italian pot roast with rosemary and fennel
Need some comfort food? It's 6 more weeks of winter, and I feel like we are deep in it. Thankfully a warm Sunday meal (and leftovers) is easier than you might think.
Not just any Sunday meal-- the best and most flavorful pot roast I've ever eaten. Onion, carrot, fennel, and rosemary flavor the broth for low-and-slow cooking of an inexpensive chuck roast. It's easy and budget-friendly.
Yes, I said fennel. I know you don't think you like fennel. I don't really either. So I scaled it back in this recipe, and I promise it makes a world of delicious difference. Do the fennel. You won't notice a licorice flavor, just something special.
It's an Italian twist on pot roast that I borrowed from Giada's recipe and simplified a bit for, you know, real people. (I'll spare you the details of trying to use cipollini onions the way she does. Dear God, life is too short. Use regular onions.) It's the perfect thing for cozying up on the couch for the Olympics. Or serving the whole family at Sunday supper.
I think it brings out the best in homecooking. The ingredients are cheap-- except maybe the sherry and fennel depending on where you live-- so do yourself a favor and make a lot. Buy the best quality meat, stock, and organic vegetables you can find. Simple and high-quality ingredients will make this dish even better. I was lucky enough to find homemade beef stock from a local butcher (partially thawed in the picture above), which does wonders to help thicken and flavor the gravy.
Oh yeah, the gravy. There's a secret in this, guys: the body of the gravy comes from the vegetables. Instead of tolerating the uninspired, overcooked party-crashers hanging around when the meat is done braising for 4 hours, this recipe transforms the vegetables into a delicious, hearty gravy. Yup, hidden vegetables, flavorful gravy. The blender is the genius of Giada's recipe.
Mashed potatoes are the classic, rib-sticking accompaniment to pot roast. But you'll be just as well-served with a root vegetable mash, some egg noodles, or my favorite -- slightly sweet, roasted spaghetti squash. With extra gravy, please. (More on spaghetti squash later, if you're interested.)
The recipe for your Sunday supper follows.
Italian Pot Roast with Rosemary and Fennel
Adapted from Giada De Laurentiis
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1 teaspoon dried thyme (or more fresh)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 5-lb beef chuck roast (Note: bigger is better, but sometimes harder to find. If you can only find smaller roasts, go ahead and buy two. You can still pull this off.)
1/4 cup olive oil
2 sweet yellow onions, peeled and chopped
3 carrots, peeled and chopped into 1-inch pieces
1 medium fennel bulb, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
6 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
1 cup dry sherry
4 cups beef broth
2 dried bay leaves
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Combine first five ingredients into an herb rub. Pat the beef dry and cover with the herb rub.
Heat a large dutch oven over medium-high heat and add 1/4 cup olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Brown the meat on all sides, being patient and turning as needed with tongs, about 10 minutes. Remove the browned beef and set aside.
Add the chopped vegetables to the pan. Season with a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often with a wooden spoon, about 6 minutes until tender. Add the garlic and sherry, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to get all the brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Add the broth and the bay leaves.
Carefully add the beef back to the liquid in the pot. Bring liquid just to a boil.
Note: Before covering your pot with the lid, cut a square of parchment paper large enough to cover the top of your dutch oven underneath the lid. It should hang over the sides just a bit. This will protect the underside of your lid from getting browned or scorched while cooking-- trust me, you'll see! Foil is okay, too, if that's all you have, but parchment paper will allow a little more steam to escape in the same way the lid would on it sown.
Cover the pot with the lid and transfer to the oven. Cook for 4 hours, turning the meat half way through, until very tender. The meat should be at least half-way covered in liquid while it is cooking. If too much steam escapes, add a little more broth to keep the meat covered and moist while it is cooking.
Remove the beef from the pot and allow to sit for 10 minutes. As the cooking liquid cools, skim as much fat from the top as you can with a large spoon. Using an immersion blender, blend the cooking liquid and vegetables until thick and smooth to make gravy. You could also do this in an upright blender, of course, being careful when transferring the very hot mixture. Season gravy with salt and pepper, if needed. Keep warm for serving.
Cut the pot roast into large chunks to your liking. Serve with spaghetti squash and lots of gravy.
A note about spaghetti squash:
I've tried a hundred ways to cook it: microwave, crock pot, oven-roasted, whole, cut lengthwise, cut crosswise, and so on. They are all fine. Spaghetti squash will not let you down.
My favorite way is to cut the spaghetti squash cross-wise (the shorter way!). It's so much easier to cut. Scoop out the seeds and stringy stuff inside. Season with salt and pepper, whatever else you like, then place face down in a baking dish with a teensy bit of water to avoid scorching your dish. Roast in the oven at 375 for about 45 minutes, depending on the size of the squash, until it gives a lot when pinched with tongs. Flip the halves back over, cool slightly, and use a fork to remove the strands.
