Sunday Braise with a Side of Roasted Rosemary Potatoes
Happy first day of October!! The yellow leaves lining the ville, cooler temperature, and the gradual shift from ordering a cold chai latte to a hot one are all hallmarks of autumn. However, one of my favorite is the start of braising season. There’s nothing like waking up on a slow morning, dicing carrots, potatoes, and onions, and throwing them all into a slow cooker along with a seared hunk of meat. And when you come back home from a chilly day with your noise a little pink at the tip, the smell of rosemary has filled your hallways and you can ladle out a heaping portion of tender, fall apart meat. Though I love a good corned beef, pulled pork, or pot roast, here is one of my favorite braises to make- guaranteed to fill your stomach and your soul.
You will need:
a bag of carrots
a bag of red or mixed potatoes
1 onion
round cut or chuck roast (choosing cuts will make the difference between tough and fall apart meat!)
salt and pepper
garlic powder
fresh rosemary
canola oil
olive oil
(optional): low sodium beef broth
Prep
As always, I like to start with preparing all my ingredients. Dice the carrots, onion, and meat (if it came in a single portion). If you do not plan on roasting your potatoes, cut these into quarters as well.
Heat a pan of canola oil over a high heat. While this is heating up, season the beef with salt and pepper (to your taste) and rub it in. Once the pan is hot, sear each side of the meat for about 2 minutes (until you can see the sear on each side). In the last five minutes, add the onions. By doing so, you are creating the beautiful color and dimension to your meat that cannot be achieved after the slow cooking. Choosing less tender cuts with collagen will result in delicious fork-able meat.
Slow Cooking (the Waiting Game)
Throw the carrots, onions, and meat into the pot and place it on the slow cooker. As you may notice in my photo, there are not any onions, and this is a personal preference (but I did substitute with chopped onion flakes). Unlike a stew, a braise is not fully submerged in the liquid, so fill the pot until only half of the ingredients are submerged in either water, beef broth (for more flavor) or a 1:1 ratio of the two. The other key to braising is low heat. Set the slow cooker to the low heat setting for 8 hours and walk away.
Oven-Roasted Potatoes
This recipe is a favorite that my mom would make on occasions. With an hour left to cook on the meat, find your way back to the kitchen to make these delicious, crispy, golden potatoes. First, add two sprigs of rosemary into the slow cooker pot and pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Then, slice the potatoes into circles and toss them in a metal bowl with a coat of olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and rosemary. Distribute the slices on a baking sheet covered in aluminum with no overlap and pop them in the oven for 15 minutes. Be sure to monitor them as the bake time will vary depending on how thick you cut your slices! After about 15 minutes, pull them out, flip them with a spatula, and allow them to bake for another 5-10 minutes. You will be able to gage on the completeness based on 1) your preference for their crispiness 2) whether they have turned from a solid white to a more translucent and golden tone.
Plating and Sauce
To add more color, I chose to serve the roast on a bed of lemon garlic kale, but steamed rice would create a heartier meal. An optional sauce for this dish can be whipped up easily using the braising liquid. With a wide pan, create a shallow layer (about a few millimeters deep) of braising liquid and bring to a boil on high heat. To help thicken the sauce, add a half a teaspoon of cornstarch and mix thoroughly until dissolved. To enhance the flavor (beyond concentrating it), you can add honey, balsamic vinegar, or a sprig of rosemary. Continuously stir the liquid until desired thickness is achieved or else it can burn very quickly. Serve with a hearty slice of bread to soak all that good stuff in :) I love Sundays, but nothing tops off a Sunday like a braise. Enjoy!
