Slow Cooker Red Wine Braised Beef with Arugula

Slow Cooker Red Wine Braised Beef is a simple but delicious Crockpot meal. It's packed with flavor from garlic, fresh herbs, and sun-dried tomatoes. Serve it over noodles and arugula and it's an easy weeknight meal!

 

My blogger buddy—Michaela, from the wonderful An Affair from the Heart—had this really fun idea: Freaky Friday! No, this doesn't involve Jodie Foster or Lindsay Lohan. But do you remember the premise of that movie? Mom and daughter switch bodies and get a taste of each other's life and learn valuable lessons. C'mon, you know you loved it.

For this Freaky Friday, a bunch of food bloggers are getting a taste of each other's recipes! And learning valuable lessons, maybe? We've each been randomly assigned to another participant's blog; from that blog we choose one recipe to make, taste, photograph, and write about. More fun than freaky, if I'm being honest.

I was lucky enough to be assigned to the fantastic A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures (and, yes, that's the best blog name ever created). If it sounds familiar, it might be because I was assigned to it for a previous Freaky Friday and I made this Mushroom and Goat Cheese Baked Eggs!

Christie, the brain and palate behind the blog, loves healthy recipes that are simple and tasty. A girl after my own heart, that's for sure. Bonus: Christie made her version of my Cannoli Ice Cream recipe for a previous Freaky Friday!

There were lots of recipes that were calling my name: the Italian Pressed Sandwich is a drool-worthy weeknight meal. And these divine Middle Eastern Deviled Eggs combine some of my very favorite ingredients (eggs! hummus! za'atar!) into one amazing appetizer.

But it was the Slow Cooker Red Wine Braised Beef that finally won my heart. I love a Crockpot meal—especially one with Italian flavors and ingredients, like LOADS of garlic, rosemary, and sun-dried tomatoes. Perfectly comforting and hearty for a cold winter night!

I adapted the recipe just slightly; for instance, I used shallots instead of onions, I used pureed tomatoes instead of crushed (my husband doesn't like chunky tomatoes), and I browned the meat before placing it in the slow cooker.

Ingredients
serves 6-8

• 1 1/2 Tablespoons olive oil
• salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 2 pounds beef roast 
• 2 cups shallots, thinly sliced
• 7 to 8 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 28 ounces pureed tomatoes
• 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes (not in oil), minced
• 2 cups dry, red wine
• 1 cup beef broth

• 1 pound egg noodles, cooked
• 4 cups arugula

Season the beef generously with salt and pepper. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, warm the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the beef and sear, turning as necessary, until it is a deep golden brown on all sides.

In the meantime, grease your Crockpot. Add shallots and garlic to the bottom of your slow cooker. Place the seared beef on top of the garlic and onions. Scatter the thyme and rosemary sprigs over the meat. Top with the pureed tomatoes, as well as the sun-dried tomatoes.

Pour the beef broth into the pan you used to sear the beef, making sure to scrape up  any little bits left there. Pour into the Crockpot, along with the red wine. Add more salt and pepper, to taste.

Cook on low for six to eight hours, until the meat is fork tender and falling apart. Remove the sprigs of thyme and rosemary. Using two forks, pull the beef into chunks or shreds.

Distribute the cooked egg noodles (of course, you could use polenta or cauliflower rice instead) among your serving bowls. Top each with a big handful or two of arugula.

 

Spoon the braised beef and sauce over the arugula and noodles; the heat of the meat with wilt the greens.

Top with some more arugula and, if desired, shaved Parmesan cheese.

Wow, was this good! So glad I chose it for Freaky Friday. Also, I found that I had a good amount of sauce left over, so I'm saving it to add to a soup I'll make this weekend. It's so rich and delicious.

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