Strictly speaking, gravy is a meat-based sauce. In this recipe, we make a vegetarian version based on wild ingredients. The main components are cooking liquid of dried mushrooms and roasted chicory (Cichorium intybus) root. Chicory root has been used during various periods of economic crisis as a coffee substitute. The resulting coffee substitute is also used in cajun cooking to create a gravy by deglazing a pan after frying ham.
For additional flavoring, we used dried yarrow (Achillea millefolium) powder, which has a nutmeg-like taste and fresh ground elder (Aegopodium podagraria) leaves, which add a carrot / parsley-like flavor. To enhance the mushroom base of our gravy, we added pavement mushroom (agaricus bitorquis) powder.
Drying wild ingredients and powdering them is an excellent way to enjoy their taste when they are not in season anymore. In this recipe, we used this trick and added wild garlic (Allium ursinum) powder.
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Wild gravy
Equipment
- 1 Sauce pan
- 1 Air fryer / oven or frying pan (For roasting the chicory root)
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp roasted chicory root pieces
- 200 ml boletus cooking liquid (or other mushroom) We used the liquid left over from this recipe: https://chefofnature.com/?p=500
- 100 ml water
- 2 branches ground elder
- 10 gram all purpose flour
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp yarrow powder
- 1/2 tbsp pavement mushroom powder
- 1 tbsp wild garlic powder
- 3 tbsp heavy cream can be vegan
Instructions
- Cut the chicory root in small pieces and roast in an air fryer (200℃), oven or pan until dark brown.
- Add the roasted chicory root, ground elder and mushroom liquid to a sauce pan and boil for 10 minutes. Strain and set aside and let it cool down to room temperature.
- Make a brown roux by combining the oil and all purpose flour in a sauce pan and cook until brown.
- Whisk in the cooled down liquid to the roux. Bring it back to a boil. Lower the heat and let it simmer for 15 minutes.
- The sauce has the right consistency when it sticks to the back of spoon.
- Add the salt, yarrow powder, wild garlic powder and pavement mushroom powder. Finish by adding the heavy cream.
