Slow Cooker Sunday Pot Roast

Slow Cooker Sunday Roast
From Slow Cooker Comfort Food

Printable Recipe

Hands-on time: 40 minutes
Total Cooking time: 6 hours
Serves 6

Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 beef pot roast about 4lb/2kg, patted dry (I used inside round)
2 large onions, thinly sliced (the book said on the vertical, but I guess I didn’t read that part – oh well, still delicious)
2 large or (I used 6 small fresh from the market) carrots, peeled and diced
8oz/225g cremini mushrooms, quartered
2 stalks celery, diced
4 large cloves garlic, minced or finely chopped (they seem to melt in the slow cooking process anyway)
1 tsp each salt & cracked black peppercorns
1 tsp dried thyme leaves
¼ cup all purpose flour
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 cup dry red wine
1 cup beef stock
10 small new potatoes, skin on parboiled and quartered (the book also suggests steamed potatoes with parsley butter on the side as an option)
2 tbsp steak sauce (optional, and I didn’t bother, the gravy was so tasty without it)
¼ cup chopped parsley (which naturally, I forgot)

Directions:
1. In a large heavy bottomed skillet, heat some of the olive oil over medium high heat and sear the roast on all sides. This takes about 8-10 minutes. Transfer the roast to the slow cooker stoneware.

2. Using the same skillet, add a little more olive oil and add onions, carrots, celery and cook, stirring frequently until the vegetables are soft (about 8 minutes). Add the garlic, salt, peppercorns, and thyme, toss and continue to cook for 1-2 minutes until fragrant. Stir in the flour and tomato paste, stir and cook for another minute or so. Add the wine and bring to a boil (the mixture will be very thick). Cook for 2 minutes or so, scraping any brown bits at the bottom of the pan. Add the stock and return to a boil.

3. Transfer the vegetables and sauce to the slow cooker.

4. In the meantime, I parboiled small new potatoes in their skins for about 5 minutes, drained them and cut them into quarters and added them to the slow cooker as well. Another option is to boil potatoes about 15 minutes or so before you are ready to serve the roast and then season them with salt, pepper and parsley butter.
5. Back to the skillet, add a little more olive oil and sauté the mushrooms until golden (3-5 minutes). Add the mushrooms to the slow cooker and toss with all the other vegetables and gravy, keeping them around the roast.

6. Cover with lid and cook on LOW for 6 hours or until done. The book says 8-10 hours on low or 4-5 hours on HIGH. But after 5 hours, my meat thermometer read that it was already very well done.

7. Carve the roast just before serving.

Serve the sliced roast with vegetables on the side or spoon the vegetables and gravy over top of the slices. Sprinkle with parsley before serving - if you remember.