►Makes 6 Servings

1 ounce (28 g) dried shiitake or any other dried mushrooms

2 cups (470 ml) vegetable broth, boiling, divided, more if needed

1½ cups (288 g) cooked butter beans 2 tablespoons (30 ml) neutral- flavoured vegetable oil

¼ cup (40 g) minced shallot or ⅓ cup (53 g) minced red onion

2 cloves garlic, grated or pressed 2 tablespoons (15 g) whole wheat

pastry flour or (16 g) all-purpose flour 1½ tablespoons (12 g) nutritional yeast

¼ cup (15 g) packed fresh parsley or 1 packed tablespoon (3 g) fresh sage leaves, minced

Salt and pepper

 

Place the dried mushrooms in a large bowl and cover with 1 cup (235 ml) of the boiling vegetable broth. Set aside for 15 minutes. Gently squeeze the broth out of the mushrooms, being careful not to discard the broth.

Top what remains of the soaking broth with enough extra broth to get a total of 1½ cups (355 ml). Add the butter beans to the broth and blend until smooth with an immersion blender. (You can either add the parsley before blending or just stir it at a later point. Blending it now will yield a more green-tinted gravy.)

Place the oil in a large skillet and heat on medium-high heat. Add the shallot and garlic. Sauté on medium heat until fragrant and the shallot is translucent, about 2 minutes.

Sprinkle the flour over the shallot and stir to combine. Add the nutritional yeast and stir to combine, cooking until the flour and yeast smell toasty, about 2 minutes. Using a whisk, slowly add the warm broth into the flour mixture, whisking constantly to keep the gravy smooth. Cook until slightly thickened, about 4 minutes, and add the parsley (if you haven’t done so already) or sage. Switch to stirring with a wooden spoon and simmer until the gravy has thickened to your liking, another 2 to 4 minutes. Adjust the seasonings to taste. Remove from the heat and serve immediately with mashed potatoes, cooked grains, or steamed vegetables.

Store cooled leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days and slowly reheat in a small saucepan before use.