Of Roast and Mash.

Some years ago, in a conservation with my dad, i casually mentioned that when i get my own place, the first two items i would splurge on are a sophisticated oven and a kickass coffee machine. He still remembers that which is how i came to acquire my current coffee machine :) Well, a food processor was the third item on that list but scratch that. I've come to discover that i much prefer to pound my bag of biscuits on my countertop or use the mortar and pestle to combine various ingredients into a paste, rather than just hit a button and viola, everything's done and you're ready to go. I know it doesn't make much sense but i guess it's just the sense of satisfaction i get from manually doing it myself. Same reason why in the four-ish years i've been in Melbourne, i've never learnt how to operate the dishwasher.

I think my love for roasting is two-fold. Firstly, it is so convenient both to put together and clean up after. You just chuck everything into a roasting pan and let it do its magic in the oven. I usually wash everything i've used in preparing that dish in the meanwhile and whip up a side dish so the only thing i (well okay, GT actually) really have to wash after dinner are the plates we use and the roasting pan. Nothing some Jif and hot water can't tackle :) The second reason and i guess the more important one is that the meat is almost always done to perfection; browned on the outside but so succulent and flavourful inside. Plus, GT loves roast dishes as much as i do, so no complaints there :)


We loved this one- Roast Standing Ribs. It was just the right amount at slightly under a kilogram for the both of us. I loved the slightly charred pieces of garlic that coated the meat and how juicy this was. This was a slightly more expensive cut than the roast we did before but it was worth every extra dollar; we were practically eating off the bones.

I usually loved mashed potatoes but i wasn't too crazy over this one probably due to my overestimated the amount of milk added so i've reduced it in the recipe below.

Judging from the way GT was swooning over this one, i suspect we'll see more roast beef coming our way :)

Roast Standing Ribs


Ingredients
1 kg standing ribs
2 tbsp olive oil
6 cloves of garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
Freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 220C. Bring ribs to room temperature and combine olive oil, garlic and generous amount of pepper in a small bowl. Rub mixture all over ribs, making sure you cover the meat thoroughly.
2. Roast for about 40 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving with mashed potatoes.

Mashed Potatoes


1 kg potatoes, peeled and quartered
A knob of butter
3/4 cup milk
Freshly ground black pepper
Salt

1. Place potatoes in a large saucepan, covering potatoes with cold water. Add a pinch of salt and bring water to boil. Cook, covered for about 15 minutes, till potatoes can be easily pierced through with a fork. Turn heat off and drain water from potatoes.
2. Mash potatoes with a fork and add butter, mixing well till butter and potatoes are combined. Gradually add milk, stirring well and making sure milk is absorbed. Season with salt and pepper before serving. Serves 2