Dark Winter Nights - One Pot Meal

Winter One Pot Meal

The days are getting shorter, darker earlier, and so much colder. It’s days like these when I turn to the clay pot for comfort. If you’re not familiar with one, a clay pot helps food to retain the moisture and intensify flavors and whether it’s chicken, beef, pork, a clay pot never fails.  Clay pot cooking is one of the easiest methods to turning out an amazing one pot meal and I’ve quite honestly never been disappointed. 

Living in South Philadelphia I’m fortunate to be close to the Italian Market. Today, the ubiquitous vegetable stands that line the streets can’t really hold a candle to the produce found at Iovine Bothers in the Reading Terminal some 10 blocks to the north but in a pinch I can usually find passable vegetables to suit the day’s need. The real reasons I keep coming back to the 9^th Street -- cheese from DiBruno Brothers (unsurpassed quality and selection), pasta from Superior (homemade, like my grandfather used to make), and Italian imports that I can't find anywhere else from Claudio's, to say nothing of the old world sausage from Fiorella Brothers, and the knowledgeable butchers at Canulli Brothers. Canulli’s is the destination today, on a quest for the perfect rolled roast of beef (preferably sirloin).   

Here in the market I find all the ingredients I need for my roast, including a five pound beauty from the butcher, some nice fingerling potatos, pearl onions, garlic, parsnips, carrots, and mushrooms. I head back home on my bike to prepare dinner.

Prep is so easy, start by soaking the clay pot in cold water, mince 10  garlic cloves, peel 15 pearl onions (or two medium ones cut in half), 5 large carrots, 4 medium parsnips, and 15 small mushrooms (unpeeled).  After 30 minutes of soaking, the clay pot is ready for high heat cooking (never place a clay pot in a hot oven). With the meat in placed in the center of the pot, the minced garlic, salt and pepper and sprinkle with 3 tablespoons of parsley (enough to cover the roast), add the onions and mushrooms, a few sprigs of rosemary as well as two bay leaves around the perimeter of the pot, lay the carrots and parsnips to rest over the beef (during cooking they will absorb the favors from the rising steam). I will be honest, the best part about this recipe is that everything goes into the pot at once.

I placed an external digital read thermometer probe through the center of the roast, covered with the lid and set it in the cold oven , setting the temperature to 480f. Using  the thermometer I was assured that the meat would be done to perfection (I prefer rare, and 122f was my target knowing that the meat temp would continue to rise another 5 – 10 degrees while it rested out of the oven).

When the beef's internal temp hit the mark it was time for the contents to make their way out of the pot; vegetables in a covered dish, and the beef onto the carving board to rest for 20 minutes while I moved on to the gravy. The natural juices left in the clay pot went into a saucepan with a half cup of red wine, and some flour (I needed a quick thickening agent and flour did the trick). Carefully stirring the gravy over low heat yielded an amazing flavorful and velvety smooth, satisfyingly rich gravy. The roast carved beautifully, perfectly rare and tender, paired nicely with the vegetables, it was a wonderful all in one meal for a cold winter night.