it's not all gravy, baby
Sometimes gravy gives me the ick, but this mushroom sauce is definitely not gravy. Sure, it has the similar methods and the same utility as gravy, but this sauce is delicious and it’s a keeper. Not to mention an absolute staple on my Thanksgiving or Christmas Eve dinner table. This is my grandma’s recipe, and it’s not to be tampered with. The porcinis are an absolute must, and if you’re a mushroom sauce skeptic, they will turn you for good. Besides making sure you get all the elements exactly right, this recipe is shockingly simple. And now you’ll never have to make “gravy” again. You’re welcome.
⟶ the recipe
porcini mushroom sauce
ingredients
2 ounces dried porcini
2 12-ounce packs of cremini mushrooms, sliced or diced
2 medium yellow onions, diced
2-4 tablespoons flour
Salt and pepper
Prep time
30 minutes
Cook time
1 hour 30 minutes
Total time
2 hours
8 servings
instructions
In a small saucepan, cook dried porcinis in about 2 cups of water for about 1 hour. Porcinis should be soft and fragrant.
Drain porcinis, reserving the liquid. Rinse porcinis, and separate, setting on a paper towel. Pat them dry, and chop them into small pieces.
Sauté onion in some oil until soft and translucent, about 8 minutes. Add cremini mushrooms, and cook for 5-8 more minutes, until mushrooms are soft and browned. Add about a cup of the porcini liquid, and continue to cook on low heat, until liquid has mostly evaporated.
In a small bowl, dissolve the flour in a cup of warm water, and whisk until smooth.
Add flour mixture slowly to the mushrooms, stirring, until thickened. Add more porcini liquid if needed to reach desired thickness and texture of the sauce.
Season with salt and pepper, and serve warm.
⟶ recipe notes
- You can either slice or chop the mushrooms depending on what kind of texture you want for the sauce. Slice them for a chunkier texture, but mince really small if you want the sauce to be runnier and have less texture when biting into the mushrooms
⟶ make it ahead
- Usually when I’m making this dish along with all of the other food I need to make before the holidays, I’ll cook both the onions and the porcinis ahead of time, storing everything in the fridge before making the rest of the sauce. If you make the whole thing in advance, you simply need to reheat it in a small saucepan until ready to serve
- Refrigerate the mushroom sauce in a tightly sealed container for up to 5 days. If freezing, store up to 3 months and reheat in a small saucepan on the stove until heated all the way through
- If you still have leftover porcini liquid, I recommend keeping it and saving it for another use. It’s really tasty in soups or added to rice or grains like quinoa and buckwheat
