| Easy Summer Roasts with Bright Herbs (Tested Recipes) |
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By Nigel Slater
London Observer Service I have taken to massaging my roasts before they go into the oven -- rolling them around in my hands, working the garlic, oil, lemon, thyme or whatever into every nook and cranny, down into every crevice and under every flap. No skin, flesh or bone is left unseasoned. I once saw Alastair Little do this to a chicken, and the habit has stuck. I have to say, the roast is better for it. My Sunday roasts change slightly in the summer -- the seasonings are sharper, the cooking style lazier. Only a masochist works up a sweat in the kitchen at this time of year. So there is no stuffing to secure with string and no boning and trussing. Just a good rub down with an aromatic paste, then the joint is slid into the oven to hiss and spit for an hour. This is the time of year to let things cook for themselves, slowly crackling away undisturbed in the oven, while we get on with other more important things, such as sitting in the garden with the newspaper. Vegetables can be cut down to a quick washing of a few salad leaves or the dropping of green beans into a pot, and I am not sure we even need potatoes, although it doesn't take much to throw a few scrubbed salad potatoes in with the roast. Their waxy flesh turns unexpectedly fudgy in the oven. The meat itself, of course, is more important than how we choose to season it. I suggest you settle for something free range and, preferably, organic. It will taste all the better for its happy life. It is important, however, to choose a cut of meat that will work just as well cold as hot. In high summer, we are far more likely to end up with cold cuts than we are to be tucking into shepherd's pie. In other words, go for a loin rather than a shank. Meat that is to be served cold is generally better sliced thinly, especially roast beef, and you don't want to have a wrestling match stripping the meat from some awkward elbow joint. The seasonings are very much a matter of personal choice, but I think this is the time of year to use the herb garden to the full, and to include flavors that have a sharp note to them. Think how much more enticing the smell of a chicken roasted with lemons and rosemary is when the sun shines than one that has been stuffed with mushrooms. Fresh, strong flavors are essential when the sky is blue. Think of Greek and Italian hillsides and the scent of herbs crushed underfoot in the blazing sun. That is the sort of seasoning we are after. Seasonings that have appeared at my Sunday lunch table this summer have included chicken with lemon and lemon grass, a pork gravy cut with white wine vinegar, mint and new garlic used as a baste for roast lamb, and gooseberries (poached and squished into the pan juices of a roast loin of pork). I do think that anything with aniseed is especially suitable for the summer months; I suppose it reminds me of holidays in Italy. Look out for fennel twigs, and especially the thick stalks that may result from bolted fennel in the garden. I cut the stems into short lengths and slide them under a joint of pork before it goes into the oven. You can also use the leaves and fronds finely shredded in accompanying salads. You can effectively use almost any herb that takes your fancy. Lemon thyme is particularly good -- crush the leaves with some of the season's fresh garlic, and make the paste into a spreadable slush by adding olive oil in a trickle. The resulting balm can then be rubbed into the meat more easily than if you season it with dry herbs alone. The oil stops the herbs burning too much and lubricates the meat as it cooks. But what about those cold cuts? For my money, I like them sliced thinly and served with lots of sea salt and sour pickles. August is not the time for a dog's dinner of meat and thick gravy. A few slices of herb-and-citrus-scented meat, perhaps cut more slender than usual and moistened with some of the cooking juices, a solitary spoonful of thinly sliced green beans at their side, will be much more welcome.
Roast Lamb with Cumin and Mint Ingredients: 3-1/2 pounds shoulder of lamb
4 cloves of garlic
3 large pinches of cumin seed
a large handful of mint leaves
Juice of 2 lemons
Enough olive oil to make a slush Preparation: Put the lamb in a roasting pan. Peel the garlic and put it into a food processor with the cumin seed, mint leaves and lemon juice. Add a generous grinding of salt and some black pepper. Blitz to a coarse paste, adding enough olive oil to make a slush. You want it thin enough to be easily spread, but thick enough to cling to the lamb. Massage the roast well with the spice paste, spreading it over the skin and into the cut sides of the flesh. Now set aside in a cool place, preferably not the refrigerator, for an hour, basting occasionally with any of the paste that has run off. Preheat the oven to 400 F. Roast the meat for 45 minutes to an hour, depending on how you like your lamb (45 minutes should give you a roast that is still pink and juicy inside). Remove from the oven and rest the meat for a good 10 minutes before carving. To make a gravy, put the roasting tin over a moderate heat and pour in a large glass of wine, stock or water, and bring it to the boil. Stir with a wooden spoon, scraping away at the pan to dissolve any stuck-on meat juices. Let the gravy bubble a little, check it for seasoning - it may need salt and pepper. Then keep it warm while you carve the lamb. Note: I have used a shoulder here but, in fact, any cut of lamb would work, such as a leg or loin. The rub also works for chicken. Serves: 4
Sauce for Cold Meats Ingredients: 2 young, freshly peeled garlic cloves
1 Tbs. lemon juice
4 Tbs. olive oil
Leaves from small bunch of thyme and from mint
Parsley sprigs
Salt and pepper to taste Preparation: Place all the ingredients in a blender or food processor. Process until you end up with a thick bright-green sauce. Add salt and pepper or a bit more lemon juice or oil as needed.
Pot Roast of Chicken with Lemon and Tarragon Ingredients: 1 roasting chicken, 4 to 5 pounds
2 plump stalks of lemon grass
4 large, juicy cloves of new summer garlic
4 Tbs. butter
Leaves from 8 bushy stalks of tarragon
Wine glass of dry vermouth Preparation: Peel and discard the tougher outer curls from the lemon grass. Shred the hearts of the stalks finely, then put them into the bowl of a food processor. Peel and discard the mauve and white outer skin from the garlic and add the inner cloves to the lemon grass with the butter, tarragon leaves and a generous seasoning of sea salt and black pepper. Blitz. Rub the tarragon and citrus butter over the chicken, massaging it into the breasts and legs. There should be enough left to push some inside. Put the basted bird into a casserole, pour over the vermouth and cover with a lid, then put it in an oven at 350 F for an hour. Lift the dish from the oven and turn the bird over, basting it with the liquid underneath as you do so. Return the dish to the oven for another half an hour, by which time the bird should be tender, its flesh coming away from the bone with no more than gentle pressure. Turn it over again, so the breast is uppermost, baste it and return the dish to the oven, without the lid. After 30 minutes, the breast should be a honeyed gold, the flesh virtually falling away from the bones. Remove the chicken from the pot and let it rest for 10 minutes before carving. Serve with some of the juices from the pot. Note: Kept in a sealed casserole as it roasts, a chicken will be particularly juicy and flavorsome. The lid can be removed for the final cooking to brown the skin. Such a manner of cooking is particularly useful in the summer when roasts are eaten cold. I chose lemon grass for the recipe, but a couple of large lemons could be used if lemon grass is difficult to get hold of. Serves 4.
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service. For more Observer news go to www.guardian.co,uk/.)
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