LUCY BURDETTE: I’m going to guess that it still feels like winter for a lot of you. This is the kind of recipe that can soothe you through the shoulder season! It easily serves four and is fancy enough to serve guests. The original recipe came from Florence Fabricant at the New York Times, but this is my version with tweaks. You’ll really be happy if you start this dish a day ahead of when you plan to serve. This way you give the flavors a chance to mix and mingle, and you can also skim off any unwanted fat.
Ingredients
One 2 1/2 to 3 pound roast (I used chuck roast)
3 Carrots
4 stalks celery
4 Onions
1-2 cloves garlic
One to 2 tablespoons tomato paste
One 14-oz can plum tomatoes in juice
1/4 cup sliced basil
Salt and pepper, to taste
Salt and pepper the meat and brown it in some olive oil. Remove it from the pan and set aside.
To the pan with the brown bits add the chopped carrots, onions, celery, and garlic. Cook that until soft and beginning to brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook that for a minute or two. Add in the can of tomatoes. Stir well and return the roast meat to the pan.
Simmer this on low for about three hours, turning the meat over several times. Refrigerate covered overnight.
The next day, remove the meat from the pan and slice it thinly. Scrape off any obvious fat from the sauce. Trim any fatty or grizzly bits from the slices and nestle them back into the sauce. Cover and heat in the oven at 350 for at least half an hour.
Serve with mashed potatoes, although egg noodles would be delicious and so would polenta!
USA Today bestselling author Lucy Burdette writes the Key West food critic mystery series including A POISONOUS PALATE and A CLUE IN THE CRUMBS. Join her mailing list right here.
Coming July 14--isn't it gorgeous?
Thank you for the Italian Pot Roast recipe! It evokes memories of my childhood in what us kids called roast in red gravy. Living on an Army base among many nationalities, my mom was taught many different dishes. On of the neighbors was a little Italian woman who taught mom how to make lasagna. I can that she might have been the one to show mom this dish as well.
ReplyDeleteThanks for my trip down memory lane and for a recipe I can make from my childhood.
2clowns at arkansas dot net
oh my gosh, now I want that lasagna!!
DeleteThis looks so good, Lucy! I agree that it will be even more amazing the next day.
ReplyDeleteit's almost always true, isn't it?
DeleteOh my, this looks delicious and as anything with tomatoes, I like it more day 2. I might even have a chuck roast in the freezer, hmmm! Thanks.
ReplyDeleteYou're all set, enjoy!
DeleteStew looks expensive to make. I'd be happy to have a glass of mango juice and read Mango Murders
ReplyDelete:)
DeleteThis looks delicious, and I like your tip about making the day before in order to easily remove the fat and let the flavors meld.
ReplyDeletethanks Kim
DeleteYes, dishes like this always have more taste the next day.
ReplyDeleteLooks like a perfect cure for the chillwave that's coming in a few days.
Oh, Lucy, adding this to my recipe collection! And in New England we could still be serving this in April!
ReplyDeleteThat looks yummy.
ReplyDelete