Bringing back the Sunday roast

Do you have Sunday lunch in your house? As a kid, a great big meal in the middle of the last day of the week was mandatory. There'd be a big hunk of meat, some roast spuds, veggies and a slab of pudding thick enough to stop a nuclear blast.

It was a while ago (cough decades cough) that I was a kid living at home, and I got out of the habit of making a fuss of Sunday lunch. My other half was a stranger to the concept in its entirety, and never sat down for Sunday dinner at his folks as a little un. Yeah, I know, right?

I decided a while back that our abandoning of Sunday lunch was a crime against humanity (or should that be veganity?) and that that big old Sunday lunch needed to make a reappearance (minus the meat, of course).

Since then, we've both become addicted to that ritual of spending hours preparing a meal, and then sitting down with a vat of wine to enjoy it.

It's funny how the old ways of meat eating endure into veganism - the idea that their should be a protein-heavy centrepiece with veggies as second fiddles still haunts my Sunday lunch. But when they turn out like this, I can't complain:


(If anyone can explain what I do to cause my pictures to suffer some sort of photographic jaundice, however, please let me know...)

Anyway, there's a bit of baked tofu up there - I can't remember what went into it, but it was based on a recent recipe by Allysia on The Real Meal. There was red onions, membrillo, red wine and some thyme I think.

And there's hasselback potatoes there too - a new addition to my kitchen. It's just a spud with some cuts in it. You knew that right? How does everyone know this stuff before I do?! Anyhoo, it was a new discovery for me, and I was quietly wowed. And there's also broad bean mash, carrots and spinach for good measure.

It's almost enough to make you look forward to Sunday evenings...

Comments

  1. Growing up there was a Sunday midday meal, but slowly through my adolescence it became "fend for yourself". Ha! If I am blessed with a family, I would bring the tradition back. Jaundice or not, the meal looks fantastic!

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  2. Sitting down to a Sunday roast sounds like a British thing. :) Though I'm all for sitting down to a good Sunday meal, especially when they involve gorgeous slabs of tofu! Also aren't Hasselback tatoes the best thing? They kind of blew my mind when I made them a couple weeks ago.

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  3. I only recently heard of "hasselback potatoes". I have had them before, of course, but for some reason we called them "porcupine potatoes"! I bet they would be delish cooked on the bbq... Will have to try and report back!

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  4. We often, but now always, had a Sunday meal, and the main ingredient was always something meaty. As a wanna-be-vegetarian, I remember selecting the smallest slice of roast I could get away with, pushing it around my plate, hiding it under potatoes, etc, doing my damnest to avoid consumption! My mom, while not a member of the "clean your plate club," did insist that I eat a few torturous bites. I do not miss the meals themselves, but the ritual is lovely! I'd gladly join your Sunday afternoon table, what time should I be there? :)

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  5. I feel like the Sunday roast is something I should experience too! You may have just inspired me to make one!

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  6. We had Sunday roasts for a while when I was growing up and then at some stage they got moved to Saturday evenings. I still adore roasted vegetables and enjoy this style of dinner once or twice a week in the colder months. Your meal looks so comforting, I've done hasselback spuds before but not recently. The baked tofu looks delicious and I love the look of your broad bean mash as I've never tried this before.

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  7. When I was a growing up we used to have lunch or dinner at my nan's house every sunday. We never did the roast beef thing since we always had jiggs dinner, so instead it was a big hunk of salted pork, blah! That's one meal I've never bothered to recreate since you pretty much just boil a bunch of vegetables in salty water until they look sad. Now hassleback potatoes and tofu steak, there's something I could make a habit out of!

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