Biscuits and gravy are a common comfort food, and sadly, it's very rare to find a good vegan b&g in Denver. But you can make your own easily, and we guarantee this recipe will impress the special herbivore in your life.
We made our own tempeh "sausage" for this plate, but you can get an equally tasty result by using LightLife's Gimme Lean sausage product, the one that comes in a tube. Yes, brand matters here: The LightLife sausage has a more meat-like texture, and using it will yield an almost-exactly-like-the-real-thing result.
If you use the LightLife sausage, you don't need the tempeh, fennel, basil, oregano, red pepper flakes, sage, garlic, tamari, olive oil or lemon, and you can skip steps one and seven. Just brown the sausage in a small pan for two or three minutes and then add it to the gravy in step thirteen.
You will need:
1 package tempeh (8 ounces) 1 tablespoon fennel 1 teaspoon basil 2 teaspoons oregano 1 packet red pepper flakes 1 teaspoon dried sage 2 cloves garlic 2 tablespoons tamari 1 tablespoon olive oil 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 2 2/3 cups flour 1 tablespoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/3 cup + 4 tablespoons melted non-hydrogenated, non-dairy butter (Earth Balance brand works just like real butter) 1 32-ounce container hemp milk 1 tablespoon peanut oil
Add enough water to almost cover the tempeh and simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until most of the water is absorbed (this should take fifteen to twenty minutes). While the tempeh simmers, work on the biscuits.Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F and lightly grease a cookie sheet.
2. Melt 1/3 cup of butter in a small bowl. 3. In a large bowl, mix two cups flour, baking powder and salt until well-combined. (This recipe is adjusted for Denver altitude; bakers at sea level should cut the flour by 1/2 cup or so.)
