Med Veg a la Jo

Sandy-Goodey Roast

I really do have a distinct dislike for cooked vegetables.  I shudder at the thought of soggy carrots, chewy cauliflower and the snot-like texture of spinach.  I am a total salad fiend, I love all that but your standard veg I cannot eat without heaving.  Yuk.  I also find bland food impossible to ingest (unless its a good old Corned Beef Hash).  Veg are important for all kinds of reasons, we have to make sure we have our 200 a day apparently, so I like to put my own spin on the traditional Sunday Roast.  Items are added and deleted depending on whats in the fresh food compartment in the fridge.

Lemon Myrtle, Garlic and Pepper Chicken Ready for Cooking

Timing is everything with a roast.  We recently upgraded our cooker and can now fit everything into the two ovens with ease.  The chicken preparation was simple but effective.  I like to make stock for soups so flavouring the chicken as it cooks seems the sensible way to go.  I like fun ingredients and opted to use Lemon Myrtle from its native Australia in the form of flakes, a dusting of garlic salt and some cracked black pepper.  Lemon Myrtle, when used properly is a very fragrant ingredient that permeates through the chicken.  Use too much and you may as well suck on lemons!

With that cooking, Alex prepares his totally disgraceful (in a good way) roasties whilst I move on to the part that makes the difference between bog standard and pretty damned tasty!

MED VEG: 

1 Courgette sliced
1 Red Onion roughly chopped
2 Fresh Beetroot (part boiled)
1 Red Pepper chopped
Handful of Carrots (cut into batons)
1 Cooking Apple chopped
Black Olives (up to you how many)
Some cloves of slow roasted garlic

Once chopped etc, add a healthy glug of good olive oil, a drizzle of Balsamic Vinegar, some herbs de provence, a sprinkling of chilli flakes and a healthy grind of black pepper.  Mix it up then roast along with the roasties and stuffing.  On this occasion we lean on Paxo and that comfort food classic sage and onion stuffing.  I do have a very naughty recipe for a lemon based stuffing that will blow your mind, but we went for simple this time!  Pick your gravy ... we made onion gravy but its up to you .....

Nothing like a bit of Paxo!!

Green beans are always a great accompaniment but the med veg works great if you want to disguise a myriad of boring.  

I understand that most people love a classic roast but this is the way me and my family enjoy it!