A Generous Table

Mushroom Gravy made with Hard Cider*

Today was a little cold and mostly rainy here – an odd quirky weather pattern for sunny Denver.  Between that and the novel I’m reading (set in rainy England), I wanted something warm and comforting for dinner, but not really in the mood for meat – plus I’m trying to use up stuff I already have…so I decided to make mashed potatoes and a hearty mushroom gravy.  The nice thing about mushroom gravy is that you can make a vegetarian gravy that actually tastes good this way.  Gravy is not something I cared for too much until the last couple of years – especially on mashed potatoes.  Probably because I’ve been served a lot of pretty gnarly pre-made gravy growing up.  Making gravy from scratch really isn’t difficult, despite the many horror stories, and if you do mess it up, you can fix it easily.  Too thick?  Add a little more liquid.  Too thin?  Swish some cornstarch or flour in some COLD water, add it to the gravy and boil for a minute.  Lumps?  Strain it through a sieve (if you use cold liquid with the flour or make sure to have equal parts fat to flour and combine it well you can avoid lumps entirely – a whisk also helps with this)  Too salty?  Thin it out with an unsalted liquid and thicken it back up.  Flavorless?  Add some soy sauce, worchestershire sauce, chicken or beef stock base, beer, herbs, vermouth or wine – any number of flavoring agents.  See?  Not as intimidating as you think!

Basic Mushroom Gravy

• A few shallots, a small onion, or some cloves of minced garlic – or any combination
• 8-16 oz mushrooms, sliced or chopped
• A few Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil, butter or pan drippings
• 1-2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour (for gluten free use arrowroot or cornstarch, following the directions on the package)
• 2-3 cups liquid, such as stock, beer, wine or water – or any combination
• Salt & Pepper, to taste
• Fresh or dried herbs, as desired

Heat a saute pan over medium heat.  Add a glug of olive oil or a Tablespoon of butter and the onion/shallot/garlic of choice.  Cook until translucent.  If using garlic, only cook it a minute and keep it from browning or it will taste bitter.  If using garlic with onion or shallot, add to pan after onions are cooked and soft.  Remove onion mixture from pan and reserve.  Add a little more oil and the mushrooms in batches, so they brown and cook (if you cook them all at once, they will steam themselves and you won’t get the deep flavor from caramelizing the surface), removing each batch and reserving with the onion mixture.  When the last batch is done, keep it in the pan and add back the other mushrooms and onions along with any herbs you may want.  Add about a Tablespoon of oil or butter and a Tablespoon or two of flour – mix thoroughly and cook for about 2 minutes, or flour is completely saturated with oil and juices and the raw flour taste has cooked out – you should not see any bits of white flour.  Gradually stir in liquid, whisking constantly, until you’ve created a thinnish soupy consistency.  Do not salt at this point because the gravy will still need to reduce, which will concentrate any salt you add now.  Whisk occasionally until the mixture boils and let boil a minute or two to thicken, whisking often.  Adjust the seasoning to taste, adjust the thickness, and serve.  Makes enough for about 4 people and will keep a few days in the refrigerator.  I probably wouldn’t freeze it.

*For the specific gravy I made, I used cremini & white mushrooms and 2 shallots.  I added about a teaspoon of fresh thyme, used leftover hard (alcoholic) cider (Strongbow, from England) and instead of salt, I added concentrated beef stock base (basically stock that has been really cooked down until it is a paste – less sodium and yucky stuff than boullion cubes and the added bonus of being able to make any amount of stock at any concentration level you want.  I used Better Than Boullion brand) to beef up the flavor.  It was delish!