Dressing up a Roast, Moroccan Style

I've nicknamed this my self-care roast; I made it on a day I was home alone, and no it's not crazy to make a one-point-something kilogram roast for yourself. Hear me out: I had bought the roast a few days before, as I'd been planning to make this recipe that I had made once before, years ago mind you, but I had made it for a dinner party and it was well received and I felt like trying it again. Now I'm not a huge beef fan but I do crave it once in a while and this was one of those whiles. More about that here, in my other beef post: http://kooksinthekitchen.blogspot.ca/2015/03/what-my-beef.html?m=1

The fact that I was on my own was a mute point, when you want pot roast, so you shall have pot roast. Now I'm not advocating making huge amounts of food that'll go to waste, share it! I mean come on, people will gladly take some pot roast off your hands (or plates) if you do need them to! 

Pot roast reminds me of my grandfather, our Bampa, making them, browning it the same way, albeit "boiling" it on the stove for hours rather than cooking it in the oven, English style (think of stove cooking as that generation's slow cooker.) I was reminded of the jokes at the English style of cooking while I was watching a re-run of an episode of Frasier. Daphne's mum and dad are having a row and her mum says something to the effect of, "I've raised your kids and boiled your meals for 40 years and I'm done," of course audience laughter ensues. 

To me, English style cooking was (is) simple, whole, fresh cooking. My grandparents used vegetables from their own garden, about 5 feet from their kitchen, talk about eating local! They got fish delivered every Friday, fresh milk every day at the front door and eggs from a farmer friend of their neighbor. Sure, it was bland sometimes, I don't think I ever got a taste for the boiled cabbage, but I loved their mince-and-tatties and Yorkshire puds drowned in thick real gravy made from the brown bits stuck on bottom of the pot.

Those are the flavours of childhood, the flavours of your grandparents kitchen, that open your taste buds to the freshness of real food. Eventually they give way to exploration of the palate: yesterday's boiled broad beans allow you to try today's Lebanese lentil soup. Food that's made with love, by those you love, gives you an appreciation of cooking and of fresh food itself. Then when you grow up, you can stir in new flavours and add a little spice to the love of food passed on to you by previous generations of loved ones. 

Making a beautiful meal for yourself that reminds you of love and food and flavours, that's the ultimate in self-care. And Bampa wouldn't think that kooky at all!

The original recipe I adapted this from didn't have all the vegetables in it, I added those in as its a good way to get more vegetables without having to cook them all separately. They cook with the roast, making a nice addition to the gravy and without giving you extra dishes to wash. Feel free to leave those out (including the extra broth) if you don't want them; but they are very tasty, the sweetness of the yam compliments the fruit. I've added ras el hanout, a Moroccan spice blend, it adds to the zing of the other spices. It looks like a long list, but it's mostly seasonings and spices and there isn't too much hands-on time; you chop the vegetables while the roast is having its initial cook in the oven.This was a welcome dish to have over a couple of cooler, rainy days.

Moroccan-Spiced Pot Roast

¼ teaspoon salt 

¼ teaspoon pepper 

3 lbs/1.4 kg boneless beef cross-rib roast 

1 tablespoon olive oil

 

1 teaspoon olive oil 

1 medium onion, chopped or cut into think rounds

2 garlic cloves, minced 

1 teaspoon brown sugar, packed 

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 

1 teaspoon ground cumin 

1 teaspoon ground ginger 

½ teaspoon Ras el Hanout seasoning (optional, or to taste)

½ teaspoon salt 

½ teaspoon pepper

 

2 cups prepared (or homemade) beef broth

½ cup chopped dried apricot 

½ cup raisins (Thompson or sultana)

 

2 medium carrots, chopped into ½” rounds

2 ribs celery, chopped coarsely

1 medium sweet potato or yam (or 2 small red potatoes) chopped into 1 inch cubes

Additional ~1 cup beef broth (or water)

 

2 tablespoons All-purpose flour

 

1. Sprinkle salt and pepper over roast. Heat first amount of cooking oil in Dutch oven on medium-high. Add roast. Cook, uncovered, for 1 to 2 minutes per side until browned. Transfer to plate. Reduce heat to medium.

> Beautifully browned roast; make sure you get all sides, it takes a bit of manoeuvring it in the pan to get all surfaces, but worth it for all that delicious brown-ness!

2. Heat the second amount of cooking oil in same Dutch oven.  Add onion and cook, uncovered, for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring often, until softened. Add next 8 ingredients. Heat and stir for about 1 minute until fragrant.

> Apricots, raisins and onions co-mingling; you can tell right from this point it'll be delicious!

3. Add next 3 ingredients. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly and scraping any brown bits from bottom of pot. Add roast. Bake, covered, in 300°F (150°C) oven for a total time of 1 ½ to 2 hours until tender: at the 45 minute mark add the carrots, celery, yam and extra broth. 

4. After 1 hour and 15 minutes check the vegetables for doneness and the roast by using a meat thermometer. Once everything is cooked to desired doneness, transfer roast to cutting board. Cover with foil. Let stand for 10 minutes. Slice roast.

5. Strain cooking liquid through sieve set over medium saucepan. Reserve solids. Skim and discard any fat from surface of liquid. Stir 1/4 cup of the liquid from the saucepan into flour in small cup until smooth. Bring remaining liquid to a boil. Slowly add flour mixture, stirring constantly with whisk. Heat and stir until boiling and thickened. Add reserved solids. Stir. Serve with roast. Serves 6.

> Serve with thick French bread to mop up all that hearty gravy.

Adapted from Company’s Coming Tonight: Magical Meals on Short Notice by Jean Pare.

© Kooks in the Kitchen. 2016