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Thursday, March 12, 2009

Tuscan Pot Roast


Tuscan Pot Roast and a buttery baked potato.

I don't know what it is about roasts, but I like the idea of making them a lot. Maybe because we didn't have the American Family Sunday Roast Dinner like June Cleaver made for Wally and the Beav when I was a kid. Maybe because I like how the apartment feels all homey when I've got something slow-cooking in the oven. Maybe, just maybe, it's because I'm a glutton.

Tuscan Pot Roast

4 tsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 (3-lb.) boneless beef chuck roast (1 1/2 to 2 inches thick)
2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 tsp coarse salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Dash allspice
2 large onions, coarsely chopped
4 large garlic cloves, minced
3/4 c red wine or lower-sodium beef broth
1 (14.5-oz.) can diced tomatoes
1 bay leaf
1/3 c pitted Kalamata olives, halved lengthwise

Heat oven to 325ºF. Heat large skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add 2 teaspoons of the oil; heat until hot. Cook beef 4 to 6 minutes or until golden brown on all sides, reducing heat to medium if necessary.


Place beef in large ovenproof pot; sprinkle with rosemary, salt, pepper and allspice.


Add remaining 2 teaspoons oil to skillet; cook and stir onions 3 minutes. Add garlic; cook and stir 30 seconds or until fragrant.

Spoon onion mixture over beef.


Add wine or broth to skillet; boil over high heat 2 minutes or until wine or broth is reduced to 1/2 cup, stirring to scrape up any browned bits from bottom of skillet.


Pour over beef. Add tomatoes and bay leaf around beef. Cover; bring to a boil.


Bake 2 hours or until beef is fork-tender.


Remove beef; cover loosely with foil. Let stand 10 minutes; slice 1/2 inch thick.

Meanwhile, add olives to tomato mixture in pot. Bring to a boil; boil over high to medium-high heat 5 minutes or until slightly thickened (bottom of pot will begin to show while stirring).


Remove bay leaf. Spoon mixture over beef.

Ease: Fairly easy. The hardest part was chopping stuff. Once prep was done, it was just a matter of dumping the stuff together and getting it into the oven.

Time: 3 hours total, from prep to plate.

Taste: Not too bad. It reminded me a little bit of the honey and apple ribs because of the sauce on top of the meat action.

Cost:
  • boneless beef chuck roast: $5.85
  • fresh rosemary: $1.29
  • onions: $0.39/lb = $0.39
  • garlic, minced: $3.49/32 oz. = $0.02
  • lower-sodium beef broth: $0.50
  • diced tomatoes: $0.68
  • Kalamata olives: $3.99/6 oz. = $1
Total: $9.73 or $1.62/serving

Doin' it again? I don't know that it was so great that I'd go out of my way to do it again, but if I come across a hunk of beef on sale again and am in a cow-eating mood, sure.

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