When I served this meal to my husband he said (100% seriously I might add) "whoever made up this sauce is a genius! It's SO good." to which I responded "babe, this is my recipe. I made up this sauce". Needless to say, my husbands mind was blown ya'll!
He's so cute with stuff like that and it's really the ultimate complement because he thought I had just followed a recipe! He loves my cooking which is just part of why I love him. Oh he also taste tests every single recipe on this blog before I publish it! The man works hard! Heheh
He didn't understand how I was able to come up with a sauce like this. But I grantee when you make this whole meal PLUS the sauce, you're going to see just how incredibly simple the whole thing actually is!
DID I MENTION THAT THIS RECIPE IS MADE IN THE INSTANT POT YET!?
Yep, it's a romantic dinner for two (hubs ALSO said it was the fanciest meal he's ever eaten btw) that is sure to leave you both happy and not broken out or bloated for that matter! Isn't that great news? I can't tell you how many times hubs and I would go out to eat a "romantic" dinner and after the fact I just felt fat and full... Kinda the opposite of romantic and sexy yah know?
But you can easily avoid that by making a paleo romantic dinner!!
I talk about Instant Pots a lot and it was a big and exciting upgrade for me! But I'm going to talk about them again here now for anyone who might be newer to the blog or possibly haven't heard of it until now!
If you haven't heard of or invested in an Instant Pot yet I highly recommend that you do so! I literally love mine - it's just really awesome! It makes preparing healthy meals so quick and simple during the week or on the weekends! It cuts the cook time down like crazy (about 50%) compared to using a slow cooker, but it's just as easy. It's a pressure cooker and it also functions as a slow cooker, rice cooker, yogurt maker, and so much more!
For reals, at least check it out and make a note to get one when the timing is right for you!
Now let's look at this delicious food!
I don't want you to think that in order to enjoy yourself on Valentines day that you have to either eat like crazy, or not eat at all in order to feel good in your body.
Honor your body and your partners body (bow chicka bow bowwww) this year by having a delicious wholesome meal that's also super satisfying. OH and I MIGHT be sharing a fantastic valentines dessert recipe later this week also. Possibly. I can neither confirm or deny that at this point in time. For reals though real food is the way to go!
And HEY all you single ladies and gents: make this for yourself and or you and your girlfriends on Valentines day! (Galentines day anyone!?) Drink a bunch of wine, eat some fancy and delicious food, have a treat and treat yo self to a great experience! I mean there's no reason whatsoever that this meal is somehow exclusive for couples. It's a dinner for one, two, three, four, whatever floats your boat! Not in a gross way but I think you get it?
Do it fo yo damn self!
Okay, I don't really know what else to say at this point besides: make this now and enjoy the heck out of it yah crazies! Or print it out so you can get what you need and make it the day of or something.
Onward ho to the recipe!
Instant Pot Chianti Pot Roast with Asparagus
Serves 2-4
Ingredients:
Pot Roast:
1.5 lbs grass fed pot or chuck roast
2 tsp sea salt
1 tbsp grass fed butter, ghee, tallow, lard, or coconut oil
1/2 large white onion, chopped
1/4 cup chianti wine, separated
2 cup chicken or beef stock (bone broth is best)
Fennel Chianti Sauce:
1 fennel
4oz sliced baby bella mushrooms
1 tbsp grass fed butter, ghee, or coconut oil
Pinch or two of salt
Pinch or two of garlic powder
1/4 cup Chianti red wine
2 tbsp tapioca flour
Asparagus:
1/2 bushel of asparagus
1/2 tsp Himalayan pink salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp turmeric
1 tbsp grass fed butter, ghee, lard, or coconut oil
Instructions:
Pot Roast:
Take meat out of packing and place on a cutting board. Coat with at least 2 tsp salt and massage into the meat.
Let the salted meat rest on cutting board for 5 minutes.
While meat is resting turn your instant pot onto the "sauté" function and melt 1 tbsp butter or other fat of choice. Sear the roast for 1 minute on each side. Use silicone tongs for easy flipping while not damaging the pan & be careful because it gets hot.
**note: if at any point your fat starts to burn be sure to turn off the sauté function as it does get extremely hot. When you're done searing the meat and have removed it from the pot, if the fat left in the pot looks burnt then pour it out and add an additional tbsp of fat before continuing to the next step of adding onions.
After searing the meat on all sides, remove meat from the pot and place it back onto the cutting board. Season with garlic powder & rosemary. Leave it on the cutting board for now.
Throw the chopped onions into the instant pot without draining the fat. If it gets dry then add some extra butter or coconut oil. Sauté the onions until they become soft & translucent, about 5 minutes watching them closely so they don't burn. Then add 1/4 cup of wine and deglaze the bottom of the pot by stirring and scraping up anything on the bottom left from the meat or onions.
Let the wine reduce by at least 1/2 although it should look like there's almost none left when it's ready. Turn off the pot and add the meat back in on top of the layer of onions. Pour in the broth on top of the roast.
Manually set the instant pot on high pressure for 45 minutes.
In the meantime cook the asparagus and start on your sauce (instructions for both below).
Once the instant pot timer is done, be sure to first turn it off, then use your tongs to very carefully switch the pressure valve to "venting" and release the pressure again being VERY careful to keep your distance as hot steam will be streaming out of the venting valve.
Once all the pressure is released plate the roast on a serving dish and finish the sauce off in the instant pot.
Asparagus:
Preheat your oven to 425 then rinse & trim your asparagus. Place in a single row on a foil lined baking sheet and cover with fat of choice, salt, garlic, turmeric, rosemary, & oregano.
Bake for 15 minutes, remove from oven and move asparagus around, then put back in for another 5 minutes or until fork tender.
Chianti Sauce:
Cut off the fronds (wispy green part at the top) of your whole fennel by cutting it in half width wise and set aside. Then cut the bottom half of your fennel in half again length wise and dice up only 1 half into small pieces.
Melt fat of choice in a pan, on medium high heat and add the chopped fennel. Add a pinch of salt and pinch of garlic powder. Stir to coat evenly. Lower the heat to low and cook with the top on mostly, stirring occasionally for about 5-8minutes or until soft.
Turn up the heat again and add the mushrooms. Cook for an additional 5 minutes or until the mushrooms are soft. Add additional pinches of salt & garlic if you'd like.
Pour in 1/4 cup of Chianti wine and deglaze the pan by constantly stirring and getting any brown bits off the bottom. Once the roast is done, wine has reduced, and alcohol has cooked off, add the contents of your pan to the juices left in the instant pot.
Turn on the sauté function and let it boil uncovered for 10-15 minutes stirring occasionally to avoid burning. Take 2 tbsp of tapioca flour in a separate bowl and whisk together with some water until it makes a thin liquid.
Pour this into the instant pot and stir to combine. Add additional salt & garlic powder to taste!
Pour on top of your meat and serve extra on the side!! Garnish with fennel fronds, and enjoy!!!
AHHHHHH reading this over again now makes me just SO excited for you to try it!! I hope that you not only love it but that it makes your valentines day just that much more magical!
I honestly want to eat it all over again..... Like now!
I might even end up making this again for my husband on valentines day... But we just ate it recently so that's not too exciting for him... I try to cook him a fancy meal every year for v-day to void the insanity of restaurants! Ah well we shall see! I surely hope it adds to your night regardless of your relationship status!!!
Comment below - what are some of your valentines day traditions?
And as always if you need more recipes, heal, love, & support in clearing your skin be sure to enter in your email address below to gain access to my VIP Resource Library!
See ya'll later this week!! <3
