by Betsy Naselli
Are you someone who grew up eating “red gravy” — what we non-Italians call spaghetti sauce? Or, was gravy always made with the bits of meat left in the pan and served over mashed potatoes or biscuits?
My mother-in-law, who never really did understand what vegan meant, no matter how many times I patiently tried to explain, would urge me to eat her red gravy, and tell me it was vegetarian; I should just take out the sausage and meatballs.
Hmmm....no, thanks!
Well, you can make vegan gravy, and it is delicious over veggie-filled chickpea crepes, or roasted garlic mashed potatoes, or biscuits. It’s a comfort food of choice for many of us, and just perfect for a cold winter evening. Add a green salad and call it a meal!
Basic Gravy
2T whole wheat pastry flour
2T canola or extra virgin olive oil
13/4 C filtered water
1/4 C tamari or shoyu
In a medium saucepot, over medium heat, frequently stir the flour until it is toasty and nutty smelling.
This takes just a few minutes. Don’t leave it untended — keep stirring so it doesn’t become too browned. Add the oil and stir until combined; it will all sort of gum up together in the pot.
Not to worry. Add the water and tamari (I combine these in a two-cup measuring cup first) and stir with a whisk until completely smooth. Simmer until the gravy thickens, about 10 minutes. Serve.
Mushroom Gravy
about 2 C mushrooms — a mixture of shiitake, button and portabellos is my favorite — chopped or thinly sliced. (You want them to be about bite-sized, generally.)
1T (scant) olive oil
1T fresh thyme leaves, or 1t. dried ground thyme
1/2t. dried sage
1 Basic Gravy recipe
Place oil in a medium pan on medium heat. When oil is hot, add mushrooms and herbs and saute until mushrooms are tender and have released most of their moisture. Add Basic Gravy to pan and stir to combine. Serve.
“Chick’n” Gravy
2T whole wheat pastry flour
2T canola or extra virgin olive oil
2T nutritional yeast
2C vegetarian “chicken” broth* (I like to use the Better Than Bouillon for this.)
pinch of turmeric
Follow instructions for Basic Gravy, adding nutritional yeast and turmeric at the same time as the broth.
If you add peas, diced potatoes, diced carrots and diced celery, or whatever other veggies you like (this
could be as simple as a bag of organic frozen mixed vegetables), you can use this as a potpie filling also. Or, top with the biscuit dough and bake as a casserole.
*If you can’t find a chicken flavoredvegetarian broth, a plain vegetarian broth will do.
Whole Wheat Baking Powder Biscuits
3/4C non-dairy milk
2t. apple cider vinegar
11/2C whole wheat flour
1/2C unbleached flour
1T baking powder
1t. sea salt
1/4C cup canola oil
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Add vinegar to non-dairy milk and set aside to curdle while you mix remaining ingredients. Mix dry ingredients together. When non-dairy milk looks curdled, add the oil to it and whisk to blend. Add to the dry ingredients and mix with a fork just until combined (over-mixing will create tough biscuits). Drop by large spoonfuls onto lightly greased pan, or gently
pat onto a lightly floured surface and cut out with a biscuit cutter. You should get about eight good-sized biscuits. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until lightly browned
Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes
I am cheating a little here with the garlic in that it is not really roasted, but slowly cooked on the stovetop in oil as the potatoes boil. I use this method frequently when I want the meltingly delicious flavor of roasted garlic, but don’t want to either take the time that roasting it requires, or simply don’t want to heat up the oven just to roast garlic.
At least 1 head of garlic, (more ifyou love it like I do) cut into thick slices
about 3T olive oil
5 or 6 large potatoes; — Yukon Gold are my favorites, but any waxed potato will work. Peel if they are not organic; otherwise, just scrub clean and cut into large chunks.
salt and pepper to taste
Place the oil in a very small pot over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add garlic slices and turn to low so garlic slowly simmers. Cook until a rich golden color. You do not want crispy, browned garlic pieces, but soft, translucent and melty garlic slices.
Add potatoes to water to cover and bring to a boil. Reduce temperature to medium and cook until fork tender. Drain potatoes, add garlic and oil and mash all together. Season with salt and pepper
Betsy Naselli owns The Holistic Lifestyle Company in the Syracuse area.
The Atlantic Chapter encourages you to move toward a plant-based diet to protect the environment, human health and wildlife, and to make better use of natural resources.
To learn more and receive more recipes, contact the Biodiversity/ Vegetarian Outreach Committee at LDESTEFANO3@twcny.rr.com, (315) 488-2140 ,
5031 Onondaga Rd., Syracuse, NY 13215-1403
or go to http://www.newyork.sierraclub.org/conservation/biodiversity/index.htm