Country Pot Roast

This is blue-ribbon country cooking. To give the homestyle sauce a bit more body and flavor, we puree half of the vegetables.

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 boneless beef chuck cross-rib pot roast or boneless chuck eye roast (4 pounds), trimmed

1 large onion (12 ounces), coarsely chopped

1 carrot, peeled and coarsely chopped

1 stalk celery, coarsely chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 can (15 ounces) crushed tomatoes

1⁄2 cup chicken broth

1 teaspoon salt

1⁄2 teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled

1⁄4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 bay leaf

• Preheat oven to 350°F. In nonreactive 5-quart Dutch oven, heat oil over high heat until very hot. Add roast and cook until browned. Transfer roast to plate.
• Add onion, carrot, and celery to Dutch oven and cook over medium-high heat until lightly browned. Add garlic; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 20 seconds.
• Return roast to Dutch oven; add tomatoes, broth, salt, thyme, pepper, and bay leaf; heat to boiling. Cover and place in oven. Bake, turning roast once, until roast is tender, about 3 hours.
• When roast is done, transfer to large platter and keep warm. Discard bay leaf. Skim and discard fat from liquid in Dutch oven. Transfer half of vegetables and liquid to blender; cover, with center part of cover removed to let steam escape, and puree until smooth.
• Pour pureed mixture into Dutch oven and stir until combined; heat to boiling. Cut meat into thin slices and serve with vegetables and sauce.

Makes 8 maindish servings.

Prep: 25 minutes

Bake: 3 hours