getting the timings right. Since we cooked the meat the day before we've got things a little easier, but we still need to think about this. Our frozen potatoes will probably take about 40 minutes to cook, and our puds will probably take around 15-20. The reason this is important is because once the Yorkshire pudding batter is in the oven you cannot open the door for any reason or they'll fail.
So, preheat the oven to around 220C and once it's hot put your roasties in a roasting tray and put them on the bottom shelf.
Meanwhile, add about a teaspoon of lard or oil in each hole of a 12-hole muffin/cupcake tray. After the potatoes have been in for 10 minutes put this tray in on the other shelf. We need the oil to get blistering hot.
When the potatoes have been in for 20 minutes it's time to do the puds and broccoli. Firstly the broccoli - Take your prepped florets, rub a little oil on them, a sprinkle of salt, and throw them in the same pan your potatoes are in. (Might as well give the potatoes a good shake now while you're at it). Next, take the Yorkshire pud tray out of the oven and quickly spoon a tablespoon of batter in each hole until they're all full. Repeat until you have no more batter and put the tray back in the oven. No more opening the door until it's done. Also, pull your meat out of the fridge now if you haven't already.
When that's been going for around 10 minutes it's time to start our last veg, the beans. Bring a saucepan of water to boil, throw in a palmful of salt, mix it through until dissolved and add the beans. We're going to boil them for a little under five minutes. Once cooked, drain them, quickly dry the pot, then add a tablespoon of butter and melt it until bubbling. Throw the beans back in, giving them a good coating in the butter.
Around now the potatoes, broccoli and Yorkshire puds should be ready so pull them all out of the oven. Slice the meat if it's not already sliced.
Finally, it's pretty standard these days to use instant gravy rather than meat juices, so mix your gravy granules with boiling water as thick or as thin as you like.
Now serve it up! Each plate should have a bit of pork, a Yorkshire pud or two, some broccoli, beans, and potatoes.
Keep the leftovers in the fridge for the next day's fry up.