Amazing rich mushroom gravy- no flour, no fat added!

I put together this tasty little gem after we tired of grilling lean turkey burgers and we realllly wanted some sauce for the amazing brown rice pasta I just found on Amazon. I was scared of pasta alternatives because I had tried a couple here and there and they just made me sad. But the reviews for this stuff were amazing, so I said what the hell. This is what it looks like and you can read the reviews for yourself here:

   

You know how everyone says that a lot of rare meats taste "just like chicken"? Well, I have to say- this stuff actually tastes just like regular pasta. You have to be careful with the cooking time, though. I cooked it for about 9 minutes, although it suggested 11-13 minutes. I just kept tasting to check for the right texture- which happened to be right around the 9 minute mark. I drained it and actually chose to rinse it in cold water. This is *not* something I would usually do with regular pasta, because the starch is great for catching and holding on to sauce. But in this case, reviews had said it could get mushy, and I really wanted to make sure it stopped cooking. So I gave it a quick rinse with a shot of cold water, and it turned out perfect. There was no odd flavor or aftertaste, and the texture was just what you would expect from a normal wheat-based pasta.

Ok, now that I got to get in my excitement about my new pasta, let's talk gravy. 

                                        

Mushroom Gravy: Ingredients

~8 ounces baby bella mushrooms, sliced

- 1/2 large onion, diced

- 4 cups broth- I used beef here and loved the meaty beef and mushroom combo, but you could also switch up the flavors and use chicken or veggie broth. 

- Rosemary- fresh or dried,to taste. I used ~ 1/2 tbsp

- Salt and pepper to taste

- Arrowroot or cornstarch

You need to start by browning the onions and mushrooms. Depending on your diet restrictions, you can a) use a bit of olive oil, b) spray the pan with some cooking spray, or c) cook the onions and mushrooms by putting a bit of broth in the pan at the beginning to keep everything from sticking. 

In the photos here, I used a shot of cooking spray, no additional oil or fat was added. I also used my magical Bialetti ceramic pan.... 

Once you have decided on your method, add that plus the mushrooms, onions, and a healthy dose of salt and pepper. Cook the onions and mushrooms over medium heat until they brown- you may even see some of the browned bits start to stick to the bottom of the pan. You want to take this opportunity to develop some serious flavor. The browning will make the veggies caramelize- the natural sugars in the onions will make them taste sweet, and the mushrooms will develop a savory meaty flavor. 

Once the onions and mushrooms are nicely browned, pour in 3 1/2 cups of broth, reserving the other 1/2 cup for later. Add in the rosemary. If you're using fresh rosemary, remove the leaves from the stem and give it a nice chop. If you're using dry, I would also suggest either chopping the rosemary or using a mortar/pestle to grind it down a bit. This is also personal taste- I just don't like chewing larger pieces of dried rosemary.... but I love the flavor. I used a mortar and pestle and just ground it down until it was mostly powder. 

Bring the sauce to a boil. Then turn it down to medium-low heat and let it cook.....

And cook....

 

Until it reduces by about 1/4 (approximately 15-20 minutes):

At this point, you could eat it as-is and it would be super tasty, but not very thick. You could continue to reduce it, but by further condensing the flavors, you might end up with an overly salty sauce. The other option is to use arrowroot or cornstarch, which is what I did here. The final 1/2 cup of broth was set aside for this purpose- use that to make a slurry with the cornstarch or arrowroot. The broth should be at least room temperature, if not cool, to be the most effective. Stir this mixture right at the end- if you continue cooking at a medium heat or bring the sauce to a boil after adding it, it may reduce the effectiveness of the thickener. 

Mix in enough of the slurry to get the consistency you want. Since you are using broth instead of water, it shouldn't water down your mixture- but may want to taste to see if any additional seasonings should be added prior to serving.

And voila! That's it! No added fat or flour and you can have rich, creamy myshroom gravy. T was craving salisbury steak (which neither of us has had in years), so we grilled some seasoned burger patties and then smothered that and the awesome brown rice pasta with the sauce. He dubbed it "the best salisbury steak he's ever had." Not sure what I'm being compared to, since most salisbury steaks come in frozen dinners...but I'll take it ;)

Healthy, Hearty, and Kinda Creamy Mushroom Soup

I recently discovered Skinnytaste.com's soup recipes. I had some dental work done and was only able to eat very soft foods for a loooooong time. Once I got tired of scrambled eggs and mashed potatoes, I decided I was going on a mission for actual tasty soft food recipes. 

 I have now tried quite a few of the Skinnytaste soup recipes. This mushroom soup and the Curried Squash soup (to be posted shortly) have been my favorites.

This soup clocks in with a meager 65 cals/ serving (1 1/4 cup). I ended up reducing some of it down even further and using it as a nice low-cal gravy for my fluffy mashed potatoes (use a food mill/ricer!!)

3 tbsp flour (white or wheat)

4 cups water

4 tsp Better than Bouillon Chicken dissolved in 1 cup water

5 oz shiitake mushrooms (the meatiness of these mushrooms makes the splurge worth it)

8 oz baby bellas

1 celery stalk, cut in half

Chop up your mushrooms- do not throw away your shiitake stems! Gather them in a little bundle and toss them in with the rest of the 'shrooms:

 

They add a valuable earthy flavor to the broth- you will remove them at the end when the soup is done cooking.

 Blend the flour and water in a blender until completely mixed. I  used a whole wheat flour with no problems. Pour the mixture into a soup pot over medium heat. Add the broth, mushrooms, and celery, and a fair amount of salt (based on your personal preferences).  Cook until the veggies are soft- about 20 mins.

Place the celery stalk and two ladles of soup in the blender. Blend until smooth and add back into  the soup as a thickener, add S&P to taste. If you want it a bit thicker, you can add cornstarch mixed with cold water while the soup is still hot. You can also continue to cook it over low-medium heat, uncovered for an additional 20-30 minutes. When I reduced it down to a gravy-like consistency, I only used about 1 1/2 cups that I had added a bit of cornstarch to. This recipe doesn't make a giant pot, maybe enough for 4-5 servings.

I somehow managed to not take a pic of the finished product- do not expect a white, creamy mushroom soup. This is more of a meaty, slightly creamy broth soup- but it is richer and thicker, so you will still get the satisfaction of the full texture and flavor.