Vegan Gravy with Balsamic and Thyme

Reducing balsamic concentrates its sugars and its acidity at the same time, which gives a vegan gravy the sweet and sour backbone that a good meat reduction would normally provide. Soy sauce brings the salt and the savoury side. Thyme holds the whole thing together and stops it tasting like salad dressing.

Ingredients

Makes about 480ml, four servings

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 4 shallots, finely sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, sliced
• 4 tbsp balsamic vinegar an everyday one is fine, save the good stuff
• 1 tsp soft brown sugar
• 2 tbsp (30g) plain flour
• 550ml (19fl oz) hot vegetable stock
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme, plus extra to finish
• salt and black pepper

Kit

• Saucepan
• Whisk

Method

1. Heat the oil in a saucepan over a medium heat and cook the shallots gently for 12 minutes, stirring, until they are soft, sweet and browned at the edges. Shallots burn faster than onions so keep the heat moderate.

2. Add the garlic and the thyme sprigs and cook for a further minute until fragrant.

3. Pour in the balsamic vinegar with the sugar and turn the heat up. Let it bubble hard for two to three minutes until it has reduced by about half and coats the shallots in a dark sticky glaze. The kitchen will smell sharp for a moment, then sweet.

4. Sprinkle over the flour and stir it into the sticky shallots for two minutes, so it toasts and picks up the colour from the pan.

5. Add the hot stock in three additions, whisking hard each time. The first addition will look claggy, which is normal, and it will smooth out as you go.

6. Simmer for eight to ten minutes until it thickens and turns glossy, and the sharp vinegar edge has softened into something rounder.

7. Pull out the thyme stalks, stir in the soy sauce and season. Taste it. If it is still too sharp, add another pinch of sugar. Finish with fresh thyme leaves picked over the top.

Tips worth knowing

• Do not use an expensive aged balsamic here. Boiling it destroys the qualities you paid for, and a supermarket bottle reduces just as well.
• Reduce the balsamic before the stock goes in. Adding it at the end leaves a raw vinegar taste that no amount of simmering will fix.
• Balsamic vinegar contains sulphites, which is worth knowing if you are cooking for someone sensitive to them.
• A knob of vegan butter whisked in at the end gives it a proper glossy shine.

Keeping and reheating

Four days in the fridge, three months in the freezer. The vinegar mellows further with time, which is no bad thing.

Questions people ask