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Tuscan Pot Roast

Stracotto alla fiorentina (Tuscan Pot Roast)

Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time2 hours
Total Time2 hours 30 minutes

Ingredients

For preparing the roast:

  • One eye round roast about 1-1.5 kilos/2-3 lbs.
  • A carrot young and thin if possible
  • A small chunk of pancetta cut into four thin strips

For browning and braising:

  • Olive oil
  • 1 medium onion chopped
  • 1 carrot chopped
  • 1 stick of celery chopped
  • Salt and pepper q.b.
  • Red wine
  • 1 large can of tomatoes 500g or 1 lb.
  • A spoonful of tomato paste optional
  • Water or broth

Instructions

  • Prepping the roast: Lard the roast lengthwise with the carrot and pancetta, using a larding needle or your hands. Tie the roast up with kitchen string to help it keep its shape. Salt and pepper the roast generously.
  • Make a soffritto by sautéing onion, carrot and celery in some olive oil in a Dutch oven (preferably oval) and when they have wilted, raise the heat a bit and add the roast, browning it lightly all over.
  • Pour over a bit of red wine and turn the roast so it is covered all over with the wine. Let the wine evaporate completely, as you scrape any brown bits from the bottom of the pot.
  • Pass the tomatoes through a food mill into the pot. Turn the roast again. Add the tomato paste, if using, and enough water or broth to come up at least 2/3 of the way up the roast, if need be.
  • Allow the pot to come to a simmer, lower the heat and cover the pot. Let the roast braise until it is quite tender, turning every 15 minutes or so and adjusting the heat so that the tomato sauce simmers very gently. Most recipes call for a cooking time of 2 hours, but it may well take longer, up to 3 hours, depending on the meat and the size of the roast. Add water or broth if the sauce gets too thick, and adjust for seasoning at the end of cooking.
  • Serve, sliced, on a warmed platter with boiled potatoes. Pour some of the tomato sauce over the roast slices and serve the rest in a gravy boat for guest to add more, which they are very likely to do.