Pot Roast
The idea of a pot roast is to extract the flavours of a piece of meat by slow cooking while also including all the ingredients for a complete meal in one pot. The two hours needed to cook the meat will warm the kitchen during winter and provide a hearty evening meal.
Ingredients
- 80mL olive oil
- iece of chuck steak, left whole (will resemble a roasting piece)
- 2 onions, diced
- 1 carrot, diced
- 1 stick celery, diced
- 6 cloves of garlic, left whole
- 2 rashers bacon, sliced (optional)
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 sprigs of thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon peppercorns
- 300mL red wine
- 3 carrots
- 2 parsnips, sliced
- 2 turnips, sliced
- 12 small potatoes, left whole
Method
Sprinkle the meat with some freshly ground pepper and salt. Heat the oil in a large, heavy based saucepan which has a tight fitting lid. Brown meat on each side and remove from the pan. Add to the pot the chopped onions, carrots, celery and bacon, in the same juices. Add the garlic, herbs and peppercorns for further flavour. Splash in the red wine and water (so there’s about 2.5cm (1″) of liquid in the bottom), stir and return the meat to the pot. Cover the saucepan, lower the heat and cook gently for 11/2 hours, checking the water level after 30 minutes. There should be about 2.5cm (1″) of liquid in the pot so it won’t stick. Check the liquid level regularly. After an hour, turn the meat over and add the potatoes, carrots, parsnips and turnips. Cover and cook for a further 40 minutes, checking the liquid level regularly.
Tip: To check if the meat is cooked pierce with a fork to check for tenderness.