Creamy herb mushroom gravy

As soon as I'd posted the recipe for the lentil and rosemary balls I realised that I'd never posted a gravy recipe on my blog!

A roast without gravy...well that would be a travesty!  

My go to vegan gravy is a mushroom gravy, currently its the only way I truly enjoy mushrooms in a cooked form (although I love them raw). With this version of the gravy I jazzed things up a little and infused it with some extra rosemary (yes I did mention I was a little rosemary obsessed at the moment!) I think the rosemary works so well with the flavours of a roast, I even throw the remains of the piece i'd cut from the garden in with the potatoes.

It tasted great, but the rosemary did give a slight green tinge which made the overall gravy a little off-coloured. It didn't bother me but I just thought i'd mention it so that you can add some browning if you prefer a richer colour. Alternatively chop the rosemary quite finely and add it after the blending process so that the leaves stay more intact without altering the colour so much.

This gravy is also a fabulous accompaniment to my traditional nut roast  and the chestnut roast. If you omit the fresh herbs you may want to increase the garlic and dried herbs a little to give it some oomph.

Recipe: Creamy herb mushroom gravy

Makes approx. 500ml

Ingredients:

1 tsp olive oil
1/2 a medium white onion
2 cloves garlic
1 1/2 cup veg stock
1 1/2 cup chopped white mushrooms
2 tbs nutritional yeast
1 tbs fresh rosemary (or herb of choice)
1 tsp mixed herbs
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbs soy sauce
2 tbs cornflour (or starch or choice)
1 tbs browning (this is optional for a richer colour- I didn't use this)

Method:


In a medium saucepan saute the onion for 5 minutes until softening. Add the garlic and mushrooms and saute for a further 5 minutes.

Add the seasoning and mix through. Add 1/2 cup of the veg stock and blend with a hand blender until smooth. Add the remaining ingredients and blend until smooth.

Bring the mixture to a boil and simmer for 3 minutes until the gravy has thickened before serving.

Note: you could add the rosemary last and blend lightly if you wanted larger rosemary flecks and would prefer to omit the browning whilst still and achieving a more visually appealing gravy colour.

For further guidance on making gluten free choices please see this post.

For tips and info on recipe measurement conversions, ingredients, substitutions and the methods behind how I do things.... check out my 'baking tips' tab at the top of the page.

Lentil and rosemary balls

I'm a typical brit in that I do love a good English roast. Heaps of veggies, roast potatoes and gravy...and today with lentil balls!

I thought I'd put a bit of a spin on my old faithful nut roast and go for balls over a loaf, plus some some fresh rosemary thrown in as I seem to have a thing for rosemary at the moment. These little balls did not dissapoint! I also added some extra polenta to coat some of them to give an extra crunchy coating and they were great too, I can't decide which way I prefer them- maybe make a few of each. You could also roll in seeds if you preferred.

You will note in the recipe that the wet to dry relation may need slight adjustment depending on the texture of the lentils, I made this recipe a couple of times and needed to add a few more oats one time but not the other even though I couldn't see that I'd made any other changes. It didn't make a significant affect to the final baked product as far as I could tell, you simply need to achieve a consistency that is just stiff enough to from balls that will hold their shape.

These balls are so versatile, you could use them to top a salad, or in pace of 'meat' balls in a sub roll or wrap.... how would you use them?

Recipe: Lentil and rosemary balls

Ingredients:

 

1/2-2 cups oats (depending on consistency of mixture)
1 large onion- chopped finely
2 carrots- grated
1/2 cup squash or sweet potato cut into small cubes (I used squash)
3 tbs tomato puree
3 cloves garlic
1 cup dry red lentils*
1/2 green lentils- precooked
300ml vegetable stock (omit most of this if red lentils are precooked and just add as needed)*
1/2 cup gram flour (you could probably use other flours thoigh I haven't tried)
1/2 polenta (I used the quick cook variety)
1 tbs balsamic vinegar
2 tbs soy sauce
2 tbs coconut oil
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp mixed herbs
2 tbs fresh rosemary

Method:

Cook red lentils and squash in 300ml stock for approx 15 minutes until  cooked and the lentils are mushy. Add remaining wet ingredients and coconut oil and mix through evenly.

Add the gram flour, polenta and one cup of oats and mix through, adding extra oats as necessary to achieve a soft but stiff mixture that could be formed into balls. Mix through the herbs last.

Using your fingers form into apricot sized balls and place on a lined baking sheet. Bake for 30 mins until golden on the outside.

Optional note: roll in extra polenta prior to baking for extra crunch.

 

For further guidance on making gluten free choices please see this post.

For tips and info on recipe measurement conversions, ingredients, substitutions and the methods behind how I do things.... check out my 'baking tips' tab at the top of the page.

