Marinade:
6-8 carrots, peeled and cut into coins
1-2 parsley root, peeled and cut into coins (use parsnips if you can’t get parsley root)
4 medium onions, sliced or chopped
2 bay leaves
½ tsp peppercorns
1 tbsp salt
Water to cover
Simmer marinade ingredients until carrots are almost tender. Add 1 cup white vinegar and simmer five minutes longer. Cool. Marinate meat (4 lb. chuck roast---optionally trimmed of fat) in the mixture for several days (5 or 6), in the refrigerator, turning daily.
Cooking. Remove the meat from the marinade and dry. (Don’t throw out the marinade, but strain it to separate the liquid from the vegetables.) Brown the meat in oil, both sides. Then reduce the heat, add a bit of the marinade liquid. Add more liquid as it cooks if it starts to get dry. Cook for about 3 hours, til it’s tender.
Sauce. Remove the carrots and a few pieces of parsley root from the veggie part of the marinade. Keep the carrots and throw out the onions and stuff. Simmer the carrots in some of the marinade liquid until they are really tender. Remove from heat and cool slightly. Puree them with an immersion blender,( or regular blender or food processor), adding more liquid if you think it is too thick. Finish the sauce by heating 3 tbsp cooking oil in a small saucepan, blended with 3 tbsp flour. Heat til its golden, about 1 minute. Stir this into the sauce, while reheating the sauce a bit. If it is too thick, add more marinade liquid.
Dumplings. Cube about 8 slices of white bread, and toast in a little oil in a skillet until nicely browned. Reserve.
Make dough of 2 cups flour, 1 egg, and 1 cup water. Beat thoroughly until you see bubbles. Stir in the reserved bread cubes. Let stand 20 minutes.
Drop by tablespoons into boiling salted water. Cover loosely. Boil 15-20 minutes. To save for later or reheat, brown slightly in butter.