Comfort Food 101: Pot Roast

Growing up, the easiest solution for weekday dinners in my family was pot roast. My mom would throw everything in the pot at 7 a.m. as we were all scrambling to find our backpacks and homework for school that morning. By 6:00 when dad was home, supper was on the table. And man, did it smell good! Mom's pot roast always included meat, potatoes and carrots. There was never an issue over not finishing this meal, mostly because of our healthy family competitions of who could eat all their food first. (Dad usually won.) This is a more grown up version of my mother's go-to meal, but nonetheless, delicious. It is classic beef pot roast, served with a carrot risotto.

I don't use exact measurements, but I'm a pretty good guesser ;)


For the roast:

Large Chuck Roast (inexpensive and great for low and slow cooking)
1/2 bottle of Pinot Noir
1 quart of unsalted beef stock (control your own salt)
1 bag of fresh carrots, washed and chopped
1 bag frozen pearl onions, thawed
1 bundle of thyme, tied with cooking string
Salt and pepper, to taste

Place a large, heavy bottomed pan on top of your stove and heat on medium-high. Add enough Extra Virgin Olive Oil to coat bottom of pan. While oil is heating, season your roast on both sides with salt and pepper. When oil is hot, sear beef on all sides until it has a golden brown crust on it. Remove meat from pan to rest. While meat is resting, deglaze the pan with wine and beef stock, getting all those yummy bits off the bottom. Bring to boil, then reduce to simmer, and place meat back in pan. Add the chopped carrots, thyme bundle and thawed onions. Cover and remain on low heat for 4-5 hours.

Carrot puree:

Remove cooked carrots and onions from beef pot and place in blender with 1 cup of cooking liquid and 1/4 cup red wine. Blend until smooth.


Risotto:

1-1/2 cups Arborio Rice
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
Carrot puree
Hot beef stock

Place large non-stick skillet on medium heat and add olive oil. Add rice to pan, and coat with olive oil. Once coated, add a ladleful of puree to rice and stir continuously until rice has absorbed most of the carrot. Then add 1 ladleful of hot stock, and stir until liquid is absorbed. Repeat for about 20 minutes, or until rice is tender and risotto has a creamy consistency.


Hope you try this recipe and enjoy it as much as my family did tonight! Leave a comment and let me know how it went!!!