Oven Braised Italian Style Pot Roast Over Creamy Polenta

It was a snowy day in Connecticut today so I thought a little comfort food would take the winter chill off. I decided on an Italian flavored pot roast in light of the fact that hubbs hates potatoes, who hates potatoes??? As I winged it, just made it up as I went along, this was to my surprise super easy and not messy at all to put together. So let's get to the recipe, I used:

1 3/12-4 lb bottom round beef rump roast (my favorite cut for a roast)
2 tablespoons of olive oil
3 carrots sliced into coins
3 ribs of celery sliced
1 medium onion diced 
4 cloves of garlic smashed
1 10 oz package of white mushrooms quartered
1/4 cup red wine 
2 14 oz cans of diced tomatoes
1 14 1/2 oz can of beef broth
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste
Add the olive oil to a large dutch oven over high heat, season the meat with salt and pepper and shear on all sides. Next add the carrots, celery, mushrooms and onions to the pot, cook for about 5 minutes, deglaze the pot with the wine. Now add the tomatoes, beef broth, garlic and bay leaf to the pot. Cover and put into a preheated 325 degree oven for 3-4 hours or until fork tender but not quite falling apart.

When the roast is tender remove it from the pot and reduce the gravy on the stove top to your desired consistency,  I thickened mine up with a slurry because I like my gravies really thick.

 Next make the polenta:

It's a 3 to one ratio of liquid to corn meal, I used:
1 1/2 cups of chicken stock 
1 1/2 cups of cream
1 cup of corn meal
2 tablespoons of butter
1/4 cup parmesan
salt and pepper to taste
Bring the liquid to a boil and add the corn meal and whisk like crazy, this cooks very quickly, in a minute or 3 so make sure everything else is ready to go. 

*you might have to add more liquid to the polenta as I did to achieve the desired consistency, it's different every time
**always taste and re season as you go
***this would also be good over mashed potatoes, egg noodles or any pasta of your choice 
****a nice glass of red wine would top this meal off, I hope you try it and enjoy