Who says Nandos is just for chicken ?!

Sundays go hand in hand with long lie ins, late breakfasts, staying in your pyjama's for as long as possible and most importantly a good old roast dinner. I don't know about you but a sunday without a roast of some form is just criminal.

With that said a roast isn't always possible when you've kids running crazy around the house or are desperately (is it just me ?)  trying to catch up with the mound of laundry and ironing. This is a recipe that really requires hardly and prep at all, and cooks away slowly while you can get on with whatever else needs doing..  Or if your anything like myself .. plonk yourself on the sofa and do as little as possible !!




To serve a family of 4 for you will need :
2- 2 1/2 kg lamb shoulder
2 sachets of Nandos garlic & herb seasoning (medium hot)
100ml olive oil
fresh rosemary sprigs*
2 medium red onions

• Start by preheating your oven at 200c, (fan assisted) then in a small bowl combine the 2 sachets with the olive oil and stir together and put aside.
• Take the lamb shoulder and lightly score all the top and underside. Take the garlic marinade, pour over the shoulder and rub in well with your hands, making sure you get into the scored cuts.
• Take the rosemary sprigs and tuck into a few of the cuts on top and the underside
• Cover the lamb with foil and place in the oven and leave for 2 hours
• After 2 hours, remove the foil from over the lamb**, add in 2 roughly chopped onions. Lower the heat down to 150c and place back in the oven for a further 3 hours
• The lamb now should be golden and fully roasted. Remove from the oven, recover with the foil and leave to rest for at least 10 minutes.
• Serve with your favourite roast veg, my easy peasy yorkies and gravy  … and lashings of gravy 

Yorkies and Gravy

What's better than a home made roast ? It's a home made roast with home made gravy AND yorkshire puddings .. both of these go perfect with my roast lamb shoulder, the recipe which is here

If you're one of those that thinks gravy and yorkies are a bit of a mission, i promise you not.


To make 6-8 yorkshire puddings you will need:

100g plain flour
2 eggs
100ml milk
pinch of salt and pepper
oil oil

• Preheat your oven on full *
• In a 12 hole cupcake/muffin tin, pour about a tablespoon of oil into each hole
• Place the tray into the oven for the oil to heat up for about 10 minutes - the oil needs to be bubbling hot.
• Whisk together the milk & eggs and add in a pinch of salt and pepper.
• In a bowl, place the flour and make a well. Slowly pour the milk into the flour whilst continously whisking. You should end up with a smooth batter. If there are any lumps, continue to whisk for a further couple of minutes
• Carefully remove the muffin tray from the oven and pour in the batter into each hole evenly. Try to be as quick, but careful, as you can. 
• Lower the heat to 250c and place the tray back in the oven, leave for 25-30 minutes. Do not open the door until the yorkies have almost doubled in size and are golden brown in colour. 

To make the gravy you will need :

Roasting juice from the roasting dish
1 tablespoon of flour
350-400ml of stock

• Start by removing your roasted meat or poultry from the roasting dish and placing aside. Place the dish on a low heat over your cooker.
• Remove excess bits of fat as you'll end up with a rather heavy and greasy gravy, scrape the juices  and bits off the tin with a wooden spoon and you should see the juice begin to simmer
• Add in the tablespoon of flour and mix and stir continuously and you should end up with a paste like consistency
• Slowly pour in the stock, again continuously stirring. Keep stirring till the flour and stock have combined together. Leave to simmer for a couple of minutes to thicken. 
• If after a couple of minutes the mixture is too thick, add in some more stock or even just a little water. If it's too runny for your liking, leave for a few more minutes. Season with a little salt and pepper

Quick style, but just as fab roast chicken, with all the trimmings

It's been a few weeks since my last blog. I've been so busy between housework, kids appointments, and the general madness of a hectic household my blogging's been neglected. 

Whilst the kids are now occupied with their collection of bricks & have got their dad joining in, I wanted to get this blog down.

On a Sunday I absolutely love nothing more than a good old roast with the trimmings, and it's a brilliant way for me to get the kids into eating their vegetables- they aren't keen on them when  just boiled, but roasted in the oven with herbs & a little bit of spice, they will wolf them down.

so today I'm posting the recipe for the lunch we've just polished off- with some sent off to my mum & baby sister in law . (she's 27 but the youngest out of us lot, so sorry Sadaf if you're reading this)

I love this recipe for roast as it's a variation that cuts a few corners, with the use of Nando's seasoning, really doesn't require too much effort & tastes just as good as a version that may take you hours 

 To serve between 4-6 people you'll need the following :

2 medium chickens cut in half/ quarters
2 sachets of Nandos BBQ Seasoning
1 sachet of Nandos Hot seasoning
2 sachets of Nando's Lemon & Herb seasoning
5 Large potatoes 
3 large parsnips 
1 large sweet potato 
a good handful of sprouts
3 large carrots 

•  I normally start by placing the chicken in large bowl, then I add enough olive oil to just coat the chicken, and then add in the BBQ & Hot Nando's seasoning.* with my  hands, then mix the chicken together and make sure all the chicken is coated well with the seasoning. 
• I'll leave the chicken in the fridge for at least 2 hours to marinate**
• I then peel the potatoes, sweet potatoes, parsnips & carrots and chop into chunks/quarters, don't worry about them being all the same size & perfectly cut, it's much easier & quicker than trying to make them all look perfect.
• To get the veg crispy on the outside, I tend to par boil my veg so it's just slightly softened, drain them from the water, then put them in a roasting dish, add the sprouts & pour in a few tablespoons of olive oil and then coat with the Nandos lemon & Herb seasoning.
• To roast the chicken, I preheat the  oven to 200 C, remove the chicken from the fridge and place it in my roasting dish & cover with foil. I put in the oven for an about and hour & a half.
• Half way through I take the foil off, turn the pieces over and let  the chicken crisp up, & then place the veg in the oven.
• To make sure the veg doesn't catch or over cook, I give them a toss around when they've been in the oven for about 30 minutes.
• I'll then serve the chicken & veg with good old yorkshires & lots of gravy

So that's my quick style, but just as fab roast chicken, with the trimmings - I hope you'll give it a go and let me know what you think or let me know of your own variations so I can give it a go. 

* I normally buy the seasoning from my local Asda, but I'm sure the other large supermarkets will sell it too

** If I'm in a real rush for time, I'll leave the chicken for the minimum 2 hours, leaving it overnight is best as it gives more time for the seasoning to do it's job