Courage in the Kitchen

To paraphrase Juliet in Shakespeare’s wonderful love story, “A braised beef roast by any other name would taste as good.”

Call it a pot roast if you like. Brown the beef well, add some vegetables and a cooking liquid in which to simmer the meat, and you will have a braised beef roast. Braising is a cooking method for turning a tougher cut of meat into a tender main course for dinner. According to the Oxford English Dictionary the word comes from a French word, “braiser,” which means hot charcoal.

In the eighteenth century, “braise” came into English to describe a method of cooking a la braise, which the O.E.D. describes as “to stew in a tightly-closed pan (properly with a charcoal fire above and below), the meat being surrounded with slices of bacon, herbs, etc.” Neither the French nor we use charcoal fires to braise beef or cook pot roasts today, but we all enjoy a good roast.

The source of the heat is not really important. Electric, gas or wood ranges work equally well. However, you cannot make a true pot roast or braised beef roast in a slow cooker, since you need to sear the meat in a hot pan or Dutch oven before adding the other ingredients.

The recipe below creates a rich flavorful roast. The bacon and parsnip add a complexity of flavor lacking in conventional pot roasts, hence my naming it Braised Top Round Beef Roast. You could use bottom round roast if you prefer. A chuck roast has more fat, so it might not work as well. I would suggest making an Easy Beef Pot Roast with it instead.

INGREDIENTS:

2 to 3 lb. beef top round roast
3 or 4 slices bacon
1/4 tsp. salt plus a little on the carrots and potatoes
1/8 tsp. black pepper plus a little on the carrots and potatoes
1 medium onion (about 2 1/2 inches in diameter)
1/2 cup dry red wine
1/2 cup water
1 beef bouillon cube
1 small parsnip
1 bay leaf
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
4 to 5 carrots
2 to 3 medium potatoes
1 1/2 T all-purpose flour
1 1/2 T softened butter
A little brown gravy sauce (optional)

PROCEDURE:

Though round roast is very lean, there may be a layer of fat left on the meat on one edge, most of which you should trim away. You do not need to trim all of it off, and be careful not to cut away any of the lean meat. Cut the bacon slices into pieces about two inches long. Put the bacon along with the fat trimmings into a covered skillet over moderate heat and cook it for three or four minutes. Do not overcook the bacon. It should not be crisp. Discard the fat trimmings and set aside the bacon.

You should have about a tablespoon of grease in the skillet. Increase the heat to high and brown the roast on all sides. There should be dark brown areas on the roast. Drain the pan to leave no more than a teaspoonful of grease. Reduce the heat to low. Sprinkle salt and grind pepper over the roast.

Layer the bacon on top of the roast. The bacon adds flavor and bastes the meat as it cooks. Clean and cut the onion into quarter-inch slices and layer them on the bacon. Don’t worry if some pieces of onion fall off the roast. Pour the water and wine around the meat.

Peel and mince or grate the parsnip. You should have about a quarter cup. Sprinkle the parsnip into the liquid around the meat along with bouillon cube, the bay leaf and cloves. Cover and simmer very slowly for two hours. Check occasionally and add liquid if necessary.

If you are using thin-skinned red or yellow potatoes, just wash them thoroughly and cut them into quarters or sixths, depending on the size of the potatoes. Thicker-skinned potatoes such as russets should be peeled before you quarter them. Peel or scrape the carrots and cut them into two inch pieces. I like to split larger carrots in half lengthwise before cutting them into pieces.

Arrange the vegetables around the meat, sprinkle them with a little salt and pepper, cover and cook until the vegetables are tender, thirty-five to forty-five minutes.

In a small bowl mix the butter and flour together to make a paste. This paste is what the French call beurre manié (roughly burr-mun-yay). Literally, it means kneaded butter. Think of it as a soft dough that thickens a broth and makes it taste even better.

When the vegetables are tender, remove the meat and vegetables from the pan and keep them warm while you make the gravy. If necessary, add equal amounts of water and wine to the liquid in the pan so you have about a cup and three-quarters of liquid.

Drop the beurre manié paste you made earlier by small amounts into the hot liquid, using a whisk or fork to blend away the lumps. Keep stirring and raise the heat slightly if necessary to bring the gravy to a simmer. Cook the gravy for three or four minutes. Add a few drops of brown gravy sauce if you want a darker gravy. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Serve with a salad or relishes and bread.

