With this vegetarian gravy, we aim to attain sausage-type flavor without the sausage.
We love this over biscuits at brunch and also make it for vegetarian Thanksgiving. You have to try it to believe it!
Every year, we want to come up with a dish that will be the center of attention at the Thansgiving table. This recipe was featured in our first cookbook, The Southern Vegetarian (Harper Horizon, 2013). Miracle Mushroom Gravy also pairs well with our recipe for Stuffed Acorn Squash, chanterelle mushroom and dried apricot stuffing in the middle of scalloped slices of acorn squash.
This recipe was featured HERE on The New York Times Well blog in the piece “Southern Flavors on a Vegetarian Table” by Tara Parker-Pope. Years later, we still make this gravy for our family every Thanksgiving. We even bought a gravy boat to do it up right.
Miracle Mushroom Gravy
Ingredients
1 (10-ounce) package portobello mushrooms
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup diced shallots
1 teaspoon dried sage
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Scant 1/8 teaspoon ground clove
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole milk
Serves 6
Directions
1. Slice mushrooms about 1/4-inch thick. You will blend them later, so there’s no need to be overly precise. Add the oil to a medium frying pan over high heat, and then sauté the mushrooms until browned. Add the shallots to the pan and continue to cook for another minute until the rawness has been cooked out of the shallots and they’re translucent.
2. Place the mushrooms and shallots into the work bowl of your food processor, and add the sage, red pepper flakes, clove powder, soy sauce and maple syrup.
3. In the same pan over medium heat, melt the butter and add the flour. Whisk the mixture until fragrant, about five minutes. Whisk in the whole milk, and heat the mixture until slightly thick. Add the milk mixture to the food processor that contains the mushroom mixture. Pulse until the mushrooms are finely chopped and well incorporated into the milk, but leave some chunkiness for a nice texture.
4. Return the mixture to the pan and keep warm until ready to serve. If it gets too thick, add some milk or stock to thin it out. Serve warm.
