Community Cookbook: Pot Roast with Root Vegetables
We've been toying with the idea of launching a Community Cookbook for a while. We love knowing what make do with our meat, and are always eager for new recipes. We catch a few glimpses when you tag us with photos of your meals on Instagram. And we enjoy chatting about methods and dishes at our retail window in Stone Ridge. Recently, a customer posted the following comment on our Facebook page that screamed community cookbook: "I love that you guys post affordable meat pieces. I understand food deserts are a thing and people have different circumstances, but the argument that healthy, good food is too expensive never sat well with me. I made a pot roast with root vegetable purée the other night and it probably came out to less than $5/serving- people always say that fast food is eaten because it’s cheaper than healthy, but I can eat a diet rich in meat, and vegetables way cheaper than if I ate fast food- $5 worth of a dollar menu just isn’t filling me up, $5 of roast and veggies will."So of course we reached right out and asked for the recipe. Here it is in all its community cookbook glory. It's from Steven Swyryt of Chester, New York. He usually shops at our Stone Ridge location. Thank you for sharing, Steven.
Steven's Pot Roast with Root Vegetable Puree AKA Pot Roast Garbage
"A bit of a funny story about this," says Steven. "When I was a kid, my mom was making pot roast and I was being a brat because I wanted to eat something else. I said I don't want that garbage! but then proceeded to have two or three plates of it. We've been calling pot roast garbage ever since, although I don't know if the name will catch on. This is a pretty low-carb version of pot roast, so the sauce isn't thickened with flour, and potatoes are omitted and replaced with parsnips and turnips (which I think taste much better, anyway)."
Equipment Needed:
Dutch Oven (preferred) or Slow Cooker
Blender (conventional or immersion)
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. cooking oil
3-5 lb. chuck roast (although other varieties like bottom round will do)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. garlic powder
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 celery stalks, diced
1 large yellow onion, diced
3-4 parsnips, cut into large chunks
2 turnips, cut into large chunks
2 cups beef broth
Splash of heavy cream
2 tbsp. butter
1. Take the roast, and trim excess fat if desired. Rub the roast with the salt, black pepper, and garlic. Preheat the oven to 375 if using a dutch oven, or turn the slow cooker on low.
2. Pour oil into the dutch oven (or a large pan if you're transferring to a slow cooker) and then place on the stove on medium-high heat. Ensure the pan is hot enough to sear the meat- you can test this by dropping some water into it and hearing a hiss.
3. Put the meat in and brown it well on all sides -- don't be afraid to get it a little dark.
4. Place the garlic and all the vegetables on the bottom of the dutch oven or slow cooker. Don't worry about having the root vegetables cooking the whole time, since they'll be getting pureed anyway.
5. Place the roast on top, and pour in enough beef broth to cover half of it.
6. If using a slow cooker, place the lid on and let it cook on low for 7-8 hours. If using a dutch oven, place the dutch oven in the oven and roast for 3-4 hours, depending on the size of the cut of meat. No matter what method you use to cook it, check the liquid level halfway through cooking, and pour more broth in if it's gotten below the roast.
7. After the roast is cooked, take the roast out and temporarily place it in a bowl. Pour the broth into the same bowl.
8. Using a fork or tongs, take out the pieces of parsnips and turnips and place them into the blender, or a bowl if using an immersion blender. Pour in the splash of heavy cream, 2 tbsp. of butter, and add salt to taste. Blend the mixture until it gets a light texture.
9. Plate the puree and top with a piece of the roast, some of the broth, and the celery and onions.
