Old-Fashioned Sunday Pot Roast with Vegetables and Brown Gravy

Sunday pot roast. Doesn't that sound good?

Yes? Well, alright then!

No? I hear ya! I was never much of a pot roast fan either -- the ones I ate as a kid were too dry and string-y and bland.

I was never a fan of pot roast, that is, until I tried this recipe one day when faced with a freezer full of moose roasts. Once it was all roasted and sliced, I found myself stricken with a very strange affliction -- I couldn't keep myself away from the gravy. And that was strange because, much like pot roast, I've never really been a fan of gravy.

This recipe is from one of my favorite cookbooks. I've sung its praises before. Heartland. Good old Heartland. I like this. My husband loves this. It's recipe number 13 in my collection of favorite recipes, which I'm counting down this month for Nablopomo.

It's an all-day-to-make it sort of a recipe so tackle it on a day off when you'll be tooling around the house in your pajamas. The house will smell wonderful (just like Grandma's house) with this roasting in the oven.

Old-Fashioned Sunday Pot Roast with Vegetables and Brown Gravy

3 lbs boneless beef rump (or a moose roast), well-trimmed

3 large cloves garlic, peeled and sliced into slivers

2 T olive oil

1 c celery, chopped

1 c onion, chopped

3 large carrots, peeled and halved

4 c beef broth

2 bay leaves

1/2 green bell pepper

1 T ketchup

3/4 t dried thyme

1/2 t salt

1/2 t pepper

6 small potatoes, peeled and quartered

1/2 stick butter, room temperature

1/4 c all-purpose flour

1/8 t or more Tabasco, if desired

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Make 9 deep incisions in the meat and insert garlic slices. Heat 1 T oil in a heavy roasting pan. Add roast and brown on all sides over medium heat. Transfer roast to a plate.

Add remaining 1 T oil to pot, then add celery, onion, and carrots and saute for about 5 minutes. Add broth, bay leaves, green pepper and ketchup. Return meat to pan, cover, and bring to a boil. Transger to over and bake for two hours.

Move roast aside and stir in thyme, salt and pepper. At this point, the meat can be cooled and stored in the fridge until the next day.

Place potatoes in bottom of pan and rearrange roast on top. Re-cover and bake for 45 minutes longer or until potatoes are tender.

In a small bowl, mash butter and flour together to form a paste. Transfer the roast to a large plate and use a slotted spoon to remove carrots and potatoes and arrange them around the roast. Discard bell pepper, bay leaves, and celery. Bring pan juices to a boil over high heat then whisk in butter paste by the tablespoon-ful. Cook over high heat until the mixture forms a gravy, then reduce heat and simmer for 3 minutes. Add Tobasco if desired.

Pour some of the gravy over the roast and pass the remainder at the table.