What I'm Cooking - Moroccan Pot Roast

With Fall upon us I figured it was time I could start cooking hearty, hot meals again and was fortune enough to stumble across this pot roast recipe on Serious Eats. While it wasn't perfect, I think with a couple of changes it'll be a lot better then next time I make it.

Right off the back, I'm excluding the couscous that was originally paired with this recipe. Instead, try this Herby couscous with citrus & pomegranate dressing that I found last year. Pomegranates are only in seasons for a short while so best use them while you got them!

Secondly, I'm adding more carrots because this recipe was woefully lacking in the vegetable department, though there wasn't much room for anything in the crock pot besides the meat itself.

And one last note before we jump into the recipe itself. This recipe requires a Moroccan spice blend, ras-el-hanout, that will require access to a Whole Foods or equivalent high end grocery store to find. I went to four different stores first as there wasn't a Whole Foods nearby and struck out on all of them.

Thankfully, not only did Whole Foods have it, but they sold it in a generously small amount (about 3 tablespoons for $3) so I didn't have to blow a ton of money on a giant bottle that I might never use again.



Moroccan Pot Roast With Dried Cherry Couscous

1 ½	tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3	pound boneless beef chuck roast
	Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1	medium onion, quartered
3	large carrots, peeled and cut into big chunks
1	stalk of celery, cut into large chunks
1	cup beef stock or low-sodium beef broth
1	(14.5-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
2	tablespoons fresh juice from 1 lemon
1	tablespoon ras-el-hanout
2	teaspoons sweet paprika
1	tablespoon chopped fresh mint
3	medium cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1	whole lemon, pierced several times with a fork
4	sprigs of fresh thyme
2	bay leaves

LET'S MAKE SOME MEAT:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 325°F and adjust the oven rack to the lower-middle position.

2. Season your pot roast with salt and pepper and then add the oil to your Dutch oven over high heat until nearly smoking. Add the roast and brown for about 4 minutes on each side.

3. While this is happening, combine your lemon juice, ras-el-hanout, paprika, mint, garlic, 1 ¼ teaspoon of salt and ½ teaspoon of black pepper in a blender and puree until smooth.

4. Once the roast is browned remove it from the Dutch oven and set it aside on a plate. Add the beef stock, tomatoes, and ras-el-hanout and scrape all those delicious brown bits off the bottom of the pan before adding the roast back into the pan. Then add the onion, carrots, celery, lemon, thyme, and bay leaves. Cover the pot and transfer it to the oven to cook for about 2.5 hours, removing the lid during the last 30 minutes of the cooking time.

5. Remove the bay leaves, thyme springs, and the whole lemon and then dig in.

I will say there wasn't a ton of sauce, but it was flavorful enough that I didn't really need more. And I think this would also go well with egg noodles if you prefer that over couscous.