YANKEE POT ROAST

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Season the chuck roast liberally with the salt and pepper on all sides.  Then, spread the corn starch in an even layer all over the roast with your hands to coat.

Heat olive oil over medium high heat in a 6-8 quart Dutch oven.   Sear the roast on all sides in the hot oil creating a brown crust.  This will take 4-5 minutes per side. Remove the seared roast from pan to a plate and set aside.

Reduce heat to medium and add the onions, garlic, carrots, mushrooms, Italian seasoning, rosemary, and thyme to the pan.  Sauté until onions are soft and the mixture is fragrant, about 3 minutes.  Pour 2 cups of the wine into the pan and bring to a boil, scraping up any of the brown bits from the bottom of the pan with a spatula or wooden spoon.  Add the seared roast back into the pan along with any juices that have developed, nestling the roast into the veggies and herbs. Add another cup of wine to the pan and add enough beef stock to bring the liquid ¾ of the way up the roast, so it is not quite covered.

Bring to a boil over high heat.  Cover and place in the oven and cook for 2 hours.  Remove the pan from the oven and gently stir in the potatoes (the meat will be starting to fall apart).  Add more beef stock to the pan so the liquid almost covers the roast and the potatoes are submerged.  Cook for another 1-1 ½ hours minutes until the potatoes are tender and meat is falling apart when you try to lift it with a fork.

Gingerly remove the roast from the pan and set aside.  Remove the bunch of remaining thyme sprigs and discard.  Skim any excess fat off the top of the remaining liquid and then bring the broth to a boil.  Note if there is not a lot of liquid, you can add 1 or 2 cups of beef stock to the pan.  Combine ½ cup of water with 2 tablespoons of the remaining corn starch and stir to dissolve.  Add this to the broth and stir until a silky gravy forms.  Add the roast back to the pot and shred the meat into the gravy. Garnish with the chopped parsley and DEVOUR.