Makes: 10 portions. Cooking time: 10 minutes.
Ingredients:
— braised vegetables
— 1 liter cooking liquid from vegetables
— 3 liters jus lié or demi-glace
— 25 grams butter
Method:
(1) Strain the cooking liquid into a shallow sided saucepan, boil and reduce until it is of a sticky consistency.
(2) Add the jus lié or sauce demi-glace and boil and skim. Adjust the consistency and season to taste. Strain and re-boil.
(3) Complete the sauce by adding small knobs of butter and shaking the pan to incorporate.
(4) Serve the vegetables in a vegetable dish, lightly coat with the sauce and garnish each vegetable portion with the slices of grooved carrot.
Retention
(a) Celery, endives, fennel, cabbage, leeks, lettuce, marrow, pimento: Once braised these vegetables should be placed in a stainless steel or earthenware dish and the cooking liquid strained over them. When cold they should then be covered with cling foil and stored in a refrigerator at 8°C.
Note:
(1) Stuffed vegetables do not lend themselves readily to retention as they tend to take on a shrivelled appearance when reheated using traditional methods.
(2) If the vegetables have been coated with a sauce they do not lend themselves to retention. When reheated the sauce adversely affects the colour, taste and texture of the food.
(b) Peas: Once braised the vegetables should be placed in a stainless steel or earthenware dish with the cooking liquid. When cold they should be covered with cling film and stored in a refrigerator at 8°C.
(c) Red cabbage: Once braised, remove and discard the muslin bag containing the herbs and the bacon fat. The cabbage should be placed in a stainless steel or earthenware dish with the cooking liquid. When cold the vegetables should be covered with cling film and stored in a refrigerator at 8°C.
Reheating
Reheat the vegetable gently in an oven in the liquid in which it was braised, covered with buttered greaseproof paper and a lid. If necessary a little white stock may be added.