My Chef

A Very English Thanksgiving Dinner

Posted on 13. Nov, 2009 by Justine in Articles, Lifestyle, Recipes

I know that in America there are some that have a mistake, rather low opinion of English cooking and perhaps even English food. As a new arrival here I can say that not only have I been very impressed with the beauty and bounty of the British countryside, I have also fallen in love with many local ingredients, traditional meals and cooking techniques.

As I prepare to cook my first Thanksgiving meal in England, I am planning to abandon a few traditional dishes in favour of some new favourites using ingredients found in an English Sunday roast dinner. I hope that they will please both my very English guests and my husband Vincent who is educated in England and who has spent a lot of time between the USA and the UK.

I’m going to start with mashed potatoes. I am the official potato masher in my family and even my Aunt Mary who makes the absolute best has allowed me to perform this job for many years. Seriously, what is not good about mashed potatoes? Nothing right? But hear me out, there is more than one reason why I am in love with proper English roasted potatoes especially for a Thanksgiving dinner. One reason is that I have always hated to waste the lovely fat that is rendered when a goose or a duck is properly cooked and I am planning to cook a goose this Thanksgiving. The other is that gravy is by far the all around star of the meal and for some reason roasted potatoes are the perfect gravy canvas (and I’m saving the cream for the leeks…see below).

Recipe for a Thanksgiving Dinner Incorporating British Techniques

The technique is simple, granted, but you do need to keep and eye on the potatoes to make them perfect. To begin peel and quarter potatoes and put into cold salted water. Bring to a boil until just fork tender (5-6 minutes) they will finish cooking in the fat. Drain in a colander and let dry a bit. Meanwhile heat oven to 400 and melt rendered fat or vegetable oil. Add potatoes and coat well in the fat. Cook for about 30-45 minutes basting occasionally with fat and turning twice or so during the cooking process. The result? Fluffy in the middle crisp and golden on the outside perfect roast potatoes.

Now for that butter and cream we’ve rescued from the potatoes… they will perfectly adorn some local leeks that will turn into melted, lovely sweet goodies. First, wash the leeks. Leeks can be very sandy so slice off the tips and rough dark green ends then cut in half long ways. You can then slice the leeks into 1-2 inch pieces. Soak in cold water agitating a bit to release the sand. Let the sand sink to the bottom and then remove leeks to a sautee pan with melted butter being careful not to disturb the settled sand.  Sautee and season with salt for 7-10 minutes then remove to a baking dish. Pour a bit of cream just shy of covering leeks and let bake approximately 30 min at about 400.

Next dish is another simple but really good side dish. Roasted parsnips. Pick firm, white veggies. Peel and remove ends Slice in half long way then quarter trying to preserve the natural shape of the vegetable. Remove to a baking dish and toss with melted butter, honey, a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and salt. Roast in an oven between 350 and 400 checking often for tenderness. Enjoy!

Tags: recipe, roast dinner, roasted potatoes, thanksgiving, thanksgiving dinner, traditional dishes, traditional meals