Question:
I've been roped into cooking a meal for a dinner party-style evening.
This in itself isn't a problem, as I'm going to make what I did the last
time I had to push the boat out. With MrF's help, we came up with the
following:
Starter: Garlic bread
Main course: Sausages in white wine and onion gravy with minted new
potatoes and steamed asparagus
Dessert: Ice cream with fresh raspberry sauce
All vegan, of course. However, my current girlfriend has placed herself on
Carol Vorderman's detox diet at the moment, so I've got that to contend
with as well. That basically says "Go vegan but keep off sugar, caffiene,
and alcohol and avoid wheat". So the meal above hits in all kinds of
problems. The garlic bread, possibly the sausages, definitely the gravy,
and maybe the ice cream (I was going to use the Redwood foods ones
available here in the UK). The main problem I have is coming up with a
decent gravy for the sausages that's alcohol-free - other stuff is easy to
do alternatives for.
So, can anyone suggest a good gravy for the sausages?
Answer:
A couple of things...
I've seen de alchololized wine in most health food shops (I think even
in H&B), so you can make the wine gravy with that.
There's this, too.
Cider and Garlic Gravy
Ingredients
50g margarine
1 small onion finely chopped
3 garlic cloves
300ml dry cider (or raw apple juice with a splash of apple cider
vinegar)
500ml vegetable stock
1 tbsp plain flour
Method
Melt half the margarine in a pan and fry the onion for 5 minutes until
softened, then add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Add the cider
and
cook for 5 minutes, then add the stock and cook for a further 5
minutes.
Ina small bowl, mix the remaining margarine and flour together to form
a paste. Gradually whisk small amounts of the paste into the gravy.
Bring to the boil, whisking. Cook for 3-4 minutes until glossy and
thickened and serve.
Then there's your classic Onion Gravy...
