Tasty Tuesday - Recipe of the Week

A little over a week ago, we had friends for dinner. A while back we had been out with one of the couples for dinner and he had ordered this Italian Pot Roast that was to die for. I tried to repeat it, but was not successful. I am not a big fan of pot roast, but I really liked the one that he had. Everyone else really liked this a lot, but it just wasn't what I was going for. This was the recipe I used for inspiration from Cooks Country. Italian Pot Roast

• 1 Chuck Roast – 3 to 3 1/2 lbs boneless or 4+ lbs bone-in
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 rib celery, chopped
• 1 pound mushrooms (white or cremini), quartered
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 14.5 ounces canned chopped tomatoes
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup red wine, divided
• large garlic head, outer papery skins removed, cut in half to expose the cloves (see photo )
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary
• kosher salt
• freshly ground pepper

Makes 8 generous servings

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees F.  Pat the chuck roast dry with paper towels and season generously with salt and pepper.

Heat the vegetable oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking.  Brown roast on all sides, 8 to 12 minutes.  Transfer roast to large plate.

Reduce heat to medium and cook onion, celery, mushrooms, and tomato paste until vegetables begin to soften, about 8 minutes.

Add diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, sugar, water, 1/2 cup wine, garlic, and thyme. Return roast and accumulated juices to pot and bring to simmer over medium-high heat. Place piece of foil over pot, cover with lid, and transfer pot to oven.  After an hour, flip the roast over and return to the oven.  Cook for a total of 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours.  My roast cooked the entire 3 1/2 hours.  Its done when the meat is “fork tender”.  It should almost fall apart as you put a fork in it.  The difference between undercooked and perfect is often as little as 30 minutes so, if you are in doubt, cook your meat a little longer.  When the meat is fully cooked, uncover the pot and let the roast rest in the juices for 30 minutes.

Fat will accumulate at the top (that’s the redish stuff in the lower right portion of the photo).  Skim off what you can.  Transfer roast to a carving board and tent with foil.

Remove and reserve the garlic head.  Add the remaining 1/2 cup of wine to pot, bring to boil over medium-high heat, and cook until sauce begins to thicken, about 12 minutes. Meanwhile, carefully squeeze garlic from halves and mash into paste.  Add rosemary to pot and simmer until fragrant, about 2 minutes.  Remove and discard rosemary and thyme sprigs, stir in mashed garlic, and season sauce with salt and pepper.

We served ours over mashed potatoes with steamed broccoli and started with my favorite fall salad! NUM!

Linking up over at Tasty Tuesdays - check it out for more great recipes!