Gravy Base recipe

I love sauces. When there used to be potatoes, my mother almost always had to make an extra portion for me so that there was enough for everyone. (Sorry for the extra work mom). The sauce I loved the most was a really nice dark gravy sauce. In the following you will find my basic recipe for a really nice, spicy, dark sauce.

Duration: around 45 minutes

Difficulty: easy

About 4 servings of sauce (can also be frozen)

Ingredients:

125g shallots or onions

10g garlic

20g oil

30g tomato paste

15g soy sauce

15g flour

5g baking cocoa

10g yeast extract

750g light stock vegetables

Preparation:

I can only recommend you weigh the individual ingredients in advance and have them ready before you start. The gravy needs a little attention so that nothing burns.

The shallots, other onions also work, and the garlic are finely chopped and are then sautéed in the oil until they get some color.

Fortunately, we don't have to struggle with ingredients like bones or meat when we make this sauce, but some color still has to come in. So now add a little tomato paste and sear it until it turns slightly brown. Take care that nothing burns. Then the whole thing is extinguished with a little soy sauce.

Now the flour is added, it will make everything a little clumpy at the beginning, but still fry everything a little further so that the flour taste evaporates a little. Then add the light vegetable broth. Stir them in slowly and thoroughly so that no lumps are left.

Now add a little pepper, the cocoa and the yeast extract. The yeast extract gives the whole thing, in addition to the umami that he brings, a light "beef" note. You can of course leave out the cocoa, but I love the color and the fine notes it gives the sauce. The sauce is then simmered over medium heat for 30 minutes.

In the end, when you dip a spoon into the sauce, you should be able to draw a clear line across the back with your finger.

Then you can either puree the sauce, which will make its color a little lighter again, or you can pour it through a sieve. The vegetables have given of most of their flavour anyway. Now just season the sauce to taste with a bit more pepper, maybe some salt and if you like, a bit of nutmeg.

Then the gravy is ready and can be served with potatoes or dumplings.

I used the gravy to make a poutine.

So thick french fries are getting double-fried, then mixed with some bits of cheese and then the gravy gets poured all over it.

Definitely not for french fries purists, but I just love this Canadian combination.

Guten Appetit!

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