Browned onion and red wine gravy recipe (From Gazette & Herald)

Browned onion and red wine gravy recipe

10:51am Saturday 7th April 2012 in Food & Drink

DAVID STANFORD climbs on board the gravy train.

GRAVY is the elixir of life to us northern blokes.

Yorkshire puddings, roast beef, sausages, mash, braised vegetables or even chips – it doesn’t matter to me. If it’s swimming in gravy then I’ll eat it.

But it has to be decent gravy, none of your packet rubbish. It has to carry a bit of oomph and punch.

If you’ve got friends coming round for lunch, bangers and mash might not sound all that tempting.

But add a jug of this browned onion and red wine gravy and suddenly a very ordinary, basic dish is transformed.

A serving plate piled high of good-quality sausages, a big bowl of creamy mash, all ready to be soaked in this gloriously sticky gravy …mmmm, proper comfort food, perfect for relaxed, unpretentious dining.

This is another recipe from Nigel Slater’s Real Food book, first published in 1998, and it really is easy to prepare. Nigel’s recipe uses Madeira or Marsala, but I use red wine instead because we always have some plonk in the house.

Browned onion and red wine gravy

Ingredients

A thick slice of butter, about 75g
Two large onions, peeled and thinly sliced
A tablespoon of flour
75ml red wine (or Madeira or Marsala if you have it)
250ml beef stock
Worcestershire sauce
Freshly ground salt and pepper.

Method

Melt the butter in a pan, add the onions and cook gently over a very low heat until they are golden and soft.

Cover with a lid and continue cooking until the onions are really brown and soft enough to crush between your fingers.

Stir in the flour and cook for a few minutes, then add the wine and stock.

Season with salt and pepper and add a good splash of Worcestershire sauce.

Bring the liquid to boil then turn the heat down so that the gravy bubbles gently and leave for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.