The phrase 30-minutes or less has been stealing a lot of thunder in the cooking world over the past few years.  And for obvious reasons: the idea of getting a meal on the table in half an hour is completely appealing.  But sometimes those 30-minute recipes require you to move around at high speed the entire time, chopping, sauteing, sprinkling, stirring, and while you might get it all done in 30 minutes, you might also be exhausted at the end.  And your kitchen might look like a war zone, requiring more than 30 minutes of clean up.

This is why it’s also good to include roasts and braises in your weekly list of dinners.  They will almost always take longer than half an hour, but almost all of the needed time is hands-off cooking time, leaving you free to make other dishes, help with homework, get to that mountain of bills…or just watch a rerun of “Friends”.  I know which I’d pick.

I served this this week with roasted potatoes and salad, and had a very happy crew.

Ingredients:

• 1 2 1/2 pound top beef roast
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon finely minced garlic (if you use garlic powder I won’t tell)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 2 large carrots, peeled and chopped
• 2 stalks celery, peeled and chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, finely chopped (optional)
• 1 cup tomato sauce, homemade or store-bought

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 F. degrees.

Rub the roast with the oregano, garlic, salt and pepper and set aside.  Heat the olive oil in a large skillet and sauté the carrots, celery, onions and red pepper until just beginning to soften, about 3 minutes.  Turn the vegetable mixture into a small roasting pan, slightly larger than the roast, and with low sides (you don’t want the meat to steam).  Please the roast on top.  Pour over the tomato sauce, and pop it in the oven.

Cook for about 1 hour, or until it is done to your liking.  Use a meat thermometer for accuracy.  An internal temperature of 130 degrees is rare, 140 is medium-rare to medium, 150 is medium-well and so on.  Remember to take our the roast when the temperature is just shy of what you’re looking for, as the meat will continue to cook for several minutes as it rests on the cutting board.  Make sure to let it rest for at least 10 minutes before slicing it.  You can slice it think or thin as you like.

If you want, you can add a splash of red wine to the cooked veggies and juices in the bottom of the pan, and stir in the pan over medium heat while the roast rests.  Or simply serve the cooked veggies on the side of the meat.