Tag: roast

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pot roast for amanda

My grandmother, my Nonnie, makes a wonderful pot roast. So good is her pot roast that she clandestinely prepares it in her home kitchen and sneaks it into a bay area restaurant where it is then served to their very happy patrons. “Nonnie’s Pot Roast” it’s called on the menu and I’m proud to say that the “Nonnie” on the menu isn’t some imaginary Italian grandma, she is my Nonnie and she’s a damn good cook—though we’re not actually Italian.

When my friend Amanda needed a pick me up—and don’t we all know that sometimes the only think that can really pick you up is a good home-cooked meal—I decided to make my Nonnie’s pot roast. As it turns out, pot roast is one of Amanda’s favorite childhood meals, and I think she was smitten. Pot roast might not be the prettiest or the most elegant of dishes, but it will certainly warm your soul, and some days that counts for a lot.

1.17.13-13

Nonnie’s Italian-Style Pot Roast
2 lbs chuck roast
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 bay leaves
1 – 8 oz can chopped tomatoes
3 – 4 large carrots, cut into chunks (or a handful of baby carrots)
1/2 cup red wine
2 – 3 cups beef broth (enough to nearly cover the meat)
salt and pepper

Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes
2 lbs yellow potatoes (I like Yukon Golds)
4 tablespoons butter
1/3 – 1/2 cup buttermilk
salt and pepper

One year ago: Pizza with Pancetta, Shallot and Mascarpone
Two years ago: Passionfruit Mousse

Preheat an oven to 325 degrees. Season the chuck roast liberally with salt and pepper on both sides. In a large cast iron pan, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat. When the oil is shimmering, add the meat. Sear both sides, until deep brown in color about 8 – 10 minutes per side. Remove the meat and set aside.

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Reduce the heat to medium-low. Saute the onions in the meat juices until translucent, 6 – 8 minutes. Add the garlic and saute a two minutes more. Add the wine to deglaze, making sure to scrape the browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Return the meat to the pan. Add the bay leaves, tomatoes, carrots and broth. Return to a boil.

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If you’re making the roast on a weeknight, you can make the pot roast up to this point and refrigerate it then finish it in the oven the next day. Or you can cook it for a few additional hours until you’re ready for bed and then finish it for another hour or so the next day. It will need about 3 hours braising time in a low oven to become perfectly tender, and will happily adjust to whatever schedule suits you.

Cover the pot with a lid and place in a 325 degree oven. Cook for 3 hours, until the meat is tender. When you have about 1 hour left on the cooking time, start the mashed potatoes.

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Peel the potatoes and cut them into quarters. Put them in a large pot and cover with water. Season the water liberally. It should taste like sea water. Cover and turn the heat to medium-high. Cook potatoes 25 – 35 minutes, until fork-tender. Drain the water. Add the butter and beat the potatoes with a mixer or mash with a potato masher. Add the buttermilk and mix well. Season with salt and pepper. Potatoes generally need a lot of salt to taste good – keep this in mind while seasoning your potatoes.

Remove the pot roast, carrots and bay leaves from the braising liquid and set aside. Use a blender or immersion blender to puree the braising liquid. It should turn into a thick tomatoey gravy. Season the gravy with salt and pepper, if needed. Slice the pot roast into thin slices.

Mound mashed potatoes on a plate. Top with slices of pot roast and carrots. Pour the gravy over the meat and potatoes. Bring some gravy to the table. Enjoy!

-Emily

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roasted leg of lamb with spring vegetables

Well, well, this post is a bit delayed considering I cooked the lamb on Easter, but it was delicious and most certainly worth writing about. Holidays around these parts mostly focus on the food and to celebrate Easter I cooked my first leg of lamb. I love lamb, but rarely have a reason to cook more than a few shanks or meatballs—being a family of two and all. This year I decided to go all out and invited 10 people plus a leg of spring lamb to the party!

I used Judy Rodger’s recipe from the Zuni Cafe Cookbook. Her roasted meats have never let us astray. For this recipe, you’ll want to salt and tie the meat a day or two in advance, but it will only take about an hour to cook and rest. It is crucial not to overcook the lamb and loose the tenderness of a young lamb.

Roasted Leg of Lamb with Spring Vegetables, from the Zuni Cafe Cookbook
One 3-4 lb leg of spring lamb, off the bone
1 branch rosemary, leaves stripped off
6 cloves garlic, smashed
salt
kitchen twine

For the sauce
2 T butter
2 T flour
1/2 cup red wine
1/2 chicken broth
salt and pepper

For the vegetables
2 bunches carrots, sliced in half lengthwise
2 bunches spring onions, sliced lengthwise thinly
2 bunches beets, cut into quarters
olive oil
salt and pepper

One day before you plan to cook the lamb, salt both the inside and outside of the lamb leg. Judy recommends a scant 3/4 teaspoon of sea salt per pound of meat. I followed this recommendation and it was perfection.  On the inside of the leg, press the garlic cloves into the flesh and sprinkle with the rosemary. Tie up the leg like a typical roast. Wrap lightly in the paper from the butcher or plastic wrap and refrigerate.

Two hours to three before you plan to cook the lamb, take it out of the fridge and bring it to room temperature. This is also a crucial step. Preheat an oven to 400 degrees.

