RICH WINTER POT ROAST

After 4 hours of slow cooking

Chuck Roast ready to be seared and braised

I love hearty comfort food on cold winter nights.  A pot roast cooking in the oven warms the whole house.  Not all pot roast recipes call for wine but to me a cup of red wine deepens the rich flavor of the dish.  You can certainly make it without if you prefer.  I also add red pepper flakes.  Not too many. Just enough for a hint of heat.  Also, I add potatoes for the last hour of cooking.  When I add the potatoes I add extra salt because a potato will absorb all of the salt out of a sauce.  (In fact a trick to keep up your sleeve is if you ever oversold something, you can put in a raw potato and it will take the salt right out.  Then discard the potato that wasn't intended for the dish.)

POT ROAST

3 to 3 1/2 pound Chuck Roast (some grocery stores will label it as pot roast or chuck pot roast)
1 teaspoon Kosher salt to season beef
2 tablespoons olive oil

2 medium size yellow onions, chopped
4 celery stalks
4 carrots, peeled and sliced a half-inch thick
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup red wine
4 cups water
2 bay leaves, optional
2 teaspoons Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes


options:
4 cups of quartered yukon gold or other potatoes
Additional teaspoon of Kosher salt if you add potatoes


Garnish with flat leaf parsley


I don't own a Dutch Oven so I kind of improvise by using one of my big heavy stock pots and then putting aluminum foil over the top to seal it in.  If you own a Dutch Oven that is the ideal pot to use for this dish.  You can also use a slow cooker but you'll need to increase the cooking time by an additional 3 hours.

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.

On top of the stove put your heavy duty large pot on high heat.  Season the meat with a 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt on each side.  Put 2 tablespoons of olive oil or canola oil in the hot pan.  Sear the meat until it is browned on both sides.  Remove the meat and set it on a platter or plan while you cook the onions.

Add the onions to the pot and add more oil if necessary.  Cook the onions for two minutes, stirring to get the browned bits off the bottom of the pot.  Add the celery and carrots and tomato paste.  Cook for two minutes so that that tomato paste completely coasts the vegetables and starts to caramelize a little in the pan.  Cooking the tomato paste on the vegetables this way creates a greater depth of flavor.

But the Beef back into the pot and pour in the red wine and water.  Add the bay leaves (optional), two teaspoons of kosher salt and a 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes.

Cover the pot with a lid or aluminum foil.  Place in the 325 oven.  Cook for two hours.  After two hours, turn the beef over in the pot.  Add more liquid if necessary but remember to add a half teaspoon salt for every cup of water you add.

After 3 hours of cooking add the potatoes if you wish.  If you add potatoes you will need to add an additional teaspoon of salt.

Cook for another 30 minutes to an hour.

Remove from oven and pull beef into chunks with two forks.  Portion Beef into bowls with potatoes and carrots and broth.  Garnish with freshly chopped parsley.

I like to serve this with a crunchy green salad with radishes, carrots and a buttermilk dill dressing.