Vegetable Gravy

Yes, you read that correctly...there IS such a thing as vegetable gravy! Who knew? I always thought you HAD to have meat or poultry in order to make a yummy gravy, or any gravy at all. Turns out that isn't true, luckily for me. My husband is a major gravy fan and I have visions of him liking the veggie meals I prepare, yet not being totally happy because he could never (gasp!) have gravy again. I found several versions online and came up with my own version. You can use my recipe as a base and tweak it to suit your tastes and desires. Isn't that what yummy cooking is all about, after all? Preparing meals that you and your family will eat!

A word about nutritional yeast: it is not the kind you use to make bread dough. It is a yellowish, flaky product, and has a slight cheesy scent and taste. It is used often in vegetarian/vegan recipes to thicken and flavor without using cheese.

I also added about 1 tsp. of Gravy Master, which I really like using in soups, stews and gravies. Next time I make this gravy, I will likely eliminate the soy sauce and use just Gravy Master.

Vegetarian Gravy

1-2 Tbls. EVOO

1/4 cup chopped onions or shallots

1 tsp. minced garlic

1-2 tsp. nutritional yeast.

2 Tbls. corn starch

1/4 cup cold water

1-2 tsp. light soy sauce

1 can vegetable broth

1/4 tsp. dried sage

1/4 tsp. salt

Black pepper (to taste)

Heat EVOO in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and saute about 5 minutes. While that is sauteing, mix cornstarch with fork into the cold water. Stir until smooth. Using whisk, add to pan the cornstarch mixture, nutritional yeast, and soy sauce, stirring with whisk to form a smooth paste. Gradually whisk in the broth, season with salt, pepper and sage. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, whisking constantly. Continue to simmer and stir for about 5 minutes or until thickened.

Obviously, you can add various seasonings and also a little water or more broth if it ends up a little too thick. This is delicious over roasted veggies and rice. It would also be a great addition to vegetarian Shepherd's Pie. I will share that recipe some time soon!