Gram flour ‘white’ sauce

 

 

I’ve mentioned elsewhere that I find white sauce per se, somewhat incomprehensible, although it – and the rather posher sauce Béchamel – are an excellent basis for making other and eminently more appetising sauces. 

 

One of the main drawbacks of white sauce is that apart from the milk, which for vegans can cover a multitude of sins, it’s not necessarily very nutritious. While mushrooms in white sauce on toast or pasta, for example, are a quick and easy meal, if we substitute chickpea flour for corn/wheat flour, we not also get better nutrition but a more interesting result. At least to me, it’s more interesting. Give it a try and see what you think.

 

An issue with using gram flour in a sauce, is its tendency to go lumpy. This recipe gets rid of any initial lumpiness, and if you stir the mixture constantly, over a low to moderate flame, you should end up with a perfectly smooth sauce. The end result is fairly thick – add more water, once it has thickened, if you want it runnier.

 

As with white sauce, there are as many variations as your imagination can conjure up, but I put in a few examples below, and as this recipe is vegan, I shall also suggest some ideas for vegetarians.

 

Makes 1 cupful – enough for 2 servings 

 

Ingredients

 

2 tbsp gram flour

1 tbsp oil, melted ghee or butter

1 cup water

1/4 tsp salt

good grind of black pepper

 

Instructions: 

• Put the flour into a small saucepan and knock out the worst of the lumps with your spoon. Now pour in the oil or melted ghee and mix in the flour very thoroughly, effectively making a roux, while eliminating any remaining lumps.
• Now add a quarter cup of the water to the roux and blend into a smooth cream.
• Put the pan over a low heat and add some more water, blending everything carefully again. Raise the heat to moderate and keep stirring.
• When the sauce is showing signs of thickening, add the remaining water, the salt and the pepper. Bring the mixture to a slow boil, still stirring constantly.
• Now reduce the heat to low again, and carry on stirring while it thickens. Taste to see if more salt is required. Don’t taste it before it starts getting thick: raw gram flour is not nice. Keep stirring until it has stopped thickening.

Notes: 

• This, as you will have noticed, is a very basic white sauce and you will want to add more ingredients. Most people seem to add milk – dairy or plant – but this really isn’t necessary. The gram flour adds a thickness and creaminess which is quite different from wheat flour. However, if it is somewhat lacking:

Variations:

• The obvious place to start is the water. Substitute milk, if you like. Or boil the cup of water and put in a piece of onion, stuck with a clove or two and a bay leaf. Let it stand for half an hour or so to absorb the flavours and strain into the saucepan. Equally, you can do this with milk.
• A quicker way of achieving a similar result is to use 1/4 tsp onion powder or garlic granules plus the clove and bay leaf, which you’ll take out before serving.
• Seasonings such as nutmeg or herbs, will enhance the basic sauce.
• Add mushroom stock powder, or a tsp of my equivalent.
• This sauce also makes a good basis for a pasta sauce, combined with some lentils/beans and/or vegetables.
• Adding Indian spices, you can make a good creamy sauce to which you can add lentils, beans and/or vegetables.
• The sauce makes a good addition to creamy soups, either before or after blending.
• Cheese sauce: include 2 tbsp nutritional yeast, 1/4 tsp garlic granules,1 tsp Dijon mustard to the sauce with the first addition of water.  Stir in 1 tsp tahini, too, for extra richness. Or for vegetarians, leave out the yeast and add grated cheese before raising the heat. 

 

 

You will find many more recipes elsewhere in this blog.

Vegan garlic and herb soft "cheese"

While this tastes nothing at all like cheese, it is a very pleasant spread, with a similar consistency to soft cheese.  The lemon juice gives a hint of sourness, which might possibly remind the more  imaginative of goats' cheese.  If you can make it well in advance, so much the better: it will let the flavours combine all the more.  As you are unlikely to have fresh herbs, don't be mean with the flavourings .

