It's cold. Really cold. So I slow roasted a nice chuck roast, and it filled the house with warmth & delicious aromatics.
Armed with veg from a local farm, local dairy, herbs from the garden, a bottle of Black Ankle Rolling Hills, some onion soup from the deep-freeze, and a chuck roast from local butcher, Treuth & Sons, I was ready to cook! Here's how I made it happen:
Ingredients: - 1 chuck roast, 4 pounds will give generous leftovers - 1 quart of homemade onion soup (alternatively a quart of beef stock & 2 roasted onions) - 2 cloves of garlic, smashed - 3 carrots, scrubbed & rough chopped - 1 pound of potatoes, scrubbed & quartered - 2 sticks of butter - 1/2 cup of whole milk - 1 bottle of red wine, something yummy - 2 tsp dried thyme - sprig of fresh sage, leaves removed & still whole - salt & pepper (only non-local)
Method: - preheat the oven to 300 (if you aren't home all day, cook this in a slow-cooker) - sear the roast in some butter (all sides), then let it rest while you par-cook the carrots, & garlic - then deglaze the pan with wine - put roast back into the pan & add the onion soup, thyme & sage - bring to a simmer, cover & cook for 3-4 hours until the roast falls apart - in the last hour of cooking, put the quartered potatoes into a pot of cold water, over & bring to a boil - continue boiling, uncovered until potatoes are fork-tender - drain potatoes & then using a potato-ricer, rice them back into the pot - add the milk, butter - whip together with a fork & then salt & pepper to taste - plate & devour!!
The carrots were like candy, and the potatoes light as air. This juicy & tender roast is just what we needed after a series of chilly days. Check out what I did with my leftovers - Leftovers: Beef Sammy.