How to Make Vegan Gravy
A rich, savoury mushroom gravy built on dried porcini and fresh chanterelles, simmered with garlic, thyme and rosemary until deep and glossy. Completely dairy-free and vegan, it comes together in about 30 minutes of cooking (plus soaking time) and pours beautifully over mashed potatoes or roasted vegetables.
Ingredients
- ½ cup wild porcini mushrooms dried
- 2 cups chanterelle mushrooms washed
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 onions chopped
- 3 cloves garlic crushed
- 2 cups vegetable broth or water
- 1 Tbsp tomato paste
- 2 Tbsp tapioca starch or corn starch
- 1 Tbsp salt or to taste
- 1 tsp black pepper freshly ground
- 3-4 sprigs thyme and rosemary
- 1 bay leaf
Instructions
- Add the dried porcini mushrooms to a bowl and cover with 3 cups of water.
- Soak for about an hour.
- Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat.
- Add the chopped onions and cook for 3 minutes, or until translucent.
- Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Pour 1/4 cup of the vegetable broth into the pan and continue to cook.
- Add the bay leaf.
- Add the chanterelle mushrooms and cook for approximately 10 minutes.
- Stir in the tomato paste.
- Add the porcini mushrooms and their soaking water to the pan, leaving any grit behind at the bottom of the bowl.
- Add the rest of the broth, the rosemary and the thyme, then bring to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to low and cook for 15 minutes.
- Pour the cooked mixture through a strainer into another bowl.
- Add the tapioca starch and stir well until no lumps remain.
- Return the strained mixture to the pan over low heat.
- Keep stirring until the gravy begins to thicken, then add the salt and pepper and stir for another minute.
- Serve with mashed potatoes, vegetables, or any of your favourite dishes.
Notes
Save the porcini soaking water - it becomes the stock for the gravy. Pour it in carefully and leave any grit behind at the bottom of the bowl. Salt to taste, and go easy if your vegetable broth is already salted. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 3 months; reheat gently and loosen with a splash of broth if the gravy has thickened too much.