Pot roast is a simple, wholesome meal — one my family turns to on cool Fall and Winter nights. Yet despite it’s simplicity, I’m always looking for new twists on this savory family favorite.
Sometimes I’ll add ginger, red curry, and peanuts and call it a Thai pot roast. Other times I’ll add in green chiles, cumin, garlic, and chipotle peppers and call it a Mexican pot roast.
But until I saw this recipe for Pot Roast with Apples, Sweet Potatoes, & Prunes in my friend Jenny’s new cookbook, The Nourished Kitchen: Farm-to-Table Recipes for the Traditional Foods Lifestyle, I had never imagined returning to traditional “sweet meats” by seasoning my roast with allspice, coriander, and cloves.
The result was both savory and mildly sweet — and utterly satisfying. You will love this!
Pot Roast with Apples, Sweet Potatoes, & Prunes
Recipe & photos shared with permission from The Nourished Kitchen, Ten Speed Press, published April 2014.
SERVES 6-8
The Players
- 2 tsp. finely ground sea salt
- 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp. ground allspice
- 1/2 tsp. ground coriander
- 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
- 1 rump roast (about 4 pounds) (where to buy grass-fed rump roast)
- 3 Tbsp. lard or tallow (where to buy lard from pastured pork)
- 1 yellow onion, quartered
- 3 apples, peeled, cored, and quartered
- 3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1 in. pieces
- 2 cups pitted prunes
- 4 cups beef bone broth (where to buy grass-fed bone broth)
- 2 cups hard apple cider
The How-To
Pre-heat the oven to 275F.
Measure the salt, allspice, coriander, and cloves into a small bowl, then whisk them together to form a spice rub.
Rinse the meat and pat it dry. Rub the spices into all sides of the meat.
Melt the fat into a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat, then place the seasoned meat in the hot fat, searing it for about 3 minutes on each side. Arrange the onions, apples, sweet potatoes, and prunes around the meat, then pour in the broth and hard cider. Turn off the heat, cover the pot, and transfer it to the oven. Leave the pot in the oven for 4 hours, or until the meat becomes tender and the vegetables soften.
Spoon the vegetables into bowls, slice the meat and layer it over the vegetables. Ladle on a bit of sauce over the roast and serve.
Want even more of Jenny’s recipes?
Jenny blogs at Nourished Kitchen, a site dedicated to reviving traditional foods. Her stunning photographs, mouthwatering recipes, and delicious story-telling weave together to create one of my all-time favorite websites.
Thankfully, Jenny has recently turned her beautiful craft towards creating a stellar new cookbook (which I will be reviewing soon!).
Read some of the early praise that’s come out for The Nourished Kitchen:
“Jennifer McGruther’s road map to culinary integrity delivers us from wandering through the bewilderment of industrial, nutrient-deficient, supermarket detours. The Nourished Kitchen is as essential in the modern kitchen as a slow cooker and electric mixer.”
—Joel Salatin, farmer, lecturer, and author of Folks, This Ain’t Normal
“What an inspirational book! Jennifer McGruther takes us from the local community and the garden to the kitchen and the table with a collection of delicious, nutritious, traditionally prepared recipes. The Nourished Kitchen deserves a place of honor on your kitchen counter.”
—Sally Fallon Morell, president, the Weston A. Price Foundation
“Jennifer McGruther is great at showing how healthy, nourishing food can be mouthwatering and delicious. This book is full of practical wisdom and inspired recipes (including lots of fermented foods and beverages). Jennifer makes you want to get into the kitchen.”
—Sandor Ellix Katz, author of The Art of Fermentation and Wild Fermentation
She’s in good company, yes?
Pre-Order now to lock in savings AND get exclusive membership in a bonus site.
If you pre-order the book and email your receipt to [email protected] BEFORE 4/15 at midnight PST, you’ll get FREE access to a special, exclusive membership site which includes the following bonus materials:
- Instructional Videos showing you how to prepare some of the recipes in the book.
- Menu Ideas that help you to incorporate the traditional foods recipes in The Nourished Kitchen into your family’s meals.
- Online Video-Based Question and Answer Sessions that allow you ask questions of Jenny in real time.
How fun is that?
Anyhow, I wanted to give you a heads up! I’ll be writing a full review of The Nourished Kitchen: Farm-to-Table Recipes for the Traditional Foods Lifestyle, but wanted to whet your appetite for Jenny’s culinary genius by sharing a recipe first.
Hope you enjoy!
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This sounds so yummy! Thanks for sharing Kristen. I’ve pre-ordered Jennifer’s book.
Awesome! I think you’re going to love it.
Cinnamon is the secret with red meat.
I thicken my gravy with ginger snaps!
Chipotle and Adobo…smoky, spicy yumminess!
Smoked paprika, fenugreek and Sri Lankan cinnamon.
I always loved sauerbraten recipes my mother made when I was a kid.
I cannot wait for Jenny’s book…thanks for sharing this recipe!
I have already pre-ordered Jenny’s new cookbook and looking forward to it in April!
This sounds delightful! My mouth is watering imagining all these delicious flavors. I love how versatile a roast can be.
Yum