3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1 cup carrots -- chopped
1/4 cup vegetable oil
5 pounds beef roast -- (chuck, rump or bottom round)
2 cloves garlic -- each cut into slivers
2 tomatoes -- chopped
Bouquet garni parsley -- leeks, bay leaf,
celery stalk, sprig thyme or
1 teaspoon dried thyme
Salt and pepper
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a casserole large enough
to hold the meat, heat the butter. When foaming subsides add
the onions and carrots and saute for about 10 minutes or until
they take on some color. With a slotted spoon remove them and
reserve for later.
Add the oil to the casserole and heat over high heat. Add the
beef and
brown the meat on all sides; this should take 15 minutes to get a deep
golden color. Return the vegetables to the casserole, stuffing them underneath
the meat. Add the garlic, tomatoes, bouquet garni. Heat the
casserole until you hear it sizzle, drape the meat loosely with aluminum foil,
cover the casserole tightly and place it in the lower third of the oven.
Cook for 1 hour, turn the meat over, lower the heat to 325 and
continue to cook until the beef is tender, another 1 1/2 to 2
hours. Remove the meat to a platter. Strain cooking juices into
a saucepan, pressing down hard on the vegetables to extract their
liquid. Let liquid settle for a minute, then skim off surface
fat. Heat the liquid and reduce slightly; adjust seasoning. Slice
the roast and spoon the gravy over the top. Serve with braised
carrots and boiled parslied potatoes (make extra for cold potato
salad and beef salad next day).
Yield: 8 servings |
