Every roast out there goes really well with gravy – roast beef, roast chicken, even Veggie Roasts. You can easily just buy a packet of Bisto and have instantly yummy gravy, of course, but nothing beats making your own sauce. You can control the amount of salt added, and if you are vegetarian, you can choose the type of stock you use of course. I like to stick to a simple vegetable stock – I want the mushroom flavours to be the main highlight here. I love to use red wine here as it adds more colour to the sauce. You can omit that and just use more stock.

And the mashed potatoes, well, is mashed potatoes. You can also buy them ready-made in a box and just add water, because its fast and easy. I chop the potatoes into small cubes so that it cooks faster, and easier to mash with a fork later. I sometimes like my mash to be a bit garlicky, especially if I am having it with a simple roast chicken. It’s optional, but you can boil together the garlic with the potatoes and just mash it in together. The boiling process takes away the sharp tang, but leaves the smooth garlicky flavour.

 

 

Mushroom Gravy

Ingredients:

• 1 medium-sized red onion, chopped into fine cubes.
• 250g-300g of mushrooms (your choice), chopped into fine cubes.
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped fine.
• 2-3 tbsps of olive oil
• 250ml of vegetable stock (if you use store-bought stock, use a low sodium version)
• 1 tsp of Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 tsp of dried thyme
• 1 tsp of dark soy sauce
• 1 glass of red wine
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Optional: 50ml of cream.

Preparation:

1. In a pot, heat up the olive oil. Saute the onions until translucent on medium heat.
2. Add the chopped garlic and stir for 2 minutes, or until fragrant.
3. Saute the mushrooms until the mushrooms have absorbed all the oil/liquid.
4. Add the Worcestershire sauce and soy sauce, and stir. Season with a pinch of pepper.
5. Add the vegetable stock, red wine and dried thyme, and let simmer on low heat until the liquid has reduced into a relatively thick mixture. Stir occasionally to prevent the bottom of the pot sticking/burning.
6. Once it has reduced to a wonderfully thick mixture, season with more black pepper, to taste. I like mine with a bit more bite, so I use a lot of pepper here. It is now ready to serve. If you want your mushroom gravy to be rich and creamy, this is the time to add in the cream and gently heat for another 5 minutes, stirring continuously.
7. Serve as you would any gravy, with the steak and mashed potatoes (pictured below) or with roast meat.

 

 Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients: (3-4 individual portions)

• 1 kg of good starchy potatoes, chopped into cubes
• 50ml of cream
• 50ml of milk
• 1 tbsp of butter
• Salt and pepper
• Optional: 2 cloves of garlic, skin peeled off. Boil with the potatoes and mashed together after.

 

 Preparation:

1. In a big pot, boil the potatoes in water, with half a teaspoon of salt, until cooked and soft. 
2. Drain in a colander.
3. Transfer the potatoes back into the pot, and use the back of a fork to mash it into pieces. Alternatively, if you have a potato ricer, use that. 
4. In a bowl, whisk together the cream and the milk. Add that into the potatoes and while mixing, add the knob of butter.
5. Continuously mash and stir the mixture until you get a smooth mix.
6. Keep warm, until ready to serve.