Sunday Roast Beef & Gravy

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Ingredients:

Approximately 3 lb beef chuck or round roast
Olive oil
4 cloves garlic (split in half)
Salt and pepper

For the gravy:
water, beef stock and red wine (wine is entirely optional)
corn starch

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Directions:

With a sharp knife make 8 small incisions around the roast.
Place half a garlic clove into each incision.
Take a tablespoon or so of olive oil and spread all over the roast.
Sprinkle roast with salt and pepper.
Place the roast directly on an oven rack, fatty side up, with a drip pan on a rack beneath the roasting rack.
Brown the roast at 375F for half an hour.
Lower the heat to 225F.
Cook for approximately 3 hours until cooked through and tender.

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To make the gravy:

Take fat drippings from drip pan and place in small saucepan.
Add a bit of water (about 1/4 cup), some beef stock (about 1 1/2 cups) and about 1/4 to 1/2 cup red wine (is using).
If not using wine simply add more stock.
Mix all ingredients in saucepan and cook over medium heat until gravy starts to thicken.
Stir continuously to avoid clumping.
Gradually add up to 1 tablespoon flour to thicken gravy.
You can also add a little butter if your roast didn’t produce enough fat drippings.
Add salt and pepper to taste.