Makes about 1/2 cup

1/2 cup sunflower seeds or blanched peanuts

1 1/2 tsp nutritional yeast

1/2 tbsp lemon juice

1 clove garlic peeled and crushed

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp Annie's Mixed Herbs

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp chives or other fresh herbs, finely chopped

1/2 tbsp reserved soaking water

Method:

• Soak sunflower seeds/peanuts in water overnight or simmer them for 10 minutes. Then drain and reserve the water. 
• Put about half the chives aside, and then put the seeds, yeast, lemon juice, garlic, garlic powder, Annie's Mixed Herbs and salt in a blender. Blend until the cheese comes together, achieving uniform consistency. 
• If all the ingredients get stuck to the side of the blender, which they probably will, scrape down the sides as often as necessary, adding a little more water, if required.
  
• Taste critically and adjust the seasoning. You may want to add more garlic, herbs or lemon juice. 
• Shape the cheese on a plate by hand, or simply serve in a bowl or on a plate, topped with the extra fresh chives.

The flavours of this vegan cheese develop and combine together, so it’s worth not eating it all up at once! It seems to keep quite well for several days, loosely covered.

 

Variations:

• Substitute, or add onion powder for the garlic powder.
• Use different nuts or seeds.
• Add smoked paprika. 
• Add chilli flakes
• Add some chopped peppadew peppers after blending.
  
• Add chopped capers after blending.
  
• Mix in some pesto once the mixture is blended.
• Form the cheese into a log and roll in either Annie's Mixed Herbs or cracked black pepper.

 

 

Vegan "Parmesan" (Parmegan)

For many years, I lived with a man who detested cheese and because money was in short supply, I hardly ever bought this treat for myself.  I missed it, but its lack was tolerable, although I really enjoyed eating it when I had a chance.  Then I lived with someone who loved cheese and, moreover, we had a little more money, so we generally had it on board.

When I decided to live on my own in New Zealand, I could finally eat exactly how I wanted to.  However, my budget was again pretty limited and I found that New Zealand, in spite of being awash in dairy cows, has no tradition of its own cheese.  Most of the affordable cheese made here, is a pastiche of Camembert or Brie, of Gouda and Edam and of course, the ubiquitous so-called Cheddar.  I had hoped for so much more, remembering the open markets of my English youth, where I could buy several different versions of my local cheese.  While there is some superb artisan cheese in this country, not only is most of it beyond my financial means, but most of it is beyond my physical means, only being sold in the major cities.  Over recent years, the plight of dairy cattle (particularly calves) and of the planet overall, has inexorably inched me towards veganism.  However, I still succumbed to the lure of Parmesan or Pecorino cheese.  It was a very happy day, therefore, that I stumbled across a vegan alternative on the Internet.

Not only is vegan "Parmesan" a genuinely acceptable alternative to the real thing, it even emulates it sufficiently accurately, that friends have tipped generous amounts of the food I've served them, without even noticing that it's not the 'real thing'.  Often what you taste is what you expect!

Many people use cashew nuts: I prefer Brazil nuts.  (In this blog I am not generally going to discuss the various ethical pros and cons of one nut/grain/legume over another.  Suffice it to say that the worst of them is probably less unethical than most animal products.)  You will need a blender or good mouli-grinder to make this.

Brazil nuts are one of those that tend to go stale quite quickly - like walnuts - so I have assumed that the 'cheese' would also lose its flavour and freshness quickly.  I therefore limit its production to about 1/3 cup at a time.  The recipe is so simple that it's extremely easy to make larger quantities.  However, I do find that a small jar will keep happily for at least two or three weeks without refrigeration, which is another of its great virtues.

Makes about 1/3 cup

Ingredients

1/4 cup Brazil nuts 

1 tbsp nutritional yeast 

1/4 to 1/2 tsp salt

 

Method:

• Roughly chop the Brazil nuts into about 1cm pieces
• Put the chopped nuts, the nutritional yeast and the salt into your blender or mouli and process until you get the consistency of finely grated cheese.
• Serve over pasta, etc, as you would Parmesan cheese.

Adjust the salt according to your personal taste.