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Vegetables, Fried, Marinade Of
Slice two onions and a carrot, and put them, with a small bunch of savoury herbs, half a blade of mace, and a slice of butter, into a stewpan. Cover closely, and steam them, shaking the pan occasionally, till the onions turn yellow. Dredge a little flour upon them, and pour over them half a pint of stock and half that quantity of vinegar. Add salt and pepper if the stock is not already seasoned, strain the liquor, and it will be ready for use.
This is not a dish in itself but the soaking liquor for vegetable fritters: vegetables are steeped in it, drained, dipped in batter and fried. Made in about twenty minutes, it keeps several days refrigerated.
- The quantities in modern measureHalf a pint of stock is 10 fl oz imperial, about 1¼ US cups; "half that quantity" of vinegar is 5 fl oz, about ⅔ cup. A slice of butter presumably means a knob, roughly 1 oz. The strained liquor comes to something under two cups.
- The hinge: sweat, do not brown"Steam them till the onions turn yellow" means a covered pan over low heat with little or no colour taken. Browned onions would give a darker, heavier liquor than the instruction seems to intend.
- A blade of maceMace is the lacy outer covering of the nutmeg; a blade is one whole piece. Half a blade is a very small amount, perhaps a pinch of ground mace. The recipe puts it in the pan with the butter at the outset, not with the liquid.
- Savoury herbsMost likely a small tied bunch of the usual kitchen herbs, such as parsley and thyme with a bay leaf. Tie it or bag it in muslin so it can be lifted out, though the straining at the end would catch it in any case.
- The flourA dredge is roughly a teaspoon or two. Cook it in the buttery vegetables for a minute before the liquid goes in, or the marinade tastes of raw flour. It gives body, not thickness — the strained liquor should coat a spoon only faintly.
- Vinegar strengthVinegars of the period varied in strength, so taste before committing; if the liquor is fiercely sharp, slacken it with a little more stock.
- Using itSteep sliced courgette, cauliflower florets, salsify, artichoke bottoms or blanched celeriac in the cold marinade for an hour or two, then drain and dry them thoroughly before battering. Wet vegetables will not take batter and will spit in the fat.
- StockThe book assumes a household stockpot. Any unsalted light stock works; the recipe itself says to season only "if the stock is not already seasoned", so taste before adding salt.
Marinade comes through French from the practice of steeping food in brine — mariner, from the sea — and by the nineteenth century meant any acidulated, aromatic bath used to season and soften before cooking. Marinades of this kind belong to the class of small preparatory liquors rather than to the dishes they serve: a component, like court-bouillon. The onion-and-carrot base with a bouquet and a whisper of mace is a vegetable foundation let down with stock and vinegar, and the same formula, with the acid raised and the cooking shortened, served for marinating meat and game as well.