Vegan Gravy

Two months ago we moved. One month ago we became sick with the coronavirus and as a result of all of the chaos, my blog was abandoned. Now that we are settling in and the Holidays are right around the corner I want to share the recipes to a few of the dishes that will be making an appearance at our Thanksgiving and Christmas feasts. First up is this AMAZING gravy. I make this regularly for Sunday dinners (with mashed potatoes) and my family (especially my husband who was a meat and potatoes kind of guy before going plant-based) all go nuts for it. I hope you will enjoy it as much as we do!

Ingredients:

½ yellow onion, diced

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 sprigs fresh rosemary, destemmed

3 sage leaves, roughly chopped

3 sprigs fresh thyme, destemmed

1 Russet Potato (about 2 ½ cups), skins on and diced

3 C water

1 Tbsp Better Than Bouillon Seasoned Vegetable Base (see note)

⅓ C cashews

Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

1. In a medium saucepan over medium high heat use 1tablespoon of water to sauté the onions for 5-6 minutes until they are translucent and fragrant. Add splashes of water as needed 1 tablespoon at a time (I usually don’t need more than 2 tablespoons of water total for this step).

2. Add the garlic and fresh herbs. Continue to sauté for another 2-3 minutes adding splashes of water as needed 1 tablespoon at a time.

3. Add the diced potato, cashews, water, and bouillon to the saucepan. Cover with a lid and boil over medium heat for 15 minutes until the potatoes are fork tender. (If you let the mixture boil for too long and too much of the water has evaporated you can just add in more water when blending).

4. Turn off the heat, remove the lid, and let it cool for about 5 minutes before transferring the mixture to the blender.

5. Blend on high speed until the consistency is silky smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste. Then transfer the gravy back to the saucepan to keep it warm or pour it in a gravy boat and serve with mashed potatoes.

Notes: I personally love to use the Better Than Bouillon Vegetable base. My second favorite option is the Not-Chicken Bouillon Cubes. However, both of these do contain sugar. If you are looking for a sugar-free option you can substitute the water and bouillon for vegetable broth. Just make sure that you like the taste of your broth since it is a prominent flavor.

Since creating this recipe over a year ago I've enjoyed a few variations such as adding a celery stick or half a leak to the mixture. You can also sauté mushrooms and blend half of the mushrooms up with the gravy and then add the rest back in for a chunky texture.