By Kate Vaynshteyn at www.babaganosh.org
Like it or not – winter is almost here!
What we definitely do like about winter being here, however, is that it is the perfect time of year to enjoy some good comfort food. Comfort food warms not only your body but also your soul and helps you go back to simpler times and homecooked meals just like your mom or grandmother used to make.
What dish evokes these feelings more than a pot roast?
Succulent, slow-cooked meat alongside perfectly cooked veggies like carrots, onion and potatoes served up with a tasty broth is a classic Sunday night comfort meal. It is also a great recipe for families for the holidays and can feed a large group.
For the holiday season, our recipe developer Kate cooked up a delicious pot roast recipe that may not be just like mom used to make but will give you the same warm and fuzzy feelings.
Kate included a jar of our delicious great northern white beans in the recipe giving the entire dish layers of flavors and complexity. The beans soak up some of that beefy broth as they continue to cook and in turn give some of their earthy, nutty, creamy flavors to the broth and chuck roast! Win-win.
You’ll need a Dutch oven or a casserole pan with a lid that is safe for the stovetop and oven if you plan on preparing this recipe in the oven. Alternatively, you can use a skillet to brown the chuck roast and vegetables, and then bake the roast in a casserole dish with a lid.
You can also make this in your slow cooker if you want! Begin by browning the meat and then beginning to saute your veggies in a different pan. Combine them all along with the wet ingredients and any juices from cooking and let it all sit.
We used pearl onions in this dish because the sweet, caramelized flavors they pick up as they cook compliment the dish extremely well, but they can be a little hard to peel. Here’s a tip! You can add them to boiling water for 1 minute and then cool them in an ice bath. Slice off the bottom end and pinch the pearl onion to remove it from the skin.
Ingredients
- 3 lb. chuck roast
- 1 tsp. salt
- Ground pepper, to taste
- 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
- 4-5 fresh thyme sprigs
- 1 lb. baby carrots
- 1 lb. pearl onions, peeled (see recipe notes)
- 1 cup beef stock
- 1/4 cup red cooking wine (or dry red wine)
- 2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 2 cups of Randall Great Northern Beans, drained and rinsed
- 2-3 Tbsp. fresh parsley leaves for garnish, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F. Season the chuck roast with salt and pepper on all sides.
- In a Dutch oven or a stove-top and oven-safe casserole pan, heat the vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Brown the seasoned chuck roast on all sides for about 2-3 minutes per side. Use tongs and a spatula to help flip the chuck roast carefully. Remove the chuck roast and set aside.
- Add the baby carrots and peeled pearl onions to the Dutch oven and sauté for 1 minute over medium heat. Remove and set aside.
- Add the beef stock, cooking wine, and Worcestershire sauce to the Dutch oven to deglaze the pan and dissolve all the browned bits into the cooking liquid. You do not need to heat the liquid through.
- Carefully add the chuck roast to the cooking liquid in the Dutch oven. Place a few sprigs of thyme in the liquid and on top of the chuck roast. Cover and bake at 325F for 2 hours.
- Carefully remove the Dutch oven from the oven. Place the baby carrots, pearl onions, and Great Northern beans into the liquid around the chuck roast. Cover and bake for 1 hour, or until the carrots are cooked through and the chuck roast is tender when sliced.
- Allow to cool, slice, garnish with parsley, and serve with your favorite side dish, such as mashed potatoes.
- NOTE: For a slow cooker, brown the meat in a skillet and saute the carrots/pearl onions in a separate pan. Then transfer the liquid ingredients to a slow cooker, add the meat, and cook on low for 4 hours. Then add the carrots, onions, and beans and cook on low for another 2-4 hours, until the meat is tender. Check carrots to ensure they do not over or undercook.
