Gravy/onion gravy - wheat free recipe
You can't have your Thanksgiving or Christmas meal without gravy, and you shouldn't have to either. Follow these simple recipes and you'll have all the wheat & gluten free gravy that you need.
If you are using stock cubes for the fluid make sure that it is wheat & gluten free as many stock cubes contain wheat. Try Kallo or Marigold, both produce gluten free versions.
To make a vegetarian or vegan version simply omit the poultry or meat juices and make up the fluid difference with extra water, stock or drained liquid from boiling potatoes or steaming vegetables.
dietary information: | |
| wheat free |
|
| gluten free |
|
| nut free |
|
| dairy free |
|
| vegetarian |
|
| vegan |
|
serves 2
| 1 | tbsp | cornflour (cornstarch) |
| 250 | ml | water, stock or drained liquid from boiling potatoes or steaming vegetables |
| 4-6 | tbsp | juices drained from poultry or meat being roasted |
| ¼ | tsp | dried mixed herbs, thyme or sage (optional) |
| salt | ||
| freshly ground black pepper |
Gravy
| 1. | Mix the cornflour (cornstarch) with a small quantity (preferably cold) from the 250ml of fluid, this will ensure that the cornflour makes a smooth paste and avoids lumps when the rest of the fluid is added. |
| 2. | Add the rest of the 250ml of fluid to the cornflour paste in a small saucepan, don't add the poultry juices at this stage. Add the optional herbs, the salt and freshly ground black pepper and stir well. |
| 3. | Stirring continuously bring the gravy mix to the boil, and add the poultry juices, making sure that you don't let the gravy get lumpy or too thick. If it appears to be thickening too much then add more fluid to thin it to the consistency that you want to serve it at. |
| 4. | Leave to simmer over a gentle heat while you sort out serving the meal, then decant the gravy into a preheated jug. |
| 5. | If you do end up with some lumps all is not lost, simply decant the gravy through a sieve into the jug and no-one will notice, and it certainly won't affect the flavour of the gravy. |
Onion gravy
| 1. | If you want slightly more adventurous gravy then onion gravy is a lovely addition to the meal, and you can make this onion gravy using the homemade gravy recipe or the readymade gravy powder version as a base. |
| 2. | Finely slice ½ -1 medium sized onion and place in a frying pan with ½ -1 tbsp olive oil. Gently fry the onion until is it lightly browned, ensuring that it does not burn, blacken or caramelise. |
| 3. | Add the fried onion to the already prepared gravy either before heating it up or during and then continue to heat gently, stirring to ensure that it doesn't go lumpy. If you leave the gravy to very gently simmer for about 10 minutes the onions will add a lovely flavour to it. |
| 3. | When ready to serve decant into a preheated jug for easy pouring over the roast turkey or other carved meat. Some people prefer to strain the onions from the gravy, but we like them to stay in. Make sure you make plenty of onion gravy as there are sure to be requests for second helpings. |
Gravy (using wheat & gluten free ready prepared gravy powder)
| 1. | We have tried two of the wheat/gluten free gravy powders available, Allergycare and Orgran, and both are very good, although our preference for taste is the Allergycare version. |
| 2. | To make the gravy, place the gravy powder in a small saucepan using the quantities specified on the pack and mix with cold water. |
| 3. | Gently heat the gravy mix stirring continuously as it will go solid or turn into large lumps of jellied gravy if left unattended. Add boiling water if it gets too thick, while stirring continuously. It only takes 4-5 minutes to make and can therefore be left till the last minute. |
As you can see from the above gravy recipes, it's easy if you know how. No more dry, boring roast dinners because all of the normal gravy powders use wheat in their ingredients. Now you can lavishly dress your Thanksgiving or Christmas meal with lovely, hot, tasty gravy, and if you don't tell them no-one will know the difference.
For gravy to go with roast beef, shepherd's pie or other red meat dish, why not add a small amount of Marmite for that extra flavour. We've added it to gravy we've served to Marmite haters and they've complimented the gravy on it's taste!
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