Italian-Style Pot Roast with Gremolata

So for an early Christmas present, when my parents were in town for Thanksgiving, they bought me a chest freezer. I've been wanting one for a while now so I could prepare my own freezer meals. And start cooking a lot more, putting any leftovers in the freezer. I found this recipe and it sounded good and it made a lot, so I knew I could freeze the leftovers. I'm not sure if I liked it a lot but it was decent and the gremolata added some needed extra flavor. I froze half of so I'll definitely eat it when I'm hungry for it. The only thing different that I did was that instead of using all-purpose flour, I used gluten-free flour (tastes the same). I found this recipe in the Cuisine Tonight magazine.

Italian-Style Pot Roast with Gremolata (8 servings) (Cuisine Tonight):

2 tbsp olive oil
1 (4-5 lb) boneless beef chuck roast, trimmed, seasoned with salt and pepper
6 cloves garlic, chopped
1/3 c flour
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp anchovy paste
1 tbsp beef base (bouillon)
1 c dry red wine
1 (14.5 oz) can whole tomatoes in juice, quartered
2 dried bay leaves
1 tsp dried rubbed sage
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 lb small white potatoes, halved
4 carrots, cut into 2-3 inch pieces
12 oz pearl onions, blanched, peeled
2 tbsp minced fresh parsley
1 tbsp minced fresh garlic
2 tsp minced lemon zest

Heat oil in large skillet over med-high until it shimmers. Brown roast on both sides, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer roast to a slow cooker.

Stir chopped garlic, flour, tomato paste, anchovy paste and beef base into skillet and cook 1 minute. Deglaze skillet with wine and reduce by a third, scraping up any browned bits. Add tomatoes, bay leaves, sage, rosemary, nutmeg, salt and pepper flakes; bring to a boil and cook until thick, 3-4 minutes. Pour wine mixture over roast in slow cooker.

Add potatoes, carrots and onions to the slow cooker. Cover slow cooker and cook roast until fork-tender on high, 4-5 hours, or low 8-9 hours. Transfer roast to a platter. Using a slotted spoon, arrange veggies around roast. Strain sauce; skim off any fat from the surface. Serve sauce with the roast.

Combine parsley, minced garlic and zest for gremolata. Garnish roast with gremolata. Enjoy!




Roast browned and smushed into the crockpot...






Sauce being cooked...






Veggies piled on top of the meat and sauce...






Cooked and ready to serve...






Pot roast sprinkled with gremolata...






Enjoy!...