Comfort food at its finest
Shatzie’s pot roast is a proven crowd pleaser
You may recall the story of Marguerite going to Tony’s parents’ house and being served Rosie’s chicken. Well, once Marguerite’s mother learned how well they had fed her daughter, the battle of the cookpots was on. Marguerite invited Tony to her parents’ house for dinner, having previously raved about the abondanza meal she had had—and her mother was nervous.
“What should I cook,” she asked?
“Only your best,” Marguerite replied. “Why not serve your delicious pot roast?”
Marguerite’s mom was called Shatzie, and so Shatzie’s pot roast was served when Tony came to dinner for the first time. For the next 48 years, Tony has been enjoying this simple but delightful dish, now presented by Marguerite.
Ingredients
- Bottom round roast—1/3 to 1/2 pound per person
- 1 onion
- 1 carrot
- Rye bread with caraway seeds (optional)
- Bacon grease
- 1/4 cup of flour
- Wide egg noodles—1/4 pound per person
- 1 can of red cabbage
- 1/2 can of peas
Directions
- Brown the meat in a Dutch oven, using a pot that is slightly larger than the meat, so that there is a space of an inch or two around the edges. This results in an excellent gravy.
- Push the browned meat to the side, and saute the onion and then the carrot until they are a golden colour.
- Add the rye bread and then add enough water to cover the bottom third of the pot. Turn the burner to low and allow the meat to simmer for three hours.
- Remove the meat and vegetables from the pot.
- About a half hour before the meat is done, bring a pot of cold water to the boil and add the noodles. Cook until done. Drain the noodles from the pot and return them to the now empty pot.
Once the meat is done, prepare the brown gravy in a small pan by gently warming the flour until it begins to colour. Make a roux-type sauce by adding water but no butter to form a smooth thick paste. Add this to the liquid in the Dutch oven. Under low heat, stir while the gravy is reduced to the thickness you prefer. Warm the red cabbage slightly while the noodles are cooking.