NOTES: You can make beurre manié in quantity and store it to use later. Knead equal amounts of flour and butter together until you have a firm paste. Roll marble-sized balls and store them in a closed container in the freezer. When you need to thicken a sauce or gravy, stir two balls into the hot broth for each cup of liquid. Add more balls for a thicker sauce or gravy.

I keep encountering people who say that they don’t like parsnips. When we have time to visit about this vegetable, I often find that they don’t even know what a parsnip looks like and have never eaten one. Trust me, you will not taste anything odd in the sauce. The sweetness and pungency of that little root works wonders in beef sauces. However, you may have to tell the cashier at the checkout that the little white root is a parsnip, so he or she can key the right code into the scanner.

This is another recipe with a “Very good!” note in Jerri’s handwriting, which explains why we have been making and eating Pizza Caccia Nanza for many years. Beard credits the recipe to Edward Giobbi’s book, Italian Family Cooking. It is a garlic bread that is not overpowered by the garlic or the rosemary, the two primary spices. You might think of it as focaccia with fewer calories.

Jerri made the first adjustment to Beard’s recipe: She doubled the ingredients, obviously believing that if you are going to make something that tastes good, it makes sense to make enough for leftovers. Together we have made other adjustments: We use a little more yeast to speed up the rise, use dried rosemary instead of fresh and reduce the amount of olive oil.

The result is a flavorful bread that tastes good warm or cold. It can be dipped into a red sauce or eaten plain. It goes well with a glass of wine before dinner. Since the dough rises twice, it takes a little longer to make Pizza Caccia Nanza than some breads, but on the other hand you don’t need to let the bread rise once you put it in the pans.

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups water
1/4 tsp. sugar
2 tsp. yeast
5 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
4 cloves garlic
2 tsp. dried rosemary
3 – 4 T olive oil
Salt and pepper to sprinkle on the loaves

PROCEDURE:

Heat two cups of water to lukewarm. You can test it by shaking a drop on the inside of your wrist. If the water feels slightly warm, it is about right. Pour it into a large mixing bowl. Stir the sugar and yeast into the water and allow it to proof. When bubbles begin appearing on the surface of the water, stir in a cup of flour and allow the batter to sit three or four minutes. Then stir in the salt and another cup of flour.

Add the rest of the flour one cup at a time, stirring thoroughly between additions. After you have stirred in the fourth cup, stir in another half cup and keep adding flour in small amounts until you have a dough that comes off the sides of the bowl. This will normally be between four and three-quarters and five cups of flour.

You will begin kneading the dough, so scrub your hands like a surgeon.

Let the dough rest in the bowl for three or four minutes while you prepare your work surface by dusting it with flour. Turn the dough out of the bowl, using a spatula to scrape the bowl clean and to turn the dough until the surface is well floured. Knead the dough for six to eight minutes until it is soft and elastic.

Form the dough into a ball and let it rest while you grease the mixing bowl. Canola or olive oil spray works great for this. Put the dough into the bowl, turning it so the surface is coated with grease. Cover the bowl with a damp tea towel and put the bowl in a warm place to let the dough rise until it has doubled in bulk. This will take from an hour to an hour and a half, depending on how warm it is in your kitchen.

While the dough is rising for the second time, remove the paper and stem ends from the garlic cloves and stage the rosemary on a saucer. Slice the garlic into thin slivers and set them aside on another saucer.

Flour your work surface again and turn the risen dough out for a second kneading. Knead it for three or four minutes and form it once again into a ball. Make sure the bowl is still well greased and return the dough to the bowl. Cover it again with a damp towel and let it rise again until it has doubled in bulk. This will take less time than the first rise.

Preheat the oven to 400º.

To form the loaves, turn the dough out on the floured work surface and knead it for a minute or so. Divide the dough in half and make two balls. Use the palms of your hands to make two circular loaves about a half inch thick and ten inches in diameter. Generously grease two baking sheets with olive oil and put the loaves on the sheets.

Use a small knife to make indentations about one inch apart on top of the loaves. As you make the indentations, push a sliver of garlic into each one and sprinkle the rosemary over each loaf. When you have finished, dribble about a tablespoon of olive oil on each loaf and rub it gently over the surface.

Sprinkle with salt and grind some black pepper on each loaf.

Bake for twenty to twenty-five minutes until the loaves are golden brown. Remove the garlic slivers after the loaves have cooled a bit. Cut in wedges like a pizza to serve.

NOTES: Our round pizza pans work well for baking this bread. If you have a really large baking sheet and oven, you could of course put both loaves on that sheet. If you prefer a stronger garlic flavor, increase the number of garlic slivers you put on each loaf.