Day 1 – Beef Pot Roast

Now I don’t want you to get your hopes up, but this may be the start of something.

It’s taken a while longer than I thought, this self-imposed hiatus. Perhaps I was more tired than I thought. Perhaps more than a little tired of sitting at my computer. Certainly I lost all desire to cook, that therapeutic habit that has sustained me constantly through all sorts of life’s trials. This time I snacked on cheese and crackers most evenings. Slurped soup. Made bolognese sauce when my daughter visited because it’s her favourite meal and I hadn’t made it in months. MONTHS.

Oh and I moved house. Again. Just a suburb away and into a really great environment and I swear I’m so used to moving now after this tumultuous year that it felt like nothing, nothing at all. I unpacked and within three days felt the need to write again.

So I wrote and created recipes and I loved it. But you won’t see too many recipes here because they’re all going towards a new cookbook. Not that I have a new book deal or anything so dramatic. But I’m putting it out there, and what happens of it will play itself out, I’m sure.

So, back to this recipe. Beef Pot Roast – because I haven’t been trying too hard, this is a pathetically easy recipe, but you know something? It’s a beautifully succulent meal. It makes you feel good eating it. It’s the best meal of all – life affirming and therapeutic.  It came out of nowhere when a herb and spice mix by McCormick arrived in a less than perfect state – it was as dishevelled as me, truth be told – but it gave itself willingly to a germ of an idea featuring a very tough cut of meat – Bolar blade beef.

If your idea of roasting beef is 50 minutes in a hot oven until it is meltingly soft and rare in the middle, this is not the cut for you. Instead, bolar blade is cheaper than other roasting beef pieces and so you should make the most of it and cook it slowly. Get out your slow cooker for this one, or use a slow oven, or best of all, cook it on your stove top in a cast-iron enamelled casserole pot.

Serves 4 to 6

INGREDIENTS

METHOD

If you are using the oven: Preheat oven to 160°C

If you are using an enamelled cast-iron casserole: Heat the cast iron casserole over medium heat. Add half the oil, then add leek, garlic, carrots and fennel. Saute for five minutes until golden and softened. Remove the vegetables and set aside for a few minutes while you brown the meat.

Rub remaining oil over the piece of beef and sprinkle all the herbs and spices from the Recipe Creations mix, together with a sprinkle of salt and pepper, over all sides of the meat. Rub it in well. Place the meat into the hot enamelled pan and brown for five minutes on both sides.

Remove from the pan and set aside.

Add the potatoes to the pot and sear them on both sides for a few minutes until they start to get some colour on them. Remove from the pan.

Add red wine to the empty pan and allow it to sizzle for a minute or two, scraping up the crusty bits from the bottom of the pan. Place the vegetables back into the wine mixture and spread across the bottom of the dish, then place the piece of beef in the centre and scatter the potatoes around. Pour the water over the lot. By now you’ll have a full pan, but the meat will shrink a little while it cooks.

Turn the heat down to very low and cover with a tight-fitting lid. Simmer for 2 ½ to 3 hours. Turn the beef piece over half way through the cooking.

If you are using a slow cooker or a casserole dish in the oven: Heat a large heavy-based fry pan over medium heat. Add half the oil, then add leek, garlic, carrots and fennel. Sauté for five minutes until golden and softened. Remove the vegetables and place in the slow cooker or a large casserole or roasting dish while you brown the meat.

Rub remaining oil over the piece of beef and sprinkle all the herbs and spices from the Recipe Creations mix, together with a sprinkle of salt and pepper, over all sides of the meat. Rub it in well. Place the meat into the hot fry pan and brown for five minutes on both sides.

Remove from the pan and place on top of the vegetables.

Add the potatoes to the fry pan and sear them on both sides for a few minutes until they start to get some colour on them. Remove from the pan and scatter around the meat in the slow cooker or casserole dish.

Add red wine to the empty fry pan and allow it to sizzle for a minute or two, scraping up the crusty bits from the bottom of the pan. Pour over the meat and vegetables. Pour the water over the lot. By now you’ll have a full pan, but the meat will shrink a little while it cooks.

If using a slow cooker: Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or high for 5 hours.

If using the oven: Cover casserole or roasting dish with a tight-fitting lid or a couple of sheets of foil. Bake for 2½ to 3 hours, basting from time to time.

To serve, remove meat and rest it for about ten minutes before slicing, though it should be so soft it could be shredded with forks. Serve with potatoes, a spoonful of vegetables and lots of sauce for mopping up.

COST

$17.50 for up to six people.