If you have an enameled Dutch oven, you can sauté the vegetables in it first, then remove them, and sear the meat in it as well, scraping loose any charred bits before returning the vegetables and adding the broth mixture. From Susan Clotfelter, serves 4-6.
Ingredients
1 1/2 pound buffalo roast
About 2 tablespoons olive oil
4 whole carrots
4 whole, young parsnips
2 tablespoons all-purpose or potato flour
1 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1 tablespoon butter
Fresh thyme sprigs, about 5
1 cup vegetable broth
1/2 cup red wine
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 tablespoon tamari or salt to taste
Directions
Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to a medium- sized iron skillet and heat to medium high; sear roast on all sides and set aside. Scrub, but do not peel, carrots and parsnips. Chop them into bite-size chunks. In a small bowl, mix flour, thyme and pepper. Drizzle chopped vegetables with olive oil, then dust with flour mixture and toss to coat. In the same iron skillet, heat remaining olive oil to medium; add coated vegetables and.butter. Sauté until coating browns a bit, about 5 minutes.
In a 2 1/2-quart Dutch oven, add one layer of vegetables, the roast, then tuck remaining vegetables around the sides. Whisk broth, wine and vinegar together; taste and add tamari or salt if needed. Add to Dutch oven until it almost covers the meat. Cover; put in oven and cook for 1 1/2 hours, or until the meat reaches 120 degrees for rare, 130 for medium-rare. (Be careful not to overcook the buffalo; it becomes dry and tough.)
Remove the Dutch oven from the oven; remove the meat and let rest 15 minutes before slicing. Pour off half of the stewing liquid, reserving it, until vegetables remain about half covered.
Return the vegetables, uncovered, to the oven and raise heat to 350. Roast 20 more minutes, or until a fork goes through them easily. Slice the meat, reserving any juices. Combine meat and stewing liquid in a saucepan and reduce by half. Serve the roast with the vegetables and sauce.
Wine ideas: Been saving your big reds for cooler days and meatier dishes? Here’s your excuse to pull them out. If you don’t have any saved up, look to Australia’s Barossa Valley, known for its lusciously rich, fruit-laden reds. Turkey Flat makes The Turk, a terrific blend of shiraz, grenache, cabernet sauvignon and mourvedre that runs about $15; Yalumba also makes excellent, affordable 100 percent grenache.
Tara Q. Thomas
