Who says British food is bland and boring? If you've ever tasted a well cooked slice of roast beef accompanied by a perfectly roasted potato and parsnip, a Yorkshire pudding, and lightly steamed fresh vegetables, well, then you know what a great roast dinner is all about.
A traditional roast dinner otherwise known as a Sunday roast, as it is commonly eaten in the UK on a Sunday, is one of the highlights of British cuisine. But it is also popular throughout the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Ireland.
It is called a traditional meal because it is known to have been prepared in this way for hundreds of years in Britain, and it is a way of gathering family and friends together on a weekend, to congregate around the centrepiece of a roast. Carving the meat is felt to be the highlight and the traditional starting point for the meal, once the meat is brought from the oven and placed on the table.
The Sunday roast consists of roasted meat, roast potato together with accompaniments, such as Yorkshire pudding, stuffing, vegetables and gravy. Vegetables might include cabbage, carrots, and a green vegetable, such as broccoli or sprouts, if in season. It is usually served with lashings of meaty gravy, to provide extra taste, flavour and moistness to the meat.