Mock Gravy

I think that it's time for another culinary discussion.

I love gravy. To me gravy is one of the great culinary delights and adds immeasurably to the right dishes.

The trouble is that I hate all instant gravies and have never felt that gravy recipes that did not involve the juices from roasting were really gravy.

In the end I resolved to come up with a way of making a good 'mock' gravy. It turns out that with the right tweaks it can make a really superior vegetarian gravy.

The fundamental idea is simple. To emulate the roasting process and produce the same flavours.

To do this I put oil (as a substitute for fat) in the bottom of a pan. Depending on whether I am trying to make a chickem, pork or beef 'mock' gravy, I use more or less oil.

To the oil I add a tablespoon of vegetable bouillon and two tablespoons of the appropriate other bouillon. I add a tablespoon of soy sauce, a drop of mushroom ketchup and a couple of tablespoons of lemon or lime juice.

You can optionally add some of the herbs that you would use for roasting, a little garlic and/or onion powder. If I'm making a beef gravy I will often also add a teaspoon of beef Bovril.

The next job is to heat the ingredients in the pan over a medium heat, stirring frequently. The intent is to recreate the process that in the bottom of a roasting tin.

The oil will stay somewhat separate from the other ingredients. You are looking to end up with the oil separated from a thick, glutinous liquor after cooking the ingredients. This should take a few minutes only. If you end up with a gritty mixture that will generally mean that the ingredients have been overcooked.

Now add enough flour to absorb the oil, mixing thoroughly.

Cook the flour and oil mixture for a minute or two. You want the flour cooked but not burnt so stir it continuously. The pan should now look to contain very dark brown bread crumbs.

Add 100-150 ml of cold water to the pan and stir hard. The flour will absorb the water and start to come together.

Now start adding the stock to the mixture a 50 ml or so at a time. Each time stir until the mixture (roux) has become smooth again and there are no more large lumps. The pan remains on the heat throughout this process.

When enough stock has been added the roux will have become runny and the rest of the stock can be addded.

Bring the pan back to the boil and taste. Season if desired. One can either add gravy granules/cubes or boil the gravy down (stirring frequently) until the desired intensity of flavour is achieved. Other flavours such as redcurrant jelly can be added at this time.

The gravy is now ready for serving. Pour it over a large helping of bangers & mash, a bowl of couscous or anything else that takes your fancy.

To make the vegetarian version simply use all vegetable bouillon and stock. This recipe scales up very well.

Ingredients

• Oil (vegetable, olive or something similar)
• Bouillon (I tend to use the Knorr 'Touch of Taste' bouillons)
• Soy Sauce
• Mushroom Ketchup
• Lemon or Lime Juice
• Roasting Herbs (Optional - Rosemary, sage, thyme etc.)
• Garlic Powder (Optional)
• Onion Powder (Optional)
• Beef Bovril (Optional)
• Flour
• 100 - 150 ml Cold Water
• 1 Litre of Good Stock
• Salt and Pepper