Oh, mushroom gravy, how do I love you so?
Okay, okay. I’ll stop myself. You don’t want an ode to vegan mushroom gravy, do you? I get it. My inner poet will survive. But I’ll just mention that mushroom kinda rhymes with vavava-voom and that really coulda been something.
So! Vegan mushroom gravy! Friends, I have to say, I am pretty happy with this one. It’s thick and rich and chockfull of that umami flavor vegans clamor for.
I am really in love with this one – as much as one can be in love with a gravy. Why? Here’s why.
MUSHROOMS. Glorious glorious ‘shrooms. (Let it also be known that “‘shroom” and “BOOM” would have totally worked in a poem).
I use cremini mushrooms here, otherwise known as baby bellas. They are the hearty heart of the situation. In this vegan mushroom gravy recipe, I saute them in vegan butter and olive oil with shallots until tender, then deglaze with a dash of sherry. YUMMM.
Then, we stir in the flour and cook it for three minutes to get rid of any weird raw flour taste.
Then, more flavor! Add vegetable broth, fresh glorious thyme, some soy sauce or Tamari, and cook to thicken.
Yes.
Yes yes.
YES.
(This vegan mushroom gravy is glorious on my mashed-potato-stuffed vegan wellington, the recipe for which is coming soon!)
Another wonderful thing about this gravy recipe? You can make it now, cool it, and freeze it for the big day! It’s so easy to just warm up over the stove – add a bit of broth if it’s thickened up some.
I love this gravy on mashed potatoes, wellington, or just with a spoon. Kidding about the spoon. But kinda not.
Mushroom and consume. Totally rhyme.
Oh, I wanted to add a note on washing mushrooms. Have you ever heard that mushrooms soak up water like a sponge? Me too. Have you then wiped every mushroom individually with a damp paper towel? UGH, me too. Well, I read somewhere a year or two ago that it’s perfectly fine to give mushrooms a quick swirl in a bowl of water. I tried it, and I didn’t find my mushrooms had soaked up water like a sponge. So that’s how I wash my mushrooms. I place them in a bowl, give them a swish, drain, and do it again a couple more times until the water is fairly clean after the swish.
I also conducted a super scientific study last time (not really). I weighed a big batch of cremini mushrooms before washing them. They were 2.1 pounds. Then I washed them using the easy bowl-of-water method – dunk, swish, drain, dunk, swish, drain. Then I weighed them again. Guess how much they weighed? 2.1 pounds. Hmmm. Maybe some mushrooms don’t soak up water after all?
Of course, if you’re still doubtful, you can always wipe them down with a damp paper towel.
Onward with the gravy recipe!