Make Your Own Vegan Gravy

A good sauce can be dumped upon pretty much anything to make it palatable. Bag of frozen vegetables? Don't mind if I do! Bowl of plain white rice? Thank you, madam! Thawed hot dogs? They'll charge you twice as much for it in urban hipster eateries!

Gravy is one such miracle cure for food, but if you're a strict vegetarian, it can be kind of hard to find a gravy on store shelves that hasn't had meat or meat powder snuck into it somehow. And let's be honest: the watery, canned stuff sold in little jars on store shelves doesn't quite have the flavor that satisfies. May this vegan gravy be your ticket to better gravy-based eating.

Although this interestingminds recipe isn't as simple as it ought to be to appear on this blog, it can be a lot easier to make your own damn vegan gravy than to find it in a store. Plus - I kid you not - this is the most delicious gravies I have ever had the good fortune to smother on some carbs. The miso is key to the rich flavor, so don't cheat yourself by skipping it. For your viewing pleasure:


EQUIPMENT:

• Frying pan
• Spatula
• Stove
• knife for chopping the onions

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 Tbsp flour
• 1 onion, sliced
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 1/2 to 2 cup of water or vegetable stock
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce or Miso
• salt to taste

TIME:
Not that long. Ten-Fifteen minutes, maybe?




DIRECTIONS:

" 1. Toast flour in a frying pan on medium-high heat for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. (NOTE: I considered skipping this step because I like cutting corners wherever possible, but I was later thankful that I had because otherwise I would have had to scrub flour crust crap off my pan for ages. To toast: just toss the flour in there and move it around with a spatula until it's sort of tan-colored and doesn't clump as much). Add onion and oil and stir until bubbling. Add water or vegetable stock very slowly, stirring while mixture thickens. Add seasonings and continue stirring until mixture reaches boiling point.

2. Turn down heat to medium low and stir until desired thickness is acheived. If gravy is too thick, add water.

3. Serve with baked potates, squash, savoury pies and casseroles. 

Variations: Try adding oregano and bsil in place of cumin and coriander. For mushroom gravy, add 1/2 cup of finely chopped mushrooms after adding onions. For intense flavour use dried wild mushrooms or shitake mushrooms."

PRO NOTES:
Seriously, though, toast the flour. It may sound stupid, but I promise that it's a good idea.