February 20 2012

Beef Pot Roast Recipe

Food Network chef Anna Olson's winter dish. Watch a demonstration of this recipe on Online TV.

Ingredients

Roast
3-1/2 lb. boneless blade or chuck beef roast, tied
Salt and pepper
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
2 medium carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
1 stalk celery, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 cup chicken or beef stock (low sodium preferred)
1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
1 12 oz. bottle beer (ale or lager)

Braised Vegetables
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into sticks
2 medium parsnips, peeled and cut into sticks
2 medium white turnips, peeled and cut into wedges
1 lb. mini potatoes, whole or cut in quarters
1 tbsp butter
Horseradish, as accompaniment

Fluffy Dumplings
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp fine salt
2/3 cup 2% milk
2 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp finely chopped green onion or parsley (optional)

Directions

Step 1: Season all sides of the roast with salt and pepper. Heat a Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat and add oil, heating a minute more. Add the roast and sear for 2 minutes on all sides until browned. Remove the roast and reduce the heat to medium. Add the onion, carrots and celery and stir until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, bay leaves and thyme and stir one minute more.

Step 2: Return the roast to the pot and pour in the chicken or beef stock, crushed tomatoes and beer. Add stock or water, if necessary, so that liquid comes halfway up roast (if liquid is higher, that is fine so long as roast is not completely submerged). Cover the pot and bring liquid up to a gentle simmer. Simmer for 2 hours, turning roast over once.

Step 3: After two hours, remove the roast to a dish. Strain the liquid (and reserve) to remove first batch of vegetables. They will be mushy and will have already given their full flavour and nutritive value, so toss them at this point. Return the liquid back to the pot, skimming off excess fat.

Step 4: For the braised vegetables, stir in the carrots, parsnips, turnips and potatoes and then return the roast to the pot. Bring this back up to a simmer then cover and continue cooking on stove or in oven until roast and vegetables both yield easily when prodded with a fork, about an hour (3 hours total).

Step 5: To serve, remove the roast to a cutting board and cover with foil. Remove the vegetables with a slotted spoon to a serving dish and toss with butter, salt and pepper and cover. If preparing dumplings (see below), keep the roast covered, but prepare the dumplings with the vegetables still in the pot.

Step 6: For the dumplings, sift the dry ingredients. Add the milk, oil and green onions or parsley and stir just until blended. After the roast has been removed from pot, drop spoonfuls of dumpling dough over braising liquid that is simmering. Cover pot and simmer for 10-12 minutes, until the dumplings are fluffy and cooked through when gently opened with a fork. Serve the pot roast sliced, with the braised vegetables, dumplings and generous ladles of the sauce.

Watch Anna Olson demonstrate this recipe on Online TV.