Most gravies are made from meat juices and a thickener called “roux,” a 50/50 combination of pure fat—like lard or butter—and white flour. This flourless, butterless gravy can be used as a stand-alone sauce for almost any roast meat or poultry—and even some fish like cod and salmon. Play around with it: add low-fat bacon pieces, chopped olives, parsley, tarragon, basil, roasted pearl onions, diced cooked sweet potatoes, lemon zest, crushed peppercorns—whatever you can think of that fits into your caloric budget.

　　

Ingredients

makes 2 1/2 cups (10 servings)

　　2 garlic cloves, minced

　　1/2 cup yellow onion, roughly chopped

　　1/2 cup carrot, roughly chopped

　　1/2 cup celery root, roughly chopped

　　1 large sprig fresh thyme

　　1 1/2 cups nonfat, low-sodium chicken broth, plus more if needed

　　Salt and freshly ground black pepper

　　

Step 1

Combine the garlic, onion, carrot, celery root, thyme sprig and chicken broth in a large saucepan over high heat. Season with salt and pepper to taste, cover, and bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 12 minutes.

　　

Step 2

Remove the thyme sprig. Pour the contents of the pot into a blender container. Being careful of steam buildup in the blender, blend the mixture until it is smooth, adding a little more chicken broth if necessary to achieve a gravy consistency. Serve, or store in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

　　

nutrition information

Step 3

Fat: 5.5g (before), 0.1g (after)

　　

Step 4

Calories: 80 (before), 12 (after)

　　

Step 5

Protein: 1g

　　

Step 6

Carbohydrates: 2g

　　

Step 7

Cholesterol: 0mg

　　

Step 8

Fiber: 0g

　　

Step 9

Sodium: 156mg

　　Now Eat This by Rocco DiSpirito. Copyright © 2010 by Rocco DiSpirito. Published by Random House Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved.Hailed as the "Leading Chef of his Generation" by Gourmet magazine, Rocco DiSpirito received the James Beard Award for his first cookbook, Flavor. He went on to author Rocco's Italian-American (2004), Rocco's Five Minute Flavor (2005), Rocco's Real-Life Recipes (2007), and Rocco Gets Real (2009). DiSpirito also starred in the Food Network series Melting Pot, the NBC hit reality series The Restaurant, and the A&E series Rocco Gets Real.