The pot roast is easy. It is a complete meal with vegetables and gravy, just serve with a slice of sturdy sourdough and a Victorian wine, it’s a meal fit for royalty.
What is a pot roast, as the name implies it is pot cooking. It is a braised dish, browning the meat first and then wet slow cooking adding vegetables, stock, and wine. The following recipe feeds four people, it is a great dish for a salmon cut roast, silverside cut with the muscle.

Preparation time: 1hr
Cooking time: Oven 2-3hrs or Slow cooker approx. 6hrs.
Pre-heat the oven to 160 degrees C

Ingredients:
1kg salmon cut roast
8 young carrots or parsnips (or both) halved lengthwise
4 small in-season potatoes halved
1 stick celery finely chopped
200ml of white wine
600mls of good beef stock
2 bay leaves
3-4 onions thinly sliced
4-6 sprigs of thyme or if you like a slight liquorice overtone a few sprigs of tarragon - Reserve a fresh sprig to add to the dish when serving.
1 tsp of butter
10 Dates (50gm) pureed with water- Brown sugar can be substituted although dates have a richer caramelised flavour.
2 tsp plain flour and water - If gluten intolerant substitute for almond meal, no water needed.
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

1. Using an oven-proof casserole dish on the stove, fry sliced onions with thyme/chervil, salt, pepper and olive oil. Cover and cook gently for 20 mins until the onions are softened. Remove the lid, turn up the heat, add the butter and pureed dates, then let the onions caramelise to a dark golden brown, stirring often. Remove the thyme/chervil sprigs, and spoon out cooked onions from the dish into a mixing bowl.
2. Using the casserole dish fry the carrots/parsnips and celery in a splash of olive oil until golden. Meantime rub the meat with olive oil, salt, and pepper. When carrots/parsnip are done remove from the dish, then brown the meat all over.
3. When the meat is browned, lift on to plate, splash the wine into the hot casserole dish deglazing the dish. Pour in the stock add carrots/parsnips, celery, bay leaves, cooked onions and browned beef. Cover and cook in the oven for 2-3 hrs. Add halved potatoes after 1-1.5hrs into the cooking process.
4. The beef is ready when it is easy to pull apart at the edges. Remove it from the casserole dish, snip off the strings and cover with foil. Stir the flour paste into the beef juices in the casserole dish to make a thick gravy heating for 2-3mins on the stove.
5. Taste and season as needed, add the beef back to the casserole dish, rip with your fingers the remaining sprig of thyme/chervil over the beef and serve to the table.