Noted cookbook author Tessa Kiros is the featured chef this month at I Heart Cooking Clubs. Unlike some of the other features, she doesn’t have a TV show or a website and for that reason there aren’t a wide range of recipes available on the web. Fortunately she has a devoted following of people willing to cook and blog her recipes. One that turned up on several websites was a Greek style pot roast (kokkinisto). The meat is braised in a sumptuous gravy of onions, tomatoes and wine until it is fork tender. It’s perfect for a Sunday supper.
Making a pot roast is an essential cooking skill
Along with roasting a chicken, making a pot roast is an essential cooking skill for an omnivore, and the method Tessa Kiros uses in her kokkinisto can be adapted to cook on the stove, in the oven or slow cooker.
We bought our meat from one of the local butchers. There’s a market near us which dates back to the 19th Century. The current site has been renovated and houses about 40 vendors of produce, fish, meat, candies, pastries…plus a cafe/bar. We had the butcher cut a kilo of meat and Rick further trimmed it when we got home. For this meal he cut slices about an inch thick. The rest was wrapped up and put in the freezer.
I followed the recipe outlined by Kim at My Kentucky Home. Coincidentally, Kim cooks with I Heart Cooking Clubs and has cooked more than a few Tessa Kiros recipes. She braised her version in the oven but I did mine on top of the stove in a dutch oven. We served it over polenta. Other options include: rice, noodles, cauliflower “mash” and potatoes.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds chuck roast more or less cut into 1" slices
- 1 large onion peeled and cut into half moons
- 1/2 cup red wine or beef broth
- 1 large can crushed tomatoes 14 ounces
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste I used ketchup
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons dried or couple sprigs fresh thyme
- salt and pepper to taste
- olive oil
Instructions
- Heat a tablespoon or so of olive oil in the bottom of a large dutch oven.
- Sear the beef slices until nicely browned on both sides. Remove to a plate, seasoning on both sides with salt and pepper.
- Add more oil to the dutch oven and saute the onions until they begin to change color.
- Pour in the wine and stir to scrape up any bits on the bottom of the pan. Continue to cook until the wine is reduced by half.
- Add the tomatoes, cinnamon, thyme and season with more salt and pepper.
- Stir in more water (I used the tomato can to measure) and return the meat and any juices that may have accumulated to the dutch oven. Nestle the meat down into the gravy.
- Put the lid on the dutch oven and reduce the heat. Cook for an hour or two, until the meat is fork tender. Give a stir every once in awhile and add more water as needed.
- Taste and adjust the seasonings before serving.
Don’t worry about the cinnamon: at half a teaspoon you’ll be able to smell it and detect the flavor, but it won’t take over the dish. It works, I promise!
Check out Tessa Kiros’s page on Amazon(affiliate link) if you’re interested in learning more about her food. You’re also invited to drop by I Heart Cooking Clubs for more Tessa Kiros recipes. I’m curious to see what the other bloggers have made.
This looks delicious! Serving your pot roast over polenta looks so yummy!
Sorry for the late reply, I found your comment in the spam folder. Yes, the polenta made a nice change 🙂
I’d not want to miss a pot of good pot roast! 🙂
How about it? Such a comforting meal 🙂
I don’t eat too much meat, but this dish certainly has my mouth watering – love that you chose to serve it with polenta too – great choice.
We eat more seafood in general, but it’s nice to have a few wonderful recipes that make the best use of the meat. Sorry for the late reply, I found your comment in my spam folder 🙂
Pot roast is such a family favorite and we certainly did love this version. In fact, after making this I always add tomato to my pot roast. The rich tomato flavor just adds so much flavor! Yours looks so tender and delicious. A perfect Sunday supper. Thanks for the mention:)
My mother always made hers in an electric skillet with carrots and potatoes. The only other person I’ve seen add tomatoes was Alton Brown. It really makes for a fab gravy, doesn’t it? I’m definitely going to try this with chicken, too.
Looks like a warm and satisfying meal. I also got my recipe from Kim’s blog.
It made an impression on my husband because he mentioned it the other day and he rarely talks about food 🙂 Thanks!
Your market sounds so cool–I love places with history and with delicious food to buy. 😉 This pot roast is the perfect Sunday night comfort food dinner for sure. Loving the polenta with it.
We liked the polenta for a change. Thanks!
Getting good meat from local butchers from a market dating back to the 19th century get you half way to a perfect roast. This dish is mouthwatering delicious!
Yes, I’m looking forward to cooking more of Tessa Kiros’s recipes.
That is the first recipe that came to mind when I traveled to the freezer and found some great cuts of beef…oh well maybe something else will pop up on my menu plan, never a dull menu around here!
That’s a great idea! And you won’t have to spend a lot of time on your feet 🙂
Well we love Greek food in this house, so this sounds wonderful. Yes…you got to have bread for sure!!
To this day I remember the last thing my grandfather did at a meal was swipe a piece of bread across his plate 🙂
I believe that most of us had grandfathers and fathers that taught us that! Waste not a drop of goodness.
Oh yum! This does look so wonderfully, meltingly tender! And I love the addition of cinnamon, too! Such perfect comfort food for a chilly winter’s evening (like THIS evening, in fact)!
Don’t forget the bread to get every bit of the gravy! Yum!
Great combination of ingredients! Love the flavor combination in this pot roast! And it sounds fantastic over polenta!
We originally planned to serve it potatoes but when I saw the polenta in the cabinet I changed my mind. 🙂
This sounds like a very delicious and tasty weeknight dinner that all family will enjoy so much!
It could definitely work as a weeknight dinner with a little help from a slow cooker or pressure cooker. Thanks!
Being from the UK I’ve never had a pot roast but this looks fantastic! How lovely that you are able to buy your meat and veggies from a historic market – much better than the stuff you get in the supermarket. I’m sure it made all the difference in terms of flavour. Great recipe 🙂
The smell of the fresh meat and fish in the market takes a little getting used to. It’s not a bad smell, just different. That and the occasional display of a pig’s head or an entire tuna make it an exotic experience for me 🙂 How curious about the pot roast in the UK. I used a chuck roast, wikipedia tells me it’s called a braising steak in your part of the world, if that helps.