Vegan Gravy

This is a vegan gravy recipe I found online, and I modified it a bit. It is the perfect companion to the Vegan Wellington. I hope you enjoy it!

VEGAN GRAVY
Serves 6, Makes 1 1/2 cups of gravy

INGREDIENTS:

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
8 oz package of button mushrooms, cleaned and roughly chopped
2 Medium onions roughly chopped
2 Medium carrots thickly sliced
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp brown sugar
3 cups vegetable stock
2 celery sticks, thickly sliced
1 Tablespoons coffee (we use Cafe Bustelo)
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp of apple cider vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

3 Tablespoons of Earth Balance Original Spread
3 Tablespoon all purpose flour

INSTRUCTIONS:

1) In a large pot, heat the oil over a high heat. Add the mushrooms and fry until the mushrooms caramelize- about 6 minutes. Once they are brown, you can start to stir them. They will release some liquid. Continue cooking until all the liquid has evaporated and the mushrooms are thoroughly browned. Remove mushrooms from the pan and keep to the side for later. Do not clean pot, keep all the browned bit on the bottom of the pot.

2) Now add a Tablespoon of oil to the pan. Add the chopped onion and cook until golden. Then add the carrots and herbs and cook till all the vegetables start to brown. Don’t worry if there’s browned bits in the pan. This add delicious flavor to the gravy.

3) Pour in the vegetable stock. Return the mushrooms back into the pot. Stir and scrape any bits from the pot bottom.

4) Add the celery. Bring up to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes. Add the coffee, cider vinegar, brown sugar and soy sauce. Stir again. Now remove the pot from heat.

5) Taste the stock. Now add salt and pepper to your taste.  You can add a little more coffee, if you like, to give it extra depth or you can add more (another 1/2 tsp) of apple cider vinegar to sharpen the flavor.

6) Place a colander over a large bowl. Strain the liquid into the bowl. Take the strained vegetables, and place to the side for soup*

7) Heat a small sauce pan to med heat. To make the roux, place 3 Tablespoons of Earth Balance into the pan until melted. Now add 3 Tablespoons of Flour stirring constantly for 5 minutes or until the butter is absorbed in the flour and the mixture turns golden.

8) Now pour your broth into the sauce pan stirring until well mixed. (If your broth was frozen drop the broth brick into the pan and stir while it melts). Bring the gravy to a simmer. Stir and then remove for heat. The gravy will thicken as it cools.


IF YOU WANT TO USE THE STOCK LATER.  You can cool the stock and freeze the stock in a plastic container until you are ready to make the gravy. Then start on step 7.

**I take the strained gravy vegetables and make a delicious soup by adding a can of diced tomatoes, a cube of vegetable bullion and some water. Add some bread and you have an easy dinner.