Greek Inspired Pot Roast

The first thing you will want to do is brown the pot roast in a stainless skillet. You don’t want to use nonstick because you want some brown bits to be stuck to the bottom of the pan. Heat the pan up over medium-high heat with a bit of canola oil or olive oil in the bottom. In the meantime, liberally salt both sides of the chuck roast. When the pan just starts to smoke, place the beef in. Cook until you get a nice brown sear on one side, then flip and repeat. Remove the beef to a slow cooker.

To the pan, add the chopped garlic and cook just to soften, don’t burn it. Then add the garlic to the slow cooker. Pour in about 1/2 cup of the beef stock into the pan and scrape all the brown bits off the bottom of the pan. I like using my tongs with silicone edges. Add the liquid from the pan as well as the remaining stock to the slow cooker.

Add in the tomato sauce or paste and chopped oregano. It’s important to taste your cooking liquid. It needs to be really flavorful. So taste it first and then add any salt and/or pepper. Cook in your slow cooker for at least 4 hours.

Wait until about the last hour or 1 1/2 hours to add in the carrots. You want them cooked but with more texture to them than baby food.

To prepare the orzo, bring a gallon of water to boil in a large pot. Salt the water so that it tastes like the sea. Then add the orzo, cooking until it’s no longer chewy in the middle, about 7-9 minutes.

Once the orzo is ready, it’s time to bring the whole dish together. Put some orzo on a plate, put the meat on top. Sprinkle some feta cheese and a little bit more freshly chopped oregano. Enjoy!