Holiday pot roast with roasted root vegetables, mushrooms and collards

Trim the chuck roast of sinew and most of the hard fat. Leave it whole, or cut into chunks to speed the cooking.

Season all over with salt and pepper and sear on all sides in a wide pan with a splash of oil. Move to a tray.

Cut the fennel into wedges and roast them in the same pan with a splash of oil and a pinch of salt until well golden brown; char them at the end with a torch or under the broiler.

Quarter the onions and roast them the same way, without charring.

Wash and halve the mushrooms and roast them with a splash of oil and a pinch of salt until golden and the water has steamed off; add butter, crushed garlic, thyme and cracked pepper, stir, and move to a tray.

Return the beef to the pan over medium heat, cover with water (or stock), and cook about two hours, until very tender but not falling apart.

Uncover and ladle off most of the rendered fat; reserve about half the braising liquid for the gravy.

Take out the meat and finish the vegetables in the remaining braising liquid; add the chopped carrots at the end with a little salt.

Put the braised roast under the broiler for a final crust.

Mix the flour with cold water in a small bowl to a slurry the consistency of eggnog. Whisk it into the reserved braising liquid, bring to a rolling simmer until thickened, cook 30 seconds more and take off the heat. Season with salt and pepper.

Rough chop the collard greens and steam them in the middle of the vegetables with a good pinch of salt.

Set the roast over the vegetables, glaze the top with a few spoonfuls of braising liquid, finish with the gravy, and garnish with picked thyme leaves (or parsley), cracked black pepper and coarse salt.