Chickpea Gravy n' Biscuits

                                    from happyveganface


I made these on Monday after I dragged ass home from work. I didn't want to initially--cooking after I get home from 10+ hours of work isn't usually on the top of my list of things to do, mostly because I'm beat and hungry and don't feel like waiting an hour to eat and veganmofo. But Monday I told myself: No--you are making these today, otherwise you won't end up making them, and you bought the ingredients, so GODDAMMIT DO IT.

And I did.

And they were delish!

I'm falling more and more in love with chickpeas as of late, even with their CONSISTENCY, which was always a point of contention with me. But they work WONDERFULLY in this dish, which is weird because when you think chickpeas, you don't normally think of biscuits and gravy. But really: trust me. They work here.

This is also a nice simple recipe for the fall and winter--it's the food equivalent of a nice sturdy snowsuit.

I recommend.

The only change I might make for next time is to try out the Vegan Dad biscuit recipe. The biscuit recipe here works fine, but I gotta admit--I prefer the buttermilky ones.



INGREDIENTS FOR GRAVY:

• 3 large carrots, finely sliced (or a bunch of baby carrots, diced into rounds)


• 3 ribs of celery, finely sliced


• 1 large yellow onion, chopped


• 1 t. olive oil


• 1 t. margarine


• 1 t. poultry seasoning


• 1/2 t. onion powder


• 1/2 t. garlic powder


• 1/4 c. nutritional yeast


• 1 c. rice/soy milk


• 1 t. liquid braggs (or soy sauce)


• 1 tsp yellow (or mild) miso (optional)


• 2 T. whole wheat flour


• 1 T. cornstarch


• 2 c. cooked chickpeas


• 1/2 c. water (you can use some reserved bean water here)


• sea salt & black pepper to taste (if you like)

INGREDIENTS FOR BISCUITS:

• 1 c. all-purpose whole wheat flour


• 1 c. all-purpose white flour


• 1 T. baking powder


• 1/2 t. sea salt (or regular salt, to taste)


• 3/4 c. plain rice milk (or any vegan milk)


• 1 t. apple cider vinegar


• 1/4 c. shortening

DIRECTIONS

For the gravy...

In a large skillet, heat up 1 t. olive oil on medium high heat. Add in the carrots, onions, and celery - saute until the onions begin to brown. Stir in cooked chickpeas, saute everything for another 2-3 minutes, and remove the skillet from heat (keep the veggies & chickpeas in the skillet 'cause you're gonna put the gravy in there in a bit!).

In a medium sauce pan, heat 1 t. margarine on medium heat. Once melted, add in rice/soy milk, (reserved bean) water & seasonings. Combine well. Once the rice/soy milk is looking like it's going to boil a little, add in the nutritional yeast, liquid bragg's/soy sauce, miso (optional), flour, and cornstarch. Cook this for another 3 minutes stirring frequently (so as not to burn it) until it thickens. Salt & pepper to taste if you like.

Pour your gravy into the skillet with your sauteed mix of chickpeas, carrots, celery, & onions. Cook on medium (to medium-high) heat for another 2-4 minutes (adding more flour if needed to thicken it up--I actually had to add significantly MORE water to the mix cuz my gravy was way too thick). Remove from heat.

For the biscuits...

Preheat your oven to 350F. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together 3/4 cup rice milk + 1 tsp apple cider vinegar and set aside.

Combine the flours, sea salt, and baking powder in a large mixing bowl. Add in the shortening, and cut this into the flour with a fork until the flour begins to get a texture like uncooked oats.

Pour in the milk + vinegar mixture ("buttermilk") and combine to form a dough. Lightly knead the dough on your counter top for a few seconds combining everything evenly. The dough is really soft so you won't need a rolling pin - just use your hands to kinda pat out the dough to about 1" thick and use a kitchen glass to cut out some biscuits (6-8 large biscuits). Place the biscuits on a non-stick cookie sheet (or one lined with parchment paper) and bake for 9-11 minutes. Remove from heat & transfer to a cooling rack.

All together now...

Now slice a biscuit (or two, or three!) in half, smother with gravy, and enjoy!

(Recipe from happyveganface)