Italian Roast Beef with Tomatoes and Kalamata Olives
from Cooking Club of America
1 (2 1/2- to 3-lb.) boneless beef chuck roast
2 tsp coarse salt, divided
1/2 tsp black pepper, divided
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 c chopped onion
1 tbsp minced garlic
1/2 c red wine or lower-sodium beef broth
1 (28-oz.) can tomato puree
2 bay leaves
1/4 c packed chopped fresh basil
1 tsp dried oregano
Dash crushed red pepper
1/2 c halved pitted Kalamata olives
Sprinkle beef with 1 teaspoon of the salt and 1/4 teaspoon of the black pepper.
Heat large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat until hot. Add oil; heat until hot. Cook beef 10 to 12 minutes or until browned on all sides.
Remove beef; cover loosely with foil.
Cook onion in same pot over medium-low heat 8 to 10 minutes or until soft and golden brown, stirring occasionally. Add garlic; cook and stir 30 to 60 seconds or until fragrant.
Add wine or broth; increase heat to medium-high. Boil 1 minute. Add tomato puree, bay leaves, basil, oregano, crushed red pepper and remaining 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
.
Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low to low; simmer 15 minutes.
Return beef and any accumulated juices to pot; cook, covered, 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until beef is fork-tender, adjusting heat as necessary to maintain a gentle simmer.
The beef, not yet fork-tender was turned in the tomato puree mixture and cooked, covered, an additional 30 minutes.
Remove beef; cover loosely with foil.
Beef can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Reheat before serving.
Add olives to sauce; increase heat to medium. Boil, uncovered, 10 minutes or until slightly reduced and thickened.
Sauce can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Reheat before serving.
To save on fridge space, I put the beef right back in the Dutch oven with the sauce overnight. It looked like this 14 hours later:
I cut the beef into six equal portions and cut one portion into slices. The sliced portion was placed on an oven-proof plate and reheated in a 350°F oven until warmed, about 12 minutes.
I put a small portion of the sauce in a saucepan to reheat while the beef was in the oven. The warm beef was then topped with warm sauce. I consumed it with the baked polenta.
Coupling this beef with the Oven-Baked Polenta, in my opinion, was overkill in the rich department. The beefy sauce is quite hearty and having a side of cheesy, milky, polenta was too much for me. I have a feeling that a lot of this beef and even more of the polenta will go to waste, which sucks.
Cost:
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1 (2 1/2- to 3-lb.) boneless beef chuck roast
2 tsp coarse salt, divided
1/2 tsp black pepper, divided
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 c chopped onion
1 tbsp minced garlic
1/2 c red wine or lower-sodium beef broth
1 (28-oz.) can tomato puree
2 bay leaves
1/4 c packed chopped fresh basil
1 tsp dried oregano
Dash crushed red pepper
1/2 c halved pitted Kalamata olives
Sprinkle beef with 1 teaspoon of the salt and 1/4 teaspoon of the black pepper.
Heat large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat until hot. Add oil; heat until hot. Cook beef 10 to 12 minutes or until browned on all sides.
Remove beef; cover loosely with foil.
Cook onion in same pot over medium-low heat 8 to 10 minutes or until soft and golden brown, stirring occasionally. Add garlic; cook and stir 30 to 60 seconds or until fragrant.
Add wine or broth; increase heat to medium-high. Boil 1 minute. Add tomato puree, bay leaves, basil, oregano, crushed red pepper and remaining 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
.
Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low to low; simmer 15 minutes.
Return beef and any accumulated juices to pot; cook, covered, 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until beef is fork-tender, adjusting heat as necessary to maintain a gentle simmer.
The beef, not yet fork-tender was turned in the tomato puree mixture and cooked, covered, an additional 30 minutes.
Remove beef; cover loosely with foil.
Beef can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Reheat before serving.
Add olives to sauce; increase heat to medium. Boil, uncovered, 10 minutes or until slightly reduced and thickened.
Sauce can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Reheat before serving.
To save on fridge space, I put the beef right back in the Dutch oven with the sauce overnight. It looked like this 14 hours later:
I cut the beef into six equal portions and cut one portion into slices. The sliced portion was placed on an oven-proof plate and reheated in a 350°F oven until warmed, about 12 minutes.
I put a small portion of the sauce in a saucepan to reheat while the beef was in the oven. The warm beef was then topped with warm sauce. I consumed it with the baked polenta.
The flavors of the beef and sauce were good, reminding me of Tuscan Pot Roast, but the beef wasn't exactly fork-tender even after the extended cooking time. I think you really need to shove the beef right down into the tomato mixture so the acidity can get to work on all areas of the beef straight-away. As I said of the Tuscan Pot Roast, I wouldn't break my neck to make this dish again either.
Coupling this beef with the Oven-Baked Polenta, in my opinion, was overkill in the rich department. The beefy sauce is quite hearty and having a side of cheesy, milky, polenta was too much for me. I have a feeling that a lot of this beef and even more of the polenta will go to waste, which sucks.
Cost:
- boneless beef chuck roast: $5.43
- onion: $0.20
- garlic: $0.65
- broth: $0.13
- tomato puree: $1.29
- basil: $2.39
- Kalamata olives: $1, SWAG
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