Italian Pot Roast

I love a traditional pot roast made with root vegetables and a beef sauce that can easily be turned into beef stew. My mom makes an incredible pot roast that I have been trying to copy for years. I’ve watched her make it time and time again but for some reason I just can’t make pot roast like my mom. Of course, my mom makes her pot roast from scratch and “just knows” what goes in it. If only I could cook like that!

This recipe has been a saving grace in my life, at least when it comes to pot roast. I have one or two more pot roast recipes that I turn to as well. I enjoy this recipe because it’s surprisingly light. I prep this in the morning before going to work and I come home to meal I don’t have to fuss over at all. I know most people look at a slow cooker as something you can just throw and bunch of ingredients into and it magically makes dinner. This is true, most of the time. This recipe is worth the little extra time and effort it takes to prep everything for cooking.

I have found that the author of this cookbook loves to use whole spices. I normally don’t. For this recipe, and many others in the cookbook, I use my already ground spices and guesstimate how much I will need. I have yet to find a pot roast with a bone in it. Maybe I’m not looking hard enough, or maybe they just don’t cut meat that way in my part of the country. Either way, this roast does just as well without a bone but you may need to adjust your cooking time. I cook the roast for about 6 hours and the meat is very tender and falls apart.

Good rule of thumb to go by – only use wine in recipes that you would drink at the table. I’ve seen where people use wine that they would drink as ingredients for their food and it astounds me. You will be eating that wine so make sure it’s good. In fact, if you have wine left over from a recipe, finish the bottle with your meal!

This pot roast is delicious serve over polenta. Herbed roasted potatoes are a good option if you don’t mind turning on your oven. Mashed potatoes would be yummy as well.

1 cinnamon stick, broken into pieces

4 whole cloves

3 allspice berries

6 black peppercorns

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 ½ lbs. beef pot roast, trimmed of excess fat

1 yellow onion, finely chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 celery stalks, sliced

2 carrots, peeled and sliced

1 cup hearty red wine

1 (28oz) can crushed tomatoes

Salt

Chopped fresh parsley for garnish

Combine the cinnamon, cloves, allspice and peppercorns in a mortar or coffee grinder and grind to a fine powder. Heat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat and add the oil. Add the meat and cook, turning, for 10-15 minutes, until browned on all sides. Using tongs, transfer to the slow cooker.  Add the onion to the sauté pan and sauté, stirring frequently, for 10 minutes, or until lightly browned. Add the garlic, celery and carrots and sauté for 3-4 minutes, until lightly browned. Add the spice mixture and cook for 2 minutes. Add the red wine and cook for about 10 minutes, until reduced by one third. Stir in the crushed tomatoes and salt to taste. Pour the sauce over the meat in the slow cooker.  Cover and cook on low for about 8 hours, until the meat falls away from the bone. Transfer to a warmed serving dish and garnish with parsley. Serve immediately.

The Gourmet Slow Cooker – Lynn Alley