Recipe: Mushroom Miso Gravy for a Plant-Based Holiday Feast

Photos by Phil Crozier
Recipes by Jayme MacFayden

I sneak functional mushrooms into everything and using a mushroom broth is an easy way to add it into lots of recipes that call for hot water. Here, the broth takes about an hour to make; if you’re pressed for time you can just use hot water in its place.

Serves 8 to 10

Ingredients

• 2 pieces dried reishi mushrooms
• 1 tbsp dried chaga mushrooms, in pieces
• 1/3 cup sweet miso
• ¼ cup plus 2 tbsp all-purpose or gluten-free all-purpose flour (I use Anita’s Organic Mill)
• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 5 to 6 medium cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 2 tbsp tamari
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste (at least ½ tsp but go wild if you like pepper)
• ½ teaspoon sherry vinegar
• Maldon salt, for finishing

Method

In a medium saucepan, bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Add in the reishi and chaga mushrooms. Turn heat down very low and simmer for 1 hour (water will reduce by half and you have a lovely, rich mushroom broth). Strain out the mushroom pieces and keep the broth warm.

In medium bowl or saucepan, whisk together the hot mushroom broth and miso until a smooth consistency is formed. Whisk in the flour, again until smooth. Set aside, off the heat.

In a medium saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and sauté until soft (4 to 5 minutes). Add the mushroom broth and miso, nutritional yeast, tamari and black pepper and stir. Reduce heat and cook over low-medium heat for about 5 to 6 minutes, or until the sauce thickens.

Remove from the heat and allow to cool for a few minutes. Using a blender or an immersion blender, blend until smooth. Transfer sauce back to your saucepan and cook on medium-low heat until thickened (about 10 more minutes). Remove from the heat and stir in the sherry vinegar.

Keep warm until ready to serve. Finish with Maldon salt right before service.

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TIP: This gravy can also be made well in advance, even days before, and stored in the fridge until you are ready to heat and serve. It will thicken even more as it cools so if you find it’s a bit thick, whisk in some more mushroom broth or water to thin it out.