Fond and Deglazing

• The fond forms when a Maillard reaction browns the residual sugars of a food while the heat reduces them, evaporating their moisture and leaving their concentrated essence sticking to the bottom of the pan. Quality gravy starts with fond.

  Saute mirepoix, or one of its its regional variants, such as sofrito or battuto, in olive oil until caramelized. Use about 1 cup of mirepoix for every 2 quarts of sauce. For added flavor and color, saute a tablespoon of tomato paste along with the mirepoix until it turns a rusty color.

  Scrape the pan using a flat-edged wooden spoon or spatula while pouring in a few tablespoons of vegetable stock, wine or water to release the fond from the pan.

Thickening

• You can thicken the sauce at a couple of points in the cooking process after deglazing or towards the end of cooking. Vegan thickeners suited for gravy include olive-oil roux, cornstarch and arrowroot.

  To thicken with an olive-oil roux, add equal parts flour and olive oil (3/4 cup each flour and olive oil per quart of gravy) after you deglaze the pan. Set the heat to low and cook the flour until it develops a blondish color, stirring occasionally.

  To thicken with pure starch, mix equal parts cornstarch or arrowroot (3/4 cup each starch and water per quart of gravy) with cold water and set it aside until the sauce is almost ready.

Body

• You can use any flavorful liquid for the gravy body, but a neutral homemade vegetable stock grants you the freedom to flavor it in any manner you choose. Bold vegetable stocks, such as those containing pungent ingredients like peppers, garlic and ginger, limit the gravy's uses, so it's best to start neutral and add the spicy ingredients later.

  Add cold vegetable stock to the gravy and heat it to a simmer. As the stock heats, taste it, and add kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to suit your taste.

Secondary Ingredients

• Add umami-rich secondary ingredients to bolster the overall flavor of the gravy. Delicate enoki mushrooms, tomatoes and soy sauce are a few umami-rich ingredients that take well to gravy.

  This is also the point to add ingredients that take the gravy in a specific direction. For example, add a pinch of Chinese five-spice for heady, floral finish or a scant scattering of chili flakes for a touch of heat. Allow the gravy to return to simmer after adding the secondary ingredients.

Finishing

• Thickening, thinning, seasoning adjustments and refining are a few last-minute finishing techniques that "put the polish" on a complete sauce or gravy.

  • If you're thickening with pure starch, stir the arrowroot or corn-starch slurry you made earlier into the gravy and simmer it for 15 minutes.
  • Pour the gravy through a sieve and discard the strained vegetables -- the vegetables have given all they can to the gravy and have likely cooked to mush at this point.
  • If you need to adjust the consistency of the gravy, return it to the saucepan after you pour it through the sieve. To thin the gravy, add vegetable stock as needed and bring it to a simmer. To thicken the gravy, bring it to a simmer and let it reduce as needed.
  • Taste the gravy a final time. Adjust the seasoning and add a squeeze of lemon juice if the flavor needs a bit of brightening.