Pot Roast

Brown a 4 pound rump roast on all sides in a few tablespoons of olive oil in a fry pan. Remove the roast from the fry pan to a deep casserole dish and in the same fry pan sauté until soft one onion, one carrot, one rib of celery and a few large cloves of garlic roughly chopped (toss the garlic in last).

Put the roast and the veggies in a casserole pan. Preferably one with a lid, if you don’t have a lid loosely fitted foil will work. In the same fry pan heat 2 cups of Chianti until boiling then pour over the roast and veggies. Add chicken or veggie broth (or even water, beef broth is too strong) to the top of the roast. Tuck in a few sprigs of Rosemary. Place in an oven preheated to 275 for an hour then turn it up to 325 to 350. You want the roast to bubble but not rapidly boil (boiling will make the meat tough, not bubbling will leave the meat raw). Roast for 2 hours. Check after each hour to turn the roast and make sure there is enough liquid. At the end of the 3 hours the meat should be tender and done.

If using foil make sure that it is fitted loosely so as not to touch the wine, wine is acidic and will eat through the foil.

Make a gravy of the liquid after you remove the roast from the oven and while you let it sit. Skim off a few tablespoons of the fat from the top of the liquid. If you are lucky enough to have a separating container use it. Add a few tablespoons of flour to the oil to make a paste and then add generous scoops of the roast liquid trying to capture the liquid below the oil while continuously stirring to make a gravy. It is great to add the soft veggies right along with the liquid. Add salt and pepper to taste.