GARLIC-SPIKED ROAST BEEF WITH PORTABELLA MUSHROOM SAUCE

Garlic-Spiked Roast Beef with Portabella Mushroom Sauce image

Yield feed 6 to 8

Number Of Ingredients 16

1 beef roast-sirloin, eye, round, or chuck (3 to 3 1/2 pounds)
5 cloves garlic, each cut lengthwise in 3 slices
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon Creole Seasoning (page 167)
12 ounces portabella mushrooms
1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
Kosher salt and black pepper
3 bay leaves
4 or 5 large cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 1/2 cups beef broth or stock (to make your own, see page 169)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
Pinch of dried oregano
2 tablespoons heavy cream

Steps:

Preheat the oven to 350°. Stab the meat with a thin knife and stuff the garlic slices into the slits. Make a loose rub with the olive oil and Creole Seasoning; then massage it into the roast. Let the roast sit in the rub for a couple of hours, if you've got the time, or cook it up right away.
Set the roast, fat side up, on a rack in a roasting pan. Roast for 1 to 1 1/4 hours, or til a meat thermometer hits 135° (see page 34).
Get to work on the sauce while the meat's roasting. Clean and chop two-thirds of the mushrooms, and slice the remaining third. Set aside. In hot olive oil, flash-cook the onions and peppers with a pinch of salt and pepper for about a minute. Add the chopped mushrooms and cook til nice and soft. Toss in the bay leaves and garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Pour in the wine and simmer for 2 minutes. Add the broth and simmer for 10 minutes more. Then add the sliced portabellas, parsley, and oregano. Give it a good seasoning with salt and pepper. Pull out and discard the bay leaves. At the very end, finish the sauce with the heavy cream. Keep it warm, but don't let it boil.
Slice the meat across the grain. Pour any juices that have collected on the cutting board or in the roasting pan into the sauce. Serve up the sliced meat with some sauce ladled over it.