Bisto? Never heard of it. Jokes aside, I do like Bisto, as having gravy granules that you just add boiled water to is very convenient. But sometimes you want a gravy that you’ve put as much effort into as the meal itself. Look no further than this recipe for a rich, thick gravy that will go perfectly with any festive meal. This gravy has an amazing depth of flavour to it, it can be made ahead of time, and it can be made gluten free too. You can make this and freeze it, so then all you have to do is defrost and reheat it when you need it. Once you’re ready to serve, pour it into a gravy boat and you’re ready to go. Thickening this gravy with cornflour rather than flour, not only makes it gluten free, but it also adds a beautifully glossy sheen to the gravy too
Serves; Eight Cook time; 50 minutes approximately
You’ll need;
- 25g dried shiitake mushrooms
- 500ml boiled water to rehydrate the dried shiitake mushrooms with
- One tablespoon of oil
- 100g celery, chopped
- 100g onion, peeled and chopped
- 100g carrot, peeled and chopped
- Three cloves of garlic, chopped
- 150g chestnut mushrooms, sliced
- One litre of hot meat-free beef stock, I used two meat-free beef Oxo cubes dissolved in one litre of hot water
- Two tablespoons of soy sauce, or swap for tamari to make this gravy gluten free
- One tablespoon of tomato puree
- One tablespoon of fish-free Worcester sauce
- Half a teaspoon of both dried thyme and dried rosemary
- 80g cornflour dissolved in 80ml very cold water
- Salt and black pepper to taste
Method;
- Begin by placing the dried shiitake mushrooms into a bowl and then pouring over 500ml of freshly boiled water. Set aside and allow the mushrooms to rehydrate
- Next, add the oil into a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add in the celery, onion and carrot, give them 10 minutes to fry, stirring every now and then. You want the vegetables to brown, because colour equals flavour. Any small bits stuck to the bottom of the pan will be lifted off later, this will give the gravy even more depth of flavour
- Then add in the garlic and stir it through the vegetables. Give the garlic a couple of minutes to cook until it starts to become fragrant
- Add the chestnut mushrooms and stir them through the vegetables. Give the mushrooms five minutes to cook. You should notice that as they cook they begin to release moisture, which will lift off anything stuck to the bottom of the pan
- Next, add the shiitake mushrooms along with their liquid (minus the last couple of spoonfuls as there may be some grit) into the saucepan. Then add in the hot stock, soy sauce (or tamari to make this gluten free), tomato puree, fish-free Worcester sauce and herbs. Give everything a good stir to ensure nothing is stuck to the bottom of the pan. Pop a lid on the saucepan and allow the gravy to simmer for 30 minutes, stirring every now and then
- After 30 minutes, use an immersion blender to blend the gravy until it’s smooth, then pass it through a sieve. Use the back of a spoon to push the gravy through the sieve, getting as much moisture from the vegetables as you can
- Return the gravy to the saucepan and bring it to a gentle simmer. Once it’s simmering pour in the cornflour slurry and mix it through. After a couple of minutes the gravy should be thickened and ready to serve
Bethany's Vegan Kitchen 