Best Pot Roast

I'm not one to brag, but last night I made the best pot roast ever. Actually, it took pretty much all day for the roast to cook in a low oven, so this is a perfect meal to make on a lazy Sunday. I got the recipe from Barefoot Contessa's cookbook, Parties! I cut the recipe in half and I only modified it a little, but it was absolutely delish. My husband even had seconds! Thanks, Contessa!

INGREDIENTS (serves 4)

• 3 to 3 1/2 lb. pot roast or brisket (not corned beef), washed and patted dry
• 1 Tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 large garlic cloves, finely minced
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• About 1 cup flour for dredging
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 2 carrots, peeled and cut into 2" chunks
• 3 stalks celery, cut into 2" chunks
• 1 yellow onion, peeled and sliced
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 3 dried bay leaves (or fresh if you have them)
• 1 (28oz) can of tomato juice

DIRECTIONS

In a small bowl, mix the salt, black pepper, garlic and dried oregano. Rub all of this mixture all over the roast. Cover tightly in plastic wrap and let it rest at room temperature for an hour.

Preheat oven to 350.

Unwrap the roast and sprinkle the flour all over the roast; patting away any excess. Place your Dutch oven or heavy roasting pan over the burner and heat to medium-high. Add 2 teaspoons vegetable oil. When hot, add the roast and sear for 2 - 3 minutes. Turn roast over and sear for another 2 - 3 minutes. You want a light golden crust on the roast. Immediately remove roast from pan and set aside; turn heat off.

To the pan add the carrots, celery, onions, paprika and bay leaves.Place the seared roast on top of the veggies. Pour the can of tomato juice and cover tightly with lid (for Dutch oven). If using a roasting pan, cover the top with plastic wrap first then cover with aluminum foil (the foil doesn't react well with tomato juice).

Bake for 3 1/2 hours or until meat is tender. Remove about half of the tomato sauce, including the veggies, from roast and add it to your blender (make sure there are no bay leaves). Puree for about a minute. Pass mixture through a sieve. Place sauce in a pan and bring to a simmer. In the meantime, slice meat across the grain. Add the slices to the simmering sauce just to heat through. Serve slices of meat with some of the sauce. I served roasted garlic new potatoes on the side and it was out of this world!