By Martha Rose Shulman
- Total Time
- 1½ hours
- Rating
- 4(282)
- Notes
- Read community notes
I never make gravy. Some people find that perplexing, but I don’t like it — there’s just too much fat involved. Instead, I make this mushroom ragout and spoon it over the turkey and on the side.
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Ingredients
Yield:6 to 8 side dish servings, more as gravy
- 1ounce (about 1 cup) dried porcini mushrooms
- 2tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1medium onion or 2 shallots, chopped
- 4garlic cloves, minced
- 1pound mushrooms, cleaned, trimmed, and sliced ½ inch thick
- 1pound wild mushrooms or oyster mushrooms, cleaned, trimmed and sliced thick or torn into pieces
- Salt to taste
- 1tablespoon all-purpose flour
- ½cup fruity red wine, such as a Côtes du Rhone
- 2teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary or 1 teaspoon crumbled dried
- 2teaspoons chopped fresh sage or thyme leaves
- 1cup chicken stock or vegetable stock
- Black pepper
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)
112 calories; 4 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 13 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 3 grams sugars; 4 grams protein; 410 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
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Place dried mushrooms in a bowl or tempered glass measuring cup, and pour on 2 cups boiling water. Let soak 30 minutes while you prepare the other ingredients.
Step
2
Place a strainer over a bowl, line it with cheesecloth or paper towels, and drain mushrooms. Squeeze the mushrooms over the strainer to extract all the flavorful juices, and set aside the liquid in the bowl. Then rinse the mushrooms, away from the bowl with the soaking liquid, until they are free of sand. Squeeze dry and set aside. If very large, chop coarsely.
Step
3
Heat oil in a large, heavy nonstick skillet or saucepan over medium heat, and add onion or shallots. Cook, stirring often, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, stir together for about 30 seconds, and then add in all the mushrooms except the reconstituted porcini mushrooms and salt to taste. Cook, stirring often, until mushrooms begin to soften and to sweat, about 5 minutes.
Step
4
Add the flour and continue to cook mushrooms, stirring, until they have softened a little more and you can no longer see the flour, about 2 minutes. Add the reconstituted dried mushrooms and the wine, and turn the heat to high. Cook, stirring, until the liquid boils down and glazes the mushrooms, 5 to 10 minutes.
Step
5
Add rosemary and sage or thyme, stir together, and stir in mushroom soaking liquid and stock. Bring to a simmer, add salt to taste, and cook over medium-high heat, stirring often, until mushrooms are thoroughly tender and fragrant and the surrounding broth is thick and gravy-like, about 20 minutes. If you want a thicker “gravy,” remove a cup and blend until smooth in a blender or a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Stir back into the ragout.
Step
6
Remove from the heat, stir in some freshly ground pepper, taste and adjust salt. Set aside in the refrigerator overnight.
Tip
- The ragoût can be made up to three or four days before you wish to serve it. Reheat gently on top of the stove.
Ratings
4
out of 5
282
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Cooking Notes
Nathan
One tip I would add: if you are making this for "gravy" then cut the mushrooms smaller -- as small as you will ultimately want them. Per the recipe they are too big to use as a sauce, and if you blend the mushrooms after they have been cooked, it adds a raw flavor and an unappealing color to the sauce. Before blending it is a very pretty and smooth sauce, with a much more developed flavor. I do not recommend blending.
Joanna
I believe you are supposed to rinse the mushrooms under the sink, not in their own soaking water. You want the sand/grit to go down the drain, not into the soaking liquid.
Pikawicca
What is one supposed to do with the remaining quantity of garlic?
Patricia
I used this when I needed to cook up mushrooms sitting almost too long; they were white ones, no mix of the others listed. It was lovely served over fried grit cakes, from leftover grits. I used Marsala as the wine and sage instead of thyme. It made a leftover dinner non leftover and quite delicious, served with a slice of goat cheese on the side. I also added some leftover roasted eggplant in with the mushrooms and no one noticed. Everyone loved it. Very tempting to take seconds.
Jennie
I made this to eat with pasta, and while it made a giant amount, it was an unsatisfactory pasta sauce, even with the addition of Parmesan cheese. However, the second night, I dumped most of a container of sour cream into it, and it became quite delicious.
