Girl Guide Gravy

Forgive the recipe title, but this is a 'be prepared' type recipe that I like to have ready and waiting in the freezer as I cannot be bothered to make gravy during the week.   It freezes for three months so a good sized batch keeps us going when we have a mid week roast chicken.  It's adapted from a BBC Good Food recipe December 2012.

Ingredients

1.5 kg chicken wings, halved with kitchen scissors

3 large carrots, chopped into chunks

2 onions, unpeeled and chopped

3 celery sticks, chopped

small handful thyme sprigs, I'm using parsley, rosemary,sage and bay too

2 tbsp sunflower oil

2 tsp golden caster sugar

1 tbsp tomato purée

4 tbsp plain flour

4 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 vegetable stock cube
Water
Salt and black pepper to taste.

Method

Heat oven to 220C. Tip the chicken wings into a roomy roasting tin with the carrots, onions, celery and thyme. Scatter over the sugar, toss in the oil and roast for 50 mins until brown and lightly charred.

Get the kettle on. Put the roasting tin on a low heat, stir in the tomato purée and flour, and cook until sticky. Splash in the balsamic vinegar, then pour over 1.5 litres water to just cover all the ingredients. Bring to a simmer. Crumble in the stock cube and use a potato masher to mash all the ingredients together to release the flavour.  Add more water if you need to create the thickness you prefer. 

Simmer everything for 20 mins until you have a tasty thickened gravy, then strain it through a sieve, pushing down hard on all the mushy veg. Cool and chill for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost and heat the gravy to serve, adding roasting juices from your roast chicken, if you like.

Ready for the oven.......