Reinventing the roast
A lunch-time cookery class offers some inspired ideas in place of traditional roast beef
A series of lunchtime cookery classes held by Divertimenti on Marylebone High Street is turning the conventional British roast on its head. "Reinventing the Roast" is a fun, sociable course that lives up to its name. The thirty or so of us women who attended the course (with the exception of one man hovering at the back) watched with mild awe as the chef, Marcia Barrington, turned out two exotic roast dinners in just under an hour. "The aim of the lunchtime sessions is to make delicious food very quickly," she explains.
First up is the pot roast poussin, sourced from Allen & Co butchers in Mayfair. The seasonal vegetables, from a supplier at New Covent Garden market, are prepared – a mix of carrots, onions and celery combined with garlic, fresh thyme, Pinot Noir wine and strips of orange and lemon zest. Poussin, a delicacy renowned for its succulence, can be bought inexpensively from a butchers or Waitrose and is a refreshing change from the traditional roast chicken. A nice touch to this dish is a blackcurrant and apple glaze that Marcia brushes over the poussin before placing in the oven with the vegetables. An import of New Zealand and stocked only at Divertimenti stores, the glaze has a sweet, natural flavour to it and can also be used as a salad dressing. Drizzled over the birds before and after cooking, the glaze is a key ingredient to this dish.