Vegan Onion Gravy

The problem with most vegan gravies is that they taste thin, because there is no meat and no butter doing the heavy lifting. The answer is not more herbs, it is more umami and more caramelisation. Take the onions genuinely dark, add soy and yeast extract, and you get something with real weight that nobody will describe as the vegan option.

Ingredients

Makes about 600ml, enough for six plates

• 4 medium (about 550g / 1lb 4oz) brown onions sliced 3mm thick
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves crushed
• 1 tbsp tomato purée
• 2 tbsp (30g) plain flour
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp yeast extract such as Marmite
• 700ml (1¼ pints) hot vegetable stock
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• black pepper

Kit

• Heavy saucepan
• Whisk

Method

1. Heat the oil in a heavy saucepan over a medium low heat, add the onions with a pinch of salt and cook for 35 minutes, stirring every few minutes. With no butter in the pan the browning is a touch slower, so give it the full time and take the onions to a genuine deep brown.

2. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute, then stir in the tomato purée and fry it for another minute until it darkens and loses its raw smell. Tomato purée is doing quiet umami work here, not making the gravy taste of tomato.

3. Scatter over the flour and cook for 2 full minutes, stirring, so it toasts slightly in the oil.

4. Dissolve the yeast extract and soy sauce in a mugful of the hot stock, then pour that in while whisking. It thickens fast into a dark paste.

5. Add the rest of the stock in two more goes, whisking until smooth, then drop in the thyme sprigs and bring to a gentle simmer.

6. Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. It will darken, thicken and lose any floury edge. Fish out the thyme, grind in black pepper and taste before adding salt, since the soy and yeast extract bring plenty.

7. If you want it smoother, blitz half of it with a stick blender and stir it back in. That gives you body without losing all the texture of the onions.

Tips worth knowing

• Three tablespoons of oil sounds like a lot but fat is what carries flavour, and without butter this gravy needs it. Skimp and it tastes watery.
• Tamari instead of soy keeps the umami and drops the wheat, though the flour still means this is not a gluten free recipe.
• A teaspoon of miso paste stirred in off the heat at the end adds another layer if you have a tub open.
• This is the best gravy in this collection for a nut roast, because it has enough savoury weight to stand up to one.

Keeping and reheating

Fridge for 5 days, freezer for 4 months. Reheat gently with a splash of stock, whisking as it loosens. It thickens noticeably overnight.

Questions people ask