Italian Pot Roast

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 to 4 pound rump or chuck beef roast
• 1 teaspoon salt plus more to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 large carrot, diced
• 1 large celery stalk, diced
• 1 medium red onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage
• 3 cups medium-bodied Italian red wine
• 1 28-ounce can Italian plum tomatoes, put through a food mill to remove the seeds

Directions

1. Trim away some of the excess fat from the roast, then blot the meat well with paper towels. Season it generously with the salt and pepper. Warm the oil in a large, heavy pot or Dutch oven set over medium-high heat. Once the oil looks glossy and hot, but is not smoking, put in the roast. Brown it well on every side, turning as needed, for 10-12 minutes.
2. Move the roast to a platter. Lower the heat to medium, then add the carrot, celery, and onion to the pot. Cook them, stirring now and then, until they turn golden and start catching on the bottom of the pan, 10-12 minutes. Stir in the garlic, parsley, and sage, and cook just until the herbs deepen slightly in color and smell fragrant, about 1 minute.
3. Pour in 1 cup of the wine and stir briskly, scraping up the browned, caramelized vegetables from the bottom of the pot. When the wine has mostly cooked off and the vegetables are coated in a thick glaze, put the meat back in the pot and turn it several times so it picks up that flavorful base.
4. Increase the heat to high, then add the remaining wine, the bay leaf, and the tomatoes. Bring everything to a boil. Cover the pot, turn the heat down to low, and simmer until the roast is very tender and pulls apart easily when pierced with a fork, 3-4 hours, turning and basting the meat every half hour or so. Turn off the heat and leave the roast in the juices for an hour. You can also transfer the covered pot to a 300 degrees F oven and turn the roast every hour.
5. Take the meat out of the pot and set it on a cutting board, tented loosely with aluminum foil. If the sauce seems thin, boil it hard until it reduces to a medium-thick texture. Taste, then adjust the seasoning. Slice the meat thickly, knowing it may fall apart, and arrange it on warm serving dishes. Spoon the sauce over the top and serve hot. Serve with rice, mashed potatoes, or polenta.