Yet
some cooks suffer from a fear of roasting, a seasonal
disorder especially prevalent during the holidays. Maybe
they’ve been burned in the past — using the wrong
cooking method or not using an instant-read thermometer —
and ruined a pricey cut.
Betty
Rosbottom has heard lots of sad tales. So the cooking
teacher and cookbook author set out to "dispel some of
the fear that comes with doing a roast" with
"Sunday Roasts: A Year’s Worth of Mouthwatering
Roasts" (Chronicle Books, $24.95).
Whether
you’re new to the kitchen or a roasting regular, Rosbottom’s
recipes and coaching (market tips, a guide to quick-cooking
roasts, less pricey cuts, etc.) are designed to help you
choose the appropriate roast for a holiday feast or Sunday
dinner.
Her
mantra? "Get to know your butcher," Rosbottom
says. "I don’t go to a special butcher shop, but I do
go to a local market and chain store, and they have a
butcher in each of those. Don’t hesitate to push that bell
and if you show an interest in what you’re buying and if
you’re polite, you will not believe how much extra help
you’ll get."
Such
as? Cooking tips. Better deals. "Just question the
butcher and ask, ‘Do you like this? Do you think this is
good when it’s cooked?’
"Because
so many markets have prepackaged meats, we often don’t
learn about all the other parts of the animal that we can
use. You might see lamb chops, but maybe only at Easter you
see a leg of lamb. You never see a standing rib pork roast.
You never see the racks. You have to ask for that. But the
butchers are willing to do it."
And be
prepared: Use a good, heavy, flameproof roasting pan, she
says. "When you finish roasting, if you want to make a
pan sauce, that pan can be set on flame and not be a
problem."
———
RACKS
OF PORK
Prep:
20 minutes
Cook:
1 hour, 10 minutes
Rest:
1 hour, 50 minutes
Makes:
10 servings
Note:
In "Sunday Roasts," Betty Rosbottom serves this
dish with apple chutney. You can purchase a ready-made apple
chutney at the market, or serve with sauteed fresh apples.
Rosbottom suggests you ask the butcher to prepare the racks
so they can be sliced into individual chops: "remove
feather and chine bones, trim meat between rib bones (french)
and leave a thin layer of fat covering exterior of
ribs."
Ingredients:
½ cup
olive oil
4
teaspoons curry powder
2
racks of pork, 3 pounds per rack, 5 ribs each
1 ½
pounds medium red onions
½
teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly
ground pepper
1.
Whisk together olive oil and curry powder in a small bowl.
Brush all pork surfaces with half the oil mixture; reserve
remaining oil. Let racks rest at cool room temperature, 1 ½
hours.
2.
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Peel onions; cut into 1-inch thick
wedges, leaving root ends intact. Salt and pepper pork racks
on all sides. Put a large, heavy, flameproof roasting pan or
tray over one or two burners on medium high heat. When pan
is hot, brown 1 pork rack on all sides, beginning with fat
side down; 4 to 5 minutes. Remove; repeat with remaining
rack.
3. Put
racks in pan, facing each other, fat sides out, bone ends up
and intertwined. Scatter onions around pork. Drizzle onions
with remaining curry oil; toss lightly. Roast until meat
thermometer inserted in center registers 150 degrees and
onions are softened and browned, about 1 hour.
4.
Remove pork from pan; arrange on serving platter, bones
intertwined. Surround with onions. Cover loosely with foil;
let rest 20 minutes. Serve sliced into chops. Sprinkle with
some salt, top with apple chutney and garnish with onions.
Nutrition
information:
Per
serving: 395 calories, 27 g fat, 7 g saturated fat, 98 mg
cholesterol, 6 g carbohydrates, 30 g protein, 214 mg sodium,
1 g fiber.
———
ROAST
RACKS OF LAMB WITH PISTACHIOS
Note:
Adapted from "Rotis: Roasts for Every Day of the
Week" (Melville House, $29.95), by Stephane Reynaud
Prep:
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Put 2 cloves garlic, chopped, and
2 shallots, chopped, in a bowl; cover with boiling water;
set aside to soften. Put leaves from 1 bunch each fresh
basil and chervil in a food processor with 5 ½ tablespoons
chopped butter; pulse until combined. Drain the garlic and
shallots; add to mixture along with 4 slices sandwich bread.
Process to combine. Add 1 egg white; season with salt and
pepper. Blend smooth. Stir in 1 ¾ ounces pistachios. Spread
mixture on meat side of racks; be sure it sticks.
Roast:
Put racks, herb side up, in a roasting pan; drizzle with a
little olive oil. Roast until meat thermometer inserted in
center registers 130-135 degrees, 15-20 minutes. Remove from
oven; cover lightly with foil. Let rest 10-15 minutes before
serving. Makes: 4 to 6 servings
———
A
little sweet with the savory:
This
chutney is adapted from "Sunday Roasts: A Year’s
Worth of Mouthwatering Roasts" (Chronicle Books,
$24.95), by Betty Rosbottom. She pairs it with roast racks
of pork. It would also be delicious with roasted or
pan-fried chicken, or other cuts of pork.
The
chutney may be covered and refrigerated up to three days;
bring to room temperature to serve.
APPLE
CHUTNEY
Prep:
15 minutes
Cook:
20 minutes
Makes:
About 1 ½ cups
Ingredients:
3
tablespoons olive oil
1
small red onion, chopped
1
teaspoon minced garlic
2
large unpeeled Gala apples, halved, cored, chopped in
½-inch dice
½ to
2/3 cup light brown sugar
2
teaspoons each: country-style Dijon mustard, minced fresh
ginger
¾
teaspoon ground coriander
¼
teaspoon ground cinnamon
Cayenne
pepper
1/3
cup cider vinegar
Heat 2
tablespoons olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add
onion and garlic; stir until onions soften, 3-4 minutes. Add
remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil; stir in apples. Cook,
stirring frequently, until apples are translucent and
lightly browned, 5-6 minutes. Add brown sugar, mustard,
ginger, coriander, cinnamon and a pinch cayenne pepper; stir
until sugar starts to melt. Add vinegar. Heat to a simmer;
cook stirring frequently until mixture thickens and liquid
is syrupy; 10 to 12 minutes. Remove pan from heat; cool
chutney to room temperature.
Nutrition
information:
Per
tablespoon: 52 calories, 2 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0 mg
cholesterol, 9 g carbohydrates, 0 g protein, 6 mg sodium, 1
g fiber.
