20050930

imbb 19: i can't believe i didn't eat a vegan either.

mash and gravy

you know, when i first saw sam's theme for imbb 19, i thought it said "i can't believe i ate a vegan!" and i thought wow, the food blogging community is giving wholesale endorsement to cannibalism--how totally hardcore!

'course, i was wrong, but that didn't stop me from formulating some recipes. there is still a chance that there will be an imbb: the soylent green edition, so i'll just hold on to those in the meantime.

i started looking for vegan recipes on the web, and came across a lot of negative attitudes by omnivores towards vegan dishes. pretty much the only other food item i'd seen to incur such derision is marmite, and ha, wouldn't you know, marmite is vegan. perfect! i had to make something with marmite. i had to make something with marmite that even carnivores f**k up so i made a gravy. marmite gravy. marmite gravy with roasted garlic mashed potatoes.

i tried it on a carnivore. here's the conversation:

me: eat this.
carnivore: (eyeing it suspiciously) why?
me: just eat it.
carnivore: (tentatively takes a bite, then devours half the plate) hey, this is good. what's in it?
me: (eyeing him beadily) you don't want to know.
carnivore: (runs from table, gagging)

good sign in my book :)


thank you to our lovely hostess, sam!




roasted garlic mashed potatoes

2 medium russet potatoes, baked
4 medium-largish red-skinned potatoes, quartered and boiled in lightly salted water until tender
2-4 heads of roasted garlic
1/4-1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1-2 cups low sodium vegetable stock
salt and pepper to taste

peel the baked potatoes, add to boiled potatoes in a large bowl. squeeze out garlic cloves from the roasted garlic heads, then mash together with a fork or masher, to desired consistency. add olive oil and vegetable stock and continue to mash, or whip with an electric mixer until fluffy. salt and pepper to taste.


marmite gravy

1/4 cup (4 tbsp) olive oil
2-3 cloves of garlic, finely minced or crushed
1/2 a small white or yellow onion, chopped
1/4 cup (4 tbsp) all-purpose flour
1-2 tbsp marmite (as always YMMV with marmite, so use your best judgement--you can always add more later)
1 1/2-2 c (to start) water or low sodium vegetable stock
1/2 tsp sage, ground or crumbled
white pepper, to taste
tamari or soy sauce, to taste

optional:
balsamic vinegar
vegan wine
shiitake mushrooms, sliced

sautée the garlic and onion in olive oil, over medium-low to medium heat, until translucent. incorporate the flour to make a paste or roux. cook over low heat, constantly stirring, until the paste darkens, about 10 minutes. don't let the roux burn. add the marmite to the roux.

slowly add the water or stock to the roux; stir frequently. bring it to a boil and allow to thicken. add the sage, optional mushrooms, balsamic vinegar or wine. if you can find vegan wine, i recommend adding it plus a tablespoonful of the balsamic vinegar for added depth and a slight bit of zing, but balsamic vinegar is fine on its own (experiment freely!). if the gravy is too thin, thicken it with a little cornstarch dissolved in cold water. add more marmite, salt and pepper to taste.


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16 comments:

Well, I'm glad you didn't eat a vegan, Santos! Very sneaky to work marmite into your IMBB entry - definately got a good reaction!

Heh. Marmite.

This looks very tasty! Thanks for the idea; I am coordinating a Thanksgiving dinner for my church and I'm on the lookout for a vegetarian gravy.

that's too hilarious. Considering I was in Fiji for most of September I half thought it would be just my luck, considering how obsessed with food I am, that I would be the first tourist to be eaten in 150 years or whatever.

And you know - I love you, because you used one of my all time favourite ingredients.

ps - if you ate a vegan it would be ok, wouldn't it, cos they wouldn't contain any meat????

Marmite rules :)

That's definitely one to try.

yeah! i love marmite and vegemite, spread very thinly on margarined toast. it adds such a nice "beefy" flavor to soups, stews and gravy too. and it has a lot of the very important b12, which if you're a long term vegan can be a little depleted in your body.

I would love to make this! Hmmm... I'll have to scour the metropolis for a bottle of Marmite.

Great stuff santos, I love marmite too.

P/s I like the bit abt eating a vegan.

santos, lovely way of using marmite. we use marmite to cook up the gravy for some meat dishes :p

hi nic--i don't know what would've been worse for him, some forbidden flesh product or marmite.

hi charlotte! i'm still tweaking the recipe a bit--i like it with wine, but i can't always find vegan ones, but balsamic vinegar seems to work wonders. let me know what you end up with!

hi sam! ah, i knew you'd appreciate the marmite. we can try the gravy on a vegan :)

hi bramble! i could never fully appreciate marmite until i tried it in this gravy, i'll bet it would work wonders to a regular carnivorous one too.

hi rae! thanks for the information!

hi karen--i'll send some your way :) hand delivered, no less....

hi boo! what's your favourite way to eat marmite?

hi babe! i am definitely going to try marmite in my next 'regular' gravy.

"just eat it" - you need your own show Santos. Had me cracking me up!

every store i've been in the past 2 months had marmite, and i've been trying to resist! i don't think i can resist any longer, not after your post....

ooh, saffron, i'll just sit inside your hollowed out telly.

hi stef! eeep. don't blame me if it takes you years to finish that bottle :D

Mmmmm gorgeous gravy recipe, I had it with mustard mash and vegan bangers. Just what I was craving, thank youuuu

I have been looking for a healthy form of brown gravy without using red meat which I seldom eat anymore. This is amazing. I am a yank and new to Marmite so I used less than a tablespoon and found it to be almost too strong, but VERY yummy. I also used mushrooms since I had them. Thank you so much for giving me a low-guilt choice of an important comfort food!

hi kristin! i am totally a meat eater these days but i still make this all the time. my current favourite addition is a good red wine with a mix of woodsy mushrooms, but i would like to try something with caramelized onions some time soon.