Slow Cooker Beef Pot Roast with Gremolata

Ingredients

• 2 pounds baking potatoes peeled cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2  bay leaves 
• 1 teaspoon pepper black freshly ground
• 3 large carrots peeled cut into 1-inch pieces
• 0.3 teaspoon pepper red crushed
• 0.8 cup wine dry red
• 2 tablespoons parsley fresh chopped
• 1 teaspoon thyme sprigs fresh chopped
• 1  garlic clove minced
• 4  garlic clove crushed
• 0.5 teaspoon lemon zest grated
• 1 cup less-sodium beef broth fat-free
• 1 teaspoon olive oil 
• 2 cups onion chopped ( 1 large)
• 2.5 pound prime rib roast boneless trimmed
• 1.5 teaspoons salt 
• 0.3 cup sun-dried olives drained chopped
• 4  thyme sprigs 

Equipment

• bowl
• frying pan
• pot
• slow cooker

Directions

1. To prepare pot roast, sprinkle roast evenly with salt and black pepper.
2. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray.
3. Add roast to pan; cook 5 minutes, turning to brown on all sides.
4. Transfer roast to an electric slow cooker. Recoat pan with cooking spray.
5. Add onion to pan; saut 8 minutes or until tender.
6. Add broth and next 6 ingredients (through bay leaves) to pan; bring to a simmer.
7. Add broth mixture to slow cooker. Arrange carrots and potatoes around roast in slow cooker. Cover and cook on HIGH 2 hours. Reduce heat to low; cook 4 hours.
8. Remove bay leaves and thyme sprigs from slow cooker; discard.
9. Remove roast from slow cooker; shred with 2 forks.
10. To prepare gremolata, combine parsley and remaining ingredients in a small bowl, stirring well.
11. Serve with roast and vegetable mixture.
12. Wine note: Slow-cooked pot roast has a tender meatiness that's simple but luscious, especially when the roast's flavors are entwined with the earthiness of long-simmered root vegetables. Wines that work well with a dish like this are also soft, earthy, and (usually) red. One of my favorites is a supple zinfandel such as Bogle's Old Vine Zinfandel from California ($11). --Karen MacNeil