Dry the roast well
with paper towels. Make slits all over
the roast with a small knife and insert the garlic slivers. Rub the roast with salt and pepper.
Heat the olive oil in
a Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
Brown the roast on all sides, then lower the heat. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes or until
it begins to wilt. Add 1/3 cup of the
vinegar, carrots, and cauliflower and cook for 5 minutes.
Mix the tomato paste
and the remaining 1/3 cup wine vinegar together in a small bowl and add it to
the roast. Cover the pot and simmer the
roast for about 1 hour and 45 minutes or until a knife is easily inserted into
the meat. (For oven braising, cook the
roast in a Dutch oven in a preheated 275°F oven for 2 hours or until fork
tender.) Add the parsley and basil to
the pot about 5 minutes before the meat is done.
Transfer the meat to
a cutting board and let it rest for 10 minutes.
Then cut it into slices and return it to the pot with the
vegetables. Reheat slowly. Serve the meat directly from the Dutch oven
with some of the vegetables and pan juices.
VARIATION: Add fennel strips, red bell pepper strips,
and sliced mushrooms for variety.
This recipe is from CIAO ITALIA SLOW AND EASY by Mary Ann Esposito,
published by St. Martin's Press in 2007.