In my younger, partying days, Saint Patrick's Day was a big deal. When I was living in Philadelphia, my friends and I would join the Running of the Micks (also called the Erin Express), a drunken pub crawl to the coolest Irish Pubs in town. Yeah, I know, I'm Italian. I jumped in for the ride!
Anyway, the annual event is a freak show and a blast at the same time. Folks (including me) get drunker and drunker as they're shuttled from bar to bar. The trick is to get home before the carnage. It can get ugly - and I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. We all learned to wear disposable shoes (sorry to offend, but people can get gross).
Now that I'm a "grown up", I can only get that obnoxious around my closest friends. They don't judge, thankfully. Oh, and I wear my regular shoes, which is nice.
Whether or not you plan to party hard this St. Paddy's Day, I recommend you start the night with this hearty pot roast. In fact, since there's a little wine in the broth, you can kick things off at dinner. Oh, and you know what's even better? You've got leftovers for 2 AM. Not that I ever stayed out that late...
Pot Roast with Root Vegetables
Any root vegetables will work in
this recipe—celery root, sweet potatoes, parsnips—be adventurous and get to the
root of it all.
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 teaspoons olive or vegetable oil, divided
4-pound bottom round or center cut rump roast, trimmed of fat
1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
8 small red potatoes (about 1 pound)
4 carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
1 yellow turnip or rutabaga (about 1 pound), peeled and cut into 1-inch
chunks
2 1/2 cups beef broth
1/2
cup dry red wine
1. Preheat oven to 300˚F.
2. In a shallow baking
dish, combine the flour, salt, and pepper. Add the roast and turn to coat all sides.
3. Heat 2 teaspoons of the
oil in a large Dutch oven or oven-proof stockpot over medium heat. Add the roast
and sauté until browned on all sides, about 8–10 minutes. Remove the roast from pan
and set aside.
4. Heat the remaining 2
teaspoons of oil in the same Dutch oven. Add the onion and sauté 2 for minutes. Add
the thyme, oregano, and basil and cook 1 minute. Return the roast to the pan.
5. Using a vegetable peeler,
peel a 1⁄2-inch strip around the middle of each potato. Add the potatoes to the
roast with carrots, turnip, beef broth, and wine. Bring the mixture to a boil.
Remove from heat, cover, and transfer the pot to the oven.
6. Bake for 2 hours. Turn the roast over and bake 1–1 1⁄2 more hours, until the meat pulls apart easily when
tested with a fork.
7. To serve, transfer the roast to a serving platter and surround
it with the vegetables. Skim the surface fat from the liquid in the pot and serve the sauce
on the side.
Serves 8
Photo: Mister GC
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