Traditional Pot Roast with Winter Vegetables

Recently we took a look at a recipe for a fall and winter classic, the Yankee Pot Roast. Today we are going to revisit the pot roast with another look at how to make this great dish that is so perfect to enjoy at the end of a cold day.




As with the Yankee Pot Roast recipe, here we will be doing our roast on the stove-top in a Dutch Oven.


This recipe works best for one of the cheaper oven beef roasts, like a chuck or blade roast, in the 3-5 pound range. These benefit from longer cooking times.

Your first step is to take out the roast and season it liberally (or to taste) with salt and pepper. Then rub 4 cloves of minced garlic into the roast all over. Let the roast sit for 30 minutes at room temperature.

Over medium high heat, heat some olive oil in the bottom of your oven and then brown the roast on all sides 3-4 minutes a side.

When the roast is browned you want to add one packet of the large-sized dry onion soup mixes (like Lipton or Knorr make) but instead of using the 4 cups of water generally called for you mix it with 4 cups of beef broth. Let the the roast sit in the centre of this and bring to a boil. Then lower the heat and simmer the roast, top on the Dutch Oven, for 2 1/2 hours. You should check periodically to make sure you have good simmer going but that it is not boiling.

At this point you want to add your chopped vegetables. While the Yankee Pot Roast uses only red potato and carrot, here you use whatever you want and have at hand. Red, Yukon Gold or Russet potatoes, squash, carrots, turnips, zucchini, sweet potato -- any of these work and should added to the broth chopped up rustically.

Bring to a boil again and again lower heat and simmer, top on covered, for another 30 minutes or until the vegetables are done to your liking.

This produces an exceptionally moist roast with delicious side vegetables in a hearty onion broth.

Goes well with mashed or "smashed" potatoes, rice or buttered egg noodles and, of course, a good red wine.

Enjoy,

See also: Simmered Sirloin Tip Steak with a Mushroom Gravy 

See also: Ukrainian "Scalloped Beef" Revisited