Pot Roast with Mushrooms

Ingredients

• 1 cup dried mushrooms
• Olive oil
• 3 – 3 1/2 pound boneless chuck roast
• 8 ounces button mushrooms, quartered
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 2 ribs celery, chopped
• 16 ounces beef broth
• Kosher salt and cracked black pepper
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1 tablespoon butter

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Put the dried mushrooms in a bowl, pour boiling water over them, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and set it aside.
2. Add a generous drizzle of olive oil to a braising dish and warm it over medium high heat until the oil shimmers. Sprinkle the pot roast all over with salt and pepper, then brown it on every side, about 15 minutes total. Transfer the roast out of the pan and set it aside.
3. Add the quartered mushrooms to the same pan, stirring as they cook until they take on color, about 6 minutes. Add more olive oil if the pan needs it. Stir in the onions and cook until they just start to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the carrots and celery and continue cooking until they begin to soften, about another 5 minutes.
4. Return the roast to the pan, along with any juices that collected while it rested. Pour the dried mushrooms and their soaking liquid over the meat, then add the beef broth. Bring everything to a simmer, cover the dish, and move it to the oven. Cook until the roast is completely done and very tender, about 3 hours.
5. When the roast is ready, lift it out of the braising dish, keeping the liquid and vegetables in the pan, and season with salt and pepper. Mash the butter and flour together into a paste. Bring the cooking liquid to a simmer, then whisk in the butter-flour paste vigorously. Simmer until the sauce thickens, then slice the roast and serve it with the cooking liquid spooned over the top.