A thoroughly scrumptious 1950s pot roast recipe

It is not exactly a secret that sometimes when one spies a yesteryear recipe, it's apt to raise a few eyebrows (tuna, Jell-o, pimento, American cheese, and gobs of mayo in the same dish, why not?!) and make even the most ironclad stomachs amongst us do a double take.

Much as I do actually love a good, kooky vintage recipe (nothing ventured, right?), I know that not everyone who plonks themselves down at my dinner table is always going to share my gusto for the - how shall we say - more unique offerings that vintage recipe booklets, magazines, and cookbooks like to dish up.

With that thought planted firmly in mind, I always keep an eye open for old school recipes that could just as easily have come straight from the pages of the most contemporary of culinary sources, and I think that (assuming one doesn't mind a little ketchup with their beef) today's recipe for Highland Pot Roast hits that mark wonderfully.

With nary a drop of mayo or speck of pimento in sight, this recipe sets the tongue aflutter at first reading, and will likely have you making a beeline for the closest butcher's shop in the very near future.




{A handful of timelessly tasty ingredients partner up in this hearty, delicious pot roast recipe from the 1950s, that is sure to impress and thoroughly fill all your dinner guests. Image via Charm and Poise on Flickr.}



I've long been a fan of meat dishes that have a subtle hint of sweetness to them and this elegant pot roast delivers just that thanks to the use of dried apricots (if you had any to hand, dried peaches or plums would be excellent here as well) and good old-fashioned Heinz ketchup.

There's really very little I'd alter about this cold-weather-perfect beef recipe, save perhaps to toss in a few herbs (I'm thinking fresh thyme and parsley - a little dried sage would be lovely, too) and up the black pepper content a tad. You could play around with the veggies, adding or swapping in things such as parsnips, onions (yes, I think a bit of onion is in order), or sweet potatoes (which would harmonize really nicely with the apricots).

Serve this roast with a hefty helping of mashed potatoes, creamed spinach and some fluffy buttermilk biscuits during the nippier months, or a cucumber salad and French bread if you're getting treated to an Indian summer this year, for a vintage recipe that succeeds beautifully in being an appealing classic no matter what decade it is.