Mama's Italian Roast Beef with Garlic & Rosemary Potatoes

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It is Spring Break at the university where I teach and I have flown out to visit my parents. After they picked me up at the Phoenix airport, I was warmly greeted by the familiar aroma of garlic and rosemary floating through the air the moment I entered the door! My mother had dinner already prepared and so now I am going to share with you how she makes a stove-top roast.

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My mother entered this herself on the keyboard for me . . . she knows these recipes by heart and like many Italian mamas, she doesn't have her recipes written down anywhere, but rather cooks as she goes, so you'll have to make adjustments to the recipe below, because the amounts are simply approximates.

Italian Roast Beef (Stove-Top)

• Saute minced garlic (lotsa - about 8 LARGE cloves) in olive oil (plus salt & pepper) to get full flavor of the garlic.
• Strain the garlic (and set aside, do not throw out).
• Pour the olive oil (from above) into a heavy roasting pan and heavily brown all sides of a chuck roast.
• When fully browned, add water to de-glaze the pan.
• Add the sauteed garlic (that you had set aside) and minced fresh rosemary to the water mixture.
• Add a beef bouillion cube.
• Cover and cook on low heat until tender (approximately 3 hours, depending on the tenderness of the roast).
• Keep adding water to keep a juice cooking . . . about 1 - 2 inches deep in the bottom of the pan.

Garlic Rosemary Potatoes

• Peel and cut Idaho russet potatoes into 2" cubes or to your preference.
• Dry potatoes in a dish towel.
• Place in a mixing bowl.
• Coat potatoes with a mixture of chopped fresh garlic, chopped fresh rosemary, salt and pepper.
• Place in a baking dish that is greased or oiled
• Bake at 350 to 375 oven until brown and crispy, turning periodically (bake at least one hour).

SERVE with a nice wine . . . we prefer Pinot Noir.

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