Slow Cooked Beef Sauce

This sauce was good, but I thought it was an interesting choice to put over pasta.  We did have it over pasta one night, but the next night, we ate it in place of chili over Navajo Fry Bread.   We liked it this way much better; it was so good!  I have a little left in my freezer and I plan to mix it with some beans to do some kind of tacos again.  So use this as a topping for pasta, polenta, mashed potatoes, tacos.... the options are endless!  And it's very easy to put together.

Slow Cooked Beef Sauce

adapted from Little Leopard Book

1 large onion (sliced)
4 garlic cloves
2 tbsp fresh rosemary (chopped)
2 lb beef chuck roast (or rump roast, etc)

kosher salt, to taste (I used a sprinkle)
1 tsp black pepper
2 cups beef broth
¼ cup red wine
1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
1 can (15 oz) diced tomatoes
cooked pasta, potatoes, rice, etc (or use for tacos)
½ cup Parmesan cheese (grated), for topping

1.  Add the onion and garlic cloves to the bottom of a slow cooker set to high.  Sprinkle the fresh rosemary over the top.  Add the beef on top and season with the salt and pepper.  In a medium bowl, combine the beef broth, red wine and tomato paste.Pour the mixture over the beef.
Add the can of diced tomatoes to the crock pot.  Cook on high for 6-8 hours.

2.  Using two forks, pull the beef apart in the crock pot.  Serve it on top of creamy polenta or tossed with papparadelle pasta, or rice or potatoes.  Top with fresh grated parmesan cheese.

* We used the leftovers as toppings for Navajo Tacos.  I simmered the mixture on the stove first to heat it and thicken it a little.  Topped the meat with cheese, plain yogurt, lettuce, etc.

**The sauce is thin, and next time, I'd thicken it with this method, after shredding the beef and before serving: Turn slow cooker to High. In a skillet, melt 2 tablespoons of butter, then add 2 tablespoons flour.  Whisk together until smooth for about a minute.  Ladle out one cup of liquid from the slow cooker (try to not get any chunks) and whisk it into the butter/flour mixture.  Cook until thickened, stirring constantly, and whisk it back into the slow cooker.  Cover with the lid, and let cook on high until thickened.
*The sauce itself is gluten-free; serve over rice or mashed potatoes instead of pasta if making gluten-free.

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