Finally, a cautionary tale. Do not add the water after the spaghetti squash is already cooking in a hot pyrex dish in the oven. No no. Oven explosion.
Not just any Sunday meal-- the best and most flavorful pot roast I've ever eaten. Onion, carrot, fennel, and rosemary flavor the broth for low-and-slow cooking of an inexpensive chuck roast. It's easy and budget-friendly.
Yes, I said fennel. I know you don't think you like fennel. I don't really either. So I scaled it back in this recipe, and I promise it makes a world of delicious difference. Do the fennel. You won't notice a licorice flavor, just something special.
It's an Italian twist on pot roast that I borrowed from Giada's recipe and simplified a bit for, you know, real people. (I'll spare you the details of trying to use cipollini onions the way she does. Dear God, life is too short. Use regular onions.) It's the perfect thing for cozying up on the couch for the Olympics. Or serving the whole family at Sunday supper.
I think it brings out the best in homecooking. The ingredients are cheap-- except maybe the sherry and fennel depending on where you live-- so do yourself a favor and make a lot. Buy the best quality meat, stock, and organic vegetables you can find. Simple and high-quality ingredients will make this dish even better. I was lucky enough to find homemade beef stock from a local butcher (partially thawed in the picture above), which does wonders to help thicken and flavor the gravy.
Oh yeah, the gravy. There's a secret in this, guys: the body of the gravy comes from the vegetables. Instead of tolerating the uninspired, overcooked party-crashers hanging around when the meat is done braising for 4 hours, this recipe transforms the vegetables into a delicious, hearty gravy. Yup, hidden vegetables, flavorful gravy. The blender is the genius of Giada's recipe.
Mashed potatoes are the classic, rib-sticking accompaniment to pot roast. But you'll be just as well-served with a root vegetable mash, some egg noodles, or my favorite -- slightly sweet, roasted spaghetti squash. With extra gravy, please. (More on spaghetti squash later, if you're interested.)
The recipe for your Sunday supper follows.
Adapted from Giada De Laurentiis
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1 teaspoon dried thyme (or more fresh)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 5-lb beef chuck roast (Note: bigger is better, but sometimes harder to find. If you can only find smaller roasts, go ahead and buy two. You can still pull this off.)
1/4 cup olive oil
2 sweet yellow onions, peeled and chopped
3 carrots, peeled and chopped into 1-inch pieces
1 medium fennel bulb, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
6 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
1 cup dry sherry
4 cups beef broth
2 dried bay leaves
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Combine first five ingredients into an herb rub. Pat the beef dry and cover with the herb rub.
Heat a large dutch oven over medium-high heat and add 1/4 cup olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Brown the meat on all sides, being patient and turning as needed with tongs, about 10 minutes. Remove the browned beef and set aside.
Add the chopped vegetables to the pan. Season with a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often with a wooden spoon, about 6 minutes until tender. Add the garlic and sherry, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to get all the brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Add the broth and the bay leaves.
Carefully add the beef back to the liquid in the pot. Bring liquid just to a boil.
Note: Before covering your pot with the lid, cut a square of parchment paper large enough to cover the top of your dutch oven underneath the lid. It should hang over the sides just a bit. This will protect the underside of your lid from getting browned or scorched while cooking-- trust me, you'll see! Foil is okay, too, if that's all you have, but parchment paper will allow a little more steam to escape in the same way the lid would on it sown.
Cover the pot with the lid and transfer to the oven. Cook for 4 hours, turning the meat half way through, until very tender. The meat should be at least half-way covered in liquid while it is cooking. If too much steam escapes, add a little more broth to keep the meat covered and moist while it is cooking.
Remove the beef from the pot and allow to sit for 10 minutes. As the cooking liquid cools, skim as much fat from the top as you can with a large spoon. Using an immersion blender, blend the cooking liquid and vegetables until thick and smooth to make gravy. You could also do this in an upright blender, of course, being careful when transferring the very hot mixture. Season gravy with salt and pepper, if needed. Keep warm for serving.
Cut the pot roast into large chunks to your liking. Serve with spaghetti squash and lots of gravy.
A note about spaghetti squash:
I've tried a hundred ways to cook it: microwave, crock pot, oven-roasted, whole, cut lengthwise, cut crosswise, and so on. They are all fine. Spaghetti squash will not let you down.
My favorite way is to cut the spaghetti squash cross-wise (the shorter way!). It's so much easier to cut. Scoop out the seeds and stringy stuff inside. Season with salt and pepper, whatever else you like, then place face down in a baking dish with a teensy bit of water to avoid scorching your dish. Roast in the oven at 375 for about 45 minutes, depending on the size of the squash, until it gives a lot when pinched with tongs. Flip the halves back over, cool slightly, and use a fork to remove the strands.
Finally, a cautionary tale. Do not add the water after the spaghetti squash is already cooking in a hot pyrex dish in the oven. No no. Oven explosion.
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