Ipanema's Biscuits & Mushroom Gravy

Ipanema Cafe opened as Richmond, Virginia’s only full-service basement vegetarian restaurant in 1998. Today, the Grace Street institution serves award-winning vegan/vegetarian lunch, dinner and desserts, including this vegetarian recipe for biscuits and gravy.

1 1/2 cups flour, plus more for gravy and rolling
1/4 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
7 1/2 Tbsp. margarine, chilled and cubed
2 3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 yellow onion, diced
1 lb. cremini mushrooms, thickly sliced
2 large sprigs rosemary, finely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Combine flour, salt, sugar and baking powder in a mixing bowl. Work 6 Tbsp. margarine into the flour with your hands. Gradually add 3/4 cup almond milk to the flour while mixing. You may not need all of the milk but reserve what you don’t use. On a floured surface, roll the dough out to about an inch thick. Fold the dough over itself and roll it out gently to an inch thickness. Repeat this two more times. Using a 3-inch ring or the rim of a glass, cut the biscuits and place them close together on a lightly greased baking sheet. Combine any leftover dough, roll out to an inch thickness, cut more biscuits and repeat until all of the dough has been used. Brush the tops of the biscuits with the leftover milk and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until the biscuits are done.

To make the gravy, sauté the mushrooms in oil or margarine in a frying pan and set aside. In a saucepan, melt the remaining margarine, add the diced onion and rosemary and allow the onion to soften on medium-low heat. Add 1/4 cup flour to the pot and stir to combine with onions and margarine. Continue stirring the pot for another minute or two to cook the flour. Gradually whisk in 2 cups almond milk to avoid lumps of flour in the gravy. Gently heat the gravy while stirring until it becomes thick. Be sure to scrape the bottom of the pan with the whisk or a spoon often to avoid having flour stick to the pan. Add the sautéed mushrooms to the gravy and season with salt and black pepper. If the gravy comes out too thick, just whisk in more almond milk. If the gravy is too thin, make a slurry by whisking together 1 Tbsp. flour and 2 Tbsp. almond milk in a separate bowl. This can be added to the gravy while stirring to thicken it more.

To serve, cut or break the biscuits into a top and bottom half. Put the biscuits on a plate slightly offset and spoon gravy on top. Serve with fruit or eggs for breakfast or with vegetables for dinner.

Recipe and photo provided by Ipanema Cafe.