What makes the perfect Sunday lunch?

The perfect Sunday lunch will of course vary from household to household and taste to taste. However, there are a few things that do contribute to the truly perfect roast dinner: crispy roast potatoes, a delicious assortment of fresh and seasonal vegetables and some incredibly tasty gravy. 

The best sunday roasts really have a bit of everything, deliciously cooked meat, perfectly seasoned and still piping hot. Accompanied by the most crispy and tasty roast potatoes garnished with flaked salt, and of course a selection of seasonal vegetables finished off with a Yorkshire pudding and covered in your preferred gravy. 

The main meat

The typical accompaniment to a Sunday lunch is of course a roasting joint. The Nation’s favourite meat accompaniment has been revealed to be beef with 33% of the nation regularly cooking a beef joint on a Sunday. Chicken is the second favourite with 27% of the nation roasting a chicken for their beloved roasts. 

Traditionally, it is said to have been beef that was the original meat accompanying a Sunday roast, which makes sense considering it is still considered the Nation’s favourite choice. Any meat usually goes fabulously with a roast dinner so it really is down to personal preference. Chicken, beef, pork and lamb are the usual suspects, however seasonal choices also include duck, goose, gammon or other game birds. 

The gravy

The gravy on a sunday dinner truly is a gamechanger. Everyone loves smothering their roast in delicious, hot gravy. Gravy is usually made from the meat juices all combined together in a pan with thickening granules and herbs. Another popular choice is an onion or vegetable gravy made from either frying onions in the pan or using the vegetable stock and water from cooking your vegetables for a more flavourful gravy. 

Potatoes

For some, a good roast potato truly cannot be rivalled and as a nation, we have yet to find something that doesn’t go deliciously well with a potato in some form. There is much debate about how to cook the best roast potato, which fat to use, and how they should be seasoned. For some, a beef dripping roast potato truly is the peak of potatoes, while for others a goose fat potato really cannot be beat. It’s all down to personal preference, flavour and how crispy you want your potato to be. However, there are a few things that every roast dinner chef will vouch for in their cooking methods. 

Many recipes will tell you that to perfectly cook a roast potato you need to first parboil a Maris Piper or a King Edward and shake up your potatoes to make sure you get some nice crunchy bits. Then transfer to a roasting dish of your preferred oil or fat and put them in the oven. The best way to season your potatoes is with some flaked sea salt, however other common choices include rosemary, thyme and garlic as a garnish to deliciously crunchy roasties. 

Vegetables

Vegetables on a sunday roast aren’t as highly regarded as the potatoes or other trimmings (for some), but they are still a significant thing to get right. Traditionally it would have been seasonal veg that was being used and so your Sunday roast vegetables would change within the seasons. Nowadays, the usual vegetable accompaniments include steamed broccoli, carrots, cauliflower and other greens such as leafy greens or green beans. As well as gorgeous roasted carrots and parsnips.

A YouGov study found the most popular veg choices to be boiled broccoli, boiled carrots, peas and the controversial brussel sprout. 

For the perfect Sunday roast you want a balance between the sweet vegetables such as carrots and parsnips, some delicious leafy greens and the rest of your trimmings, finished off perfectly with lashings of gravy. 

Something extra

In modern times, the Sunday roast really has elevated to include a selection of other delicious trimmings. Stuffing is a given and one of the unsung heroes of a Sunday roast with 43% of the public opting to have stuffing on their ‘ideal’ Sunday roast. 

Other popular trimmings include crackling, cauliflower cheese (29%) and pigs in blankets (30%). As well as the champion of a roast dinner, the truly fantastic Yorkshire pudding, with 69% of people opting to have a Yorkshire pudding on their ideal Sunday roast lineup. 

Sauces also play a big part on a sunday dinner, with mint sauce, bread sauce and onion sauce being the favourites.

Some Sunday dinners have even gone a step further and include accompaniments such as mac and cheese which certainly goes beyond tradition. 

Sunday lunch in the New Forest

If you find yourself in the beautiful New Forest and you’re craving the delicious comfort of a Sunday dinner, you can enjoy a tantalising Sunday menu at one of New Forest Collection’s onsite restaurants. Our charming The Drift offers a fabulous Sunday menu with choices such as Hampshire roast sirloin, Roast pork loin with apple sauce and crackling, Grilled salmon fillet and a Veggie wellington. 

Each Sunday roast is served with gorgeous roast potatoes, roasted vegetables, seasonal green vegetables and a Yorkshire pudding. 

If a Sunday roast isn’t your thing, the menu also has other great choices such as burgers, some tasty starters and a dessert menu you simply have to save room for. Enjoy a traditional Sunday roast at The Drift accompanied by the gorgeous New Forest views when you join us.