Pomegranate Beef

I love pomegranate.

I'm not a huge fan of beef roasts, generally.  I prefer pork.  But I do believe that pork would just not taste as good as beef in this recipe.

I found this recipe on the A Year of Slowcooking blog. You can see the original here.

I like to change things, to better suit my taste.  So here is my version...

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 onion, diced
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon herbes de Provence
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 pounds beef roast

4 garlic cloves, minced
2 apples, cored, peeped and sliced
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes (petite diced are great)

1/2 cup chicken broth
1 cup unsweetened pomegranate juice
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1/2 cup craisins (pomegranate flavor would be good!)

Put the onion and olive oil in the bottom of the crock pot. Rub the spices on the roast and add to the pot.  Add garlic, apples, tomatoes, chicken broth, pomegranate juice, vinegar, syrup and crasins.

Cook on low for 8 hours, our on high for about 5.

When I got home from work today, the smell in my house was amazing. Seriously... try this!

Take the roast out of the crock, and pour half of the liquids into a blender and blend until you have a smooth puree (You could blend all of the liquids, but then it won't look as pretty.).  Blending the ingredients together makes a delicous sweet, savory sauce.  If you want it to be thicker, add some cornstarch.

Definitely serve with some mashed potatoes.  Yum yum!

For a frozen roast, cook on low for 10-12 hours, and decrease the liquids.  I did 1/4 cup chicken broth, and 1/2 cup pomegranate juice, same measurements for everything else.  As the roast defrosts, it will water down everything and add more liquid.