The Rose Cottage Recipe Book

You will need

Method

To make a decent gravy, you need good ingredients.  Stock can be ideally from previously made stock, but can also be from a stock cube and boiling water (either from a kettle, or – even better – from water being used to cook vegetables.

The fat should ideally be from around the roast, as that will contain all the flavour of the meat, but in the absence of all of that you can use butter.

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan, and if making onion gravy you can add the onions at this point, cooking them very slowly until they are thoroughly cooked.
   
2. Stir in a tablespoon of flour until it is all absorbed by the fat.
   
3. Add the stock, a little at a time, whilst stirring.  The more you stir, the less chance there is of getting lumps.  If you start getting lumps, keep stirring until they are beaten out, then add more liquid.
   
4. Add the herbs (and optional red wine), and simmer gently until the gravy thickens.
   
5. If it is the right consistency, but the wrong colour, you can add a teaspoon of Bisto to darken it down.  The Bisto will also cause it thicken up.
   
6. Add chilli or cranberry jelly shortly before serving and stir in for additional flavour.
   

You will Need

Method

The chicken needs to be unwrapped and patted down with a paper towel.  The inside cavities (one inside the bones, the other inside the neck) should be checked for packets of giblets (cooked plastic bags don’t taste great).

Place the chicken breast upwards in the roasting tin.

Chicken dries out quickly in the oven, so it is a good idea to stuff the main cavity as this helps keep it moist.  Stuffing can be put in either cavity.  If you don’t have stuffing you could use a lemon or two, cut into quarters so the flavour gets out (or even a couple of potatoes).  These would only go into the main cavity.  You can add a few sprigs of fresh herbs to the cavity for flavour if wanted. Thyme goes well with chicken.

Smear butter over the skin, particularly around the creases (e.g. where the legs and wings join the body).  For a garlicky flavour cut thin slivers from a garlic bulb and using a sharp knife slide them under the skin.

Preheat the oven to 180°C and cook for 40 minutes per kilo (and sometimes an additional 20 mins though not always necessary). Baste regularly with the juices from the bottom of the pan to keep the meat moist.

You will Need

Method

1. Make the bread into breadcrumbs, either using a food processor or a grater.
   
2. Chop and slice the onion and mix into the breadcrumbs in a large bowl.
   
3. If using dried breadcrumbs, add a few tablespoons of water, oil, chilli or cranberry jelly or stock to freshen it up.
   
4. Add the sausage meat and a teaspoon or two of herbs (less if dried, more if fresh).  Optionally, add the apricots or apples (apples and/or apricots go especially well with pork, lemon and thyme with chicken).
   
5. Mix together thoroughly - ideally with your hands, but a wooden spoon will also do the trick.
   
6. Drop the mixture into a baking tray, and bake in the oven for 45 mins at 200°C.

Halfway through the baking stir the mixture to ensure it gets crisped evenly.  Alternatively, it can be stuffed into the meat to be roasted.  Stuffing baked inside the meat will be more moist and less crunchy than a mix baked loose.