Thick and Creamy Mushroom Gravy with Shallots and Herbs

Check out Dr. Petzold’s alternative gravy recipe for the holidays!

Dr. Tricia Petzold is a Family Physician certified in Functional Medicine. She teaches Integrative and Culinary Medicine at the University of Utah. Her interests are in understanding the whole person, identifying WHY someone is having symptoms and using lifestyle and culinary medicine to optimize health. She sees patients at Pinnacle Health in Salt Lake City where the mission is to empower individuals to achieve their highest expression of health. Visit pinnaclehealthslc.com to book an appointment with her.

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Thick and Creamy Mushroom Gravy with Shallots and Herbs

Vegan, creamy mushroom gravy with shallots and herbs is a naturally vegan recipe without added starches. Make-ahead friendly too!

Gluten-Free, Grain-Free, Plant-Based, Vegan, Vegetarian

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon avocado oil
  • 1/3 cup grated shallots (3 medium shallots grated on the large holes of a box grater)
  • 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, minced
  • 5 fresh sage leaves, minced
  • 2 lbs mushrooms, caps sliced 1/4“ thick (see headnote re: stems)
  • Sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
  • 3 cloves garlic, finely grated on a microplane
  • 2 tablespoons gluten-free tamari soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon mellow miso
  • 3 ½ cups vegetable stock (preferably homemade)
  • 1 Russet/baking potato, peeled and cut into 4 even quarters
  • 1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked for at least 1 hour

Instructions

  1. Heat the oil in a wide, braiser-style (or dutch oven) pot with a tight-fitting lid over medium heat. Add the shallots to the pot and stir. Cook the shallots, stirring frequently, until translucent and softened, about 2 minutes. Add the thyme and sage to the pot and stir.
  2. Add the sliced mushrooms to the pot and let them sit for a full minute. Stir the mushrooms up, coating them in the shallots and herbs. Let the mushrooms sit for another full minute. Then, stir the mushrooms and season with pepper. Keep stirring the mushrooms here and there as they cook. Once the mushrooms are glistening, after about 3 minutes, season them with salt. Keep stirring the mushrooms until they are deep brown and slightly soft, about 2 more minutes.
  3. Add the garlic to the pot and stir. Then, add the tamari, balsamic vinegar, and miso to the pot as well. Stir everything and scrape up any brown bits at the bottom of the pot. Add the vegetable stock to the pot and stir to combine. Bring the mushroom mixture up to a boil.
  4. Submerge the pieces of potato in the mushroom and vegetable stock mixture. Lower the heat to a strong simmer and place the lid on top. Simmer until the potatoes are very tender, about 20-25 minutes. When poked with a knife, the pieces of potato should slide right off.
  5. Remove the potato pieces from the mushroom mixture with a slotted spoon and transfer them to an upright, high speed blender. Add the cashews to the blender. Carefully ladle out 1 cup of liquid from the pot of mushrooms and transfer it to the blender. Blend the potato, cashews and liquid on high until completely smooth and thick, about 30 seconds.
  6. Pour the pureed potato and cashew mixture back into the pot with the mushrooms. Stir until you have a creamy mixture. It will look weird at first, but it does come together. Keep stirring until the gravy comes up to a boil. Simmer until the gravy thickens slightly, about 5 minutes. It should coat the back of a wooden spoon quite well. Check for seasoning one more time and adjust if needed. Serve the thick creamy mushroom gravy with mashed potatoes or other accompaniments of choice.

Dr. Petzold's Notes:

For a more intense mushroom flavor, simmer the vegetable stock with the mushroom stems for 20 minutes beforehand. Strain before proceeding with the recipe.

I went with commonly available cremini and Portobello mushrooms. You can use any type you like.

Since we thicken the gravy with potato and cashews, this recipe is make-ahead friendly! Keep it in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 5 days in advance. To reheat, add a few splashes of stock to the gravy in a pot on the stove over medium-low heat. You will also need to stir it frequently, scraping the bottom of the pot often to avoid sticking. Add more vegetable stock if the gravy still seems too thick.

I grate both the shallots and the garlic so that they can more easily disappear/"melt" into the gravy.

https://eatsparkcity.org/recipes/thick-creamy-mushroom-gravy/