Simple Paprika Pot Roast

I don't know what it is with me and the one pot meals, lately, but a pot roast sounded pretty good today.  But, not feeling so much like having your average gravy, I wanted something a bit more Hungarian...


And so...paprika pot roast!


Real good, real sweet paprika of serious quality can be hard to come by.  My friend Greg's parents occasionally import (in their luggage) some for me direct from the Czech Republic.  I hoard it jealously.  You know it's good when it almost glows radioactively red!

That being said, any paprika will do, and you can even use chile molido (mexican paprika) as long as it is only ground chiles and nothing else (chile powder often has cumin and other spices mixed in).


Here are the ingredients:

• One 3-4 lb. pot roast (I used a bottom round, grass-fed of course!)
• 2 large yellow onions (chopped in square inches)
• 2 cups coarsely chopped carrots (I like to slice diagonally...)
• 1 cup tomatoes (I happened to have strained tomatoes, but any type will do...)
• 1 cup strong, dry red wine
• 2 cups water
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp sweet paprika
• 1 tbsp hungarian red pepper sauce (optional, of course!)

Also from my Czech friends. And, no, I have no clue what the label says!

• coarse sea salt
• flour for dusting
• cornstarch for thickening
• egg noodles, rice, or 2-3 cups quarted potatoes

Let's start cooking!

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Season the beef with a few pinches of salt and lightly dust with flour.

Heat the oil in a heavy pot over med. high heat.

Brown the beef thoroughly on all sides then remove to a plate.

 

Add the onions to the pot and fry for a minute or two.

Add the paprika and red pepper sauce to the onions, mix, and fry a bit longer.

Add the red wine to the pot and deglaze, making sure to scrape the sides and bottom for all the little brown bits.

Add the water and tomatoes and stir to mix well.

Return the beef to the pot, turning it over several times to coat in the gravy, and spoon some of the onions on top.

Cover the pot and place in the oven.  Cook for 3 hours or so, until the roast is easily pulled apart with a fork.


Add your carrots (must have) and potatoes (can omit) and return the pot to the oven.  


Cook for another hour or so, until the carrots and potatoes are tender.  If you omit the potatoes, follow step eleven with only carrots, but serve over warm egg noodles or rice.


When the beef is fall apart tender, remove it to a plate and cover to keep warm.  Thicken your gravy with cornstarch or flour (you may not need to, though...) and prep your noodles or rice.  I spoon a bit of the gravy on the warm noodles to coat and keep from sticking.

With a fork, shred your roast like so:

Finally, top the noodles, serve and enjoy!

***You may add green peppers, celery, other tubers of your choosing....  Make it your own!***


This would be fantastic spooned on hunks of crusty bread too!  Think: sandwiches!