It was raining: a cold, gray sheet of prickling pins, flashing in the street lamps like shards of metal. At 11.30 on a Tuesday night I was heading to my car after teaching, and lower Manhattan was quiet. The few people on the street had their heads tucked down, hands stuffed in pockets, and they were moving quickly.
I am still slow: my limp, the result of a recent surgery, is worse at night, and certainly after standing for seven hours. I thought about my students: their warmth, interest and pleasure made me forget about the damp cold. But nothing could block the throb of my ankle. I went back to my students: as is so often the case, they talked about how cooking a big meal on Sunday gave them leftovers to use throughout the week. The conversation naturally led to pot roast.
A gravelly voice interrupted my thoughts. I looked towards the bench, where a big man fronted by a snarly mass of gray beard sat beneath a cleverly crafted cardboard overhang, his leg projecting out onto the sidewalk and his arm resting on the handle of an overstuffed shopping cart draped with plastic.
“Pardon me?” I ask.
“You’re doing good, lady. Take it one day at a time.”
I looked at his leg encased in the kind of bulky medical boot I’d been wearing for six months. I tried not to breathe in his powerful stench through my nose.
“How are you doing, Sir?” I asked, nodding toward his leg.
“One day at a time. That’s all you can do. I’m doing alright. And next week I’ll be better than today. So will you. Now, though, you gotta get on home.” I thanked him and wished him well.
On my drive, I thought again about pot roast, and wished I could offer him a heaping plate of warm meat. He was right: in a matter of months I would be pain- and limp-free again. I hoped the same was true for him.
The next week I packed up leftovers from class and looked for him on the way out. His bench was occupied by two men and a woman who were talking loudly and gesturing wildly: they were hopped up on something fast. I looked past them, into the dark park toward the water, but my friend was gone.
Perhaps I should have given the food to the three rowdy bench dwellers, but I was a little afraid of their erraticism– and more than that, I was annoyed at them for taking the place of a kind man: a man who, despite seemingly rough circumstances, not only looked toward better days ahead, but generously offered a perfect stranger his encouragement.
| Servings 8 | |
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2.75 pound chuck roast
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 cup red wine
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 cup lower sodium beef broth
- 1 pound parsnips, peeled and thinly sliced
- 5 small carrots (about 8 ounces), peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 pound baby potatoes, halved
|
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Combine the salt, pepper, fennel seeds and thyme; sprinkle it evenly over the meat. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium; add the meat and sear until browned on both sides, about 5 minutes per side. Remove from the pan; add the onion and garlic and cook until slightly softened, about 2 minutes. Stir in the wine, tomato paste and broth; return the meat to the pan, cover and cook in the oven 1 1/2 hours.
- Add the parsnips, carrots and potatoes; cook until the vegetables and meat are tender, about 1 more hour.
Nutritional analysis for each serving: 310 calories, 33 g protein, 23 g carbohydrates, 4 g fiber, 8 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 471 mg sodium
| Servings 4 | |
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 medium carrots, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup cooking liquid from pot roast
- 3 1/2 cups lower sodium beef broth
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
- 8 cooked potato halves from pot roast, cut in 1/2-inch pieces
- 1/2 cup cooked vegetables from the pot roast
- 2 cups diced pot roast (beef)
|
- Heat the oil over medium high in a large soup pot. Add the onion, garlic, carrots and celery and cook, stirring, 3-4 minutes until softened. Add the cooking liquid from the pot roast, broth and tomato paste; stir to dissolve the paste. Add the tomatoes, bring to a boil and immediately reduce the heat to simmer. Cook 10 minutes at a gentle simmer.
- Stir in the potatoes, vegetables and beef and cook until warmed through, about 5-8 minutes.
Nutritional analysis for each serving: 299 calories, 28 g protein, 25 g carbohydrates, 4 g fiber, 9 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 902 mg sodium
| Servings 4 | |
- 4 cups low sodium beef or chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 10 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and thinly sliced
- 1 cup Arborio rice
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 1/2 cup thawed frozen peas
- 1 1/2 cups cooked beef, cut in 1/2-inch pieces
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan
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- Bring the broth to a simmer in a medium saucepan. Cover and reduce heat to low.
- Melt the butter in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring often, 3 minutes until somewhat softened. Add the mushrooms; cook, stirring, 6-8 minutes until softened. Add the rice; cook 1 minute. Add the wine; cook until the liquid is absorbed. Add 1 ½ cups broth stirring until it is fully absorbed. Add the remaining broth ½ cup at a time, stirring constantly until each portion is fully absorbed before adding the next. (This will take about 25 minutes). Stir in the peas and beef and cook until heated through, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in the parmesan and serve immediately.
Nutritional analysis for each serving: 481 calories, 27 g protein, 48 g carbohydrates, 4 g fiber, 17 g fat, 8 g saturated fat, 843 mg sodium
I am not a big cooker or baker but i think with the help from your posts of recipes i could try to do it? By the way do you teach any free cooking classes? Keep sending those excellent recipes on your Post! Thank-You!
Judy– I bet you can! It is an easy recipe, and one well suited to the occasional cook. Please let me know how it turns out! In answer to your question about teaching, I do teach quite a bit, but I am paid for the classes by the venues at which I teach, who charge students for the classes. It is part of how I make a living, and how the schools become viable businesses. I also teach an online class for Craftsy, called Essentials of Chicken: while not free, if you click this link it will give you the class at a 50% discount. Hope this helps! http://craftsy.me/2kIHM5z