Pot Roast!
The rain continued on Sunday. I had a nice, fresh loaf of sourdough bread (that the dogs wound up pulling off the counter after dinner, mind you), I had just gone out and beat a bunch of nerds up, I was cold, I was wet, and I was in the mood for some comfort food. Luckily, I had thought ahead and had a pot roast going before I headed out.
Yes, it's not the prettiest picture in the world. It's hard to dress up what is essentially a deconstructed stew. However, it's certainly delicious, and it's oh-so-easy to make. Plus, the gravy was excellent sopped up with some sourdough bread.
Historical Accuracy: Pot roast, in and of itself, is a uniquely American thing. However, it bears such strong similarities to many other dishes from antiquity that it would be extraordinarily simple to "adapt" it to fit the mold--hence me including it here. Yes, I'm using a new world ingredient in the potato. You can totally swap that out for rutabagas or parsnips or whatever else floats your boat. Call it a 2/10 here with potential (with just a little work) to become 8/10. Funny how that works.
How's it Taste? Like home. Growing up, this was one of my favorite meals. I can never make it exactly the same way each time--I always have to experiment just a little bit. It's tender, fall-apart chunks of meat and root vegetables with a bunch of warm brown mushroomy, oniony gravy and so on. The dogs love it too--go figure.
Difficulty: This is, by far, the easiest "big meal" a person can make. You can make it in a slow cooker if you want. You can make it on the stove. I use a Dutch oven and then pop it into the oven when I'm done browning and sautéing everything (Ooh, cool, autocorrect made things fancy!). 1/10. You do have to peel vegetables.
Ingredients:
Yes, it's not the prettiest picture in the world. It's hard to dress up what is essentially a deconstructed stew. However, it's certainly delicious, and it's oh-so-easy to make. Plus, the gravy was excellent sopped up with some sourdough bread.
Historical Accuracy: Pot roast, in and of itself, is a uniquely American thing. However, it bears such strong similarities to many other dishes from antiquity that it would be extraordinarily simple to "adapt" it to fit the mold--hence me including it here. Yes, I'm using a new world ingredient in the potato. You can totally swap that out for rutabagas or parsnips or whatever else floats your boat. Call it a 2/10 here with potential (with just a little work) to become 8/10. Funny how that works.
How's it Taste? Like home. Growing up, this was one of my favorite meals. I can never make it exactly the same way each time--I always have to experiment just a little bit. It's tender, fall-apart chunks of meat and root vegetables with a bunch of warm brown mushroomy, oniony gravy and so on. The dogs love it too--go figure.
Difficulty: This is, by far, the easiest "big meal" a person can make. You can make it in a slow cooker if you want. You can make it on the stove. I use a Dutch oven and then pop it into the oven when I'm done browning and sautéing everything (Ooh, cool, autocorrect made things fancy!). 1/10. You do have to peel vegetables.
Ingredients:
1 large roast--I used beef chuck, but this will work with pork, lamb, or whatever. Don't waste your money on a really good roast for this, as the cooking time will ensure quality from a bad cut.
2 large potatoes (rutabagas/parsnips if you want accuracy)
6-8 large carrots
2 large white onions, chopped
1/2 cup chopped parsley
8 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 container sliced mushrooms
1 bunch celery, chopped
Cornmeal for thickening (if desired)
Beef stock to fill pot
Olive oil/schmaltz/lard for browning
Salt and Pepper to taste
Season the roast with salt and pepper, then brown nicely in the pan. Remove the meat and add the chopped onions, celery, and garlic, cooking until the onions go translucent (about 5-10 minutes). Add the parsley and mushrooms and cook for a few minutes to soften the mushrooms./
Return the meat to the pot and add potatoes and carrots. Fill pot with stock and bring to a boil. Once boiling, cover the pot and place in a 200F oven on a pan to catch any drips. Roast for 5-8 hours. Pull the meat and veggies from the pot (they will break apart) and reduce the liquid to gravy.
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