The Holiday Trinity: Stock, Stuffing, and Gravy!
Hello hello! Holiday season is upon us and with that, we wanted to share some of our recipes for holiday meal basics. Making a flavorful vegan stock is important as that’s something you can use in a lot of dishes like stuffing, gravy, casseroles, and more! Speaking of which, our table is never complete without a big dish or stuffing and a pot of steaming gravy. So this week you’re getting not just one recipe, but all three! Happy holidays and happy cooking!
**Note: This week since we are doing three recipes, you’ll notice we tried a new layout where the recipes are written out and just the headers are illustrated. We’re hoping to go back and have written versions for all our recipes for accessibility purposes, but let us know what you think!
VEGAN STOCK:
Ingredients:
- 6-8 cups water (cooking will go faster if you can pre-heat it in a separate pot or kettle!)
- Mirepoix mix (from the store or make your own):
about ¾ cup each: diced onion, carrot, and celery - 1 Tbsp/2 cubes Vegan Bouillon
- 1 Tbsp GF soy sauce/tamari
- 2-3 Bay leaves
- Herbs: Dried parsley, dried or fresh rosemary and thyme (to your taste)
- Salt and pepper (to your taste)
Optional: onion and garlic powder to your taste (if you like adding it in your food)
Steps:
Start with sautéing your mirepoix in a large pot on low-medium heat with a tablespoon of oil and a pinch of salt. Stir occasionally and continue to cook for a few minutes until everything starts to soften.
Then stir in your herbs, bay leaves, bouillon, and tamari, and let it sit for about 30 seconds to a minute, until you can smell the herbs.
Add in about a cup of water and gently stir. There may be brown bits stuck to your pot by now (if there is, that’s good!), so use the spoon to gently scrape those bits away and stir into the broth. Then add in the rest of your water.
Bring to a boil for about 8 minutes, then drop the temperature a little (you want it somewhere between a boil and a simmer), and cook for 30-40 minutes. The longer you cook it, the more flavorful it becomes! Be sure to taste it along the way and adjust the seasoning to your taste.
When it’s ready, you can opt to strain the herbs and veg for things like gravy, or leave them in for things like stuffing – your pick!
VEGAN + GLUTEN FREE STUFFING:
Ingredients:
- 2-3 loaves of gluten free bread (or you are using regular/glutinous bread, you can probably get away with just 2. GF loaves are small!)
- 4 Tbsp vegan butter ( you can swap for coconut or olive oil if you prefer)
- 1-2 onions, diced
- 2 stalks celery, thinly sliced or diced
- 1/2 cup parsley, chopped
- 1 Tbsp sage, chopped
- 1-2 Tbsp thyme, chopped
- 1 Tbsp rosemary, chopped
- 1-2 cups Veggie stock (if using regular/glutinous bread, double the amount of stock)
- Optional:
1-2 cloves minced garlic (optional)
¼ cup dried cranberries
¼ cup diced carrots
½ apple peeled and diced
1 egg/flax egg (if you want your stuffing to stick together better)
Prepare ahead:
You want to make sure you dry your bread out. You can do that by laying out your slices (or cubes if you want to cut the bread now) on a sheet and baking at 200F for about 20 minutes. If you’re in a rush it’s okay! You can just toast your bread on both sides then cube it.
Steps:
In a large pan or pot, melt your butter/oil and toss in your onions. Cook on low-medium heat until they begin to caramelize.
Then add in your celery (and carrots, apple, garlic, or cranberries, if adding any of those).
Cook until the celery begins to soften.
Add in your herbs and stir until you can smell them starting to cook (about 30 seconds to a minute), then turn the heat off.
Preheat your oven to 375F.
If using the egg/flax egg, whisk together in a separate bowl and thoroughly coat the breadcrumbs with it.
Then mix in the cooked herbs and veggies, and slowly pour in your stock. Start with 1 cup of stock, and add more bit by bit until the bread is coated, but not soggy (if using regular/glutinous bread, no need to do this. Go ahead and add all your stock). If you opted to toast the bread instead of baking it in the oven, you most likely will need a bit less (maybe by ½-¾ of a cup).
Transfer everything into a lined or buttered dish. Cover with foil and bake at 375F for about 20-30 minutes, then remove the foil and continue to bake uncovered for another 20 minutes until the top looks golden brown and toasty.
VEGAN GRAVY:
Ingredients:
- 2 Tbsp vegan butter or oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 clove of garlic or a tsp of garlic powder
- ½ tsp of rosemary
- ½ tsp thyme
- 1 Tsp miso paste (if you can’t do soy, feel free to skip. This just adds better flavor)
- 1-2 Tbsp tamari/GF soy sauce (if you can’t do soy, feel free to skip. This just adds better flavor)
- 2 Tbsp GF flour or corn starch
- ¼ cup dairy free milk
- 2-3 cups veg. stock (if not using the full recipe above, just mix 2-3 cups water with 1 tsp of bouillon)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Optional:
1 package of mushrooms (white or baby bella – whatever you like)
Steps:
In a large pan or pot, heat up your butter/oil, and toss in your onions. Cook on low-medium heat and stir occasionally until the onions get super caramelized.
If adding mushrooms, add them about ¾ of the way in for the onions (just as they begin to brown), and cook down until the liquid from the mushrooms is cooked off and everything is caramelized.
While the onions and mushrooms cook, mix together your miso, tamari, and stock in a cup or bowl, then set aside.
Add your herbs to the pan, and let them cook for about a minute.
Then carefully pour your stock in (if using mushrooms, go for anywhere between 2-3 cups. You want the stock to cover the mushrooms by about an inch depending on how thick you want the gravy. If not using mushrooms, stick to the 2 cups). Be sure to scrape up all the browning on the sides and bottom of your pan!
Raise the temperature on the stove to med-high to bring everything to a low boil, then drop the heat to bring it to a simmer. Let it simmer for about 8-10 minutes.
In a cup, add your flour or cornstarch. 1-2 Tbsp at a time, slowly mix in your ¼ of milk until the paste loosens and the flour is fully incorporated with no lumps. Add this to the gravy and continually stir until the mix begins to thicken. If you want it thicker, you can always add more flour or starch. Just be sure to mix it separately before pouring it into the pot to avoid lumps!
If you are using mushrooms and would prefer a smoother gravy, you can always blend it till it’s smooth, or do half-and-half. If you choose to do this, we recommend using a hand blender, but either way please be very careful with the steam!
From there, simply pour into your gravy boat and serve!
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