the-best-roast-you’ll-ever-eat

And do you know why? Because this is my great grandmother’s recipe for roast. And she is Italian. I mean, you really can’t get much better than a hundred year old, Italian recipe for roast and red gravy.

First of all, get a large roast. You can use the leftovers for all sorts of things! Like beef fajitas, shepherd’s pie, beef ragout, and BBQ sandwiches, which will be the GD Round 2 recipe coming up next!

Secondly, you do need a few hours for this. But let me tell you, it’s worth it. This is my idea of a good old-fashioned Sunday meal. You start this right after church and let it braise all day. Can’t you just imagine the aroma? The intoxicating bouquet of onions and garlic and tomatoes and beef wafting towards you while you take that Sunday nap? I can’t think of anything else more delicious.

Finally, the great part about this is that its easy. The chef just starting out can make this. And its elegant enough to entertain, if you want. You only need a salad to go along side. So dinner’s ready in about 10 minutes. What could be more simple?

Beef Roast

Serves 6-8 people. Or a meal for 4 plus enough beef for a GD Round 2 meal.

1 8-10 pound beef chuck roast

2 carrots

1 large onion

2 celery stalks

4 garlic cloves

Red pepper flakes, to taste

1 bay leaf

1 cup red wine

2 14 ounce cans of diced tomatoes

Salt and pepper

Olive oil or butter, 2-3 tablespoons

Preheat oven to 325˚. Heat a large Dutch oven or Le Creuset over medium high heat. Season all sides of roast with salt and pepper. Be liberal. Add olive oil or butter to pan. When oil is hot, almost smoking, add roast and sear till browned on all sides.

Remove roast from pan and set aside. Take pan off heat. Meanwhile, chop veggies into small dice.

Return pan to medium heat. Add diced onions and carrots and sauté for 4-5 minutes, until softened and browned around the edges.

Add minced garlic, red pepper flakes and bay leaf. Sauté about 30 seconds or until the fragrance hits your nose. Add wine and canned tomatoes to deglaze the pan.

Immediately add the roast back in and ladle some of the juices over the top of the roast.

Cover and bake at 325˚ for about 4-5 hours until tender and shrunken a bit in size.

Remove and serve with the red gravy!