The Sunday Roast Dinner, a Pembroke Tradition

The Sunday roast is as much a part of British tradition as talking about the weather, drinking tea, and watching Coronation Street. At Pembroke, we walk in the footsteps of tradition on a daily basis and our Sunday menu tends to reflect just that.

Last night's Formal Hall was no different with a duck liver pate getting the meal under way. Served with quince jam and toast, the pate was the very epitome of 'Old School', familiar, safe, and a tad bit boring.

Vegetarians fared a little better with the 'exotic' Brie Pate.

As the evening moved slowly along, we progressed to Roast Beef with Yorkshire Pudding and gravy.

The Yorkshire pudding is a staple of the British Sunday lunch and in some cases is eaten as a separate course prior to the main meat dish. This was the traditional method of eating the pudding and is still common in parts of Yorkshire today. Because the rich gravy from the roast meat drippings was used up with the first course, the main meat and vegetable course was often served with a parsley or white sauce.

It is often claimed that the purpose of the dish was to provide a cheap way to fill the diners - the Yorkshire pudding being much cheaper than the other constituents of the meal - thus stretching a lesser amount of the more expensive ingredients as the Yorkshire pudding was traditionally served first.

My recipe for Yorkshire Pudding was given to me by the Mother of a friend who lives in Cyprus. His Mom makes the batter using equal amounts of eggs, milk and flour with a touch of salt. This recipe has never failed me and I highly recommend passing this onto anyone who struggles to get the puds to rise.

Fruit crumble is another traditional British dish constructed by topping seasonal fruit with a mix of flour, sugar and butter. On Sunday we served a pear and blackberry crumble finished with custard.

Get stuck in!