Serves: 4
Prep time: 30 minutes to assemble, plus 6 hours in the slow cooker
Ingredients
- One three to four-pound chuck roast
- 2 tablespoons olive oil plus one tablespoon to sauté vegetables
- 1 leek, washed and cut into small pieces
- 2 celery stalks, chopped into small pieces
- 2 garlic cloves, smashed
- 5 carrots – four cut into large chunks and one cut into small cubes
- 1 pound golden nugget or fingerling potatoes, unpeeled
- 10 pearl onions
- 2 parsnips, peeled and cut into large chunks
- 1 cup peas
- 1 cup mushrooms, roughly chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 cup beef broth
- Bouquet garni, made of three sprigs each of rosemary and thyme and 5 sprigs of parsley (tie herbs into a piece of cheesecloth)
- Sprigs of fresh herbs for garnish
For the seasoning:
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground peppercorn
Directions
Mix together all seasoning ingredients. Sprinkle half of the seasoning mix on to the meat.- Sear both sides of meat in a heavy skillet with two tablespoons of oil, until golden brown.
- Transfer meat to slow cooker. In the same skillet, sauté garlic, cubed carrots, leeks and celery until vegetables are slightly browned. Add vegetables to meat in cooker.
- Add beef broth and bouquet garni to cooker and turn on high.
- In same heavy skillet, add tablespoon of oil and sauté larger chunks of carrots, potatoes and parsnips for 5 minutes. Add the rest of the seasoning mix to the vegetables.
- After meat has been cooking for an hour, transfer larger vegetables to the top of the roast. Cover with lid and cook for 6-7 hours until roast is very tender.
- Add peas and mushrooms a few minutes before serving, stirring them into the mixture until they are heated through. Remove bouquet garni and discard.
- To serve, transfer roast and vegetables to a platter. If you like a thick gravy, add cornstarch to the juices in the bottom of the cooker and stir until all lumps are gone. Pour gravy over meat, garnish with fresh herbs, and serve.
