Dinner is Made: Italian Herb Crusted Roast with Cippolini Onions and Sauteed Broccoli

Have I been cooking a lot? Yes, as usual. Have I had any time to document, explore, or blog about what I have cooked in the past year or something that I am interested in? No. Motherhood and a huge move across the country consumed what free time I had this past year. What better way to kick-start a dead blog than to be enrolled in a food writing class with an assignment to photograph and write about something food related?

A delicious beef roast is one of the most satisfying items for me to cook for dinner, especially on a cold winter evening. It makes the house smell great and the leftovers are equally delicious or even better. I enjoy making several basic variations: Mexican, which will shred nicely for enchiladas, a classic pot roast if I am in the mood, or an Italian seasoned roast. I decided to marinate a roast overnight with Italian-inspired ingredients which I happened to have on hand.

Typically when I am cooking something I am familiar with I enjoy researching new recipes to accompany the main dish. I received a bundle of cippolini onions in my CSA box this week. About a month ago I enjoyed a delicious meal at my favorite restaurant, Hen of the Wood, which just happens to be in the town I live in, and one of the memorable items on my dinner plate was a deliciously tender and sweet cippolini onion. Conveniently, my CSA newsletter for the week arrived with what sounded like a very similar recipe for the sweet little onions so I added these to my menu for the night.

Broccoli is easily one of my absolute favorite vegetables. My standard way to prepare it is roasted in a 450º oven for 15 minutes with olive oil, salt, pepper, and a splash of lemon juice. Simple and fast. We (or maybe just I) tend to tire of using the same preparations for certain dishes so I scoured the internet for a new broccoli recipe that would be equally as simple, yet delicious. Keeping with the Italian theme, I discovered a Mario Batali recipe in my first couple of clicks.

I happily realized while checking my pantry and refrigerator for necessary ingredients for dinner, a common ingredient in all three dishes: white wine. I admit I did not use the most quality pinot grigio but rather used a moderately-priced bottle due to the fact that I was using most of it in all three recipes. One must budget when necessary! Pleased that I had all of the ingredients on hand for these dishes except a lemon and wine, a quick run to the store completed my preparations for dinner.

Here is an outline of the meal, complete with recipes:

Italian Herbed Roast, serves 4-5

Organic Bottom Round Roast and other ingredients.

3 lb bottom round roast or similar cut of beef
1 cup white wine
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tbs Italian seasoning
1-2 tsp sea salt, depending on your taste
1/3 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
6 cloves of garlic sliced in half length-wise

The night before cooking the roast, prepare marinade combining all ingredients except the garlic. Make slits throughout the roast and insert sliced garlic thoroughly into each slice. Place marinade in large zip-lock bag and then add roast. Seal and massage to coat roast evenly. Refrigerate overnight or at least 5-6 hours. 

A thing of beauty.

Dressing the roast.

Fully marinated.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Place meat on a rack within a roasting pan. When oven is to temperature, place pan in oven. Cook for 15 minutes on high heat and then lower temperature to 325 degree. Continue to cook roast for approximately 25-30 minutes per pound, subtracting the first 15 minutes from the total time. 10 minutes prior to removing roast from oven, deglaze pan with either a cup or so of salted water with a splash of wine or straight beef broth. I used the water option, with more wine of course! This creates a lovely au jus to accompany the roast. If the meat bits have not lifted from the bottom of the pan at the end of roasting, you can scrape them up.  Remove pan from oven, let roast rest on a cutting board for 10 minutes prior to carving and serve with strained juice from the pan.

Crusted and delicious

Nicely pink.

Complete with au jus.

Cippolini Onions Roasted with Balsamic Vinegar and Honey 

(Recipe from Pete's Greens CSA newsletter)

           

1 1/4 lb cippolini onions, peeled

Four sprigs fresh rosemary, thyme or oregano, chopped
3/4 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tbs olive oil
1 tbs honey

Place enough water in a saucepan large enough to hold the cippolinis.  Bring the water to a boil.  Score an X in the root end of each onion and boil the in the water for 60 seconds.  Drain and allow to cool.

Preheat the oven to 450.  Cut off the roots and stems and remove the onion peels.

Place the onions in a shallow dish or pan big enough to hold them all in one layer without crowding. Combine the wine, soy sauce, vinegar, olive oil, and honey.  Pour the mixture over the onions.  Scatter on the herbs.  Roast in the preheated oven for about 40 minutes, turning twice. Serve immediately.

Broccoli Sautéed in Wine and Garlic (Broccoli al Frascati)

(recipe by Mario Batali, Epicurious)

yield: Makes 6 servings

Cooking cruciferous vegetables without boiling them, as in this recipe, seems to make them more fragrant and heady—just the way the robust Romans like their food.

6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

3 pounds broccoli, cut into spears

1 cup Frascati or other dry white wine

1 tablespoon hot red pepper flakes

Grated zest of 1 lemon

Grated zest of 1 orange

Salt to taste

 In a 10- to 12-inch sauté pan, heat the olive oil with the garlic over medium-high heat until just sizzling. Add the broccoli and cook, tossing frequently and gradually adding the wine to keep the garlic from browning until the stalks are tender 8 to 10 minutes. Add the red pepper flakes, salt and zests, and tossing well, serve immediately.