Marmite Gravy

Marmite is yeast extract, which means it is loaded with the same savoury compounds that make roasted meat taste of roasted meat, plus a lot of salt. Two teaspoons in half a litre is the sweet spot. It goes with sausages and mash, toad in the hole, a shepherd's pie, or anything that wants a dark gravy and has no dripping to give you one.

Ingredients

Makes about 450ml, enough for four plates

• 25g (1oz) butter unsalted if you have it, Marmite brings plenty of salt
• 1 large onion halved and sliced thin
• 1 tbsp plain flour
• 500ml (18fl oz) hot vegetable or beef stock made a touch weaker than usual
• 2 tsp Marmite level, not heaped, and measured properly
• 1 tsp cider vinegar to cut the salt at the end
• black pepper to taste

Kit

• Heavy saucepan
• Wooden spoon
• Balloon whisk
• Measuring jug

Method

1. Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan over a medium heat. Add the sliced onion with a small pinch of salt and cook for twelve to fifteen minutes, stirring every couple of minutes, until the slices have collapsed and gone properly golden at the edges.

2. Turn the heat down a little and scatter in the flour. Stir it through the buttery onions and cook for a minute, until the raw flour smell has gone and the onions look coated rather than dusty.

3. Pour in about a third of the hot stock and whisk hard. It will thicken to a paste around the onions almost straight away. Keep whisking until it is smooth, then add the rest of the stock in two goes.

4. Bring it to a gentle simmer and let it tick over for five minutes, stirring now and then, until it coats the back of a spoon and leaves a clear line when you draw a finger through it.

5. Take the pan off the heat. Spoon two level teaspoons of Marmite into a mug, add a ladle of the hot gravy and stir until the Marmite has completely dissolved, then tip that back into the pan and whisk it through.

6. Put the pan back on a low heat for one minute only. Marmite does not want to boil hard once it is in, it turns sharper and slightly bitter if you cook it too long.

7. Add the teaspoon of cider vinegar and grind in a good amount of black pepper. Taste it. It should be deeply savoury and just on the salty side of right. If it has tipped too far, whisk in a splash of hot water rather than trying to fix it with sugar.

Tips worth knowing

• Never drop Marmite straight into the pan. It sinks, sticks to the base and scorches, and you end up with bitter black flecks. Dissolve it in a ladle of hot liquid first, every time.
• Two teaspoons per 500ml is the line. Three is too much for most people and there is no way back once it is in, so start at two, taste, and only add a quarter teaspoon more if you really want it.
• Because Marmite is salty, use stock made at about three quarters strength, or use one cube where you would normally use one and a half.
• If the gravy tastes flat rather than salty, it usually wants acid and not more Marmite. The vinegar at the end is doing more work than you would think.

Keeping and reheating

Keeps four days covered in the fridge and freezes for three months. It thickens a lot when cold because of the onions, so reheat gently with two or three tablespoons of water and whisk it back together.

Questions people ask