Garlicky Mashed Potatoes + Mushroom Gravy

To roast the garlic: Preheat your oven to 400 °F (200°C) and cut off the top of the garlic bulbs to expose the individual garlic cloves. Place each head of garlic on a square of unbleached parchment paper and drizzle with oil (if using). Wrap the garlic bulb tightly, twisting the paper at the top to secure. Place on a baking tray and roast for 40 minutes. Allow the garlic to cool before handling.

Thoroughly wash and peel all of the potatoes. You can leave some of the skin on the potatoes if you’d like.

Roughly chop the potatoes into medium pieces and place them into a large pot. Cover with cold water. Add a pinch of salt and cover with a lid. Place on the stove set the heat to high and bring to a boil. Once the water boils, reduce to medium or low. The potatoes should cook within 15 to 20 minutes, or when the potatoes are tender and pierce easily with a fork.

In a large bowl, mash the bulbs from 1 head of roasted garlic (with the skins removed). I recommend adding the potatoes and vegan butter next, mashing everything together and then tasting the mixture to see if you’d like to add more garlic. The amount of garlic you add really depends on your personal preference.

Season with sea salt and fresh cracked pepper, to taste. Serve warm and top with mushroom gravy (recipe below).

Add vegan butter to a frying pan or saucepan and melt over medium heat. (See note below about using water or vegetable stock to make this oil-free.)

Sauté onion and garlic with a tiny pinch of sea salt for about 5 minutes. Stir often to ensure that the garlic does not burn.

Once the onions have softened, add the mushrooms and continue to cook for another 8 minutes.

Add nutritional yeast and flour, stir to evenly coat the mushrooms and onions.

Stir in vegetable stock and soy sauce or tamari. Continue to stir, breaking down any clumps. Allow the gravy to cook on medium-low heat, until it thickens up, stirring often. You can add a couple of tablespoons of stock or water if you need to thin out the gravy.

Add fresh cracked pepper and more salt, if desired, to taste.

Optional: blend for a smoother gravy. This was suggested in a comment by someone who blended it and I’ve since blended it myself and loved the result!