Recipe: Pot Roast with Root Vegetables (with spice rub, over roasted, serves 12)

POT ROAST WITH ROOT VEGETABLES

"Sweet spices give this stew an inviting aroma and accentuate the natural sweetness of the turnips, parsnips, carrots, and rutabaga."

1 boneless beef chuck roast (6 pounds), trimmed and tied or 2 chuck steaks (3 pounds each)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 pound small onions, cut into quarters
2 cans (14 1/2 ounces each) beef broth or 3 1/2 cups brown beef stock
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 bay leaf
1 rutabaga (2 pounds), peeled and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
10 small red potatoes, each cut into quarters
2 large turnips (8 ounces each), peeled and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
3 carrots, peeled and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
2 small parsnips (4 ounces each), peeled and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In cup, combine salt, pepper, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg. Use to rub on roast.

In 8-quart Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat until very hot. Add roast and cook until well browned. Transfer roast to plate.

Add onions to Dutch oven and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden.
Stir in broth, wine, Worcestershire, and bay leaf; heat to boiling.

Return roast to pot; cover and place in oven. Bake 2 hours 30 minutes.

After roast has baked 2 hours 30 minutes, stir in rutabaga, potatoes, turnips, carrots, and parsnips. Bake until meat and vegetables are very tender, about 1 hour 30 minutes longer.

Transfer roast to warm platter. With slotted spoon, remove vegetables from pot.

To make the sauce, place 2 cups of the vegetables in food processor fitted with knife blade and puree. Skim and discard fat from pot liquid. With food processor running, pour liquid into pureed vegetables.

Spoon remaining vegetables around roast and serve with sauce.

EXPERT TIP:
"Meat should be salted before it is cooked. Contrary to popular belief, salting meat right before cooking does not dry it out or cause it to lose juices. Instead, pre-salting brings out the taste of the meat and rounds out the savory flavors associated with properly browned meat. Meat that is salted after cooking simply tastes of salt layered on top of the more complex flavors produced from browning." - Bruce Aidells, Cookbook Author

Makes 12 main-dish servings
Source: The All New Good Housekeeping Cook Book