BASIC GRAVY
Most gravies are made from meat juices and a thickener called “roux,” a 50/50 combination of pure fat—like lard or butter—and white flour. This flourless, butterless gravy can be used as a stand-alone sauce for almost any roast meat or poultry—and even some fish like cod and salmon. Play around with it: add low-fat bacon pieces, chopped olives, parsley, tarragon, basil, roasted pearl onions, diced cooked sweet potatoes, lemon zest, crushed peppercorns—whatever you can think of that fits into your caloric budget. Makes 2½ cups (10 servings)
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ cup yellow onion, roughly chopped
½ cup carrot, roughly chopped
½ cup celery root, roughly chopped
1 large sprig fresh thyme
1½ cups nonfat, low-sodium chicken broth, plus more if needed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1. Combine the garlic, onion, carrot, celery root, thyme sprig and chicken broth in a large saucepan over high heat. Season with salt and pepper to taste, cover, and bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 12 minutes.
2. Remove the thyme sprig. Pour the contents of the pot into a blender container. Being careful of steam buildup in the blender, blend the mixture until it is smooth, adding a little more chicken broth if necessary to achieve a gravy consistency. Serve, or store in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
