Annabel Langbein: Recipes for the Perfect Roast – Pork, Chicken and Baked Vegetables. Matches by Yvonne Lorkin.

In the house where I currently reside, the kitchen has exactly 25cm of working space – just enough for a small cutting board or the dishes, after they have been washed. When I stand in the
middle, I can touch the walls on both sides and at each end. It would be more difficult to find a smaller workspace (except maybe in New York) but, thanks to the presence of an oven, I was able to whip up some pretty delicious dishes.

Those dinners where you put everything in the oven and go are some of the most satisfying to cook. There’s no sautéing or browning or reducing or stirring on an “up to the minute” timing. As if by magic, the heat of the oven transforms everything into browned and delicately caramelized succulence.

I often tell people who don’t have a lot of cooking skills or don’t have time in their lives for complicated food prep, that the bake/roast/bake dinner route is the way to go. There are so many ingredients and flavor combinations that can be used to keep things interesting.

Roasting — that is, cooking with nothing more than dry heat — caramelizes the surfaces of meat and vegetables, adding a satisfying layer of flavor, thanks to a bit of chemistry called the Maillard reaction. You can also do what is called a French roast, in which a liquid such as broth is added to the bottom of a (deep-sided) roasting pan, along with all the other ingredients, then roasted in the oven without covering . For this to work properly, you need about 2 to 4 cm of liquid at the bottom of the dish. As the food cooks, the liquid creates a moist, steamy environment and makes a sauce, while the top turns golden.

Chicken thigh quarters work well with the French roast method, taking about the same cooking time as any potatoes or onions you’d like to add. They also have a skin, which prevents them from drying out. There are tons of riffs on the French Roast Chicken Leg Dinner with different flavors – add Moroccan spices and a can of drained chickpeas for a Moroccan-style chicken platter, or mix in miso and a splash of oil of tamari and sesame in chicken broth for a comforting Japanese-style chicken or pork dish. With the power of an oven, cooking has never been easier.

Lemon chicken platter with pumpkin and onions

Leaving the skins on the onions protects them while cooking – peel them off to eat. I like to serve it with couscous or mashed potatoes to soak up the sauce.

Ready in 1 hour
For 4 to 6 people

500 g pumpkin, peeled, seeded and cut into pieces
4-6 small to medium onions, unpeeled but washed and halved
4-6 quarter chicken thighs, bone-in, skin on
3-4 garlic cloves, peeled and halved
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
1½ cups of chicken broth
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon rosemary leaves, chopped
Salt and ground black pepper, to taste

OPTIONAL
2 teaspoons of cornstarch mixed with a little water
Parsley leaves, to garnish

Preheat the oven to 180°C rotating heat. Arrange the pumpkin, onions (cut side down) and chicken in a single layer in a large, deep roasting pan. Add all remaining ingredients except cornmeal mixture and parsley and roast until chicken is browned and juices run clear when pierced into thickest part of thigh (about 45 to 50 minutes).

Transfer the chicken and vegetables to a deep serving dish, reserving the cooking juices. If you want to thicken the sauce, place the roasting pan with its juices on the stove, add the cornstarch mixture and stir over medium heat to thicken slightly. Simmer for 2-3 minutes to cook the flour, then baste the chicken and vegetables and garnish with parsley to serve.

Chermoula vegetable pie

Ready in 1h30
For 4 people

3 potatoes, washed and cut into 1cm cubes
½ large or 1 small cauliflower, cut into 1½ cm thick slices
6-8 Brussels sprouts, quartered
1 large onion, very thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
400 g canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1½ tsp salt
2 tablespoons Moroccan spice mix

TO SERVE
½ cup creamy plain yogurt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 tbsp chopped cilantro or mint leaves
2 tablespoons dukkah, optional

Preheat the oven to 180°C and line a large roasting pan with parchment paper for easy cleanup (you may need two pans as you want everything in one layer).

Combine vegetables, chickpeas, oil, salt and spice blend in prepared dish, toss to coat well, then spread evenly in dish.

Roast until tender and golden (about 1 hour), stirring every 15 to 20 minutes so vegetables cook and brown evenly.