David Look
That has been corrected. Add all of the garlic in step 3.
Deborah
I've made this several times for Thanksgiving and think it's excellent. I prefer it with thyme only because I find sage and rosemary overpower the mushrooms. Also, when I made it, the final step took about 10 minutes, not 20, so keep your eye on it.
Kristen
Yum! Quick, easy. Didn't have wine and didn't use oil and only used a container of criminis and half an onion--let everything simmer all at once in the veg broth. Great for over an oven-roasted potato with parm sprinkled on top and a little non-fat Greek yogurt.
Kam
It was delicious but not gravy-like. I would cut it smaller and add more liquid
JWms
I love this recipe, but as my plan is to serve it with reverse seared ribeyes, I subbed beef broth for chicken. I also believe that gravy is a special occasion sauce, and since I'm preparing this for a special occasion, I doubled the flour, and kicked up all seasoning for a richer punch. I made it the night before the dinner party, and plan to add a knob of butter on reheat, but, the basic recipe works without gilding the lily. Really lovely.
Beachwriter
The only shrooms I had: ~3/4 lb cremini, but I went for it anyway and whipped up a 1/2 recipe. Used a nice red wine, a splash of Maggi seasoning and chicken stock. Served it over Ali Slagle's 2-ingredient potatoes and never looked back. Perfection.
Sara
I loved this!! I chopped the mushrooms smaller as per a commenter here so it was more gravy-like. Added a splash of white wine instead of red (personal preference), skipped the sage (didn't have it) and added some extra fat via vegan butter (we're plant-based) and it was SO GOOD! I'd make this again in a heartbeat.
alex
This was delicious but I felt I needed more fat and liquid to make it gravy-like. After following this recipe, I let the mushrooms cool a bit just sitting in the pan. Then, in a separate pan, I made a roux (1 tbs each butter/flour, and then added liquid -- 1 cup stock 1 cup dry white wine) and then mixed in the mushrooms one scoop at a time. The result was very delicious.
Anne
I like having several vegan versions of gravy on hand. This is a good base from which to variate. No meat, no butter, no problem. Roasted, steamed vegetables shine, with goid sauces. Make sure you tell everyone you want a gravy boat /thermos for a gift.
Mary T.
I am hoping to make this for this Thanksgiving (2021) as we are hosting a vegetarian, gluten, and dairy-free guest. What can I substitute for the flour? Does Cup4Cup work as a thickener?
Panoolie
Modified to use as gravy: rehydrated porcinis sliced small and thin, used 2 med. potatoes instead of more mushrooms for mellower favor and lighter color, replaced wine with a tbsp of balsamic vinegar, used turkey broth instead of water, omitted flour. Puréed with immersion blender until fairly smooth. Well-received by my family, including picky eaters.
carol
I agree that blending made this ragout seem to lack flavor. I will attempt to ‘fix’ it with some half and half but am kinda disappointed.
Deborah
I've made this several times for Thanksgiving and think it's excellent. I prefer it with thyme only because I find sage and rosemary overpower the mushrooms. Also, when I made it, the final step took about 10 minutes, not 20, so keep your eye on it.
Edward in Paris
Made this in a slight variation as a pasta sauce. I reduced the flour to a large teaspoon and only used one cup of water with half the dried mushrooms. I left off the broth but added cream and Creme fraiche at the end. Very nice
Shari
I needed more liquid, perhaps a cup more, than called for here in order to use as 'gravy.' So maybe a cup of red wine and 1.5 cups or even 2 cups broth.
Sara
Made this twice now and it is a winner. Using a variety of mushrooms and a delicious wine helps!
Kristen
Yum! Quick, easy. Didn't have wine and didn't use oil and only used a container of criminis and half an onion--let everything simmer all at once in the veg broth. Great for over an oven-roasted potato with parm sprinkled on top and a little non-fat Greek yogurt.
Jennie
I made this to eat with pasta, and while it made a giant amount, it was an unsatisfactory pasta sauce, even with the addition of Parmesan cheese. However, the second night, I dumped most of a container of sour cream into it, and it became quite delicious.
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