Ginger Beer Roast

I stepped out of my car parked in the garage after a long, tiring day. I sniffed the air and smelled the heavenly aroma of roasting meat. Hmm, my neighbours are having a barbeque again, I thought.

As I walked closer to the front door, the aroma got stronger and by the time I got my keys out to open the door, my tastebuds were on overdrive and I really wasn't looking forward to calling our corner eats shop for another takeout. I opened my front door and this giant waft of deliciousness practically knocked me over. Holy tingling tastebuds! I believe it's coming from my own kitchen! I crossed my fingers as I proceeded ever so not patiently to where it's coming from. What a sight for sore eyes! And I don't mean the number of pots and pans piled up high in my kitchen sink.

My husband (gasp) cooking (gasp) dinner for me (gasp gasp)! Okay, okay, a little over dramatic but hey, he gets inspired ever so rarely. And when he does, it's usually a "MacGyver" dish. Who or what is MacGyver? Gosh, you gotta be really old or really young to have not watched this series. It's about this cute guy, Richard Dean Anderson, character name, MacGyver, secret agent, who kicks the butts of baddies and getting through difficult situations the non violent way by using just whatever he could find and being resourceful without using a gun. See:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacGyver.

And that was what my husband did.... no, not kick the butts of baddies...the MacGyver dish, remember? Well, he could kick some butt too if he wanted to but ..... anyway .... back to the subject...

He's a real meat and potatoes man, very much influenced by the days of Beano and Dandy comics (very British, the comics, I mean) and Desperate Dan and his cow pies ... no, not cow pies as in cow patties, but cow pies with the beef and the pastry complete with horns and tail. Check this out: http://www.dandy.com/Idols/30/dan

So, my meat and potatoes man with his MacGyver throw-together-whatever's-in-my-fridge-freezer-and-pantry dish. It's not fancy fine dining but it is good and satisfying....

a totally wholesome, farmhouse style dinner.

INGREDIENTS

500 g Rolled Roast of your choice

(he used topside)

A big handful of baby carrots, bite sized

1 large Fennel bulb, sliced into wedges

2 medium red onions, peeled

4 cloves Garlic, peeled and lightly crushed

3 - 4 waxy potatoes, scrubbed & quartered

2 sprigs Rosemary

1 cup Ginger Beer

1 tsp cornstarch + a little water

3 tbs Canola oil

Salt, pepper to taste

METHOD

Heat oil in a shallow oven proof pan. Lightly brown meat. Season to taste.

Remove from pan.

Throw in all vegetables in the same pan and toss to coat evenly. Season vegetables.

Place browned meat on top of vegetables.

Strip off rosemary leaves from stalk and sprinkle into pan. Alternatively, you can leave the rosemary on the stalks and remove before preparing the gravy.

Place uncovered in preheated oven at 150˚C for 45 mins for medium rare. Remove from oven. Put aside meat and vegetables. Deglaze pan with ginger beer. Thicken sauce with cornstarch mixture. Remove twine, carve and serve with gravy.