Recipe: Swiss Steak (gluten & grain free)

Every once in a while I'll try a new recipe and it will turn out great...really great. THIS is one of those recipes. It comes from the classic cookbook THE JOY OF COOKING, which is the first cook book I ever owned and it was given to me as a 20th birthday gift. Over the years I've made many things out of this book with great success including my family's all time favorite, Chicken and Dumplings. Kevin and Kyle are both meat and potato kind of guys so this dinner was right up their alley. Honestly, they went nuts over it. I liked it quite a bit too. The meat cooks slowly in your oven on a low temperature in sauce which produces extremely tender meat. These braised steaks, referred to in England as smothered steak, are best made with beef bottom round or round steak.

Here is what you will need:

2 pounds beef bottom round or round steak, 3/4-1 1/4 inches thick, excess fat trimmed (if possible use grass fed, organic, locally grown beef) I buy all my meat from Whole Foods.
1 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. ground black pepper
1/2 cup all purpose flour (if you are gluten free you can use rice flour...if you are on a grain free/Paleo diet you can use Tapioca flour) ie: Tapioca flour is an approved Paleo starch
2. T olive oil
1 c. diced onion (I buy frozen diced onions)
1 c. chopped carrots
1/2 c. diced celery
2 c. beef broth
4 T. (1/4 c) tomato paste
1/2 t. italian seasoning
2 bay leaves

**Use organic on all of the above whenever possible.
*A large, deep ovenproof skillet or Dutch oven (I used a dutch oven)

Prepare the veggies. Set aside.

Cut the meat into individual steaks.

Mix together the garlic powder, salt and pepper in a small bowl.

Sprinkle the seasonings evenly on both sides.

Dredge each steak into the flour, covering both sides. Shake off excess.

Cover the bottom of the pot (ovenproof dutch oven or deep skillet) with the 2 T. of olive oil.

Sear the meat on high heat. 4-5 mins each side.

Carefully remove the browned meat with a spatula, keeping the floured coating in tact with the meat. Cover with foil to keep warm and set aside.

Add the veggies to the pan drippings remaining in the pan. Stir, on medium heat, loosening up the browned bits and combining with the veggies for 1-2 min. Reduce the heat and cover the pan.

Cook, stirring occasionally, until the veggies are softened but not browned, 5-7 minutes.

Measure out 2 cups of beef broth and add the 4 T. (1/4 c.) of tomato paste and the italian seasoning.

Wisk together until smooth.

Pour the sauce over the veggies, stirring to incorporate.

Add the bay leaves.

Return the meat to the pan. Push the steaks down into sauce. Cover.

Place pot into a prepared 325 degree oven. Bake for about 1 1/2 hours. Check for doneness at about an hour and fifteen minutes. It is done when the meat is fork tender. Mine was done at 1 1/2 hours.

After taking out of oven, remove and dispose of the bay leaves.

Spoon the sauce over each individual steak when serving. I served this with mashed potatoes and green beans. If you are on a Paleo Diet like I am you can serve this with a green salad and mashed sweet potatoes or any other Paleo approved sides. 

Enjoy!!!