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Today, Mrs Crocombe is preparing a delicate vegetable dish with an unusual ingredient. Sea kale is found growing wild along Britain's coastlines, but in Mrs Crocombe's day would have been grown under forcing pots. In fact, sea kale is still grown in the gardens at Audley End House today. Exotic ingredients like this which were difficult to grow out of season were a mark of wealth for a family like the Braybrookes.
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FOR THIS RECIPE, YOU WILL NEED...
(To serve 4)
24 sticks of sea kale about 21cm/8in in length, or substitute celery or another delicately-flavoured vegetable
55g / ¼ cup butter, plus 2 tbsp to finish
1 tbsp flour
285ml / 1¼ cups hot water
1 tsp salt
Scant pinch of nutmeg
1 tbsp malt vinegar
Pepper, to taste
METHOD
1. Melt the butter in a saucepan with the flour to form a roux.
2. Gradually add the hot water, stirring at each addition, to form a smooth sauce.
3. Allow to boil, mixing, until it thickens.
4. Add the salt and a good pinch of pepper, plus the nutmeg and vinegar.
5. Remove from the heat and stir in the 2 tbsp of butter to finish. Set aside while you cook the sea kale.
6. Wash the sea kale, trim the stalks to equal lengths and tie them together in a bundle with some string.
7. Put them in a saucepan of boiling water and cook for 3–4 minutes. Drain.
8. Put the sea kale on a warmed serving plate, untie or cut the string, and remove it carefully. Ideally, the stalks should be served in a triangular stack.
9. Serve hot, with the sauce on the side or poured over, as you prefer.
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