Success!
Yes, here we are in Week 5 of the Dark Days Challenge, and I can finally report an all-local meal I didn’t just like, but really loved.
It was a simple pot roast in a crock pot with root vegetables, my first, and oven-roasted Brussels sprouts, another first.
It was all tasty and easy to prepare and I plan to make it all again.
After studying 10 pot roast recipes, I distilled the concept down to the bare essentials of beef, broth, root vegetables, salt and pepper.
I really wanted to showcase the flavor of the grass-fed beef, a 4-pound pot roast from Thundering Hooves of Walla Walla, delivered to my door as part of my semi-weekly delivery from Spud.com.
I used farmers market carrots, onions and a lot of parsnips that needed using, plus meat broth from Sea Breeze Farm on Vashon Island. I seared the beef in Golden Glen Creamery butter from Bow and Far North New Zealand Olive Oil, made by a Mukilteo couple. (I know that’s a lot of food miles for olive oil, when I could get it from California, but it came from the Edmonds farmers market and it’s good.)
I loaded the crock pot in the morning and came home from work to find a wonderful-smelling house and a miracle of falling-off-the-bone tenderness and flavor.
Why had I waited so long to try this?
With a meal basically ready to serve, I spent the novelty of extra time on the Brussels sprouts.
I found a “Barefoot Contessa” recipe online that called for 40 minutes of roasting in a 400-degree oven with olive oil, salt and pepper. I cut mine in half for faster cooking and it worked great.
Next week: What on earth shall I do with this new-found culinary confidence?
I’m off to visit urbanhennery.com to see what all the other Darks Days challengers are doing, which is to say, a lot.
Sarah Jackson: 425-339-3037, sjackson@heraldnet.com.
Pot roast in a crock
2 cups carrots, coarsely chopped
2 cups parsnips, coarsely chopped
1 cup onion, coarsely chopped
1 cup broth, water or red wine
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 3-or 4-pound chuck roast
Salt and pepper to taste
Put carrots, parsnips, onion and broth in a crock pot. Salt and pepper to taste.
Heat oil and butter in a large pan on medium-high heat and brown the roast for about five minutes on each side.
Place the browned roast on top of the vegetables in the pot. Cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours or until the meat is extremely tender.
Serve meat and vegetables with freshly ground pepper and salt.
Roasted Brussels sprouts
11/2 pounds Brussels sprouts
3 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Cut off the brown ends of the Brussels sprouts and pull off any yellow outer leaves. Mix them in a bowl with the olive oil, salt and pepper.
Pour them on a sheet pan and roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until crisp on the outside and tender on the inside.
Shake the pan from time to time for even browning. Sprinkle with more kosher salt (I like these salty like French fries) and serve immediately.
“The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook” by Ina Garten
Eat local
Sarah Jackson, The Herald’s Eco Geek blogger, is taking part in the Dark Days Challenge, which encourages home cooks to make one meal a week with local ingredients from November through March. See www.heraldnet.com/ecogeek for updates.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
