Boliche Mechido

Ingredients

• 1 (3- to 4-pound) eye roast, with some fat on top
• 1 fresh (cured but not smoked or dried) chorizo sausage, Portuguese-style chouriço or Polish-style kielbasa, the length of the eye roast
• 2 large onions
• 6 large cloves garlic, crushed in a garlic press
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt, plus extra to taste
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper, plus extra to taste
• ¼ teaspoon paprika
• 1 tablespoon red-wine vinegar
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 medium potatoes, peeled

6 servings

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using a long knife, cut lengthwise into the roast from each end to create a space for the sausage (your fingers should touch if you insert them in each end). Remove the casing from the sausage and stuff it into the meat.
2. Cut the onions into 1/4-inch-thick rings. Combine the garlic, cumin, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper and the paprika in a cup and mix well. Stir in the vinegar and then rub the mixture over the roast.
3. Place the oil in a Dutch oven just large enough for the roast, and heat until almost smoking over medium-high heat. Brown the roast on all sides, ends first and then the fat side, about 2 minutes a side. (The spice mix will brown quickly and stick to the pan but will flavor the gravy.) Remove the meat to a platter. Add the onions and 2 cups water. Stir quickly as the water bubbles up, and deglaze the pan. Add another cup of water, heat to boiling, reduce heat to medium, and cover. Cook for 10 minutes, until onions have softened. Return the roast to the pan, and spoon some of the onions on top. Add enough water so the liquid rises 2/3 of the way up the sides of the roast. Cover and bake for 1 hour.
4. Remove the pan from the oven and turn the roast over in its liquid. Cover and let stand until cooled.
5. Cut the potatoes into 1-inch chunks. Place them in a roasting pan just large enough to hold them in a single layer. Add enough cooking liquid and onions to almost cover the potatoes. Place in the oven along with the (covered) pan holding the roast. Cook until the potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes and adding more cooking liquid as it boils away. Stop adding liquid after 20 minutes.
6. Cool the roast about 15 minutes and place on a cutting board. Boil the liquid down so there is about 2 cups while you slice the meat into 1/2-inch-thick pieces. Arrange on a serving platter with the potatoes. Pour the onion gravy over all and serve.

• fresh chorizo and chouriço are available from www.cubanfoodmarket.com.

1 hour 30 minutes