Olive Oil Roux

This olive oil roux use olive oil instead of butter to make the roux. It can be used in gravy, sauces, and soups.

The benefit of using a roux is that when combined with liquids, it thickens them.

A roux is most commonly used to make gravies like white gravy and sausage gravy.

However, it is also used in saucy dishes like lasagna and scalloped potatoes.

WHAT IS A ROUX

A roux is made of flour and fat cooked together until it reaches a specific color.

It is used as a thickening agent for gravy, sauces, soups, and stews, and have been used in French cooking for hundreds of years to thicken sauce.

The flour is added with the fat to the stove top, blended until smooth, and cooked to the desired color. 

A roux can be white and used for white sauce, blond for classic gravies, or brown, which is used in gumbo and jambalaya.

The lighter the roux, the more thickening power it has.

Once the roux is the desired color, liquids like stock are added.

Browning Flour

People often see instructions like “brown the flour” and avoid this step because they aren’t making brown gravy.

Browning flour means you’re cooking the flour. This removes the flour flavor so it won’t ruin the taste of your gravy.

WHY USE FLOUR TO THICKEN GRAVY

I use flour to thicken gravy because it gives the gravy that classic opaque, slightly pail look.

Many people don’t like using flour, because if it isn’t cooked long enough, it can give a floury flavor to the gravy. Also, if not made properly, it can become clumpy.

The good news is, making a smooth creamy gravy is a snap if you turn it into a roux first.

Another benefit some people see with gravy made with flour is that it keeps better in the fridge. This means it can be made ahead of time or use up leftovers.

What is the ratio of flour to oil in a roux?

To make a roux with oil, you will want 1/4 less oil than you have flour.

While people often say you can use a 1:1 ratio, they are not factoring in the fact that butter and oil are not completely interchangeable because butter contains water, whereas oil does not.

So, just like when baking with oil, you need 3/4 cup of oil for every 1 cup of butter.