Meanwhile, scrub and slice the vegetables. Toss them with some olive oil, salt and pepper and arrange them in a roasting pan with room for the roast in the center.

Once your roast has come to temperature, place it and the vegetables in the oven. A 3 – 4 pound roast will cook for about 40 minutes. You’ll want the internal temperature to 124 degrees at the thickest part of the leg for a just-pink roast. I’d recommend you check it a few times while cooking.

Once your roast has reached the correct temperature, remove it from the oven and place on a cutting board. Tent it with foil and let it rest for 15 – 20 minutes while you make the pan sauce.

Remove the veggies from the pan and place in a serving dish. Turn your oven to warm and put the veggies inside.

Place the roasting pan over two burners over medium heat. We didn’t have much fat in the pan so we added some butter. Once the butter is foaming, add the flour and cook until light brown. Deglaze with some red wine. Add the chicken broth and let the sauce reduce until thickened slightly.  Season with salt and pepper and pour into a serving dish.

Slice the lamb into 1/2 inch slices. Serve with veggies and a spoonful of sauce. We also served mashed potatoes to sop up that glorious lamb sauce. Super easy, minimal active cooking time and a crowd pleaser.

-Emily

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mock porchetta—it’s porktastic!

Before heading back to Sacramento for Christmas, we had a Pre-Christmas/Hanukkah/ Winter Solstice dinner with our dear Supper Club friends. Being that the dish served at this dinner would also become our 200th blog post (!!!), we knew that it had to be pork and it had to be good.

We decided on a recipe for mock porchetta from the Zuni Cafe Cookbook. You might be wondering what a porchetta is and why the one we made is considered an improvisation. Well, porchetta is an Italian dish wherein an entire pig is deboned, stuffed with herbs and spices and roasted to perfection. I like to cook for a crowd, but an entire hog is out of the question for most home cooks. This recipe borrows the seasoning and cooking method from the traditional recipe, but scales it down to 3 pound pork shoulder proportions—perfect for a holiday meal.

Mock Porchetta with Roasted Vegetables, from the Zuni Cafe Cookbook by Judy Rogers
One 3-pound boneless pork should butt roast (my 3.5 lb roast fed 7 people)
salt
1 T capers, rinsed, dried between two towels and chopped
zest of one lemon
3 garlic cloves, chopped
12 fresh sage leaves, coarsely chopped
1 – 2 sprigs of rosemary, leaves stripped and chopped
2 t fennel seeds, lightly crushed
2 t cracked black pepper
1 – 2 pounds vegetables, for roasting (carrots, potatoes, parsnip, turnip, onion)
olive oil
2/3 cup chicken stock or water
3 T dry vermouth

Judy recommends that you season and tie the pork 2 to 3 days in advance to let the meat absorb the flavors of the seasonings. Absolutely do this. Two to three days before you plan to eat, trim off any discoloration and all but 1/4 inch thick layer of superficial fat. Now you’ll want to trim the roast into one long piece of meat that is 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick. The idea is to roll the seasonings into the roast, making a sort of pork butt roulade. Study the seams in the roast and carefully separate the meat into one long piece. In my experience, this was actually much easier than it sounded. Salt the splayed piece of pork on both sides. Judy recommends 1/2 t of salt per pound of meat. The lady knows where it’s at.

In a small bowl, combine capers, zest, garlic, sage, rosemary and most of the fennel seeds and black pepper. It should be about 1/2 cup loosely packed.

Spread and pack this mixture onto one side of the roast. Roll the pork back into its natural shape and then tie 4 – 5 strings around its circumference and one around the length of the roast. Rub the outside of the roast with the remaining fennel seed and black pepper. Put the pork on a plate, cover loosely and refrigerate.  I thought my roast was a beaut!

To roast: preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Plan for 2.5 hours of cooking time. Toss your vegetables with some olive oil, salt and pepper. In a roasting pan or oven-proof skillet (you make a pan sauce later so use a pan you can put on the stove), add the porchetta and surround with vegetables.

Place in the oven. If after 45 minutes, the roast hasn’t begun to color, turn the oven up to 375 degrees. After one hour, turn the roast over and roll the vegetables in the rendered fat. After two hours, turn the roast again and add 1/3 cup of stock. Roast another 15 – 3o minutes, until the roast reaches an internal temperature of 185 degrees.

Turn the oven to warm. Take the roast out of the oven and put on a cutting board to rest. Cover loosely with foil. Place the vegetables in the oven on a warm platter. Make a sauce of the pan juices. First, tilt the skillet and spoon off any excess fat. Add the remaining 1/3 cup stock and vermouth. Turn the heat to medium low. Scrape and stir to dissolve the caramelized drippings on the bottom and sides of the pan. Continue to skim the fat, until you have a nice porky sauce. Slice the pork, removing the strings as you go. Serve each slice with a spoonful of the pan sauce over the top.

In addition to the roasted vegetables, we also enjoyed potato latkes (thanks Robin!) and a salad of winter greens. Kelly made gingerbread for dessert and Jesse made mexican hot chocolate. It was the most delicious and festive of feasts!

I think this porcetta may be my new go-to holiday dish. It is simple to prepare, but oh so tasty. Plus, it has the particular flare that only dishes that require three days advance preparation can muster. Bottom line: if you want to impress, make this roast.

-Emily