From PaleoLeap.com: Chef Eve 101 Makes Balsamic Roast Beef

Hubby printed out this recipe for me.  Then he asked me to replace the sweet potatoes with boring brown ones, but I got red hoping to reach a middle ground.  Other changes are in italics below.  Not sure what prompted hubby to choose this one, and after I went to their website I wondered, what came first, a search for a recipe or liking the “about page” of the website:

What is a Paleo Diet?

As humans, we’ve spent most of our time adapting to the food we ate before the Agricultural Revolution: animal foods, wild vegetables, fruits in season, along with limited amounts of nuts and seeds. Our bodies are built to consume these foods, but this is not what our diets look like today. Paleo is based on the idea that this mismatch between our bodies and our diet might be the reason for modern health problems like diabetes, obesity, and heart disease. Just like any other animal, humans suffer when we stray from our natural diet, but when we return to it, everything changes. Food stops making us sick, and starts making us strong, energetic, and vibrant with health.

Serves 4

Preparation Time: 15 min.

Cooking Time: 8 to 10 h. (I could have gone longer, maybe add the veggies sooner.)

Ingredients

3 lb. beef chuck roast, boneless;

2 to 3 sweet potatoes, cut into big pieces; (We used red, but I think sweet would have been A-ok)

4 carrots, cut into big pieces;

1 onion, sliced;

2 sprigs of fresh rosemary; (The directions didn’t say when to add this!)

2 bay leaves;

2 cloves garlic, minced;

1 cup red wine (optional); (*NEVER optional – add it!)

1/3 cup balsamic vinegar; (I found a fig balsamic in my cabinet and decided to try it!  And it was really good!)

1 ½ cup beef stock; (A regular can of beef stock is 14oz – I used the whole thing.)

2 tbsp. cooking fat; (I used butter.  It’s not like I own lard.)

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste;

Preparation

Season the roast on all sides with sea salt and black pepper.

Melt some cooking fat (butter) over a medium-high heat in a large skillet, and sear the roast for 2-3 minutes on each side.

Place the meat in the slow cooker and top with the onion, minced garlic, balsamic vinegar, beef stock, bay leaves, rosemary sprigs and red wine (*if using, see above).

Cover the slow cooker, turn it on low, and cook for 6 hours. (We did high for the first three hours)

Add the carrots and sweet potatoes, set the slow cooker to high, and cook for another 3 to 4 hours, or until the vegetables are nice and soft and the meat is fork tender.

Remove and discard the 2 bay leaves.

Pour the liquid from the slow cooker into a saucepan and bring to a slow boil over a medium-high heat. Keep it boiling and let it reduce until you get the desired consistency for your sauce.

Pour the sauce back in the slow cooker and serve with the meat and vegetables.