Stracotto

       Stracotto is the Italian name for Pot Roast, and it basically means "overcooked". The beauty of the dish is that it starts with basic, inexpensive ingredients and transforms into a delicious, hearty dish after just a couple of hours in the oven. We found our chuck roast at Whole Foods, and it was totally worth an extra dollar or two. The ones in the regular grocery store looked fine, but I figured that chuck roast is cheap enough already, might as well "splurge" (it was still under $10.00). 

     Andy's parents were planning on visiting for his birthday, and this seemed like an ideal dinner - comforting and satisfying after a long day of travel. Unfortunately, his dad ended up not feeling well so they weren't able to make the trip (sorry they couldn't make it, but more pot roast for us!!). We served this with homemade mashed potatoes and extra gravy, and it was absolutely amazing. My recipe is inspired by Giada De Laurentiis, but I definitely made it my own with a few changes. A little tip: don't worry about cutting the veggies in a pretty way, they all get pureed into a sauce at the end! This is truly a simply decadent dish! Enjoy :o)

Stracotto - Serves 4

Ingredients

1 (4 lb.) beef chuck roast 

salt and freshly ground pepper

3 tbsp. olive oil

2 onions, peeled and coarsely chopped

1 carrot, peeled and coarsely chopped

1 celery stalk, peeled and coarsely chopped

6 cloves garlic, peeled and coarsely chopped

1 1/2 cups dry red wine (I used a Pinot Noir and loved it)

2 1/4 cups beef stock

1 oz. dried porcini mushrooms

1 sprig rosemary, plus more for garnish

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Pat the beef dry with paper towels. Season generously with salt and pepper. Heat the oil on medium high heat in a large dutch oven or other oven-proof pot. Add the beef and brown on each side, rotating every 2-3 minutes. Take your time browning, it adds a lot of flavor to the final dish! Once all sides are browned, remove the beef to a plate and set aside. In the same pot, add the onions, celery and carrot and cook, stirring, until the veggies are soft, 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the wine and scrape up all the brown bits from the bottom of the pot (yum!). Boil wine for 1 minute. Add the dried mushrooms, beef stock, and chuck roast and bring liquids to a boil. Cover and place in the preheated oven and cook for 3 hours, flipping over the meat halfway through cooking. Remove the roast from the pot and tent with foil. Let sit for 15 minutes as you finish the sauce. Blend the sauce in a blender, or use an immersion blender in the pot. Return the sauce to the pan and add the rosemary. If the sauce is too thick, add a splash of beef stock. Increase heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove the rosemary sprig.

To serve: cut the roast and place on a platter. Spoon over the sauce and garnish with additional rosemary. Goes great with mashed potatoes or polenta! Pass extra sauce in a gravy boat. Yummy!