Best Pot Roast Ever with Roasted Vegetables

The key to making a perfectly tender pot roast is to season it liberally with garlic, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper; brown it deeply and thoroughly before adding liquid; and braise it in the oven at 275°in a rich beef broth with some sprigs of fresh herbs to build great flavor. Cook the roast as long and as slow as you can until it is tender and delicious. That’s it – it’s that simple.

While the roast is getting tender and delicious, roast some potatoes, onions, shallots, garlic, carrots, brussel sprouts, squash and bell peppers separately with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and fresh herbs for a delicious side dish. The vegetables taste better that way, and so does the gravy around the roast. The recipe follows. If you want to keep things very simple, you can add some carrots and potatoes during the last half hour of cooking to the simmering broth around the roast to create a delicious meal in one dish. So easy and so good!

Ingredients:

4 pound pot roast, at room temperature
3 or 4 cloves of garlic cut into slivers
¼ cup flour
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
2 to 3 tablespoons good olive oil
2 cups rich beef stock
½ cup red wine or dry Marsala wine (optional)

Preheat oven to 275°.

With a small knife make numerous small slits in the roast and insert slivers of garlic in the slits. Then coat both sides of the roast in a mixture of flour, sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Add enough olive oil to cover the bottom of a heavy pot and sear the roast on all sides to seal in the juices. Take the time to build up a nice brown crust. Next add the wine, the broth and enough water to cover the roast. Put the roast in the oven and keep temperature at a steady 275 ° while the roast becomes very tender. For a 3-pound roast, allow for 3 to 3 1/2 hours. For a 5-pound roast, allow for a 4 to 5 hour cooking time During the last hour of cooking, remove the lid, turn the roast over, then replace the lid and continue cooking in the slow oven.

When enough time has elapsed check the roast for doneness. A fork should go in easily and the meat should be very tender and delicious. Turn the oven off, place the roast in a serving dish, and cover loosely with foil. Place the roast in the warm oven while you finish the sauce.

Skim as much fat off the sauce as possible and turn the heat up to reduce the liquid in the pan. When the liquid is reduced by half, mix ¼ cup flour and ¾ cup water in a jar and shake well to mix. Pour this into the sauce and stir with a whisk to blend and cook for a few minutes. Adjust for salt and pepper to taste. Move the roasted meat to a cutting board and slice against the grain. Pour the finished sauce over the sliced roast. Garnish with fresh parsley roughly chopped and serve with the roasted vegetables.

Oven Roasted Vegetables:

2-3 yellow onions peeled and quartered
1 large red onion peeled and roughly chopped
3 or 4 shallots peeled and roughly chopped
3 or 4 cloves of garlic peeled and roughly chopped
4-5 large carrots peeled and chopped into large pieces
3-4 large potatoes peeled and cut into large pieces
1 cup of brussel sprouts cleaned and cut in half
1 cup zucchini or squash cut into bite size pieces
1 cup sliced bell peppers
2 – 3 tablespoons good olive oil (use oil infused with fresh rosemary if you have it)
¼ cup of balsamic vinegar
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 sprig of fresh thyme, leaves stripped off the stems or 1 teaspoon of dried thyme
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary, leaves stripped off the stems, or 1 teaspoon of dried rosemary

Place all the vegetables in a large pan and toss with the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. Use fresh herbs if you have them. Spread the vegetables out into a single layer and roast in a hot 450° oven for 30 to 45 minutes until vegetables are fork tender. Serve with the sliced pot roast.