NOTE: You will require a large 5 litre saucepan with lid for this recipe as it will make up to 5 pints of fresh stock.
- Place the olive oil into your saucepan and heat over a low flame.
- Halve the shallots and chop the garlic cloves, celery and leek. Add these to your pan and fry until soft.
- Roughly cut all the rest of the vegetables into approximately 1 inch pieces and add to the pan.
- Add the thyme, bay leaves, salt and pepper to taste and 3 litres of water to the pan. Turn up the heat and allow the mix to come to the boil.
- Once boiling, reduce the heat to low, cover with a lid and allow to simmer for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, remove the lid and continue to simmer for another 30 minutes, allowing the stock to reduce a little and thicken. Once complete, remove your stock from the heat and allow to cool.
- Using a seive, draw the stock you have made into a jug. Use a wooden spoon or a spatula to push the mixture through the sieve, taking care to scrape the bottom of the sieve and add this to the stock.
- Discard the bayleaves, thyme and excess vegetables in your compost.
- Pour most of the stock back into the pan, leaving approximately 50ml in the jug.
- Add the tsp of cornflour to the 50ml of stock left in the jug and mix until smooth and lump free.
- Using the Dualit 700W Hand Blender with whisk attachment, add the stock and cornflour mixture to the pan and stir.
- Allow the stock to simmer on a low heat for another 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. The stock should now have a much thicker consistency and is ready to use.
- Allow to cool completely before storing. The gravy can either be kept in an airtight container in the fridge, or frozen to keep for longer.
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Tips...
- (Depending on personal dietary preferences) For meat and chicken stock: add cut offs from leftover weeknight meals or Sunday roasts and fry alongside the shallots, before completing the remaining steps.
- (Depending on personal dietary preferences) For fish stock, add boned fish cut offs and fish sauce and fry alongside the shallots, before completing the remaining steps.
- Alternatively, make a selection of stocks by making the gravy base as outlined above, then removing one litre for vegan/vegetarian and adding meat or fish to the remaining stock.
- You can also add flavour to your gravy by adding other optional ingredients. For example, to make a richer and more intense gravy, add a dash of red wine to your stock before simmering on a low heat.
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