Onion Gravy with Marmite

Marmite is basically concentrated savouriness in a jar, and it does a job in gravy that stock cubes struggle with. Use it properly and nobody will be able to tell you what the secret ingredient is, they will just say the gravy tastes of more. Use too much and it tastes of Marmite, which is a different thing entirely. Two teaspoons is the line.

Ingredients

Makes about 500ml, enough for four plates

• 3 large (about 500g / 1lb 2oz) brown onions sliced very thinly, about 2mm
• 30g (1oz) butter
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp (30g) plain flour
• 700ml (1¼ pints) boiling water
• 2 tsp Marmite level, not heaped
• 1 tsp tomato purée for colour and a little depth
• black pepper

Kit

• Saucepan
• Wooden spoon
• Whisk

Method

1. Melt the butter with the oil in a saucepan over a medium low heat, add the onions and stir. Slice them thin for this one, because with no stock in the recipe the onions have to do more of the work and thin slices break down further.

2. Cook for 35 minutes, stirring every few minutes. Do not rush this. With no stock behind it, the caramelisation is where the entire flavour of the gravy is coming from, so take the onions to a genuinely dark brown and not a step less.

3. Stir in the tomato purée and cook for 1 minute, until it darkens from red to brick and smells sweet rather than sharp.

4. Scatter in the flour and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. The mixture will be thick and clay like.

5. Dissolve the Marmite in a mugful of the boiling water first, then pour that in while whisking. Dissolving it separately means you never get a bitter black lump lurking at the bottom of the pan.

6. Add the rest of the boiling water in two goes, whisking until smooth, then simmer gently for 12 minutes until it thickens and darkens to a proper gravy brown.

7. Grind in black pepper and taste. Do not add salt until you have tasted, because Marmite brings plenty of its own. If it needs more depth, add another quarter teaspoon of Marmite rather than a whole spoon.

Tips worth knowing

• Dissolve the Marmite in hot water before it goes near the pan. Straight from the jar it clings to the spoon and refuses to disperse evenly.
• This gravy is vegetarian as written and vegan if you swap the butter for a vegan block and use oil throughout.
• It is the best store cupboard gravy there is, because everything in it lives in the cupboard already.
• Bovril does the same job if you are not cooking for vegetarians, and gives a beefier result. Use the same quantity.

Keeping and reheating

Fridge for 4 days, freezer for 3 months. Reheat with a splash of water. The Marmite flavour deepens overnight, so you may want to make it slightly lighter handed if you know it is for tomorrow.

Questions people ask