Pot Roast a la Alice Waters

I took some liberties with the ingredients, but the technique here comes from Alice Waters's The Art of Simple Food, a cookbook that I have so far found to be infallible. Every recipe I have tried has turned out spectacularly delicious, and the name is apt.

Season the meat as far in advance of cooking as you can - a couple days would be ideal, but I have to admit I rarely think this far ahead. Try for at least an hour, which shouldn't be too hard since the meat needs to come out of the fridge then anyway. Serve this over buttered egg noodles or mashed potatoes. If you like, you can cook some vegetables separately when the meat is nearly done, and add them in after you return to the roast to the pot in the final step. Otherwise, serve the vegetable dish of your choice on the side.

2-3 lb beef roast (chuck or similar)
Salt and pepper
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp flour
1 large onion, in large chunks
3 cloves garlic, halved
1 medium carrot, peeled and cut into chunks
2 Tbsp dried porcini mushrooms (optional but good)
1/2 tsp dry thyme
1/2 cup red wine (optional but recommended)
Water or stock (beef or veggie)

Remove the roast from the refrigerator an hour before you plan to cook it. Pat it dry with paper towels and season generously on all sides with salt and pepper.

Heat a Dutch oven or other similar pan with a lid (cast iron is great) on the stove. Ideally, use something a little larger than the roast but not a lot larger. Add the olive oil, then put the roast in. Brown for 2-3 minutes on each side. Then add the butter and sprinkle the roast on all sides with the flour. Continue to brown for a couple minutes on each side. Add the onion, garlic, carrot, porcinis and thyme, then pour in the wine and enough water or stock to almost but not quite cover the meat. Bring to a good simmer, skim off the foam, then cover and reduce heat to very low. Simmer on low for 3-4 hours, turning the meat occasionally, until very tender.

When the roast is tender, remove it from the pot to a platter and cover with foil to keep it warm. Strain the liquid through a sieve into a bowl or another pot. Press as much liquid out of the vegetables as you can, then discard.

Cut the roast into chunks and return it to the pot, then pour the strained liquid over it.

Serve the meat over buttered egg noodles or mashed potatoes and add a generous amount of broth.

Serves at least 6.