As the mercury falls, and fireplaces warm your hearth, it’s time to warm your insides with some great comfort food. Comfort food, as we all know, is more of a fancified way of referring to things that will pack on that extra layer that will not only keep us warmer in the winter months, but can also be well hidden by a stylish coat and hat.
Of course, if you’re on a paleo diet, you’re likely still working out a lot, so you’re going to need this high-protein, low-carb meal to keep you in proper form through the icy chill.
And, naturally, we here in Texas are experiencing a severe lack of winter-y weather, so with a precocious spring heading our way, we’ll enjoy our last excuses to make comfort food!
Paleo Pot Roast wrapped in Pork Belly
1 medium piece Yuca, peeled and chopped
3 Carrots, sliced
1 Leek, halved and sliced
15 cloves Garlic, halved lengthwise
3 T Coconut Oil
2 T Paprika
2 T Garlic Pepper
2 T Sea Salt
2 T Coriander, ground
3 T Thyme, dried
3 T prepared Mustard
3 T Ume Plum Vinegar
2 lb Beef Rump Roast
1/2 lb Pork Belly, sliced
2 cups Red Wine
3 cups Beef Stock
6 oz. Coca Cola, optional (because cavemen didn’t have it)
NOTE: Yuca roots are delicious and also not the most fun things to deal with. One thing you’ll note is that you’ll get pieces that are terribly woody in texture. One way to get rid of that is this:
- Slice the peeled yuca lengthwise and look for something resembling veins.
- Starting at the bottom, make a couple of incisions on either side of where the root attached, forming a “v” on either side of the main vein.
- If you’re lucky, you can get that, and pull the whole thing out. If not, just continue that “v” cut all the way up the inside of the yuca to get as much out as possible.
- Now, it’s ready to chop up!
Ok, moving on…
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Cut 1st 4 ingredients as described above and set aside.
Combine next 8 ingredients together to form a paste, and cover the roast in it completely.
Wrap the top of the roast with pork belly and set in the middle of a roasting pan.
Toss in the rest of the vegetables, stock, wine and soda into the pan.
Season liquid with a bit of salt and pepper.
Put roast in oven, uncovered, at 400 for 25-30 minutes.
Reduce heat to 300, cover with foil, and let roast for 3-4 hours.
For best results, let sit in the fridge overnight, skim fat from the top, and reheat in the oven at 300 for another hour, uncovered. Turn over once halfway. Then remove the pork belly, chop it up, and mix in with the veggies and sauce.
Enjoy!