RealGravy

Vegetarian and Vegan Gravies

Vegan Red Wine Gravy

Half a bottle of red reduced down to a syrup with shallots, then built out with stock and finished with redcurrant jelly and vegan butter.

  • Vegetarian
  • Vegan
  • Dairy free
  • red wine
  • special occasion
  • vegan
  • reduction
Illustration of Vegan Red Wine Gravy
Prep
10 min
Cook
45 min
Total
55 min
Serves
6
Difficulty
Medium

Reduction is doing the work here. Boiling wine down until it is thick and glossy concentrates everything in it and gives you the sort of depth that usually comes from bones. Yeast extract and a spoonful of redcurrant jelly balance the acidity. Serve it with a wellington or anything you want to feel special.

Ingredients

Makes about 550ml, six servings

Scale

Kit

  • Wide saucepan
  • Whisk
  • Sieve

Method

  1. Heat the oil in a wide pan and cook the shallots over a medium heat for 12 minutes, until soft, sweet and going brown at the edges. Add the garlic for the last minute.

  2. Pour in the wine and add the thyme and bay. Turn the heat up and let it boil steadily for 12 to 15 minutes, until it has reduced to about 100ml and looks syrupy when you drag the spoon through it.

  3. Add the stock and the yeast extract, bring back to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes to marry it together and take the last raw edge off the wine.

  4. Strain the whole lot through a sieve into a jug, pressing the shallots firmly, then discard the herbs and shallots. You should have around 500ml of dark, winey liquid.

  5. Melt the vegan butter in the empty pan over a medium heat, whisk in the flour and cook the roux for two minutes until it smells biscuity and turns pale gold.

  6. Add the strained liquid a ladle at a time, whisking hard so it stays smooth, and bring it to a simmer. Cook for five minutes until it thickens and turns glossy.

  7. Stir in the redcurrant jelly until it dissolves, taste and season. If the wine still tastes sharp, another half teaspoon of jelly will settle it.

Tips worth knowing

  • Use a wine you would be happy drinking. Cooking concentrates everything, including the nasty edge of a bad bottle.
  • Many wines are fined with animal products such as isinglass or gelatine. Look for a vegan label if that matters to you.
  • For an alcohol free version, use 375ml of red grape juice mixed with two teaspoons of red wine vinegar and reduce it the same way.
  • Reduce the wine before the stock goes in, not after. Reducing the whole lot together takes twice as long and oversalts the gravy.

Change it up

  • Swap the redcurrant jelly for blackberry jam and add a few crushed juniper berries with the thyme.
  • Add 200g of quartered chestnut mushrooms with the shallots for a heartier gravy that suits a mushroom wellington.
  • Use port instead of a third of the wine for a sweeter, rounder festive version.

Keeping and reheating

Four days in the fridge and three months in the freezer. Reheat gently and whisk in a small knob of vegan butter at the end to bring the shine back.

Questions people ask

What red wine is best for gravy?

Something dry and medium bodied such as a Merlot, Rioja or a decent Cotes du Rhone. Avoid anything heavily oaked or very tannic, because reducing it makes those qualities much stronger.

Is red wine vegan?

Not always. Many wines are clarified using isinglass from fish, gelatine or egg white. Most supermarkets now label vegan wines clearly, so check the back of the bottle.

Can I make red wine gravy without alcohol?

Yes. Red grape juice with a splash of red wine vinegar reduced down gives you a similar sweet and sour depth. It will be sweeter, so go easy on the redcurrant jelly at the end.