To serve, mix the yogurt with the lemon juice, salt and cumin. Drizzle yogurt sauce over vegetables and sprinkle with cilantro or mint and dukkah, if desired.

Roast pork with fennel, onions and apples

Ready in 2h30
Serves: 6-8

Here’s an easy meal for a special occasion Ask your butcher to carve/”french” the square and shorten the bone. I like to serve this with moist polenta.

1 x whole rack of pork 9-10 chops (approx. 2.5 kg), skin on, thinly slashed
1 tsp fennel seeds
Salt and ground black pepper
2 red onions, peeled and cut into thin wedges
2-3 apples, peeled and cored, cut into thin wedges
1 head of fennel, halved and thinly sliced
4-5 bay leaves
4-5 whole cloves
1 cup verjuice or white wine
1 cup chicken broth

Preheat the oven to 240C. Grind the fennel seeds and rub the exposed flesh of the pork.
Do not put the crackling side. Season the pork all over with salt and pepper.

Place the onion, apples and fennel in the bottom of a large deep roasting pan. Top with bay leaves and cloves and place the seasoned pork on top, skin side up. Pour verjuice or wine around the pork with broth. Do not pour on the skin because you need it to be dry to crack.

If desired, you can wrap the exposed bones with foil to prevent them from browning. Roast at 240°C for 25 minutes until the skin begins to crack. Lower the heat to 160°C and cook for another 1 hour 30 minutes.

Add a little water to the dish if it seems to be drying out. It should be moist enough at the end so you can serve with a spoonful of juice.

Let the pork rest for about 5 minutes before carving it. Serve on the bed of vegetables. Pour the juice over it.

NOTE: To make this dish with 4-6 pork steaks, place the sliced ​​onions and apples in a bowl. Cover the apples and microwave for 6 minutes on high power. Place the vegetables in a deep roasting pan that will fit the pork perfectly. Place the pork steaks on top, sprinkle with ground fennel. Season and pour over the combined broth and wine. Cover and cook at 180°C for 1 hour.

Combine them with…

by Yvonne Lorkin

(Cooked chicken platter)
Te Awanga Estate Quarter Acre Hawke’s Bay Chardonnay 2020 ($40)

I become grizzly towards my husband because he no longer notices my appearance. “What color are my eyes then?” I asked recently. “I don’t know,” he sighed. “You never stop rolling them long enough for me to know.” So I opened this bottle of this Chardonnay and thought about my life choices. Without a doubt, this is one of the best 2020 Hawke’s Bay Chardonnays I have tasted. It smells of oak-soaked grapefruit juice flowing over hot stones and the palate bursts with roasted nectarine, sweet applewood smoke, intensely juicy acidity and a ripe, pleasantly crisp finish that accompanies this dish.
teawangaestate.co.nz

(Chermoula Pastry)
Mischief Waipara Pinot Gris 2021 ($22)

The punch and spiciness of chermoula when cooked in tender vegetables is made damn memorable when paired with pinot gris. I will always remember the Mischief for its pear and nashi notes on the nose, its juicy apple-soaked palate, its slightly spicy finish and its painting of a cute steampunky bird on the label. It’s a good way to remember. Unlike poor old Wile E. Coyote, whom we old folks will remember only for his kidnapping schemes and violent temper, and sadly not for his brilliantly realistic paintings of tunnels on rock faces.
mischiefwithwine.co.nz

(Roast pork)
Scoundrels and Rogues Evil Genius Imperial Apple Cider 2019 ($6.50 x 330ml)

My uni student son came home for the holidays and I overheard him chatting with friends about sleepless nights in the realm of hard work and hard play. Sleepless nights? I can barely shoot a whole day these days. However, for this wonderful pork recipe, I recommend an excellent craft cider that has starter qualities. But only if, according to the packaging, you’re not a nark, scab, or good samaritan who can’t stand 10.2% strength. This “Perfect Roast Pig” cider is made by Paul Donaldson of Pegasus Bay, from a select batch from his 2019 Pleasantly Corrupted cider, which then spent 18 months in barrel to add intensity, richness and a spicy appletastic character.
vinofino.conz or
canaillesandrogues.com