Anna’s famous onion gravy recipe
Posted by Fiona Nevile in Sauces Gravy Dressings, Vegetarian | 62 comments
Vegetarian onion gravy
I’ve been working at Anna’s house for the past five weeks. The spot is so secluded that I could not find it on my first foray and had to return home. At the second attempt, Jalopy and I were resting at the side of the road, scratching our heads and on the point of giving up when, miraculously, Anna drove past.
We followed her lead and learned the route to her house. Down a quiet track, in the middle of fields. I would never have found it by myself and might have missed out on this onion gravy gem.
Anna cooks delicious meals for her children every evening without a hint of resentful huffing and puffing. She chops, sears and simmers. Then takes Max, their lurcher, out for a power walk. Within minutes after her return, they are sitting down to a feast.
Needless to say, I have tasted every dish that she has made. Anna shares her secrets.
Last night she offered me a spoonful of mashed potato with gravy. My figure has rollicked out of control recently so I tasted only a teeny touch of onion gravy. It was was beefy and piquant. I was amazed to discover that it was entirely vegetarian.
We were having sausages this evening so I made Anna’s onion gravy as an accompaniment. Danny loves onion gravy and I knew that this would blow his socks off. Thanks Anna, he was delighted.
Don’t make the same mistake as we did. This gravy is designed to be served with plain sausages and we used spicy ones which gangled the taste buds.
Our cottage is divided down the middle when it comes to Marmite. I love it, Danny runs screaming from the room at the sight of a pot. The Marmite flavour combines well with the other ingredients and is not discernible.
| Vegetarian onion gravy recipe |
- 1 large onion (sliced into rings). Anna says that red onions are best.
- 1 clove of garlic (Finely chopped)
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 small knob of butter
- 1 level tablespoon of plain flour
- 350 ml of stock (boiling water poured over 1 tsp of Marigold)
- 1 level teaspoon Marmite
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon of balsamic vinegar (I think that she shouted this variation through the door as I shot out to join Jalopy in the snow).
- 1 pinch of decent mixed herbs (my addition)
- Ground black pepper to taste
- Heat the olive oil and butter in a frying pan over a low heat and add the onion slices.
- After five minutes add the garlic.
- Sautee until the onions are soft and transparent.
- Add the flour and stir in well. Let the flour get a bit nutty.
- Add the stock gradually, stirring constantly. Then add the Marmite, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, mixed herbs and black pepper.
- Bring the mixture to the boil and simmer very gently for 20 – 30 minutes.
- Stir every 5 minutes until the gravy thickens and the flavours blend.
Leave a reply
Hello Tony
I totally agree – this gravy is well worth the effort. It’s wonderful with toad in the hole too!
Hello Jude
Thanks for leaving a comment!
Hi Christy
Great that it got the thumbs up from you.
This is GENIUS and works extremely well with veggie haggis, neeps and tatties!
Love it love it love it!!
Wicked gravy , will use this every time , thanks !
Oh my goodness, I tried this recipe tonight and have to say that I didnt want the meal to end!
What an amazing gravy recipe! You should bottle that and sell it! Thankyou for posting the details.
I’ve been following your blog for quite a while and enjoying your wealth of good recipes. When Foodista announced that they are going to publish the best food blogs in a full color book that will be published by Andrews McMeel Publishing Fall 2010, I naturally thought of you. This recipe would be a good submission! You can enter here: http://www.foodista.com/blogbook/submit
Cheers,
Melissa
melissa@foodista.com
Editor and Community Developer
Foodista.com — The Cooking Encyclopedia Everyone Can Edit
Don’t forget the juice from the sausages…
Will be having sausage and mash for tea tonight! Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm…….
Oh my gosh, this is the best onion gravy I’ve had the pleasure of eating! Easy to follow recipe and extremely tasty. Thank you Anna for sharing this fantastic gravy with us all. Very very much appreciated!
Made this with Toad in the Hole tonight! Fantastic, Bisto granules will never be the same again.
I made it with the 2tsp of soy as suggested above so it wasn’t as salty. Thanks for the recipe 🙂
Stick some mushrooms in just after the garlic. Yummy.
I made this this evening to go with toad-in-the-hole and it was GORGEOUS! I didn’t have the balsamic vinegar, didn’t add garlic because my husband would say that was weird (garlic in gravy!!!), and added a splash of some pink wine in the fridge – it was fab, thanks.
Hello Alison
I must try your twist in this recipe. Sounds delicious.