How to rustle it up yourself

READY meals are a handy option but the best Sunday roast you’ll get is one you’ve cooked yourself, according to awardwinning chef Mark Greenaway.

Mark, who appeared on the Great British Menu and runs his own restaurant in Edinburgh, told The Sunday Post: “Cooking a roast for one person is obviously quite expensive both in terms of money and time, so ready meals are convenient unless you’re hosting a large group.

“However, in my opinion, they vary from extremely bad to not too bad. The best roast is one you rustle up yourself.

“It’s probably cheaper per head, tastier – and you’ll know exactly what’s in it. You also can’t beat a meal cooked from fresh ingredients.

“Make friends with your local butcher who can advise what’s most affordable for you, what cut you need and how to cook it.

“And then it’s a one-tray wonder. Put your meat in to cook for a while, add potatoes, carrots, an onion and any other veg. When the meat is cooked, remove it and roast the veg in the juices.

“Then remove the veg, add water and wine, reduce, throw in a potato to thicken the sauce and you have a fantastic, tasty gravy. Make your own Yorkshire puddings with flour, milk and eggs – and voila!

“A good free-range chicken and all the trimmings will cost about £15, and that will feed four to six people so it’s around £3 a head.

“If you know you will have leftover meat, deliberately cook extra veg and freeze some portions for next Sunday.

“If it’s beef, add a bit of puff pastry for a steak pie. Or with chicken, make nachos or fajitas.

“Cooking is all about confidence. You might burn things the first time, but the second time will be better and by the fourth or fifth, you’ll have mastered it. “Lots of people are scared of it, but the reality is that the more you practise, the better you’ll be.”