Beef Pot Roast

On a snowy day there is nothing better than a nice hot meal! Luckily I planned ahead and bought a chuck roast to make this dinner. The vegetables are perfect for little kids because they are soft and easy to eat (I even gave them to my 8 month old daughter and she loved it!!). I got this recipe from "The Art of Simple Food" by Alice Waters.

3 lbs beef chuck roast

kosher salt

freshly ground pepper

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp flour

Part 1:

2 onions (or 1 onion and 1 leek), peeled and cut into large pieces

1 carrot, peeled and cut into large pieces

2 celery stalks, cut into large pieces

3 garlic cloves, halved

a couple thyme sprigs

1 bay leaf

1/2 cup red wine

water

Part 2:

5 carrots, peeled and cut into pieces

3 celery stalks, cut into pieces

1/2 lb fingerling potatoes

Season, overnight or a couple hours in advance, the beef chuck roast, with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate until an hour before cooking. Heat a Dutch oven and add olive oil. Place roast in pan and brown each side for 3-4 minutes per side. Add butter and sprinkle each side with flour, then brown for another 3 minutes per side. Then add "Part 1" to the pan. Add enough water to come almost to top of the meat. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Cover and adjust heat to maintain a slow simmer. Cook about 2 1/2 hours until meat is tender. While pot roast is simmering, cook in a separate sauce pan of boiling, salted water the Part 2 veggies.

When the pot roast is cooked, take it out of the liquid and strain the cooking liquid, pressing down with the back of a spoon to extract all the juices from the veggies left in the strainer. Discard the veggies. Allow the liquid to settle and skim the fat off. Return the liquid to the pot, slice the roast and add it to the pot, then also add the Part 2 cooked veggies. Bring to a simmer and serve hot.