Bubbie's Pot Roast*

*I'm told that my jewish grandmother was actually a pretty terrible cook, so this isn't necessarily my bubbie's pot roast, because that wouldn't be so good. Rather, this is just a pot roast anybody's grandmother could be proud of.

Other than pumpkin flavored things, nothing says fall quite like slow cooked meats. This is a recipe I developed in my head last weekend, though I don't think it's anything groundbreaking. It's pretty simple really. The only thing I would stress is to use a chuck roast because it has enough fat and connective tissue to hold up to the long cooking.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 - 3 lbs. Chuck Roast
1 bottle (750ml) red wine (whatever you like)
1/2 cup crushed tomatoes
1 large onion chopped
2 large idaho potatoes cut in 1/2 in cubes
2 cups baby carrots
salt and pepper
parsley for garnish
2 tablespoons olive oil

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Let the roast sit out on the counter for half an hour before cooking. Room temperature meat browns better than cold meat. Also, do not salt the meat, it prevents browning. Heat a heavy bottomed skillet on high heat until it's quite hot. Add the olive oil and carefully lay down the roast in the pan. Turn the heat down to medium-high. Brown thoroughly on both sides, about 5 minutes a side. Remove the meat to a 13'' by 9'' baking dish, add salt and pepper to taste.



In the same pan, drain any excess fat and lightly saute the onions until translucent.



Add the bottle of red wine and scrape any of the little brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Bring the mixture to a simmer and add the crushed tomatoes and salt and pepper to taste (~1 1/2 tbsp. salt). Pour this mixture over the meat in the baking dish.



Cover with foil and bake for 2.5 hours. Add the carrots and potatoes and cook for another 30-40mins until they are tender. Remove from the oven and put the roast on a cutting board. Remove the vegetables to another dish. Strain the cooking liquid through a colander or sieve into a medium sized sauce pot. Allow a few minutes for the fat to rise to the top and skim it off with a teaspoon. Simmer the mixture on low for 10 minutes or until it reduces by a third. Slice the roast, serve it over the vegetables and spoon on the reduced sauce. Garnish with parsley, if like.



Boom. Pot Roast.