Pot Roast is the Title, Delectable is the Flavor. I think I'll call it "Regal Roast" instead!

Pot Roast is the Title, Delectable is the Flavor. I think I’ll call it “Regal Roast” instead!

Beef / May 27, 2014

When you Google the words, “pot roast,” you get 18,100,000 results. You would think something so popular would have morphed over the years to something with a slightly more palatable title. It’s like the word “home,” or “baseball” in terms of the images it conjures up, and yet the name of it sounds like something you would find at the bottom of a large drum of animal remains.

I suppose this isn’t the arena to whine about it, but just in case you agree I believe we should rename it. A couple of my suggestions include “Delectable Roast,” or “Super-Nummy Roast.” What else would you call something that after a slow cooking process with herbs, broth and other aromatics simple melts in your mouth and fills your home with the smell of comfort, safety and happiness?

You know me. I can’t do anything by the book. So I used some root vegetables for inspiration and came up with something that is more like “Regal Roast.” By using the much maligned turnip, the beautiful and misunderstood leek, and then creating a rub and braising broth with coriander, paprika and cinnamon, I think I transcended the usual Sunday Dinner meal; at least my company thought so. By playing with a little some colorful sweet potatoes, I added some dollops of sweet potato puree to round out the presentation.

Check out the photos and recipe below. Tell me what you think it should be named, after you finish cleaning your plate that is.

Coriander Paprika Pot Roast With Leeks and Turnips Braised in Stock and White Wine

Served with Herbed Rice and Sweet Potato Puree

Serves 4
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 7 hours

Ingredients:

1 2# pot roast, trimmed of any silver skin
1 large turnip cut into large pieces
1 large leek, cut into ½ inch slices, using only an inch or two of the dark green
3 large garlic cloves, peeled but not sliced
3 T olive oil
1/3 C white wine
3 C beef stock (I used the Knorr Beef Bouillon Cubes)

Rub:

(Can be your choice of amounts, I used more or less a T of each: Coriander powder, paprika, dried thyme, salt pepper, sugar, ½ t cinnamon, and just a little allspice
Rosemary sprig. Add a T of white sugar.

Direction:

(Crock Pot Version)

Wash veggies, peep off the outer tough leaves of the leek. Cut the Pot Roast into very large chunks, combine with cut vegetables, and toss with oil, then rub with dried rub. Dissolve the 1 beef cube into 3 C boiling water. Add to pot. Add a little more salt and pepper over the top, crown with a large rosemary sprig. Cook on low for 7 hours. At the end, add about 1 t cornstarch and stir, just to slightly thicken the broth.

Herbed Rice:

Cook Jasmine rice according to directions. (You need about 2 C cooked rice for serving 4) Add a generous amount of fresh chopped herbs, (I used about 3 parts cilantro to ½ part parsley and ½ part rosemary.) about 3 T olive oil, cracked sea salt and black pepper.

Sweet Potato Puree:

Peel the sweet potatoes, cut into ½ inch cubes, put in hot water and cook until very tender. Add butter, honey, salt and pepper, and about 1 t of brandy, and a small bit of maple syrup. Puree with a hand help puree tool. Put into a baggie and snip off the corner. Pipe onto plate to serve.