Pot Roast Osso Buco Style With Polenta

Have you ever thought of taking the basic recipe for pot roast and turning it into something that your family and friends will request all the time? Don’t want to mess with your tried and true one dish meal that everyone knows and loves? I can understand because traditional pot roast will always be one of my favorite recipes. But I do hope that you will try my pot roast osso buco style served with soft polenta. It is another one of the comforting meals that is so good this time of the year and I think you will like it.

After a little prep of the vegetables, browning the meat, adding liquid, it basically cooks itself. You will end up with a moist and succulent piece of meat that is fork tender. It’s rich and hearty flavor goes so well with soft creamy polenta that you serve on the side. The best part is that if you do have any left over, it gets better the next day.

Pot Roast Osso Buco Style With Polenta

Pot Roast Osso Buco Style

• 1 medium onion, chopped fine
• 1 carrot, chopped fine
• 1 stalk celery, chopped fine
• 1 large clove of garlic, minced
• 2 strips of lemon peel with no white pith
• 2 Tbsp. butter for sautéing the vegetables
• 1 boneless chuck roast, tied securely
• flour for dredging the meat
• 2 – 4 Tbsp. oil for browning the meat
• 1 c. dry white wine
• 1/2 c. beef broth
• 1/2 c. water
• 1 1/2 c. canned chopped tomatoes
• 1 Tbsp. tomato paste
• 2 bay leaves
• a small tied bundle consisting of:
• 1 sprig fresh thyme
• 3 sprigs fresh parsley
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tsp. grated lemon peel
• 1 Tbsp. chopped parsley

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Melt butter in the bottom of a dutch oven and sauté onion, carrot, and celery until soft. Add the garlic and lemon strips and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the pot and set aside. Add the oil to the pot. Dredge the roast in flour, shaking off excess. Add to the hot oil and brown, including the sides. Remove and set aside. Spoon off excess oil. Deglaze the pot with the wine, scraping up the brown bits. Reduce by half. Add the broth, water, tomatoes and tomato paste. Add the sautéed vegetables, the roast, bay leaves and herb bundle. Salt and pepper to taste.

Cover the pot, place in the oven and cook for 2 to 3 hours or until fork tender. The level of cooking liquid should stay about halfway up the roast. Add more liquid if necessary. Place roast on a platter and remove strings, tent with foil and keep warm. If the sauce is too thin, place pot on the stove over medium high heat and reduce. Pour the reduced sauce over the roast. Sprinkle with grated lemon peel and chopped parsley. Serve the roast with soft polenta.

Soft Polenta

• 6 c. water
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1 3/4 c. polenta or yellow cornmeal
• 3 or more Tbsp. butter
• a large hand full of parmesan cheese

In a large pot, bring water to boil and add salt. Gradually whisk in the polenta. Reduce the heat to low and cook until the mixture is thickened and the polenta is tender. Make sure to stir often to prevent sticking. Turn off heat and add the butter and cheese. Stir.

This dish has all the flavor of traditional osso buco. Osso buco is normally made from slices of the shank of the rear leg of veal. Where I live, veal shanks are hard to find. If you are lucky enough to find them they are very expensive. For a lovely Sunday meal I prepare pot roast osso buco style. On special occasions, I’ll make the dish using the veal shank. Enjoy!

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