Give me stuffing and gravy and I might not miss the turkey at Thanksgiving. People love gravy and too often hosts run out so you might want to double this recipe.
I find that a mushroom-based gravy is perfect for side dishes and for the turkey too. This is a vegetarian-based gravy with garden stock but you can add turkey drippings and stock to it for your carnivorous guests.
3 cups Shiitake Mushrooms
1/8 cup Minced Shallots
1/4 cup Olive Oil
1/4 white wine
1/2 cup garden stock
3 Laurel leaves
sprigs of fresh thyme
Three cups of Shiitake mushrooms sliced and 1/8 cup of minced shallot sauteed together in 1/4 cup of olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Once sauteed and the bottom of the pan starts to get golden brown, deglaze your pan with 1/4 cup of white wine and reduced. Then add 1/2 cup of garden stock, 3 laurel leaves and a few sprigs of fresh thyme and simmer for 10 minutes on medium flame. Pick out the laurel leaves and sprigs before pureeing.
Reserve 1/2 cup of mushrooms to add to gravy as garnish ot to thicken your gravy if too thin at the end.
Have a quart of stock to begin pureeing. This gravy doesn’t need cream since the mushrooms and shallots will emulsify beautifully. Set up a station with the blender, a ladle and a stock pot. Puree in batches.
If your gravy is too thin, add more sauteed mushroom-shallot mixture. If too thick add stock.
Heat the gravy in your stock pot and add more salt and pepper to taste.
Note that you can substitute turkey stock for garden stock.