Christmas chestnut roast

The chestnut and cranberry roast was my substitute for the Christmas turkey at my work Christmas party, it was like nut loaf and stuffing balls all wrapped up in one dish!

I baked the roast in a round cake pan and cut wedges, just to visually change things up a bit, but you could bake in a loaf pan or form balls if you preferred. For for extra crispy roasted edges, use the 'double bake' technique detailed here in my regular nut roast.

This is a great seasonal dish and is so simple to throw together... particularly if you cheat a little like I did and buy pre-cooked chestnuts (shhh, I was pushed for time!). I added a few dried cranberries for an extra flavour boost but they are not essential.  I used my regular nut roast as a guide, knowing that the versatile recipe would be likely to lend itself to such variations.

Recipe: Christmas chestnut roast

Ingredients:

1 cup coarsely chopped cooked chestnuts (I briefly pulsed in a food processor)
1/2 cup chopped cashews/pinenuts
approx. 1/4 cup dried cranberries (optional)
2 tbs olive oil
1 large onion- diced
2 crushed garlic cloves
2 carrots- grated
1 medium parsnip- grated
1 cup white beans- mashed
1 cup cooked quinoa (or cooked rice or oats*)
2 heaped tbs tapioca flour
1/4 cup fresh herbs (parsley/thyme/rosemary)
1/2 tsp mixed spice/nutmeg
2 tbs soy sauce
salt and pepper to taste
water (if needed- I never need it)

Pre-heat oven to 180C. Grind nuts and set aside. Sauté vegetables in olive oil for 5 mins until soft. 

Mix all ingredients in large bowl adding sautéed vegetables to it. Mix and mash together well and add a little water only if needed to achieve a sticky (but not wet) consistency. Add more oats (or another carbohydrate of choice) if mixture is too wet. 

Press mixture firmly into a greased 9" cake pan or equivalent loaf tin. Bake for approx. 45 minutes until golden.

(Apologies these last couple of photos are a bit dark and blue, the light was fading at the time of the shoot and when usually I would have quickly tweaked the colour and brightness in Photoshop I am lacking in my tool set until I get a new laptop....managing as best I can for the time being!)

For further guidance on making gluten free choices please see this post.

For tips and info on recipe measurement conversions, ingredients, substitutions and the methods behind how I do things.... check out my 'baking tips' tab at the top of the page.

‘Leftover’ pasties

Boxing Day was a pretty quiet and relaxed day. These are the two days of the year when I can actually enjoy just lounging around…any other time I would get fidgety and feel the need to be doing something more!

In the morning we went for a walk through the park and the fields for a bit of fresh air, where myself and my brother and sister decided to take to the swings… if you can’t be a kid at Christmas… then when can you?  

 

The weather was actually quiet warm and sunny, very unusal for this time of year, so it felt a bit 

overkill to be dressed up in scarf and hat (the hat soon came off)!

Once back home I made lunch for everyone….my ‘leftovers’ pasties. 

The recipe is so quick and simple and was briefly mentioned here, but I’ll reiterate it again for quick reference. I just love the simplicity of the recipe and the fact that it could be so easily adapted for any ‘leftover roast’ combo. I haven’t included meat here, but obviously this could be included also if you wished. My family added some of the meat into their pasties.

Recipe: ‘leftover’ pasties

Makes 6-10 pasties depending on size

Ingredients:

(these measurements are all approximates and easily interchangeable for other similar ingredients)

1 ½ cup mixed veggies (I used brussel sprouts, roast potatoes and parsnips, carrots and mashed potato)

½  cup nut roast or stuffing

A few tablespoons of sauce (cranberry sauce, bread sauce, gravy etc)

Approx. 1 tsp mixed herb seasoning (optional)

Approx. 30x50cm rolled ready-made or homemade shortcrust pastry (I cheated this time and used ready-made!)

Method:

Cut out approx. 6 large saucer sized rolled ready-made or homemade shortcrust pastry (shop bought shortcrust pastry in the UK is usually vegan anyway but check the label). Or you could cut smaller circles and make mini pasties.

In a medium bowl add all ingredients and mush together a little so well mixed. Spoon approx. ¼ cup of the mixture in to the centre of each pastry round leaving at least 2cm of pastry round the edge. Wet the edges a little and lift up and seal the edges together making a semi-circle with the seam at the top. Crimp the seam with your fingers.

Place the pasties on a greased or lined baking sheet, brush with soy milk and bake at 180C for approx. 25 mins until golden. Serve warm or cold.

Note: the dollop of filling I have shown there is too much in relation to the circle size- after this photo was take I had to reduce it a little to be able to seal the egdes!

For tips and info on recipe measurement conversions, ingredients, substitutions and the methods behind how I do things.... check out my 'baking tips' tab at the top of the page.