Recipe: Italian Pot Roast with Pasta

Italian Pot Roast with Pasta
rec.food.recipes/Thomas Shunick/2003
Servings: 8-10 with pasta or 4-6 as a pot roast

1 1/2 ounces dried porcini mushroom
4 thick slabs bacon
3 1/2 pounds boneless chuck roast, rolled and tied
1/4 cup olive oil
1 3/4 cups dry red wine
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 carrots, finely chopped
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
1 cup Italian plum tomatoes, peeled
Salt to taste
Freshly milled black pepper
1 pound rigatoni

Soak the dried mushrooms in warm water for 1/2 hour. Drain, dry and finely chop. Set aside.

In a large, heavy casserole, cook bacon until brown. Remove and set aside.

Add oil to casserole. Brown meat all over in the hot oil and bacon fat. When browned, pour in the wine. Continue cooking until wine is slightly reduced. Add reserved mushrooms, garlic, onion, carrots, celery, tomatoes without the tomato liquid. Cover pot. Cook over low heat for about three hours.

After 1 hour of cooking, add juice from canned tomatoes. If needed moisten roast from time to time with a little boiling broth or water.

Half an hour before meat is finished, season with salt and pepper.

When meat is tender, remove from pot. Keep hot in a warm oven.

Press the sauce through a sieve, then return to pan. Cook over medium heat to reduce sauce.

Remove meat from oven. Slice and pour sauce over meat to serve. OR: Shred 2 cups of meat, mix with sauce and use as a gravy on top of pasta.