The 21st Century Housewife's Madeira Gravy

This recipe is inspired by my mother-in-law’s Madeira gravy but I’ve adjusted the seasoning and pared down the ingredients a bit so it is quicker and easier to make. It goes beautifully with roast beef or pork, and particularly with Beef Wellington (Boeuf en Croute). When I served it to guests for the first time recently they said it was so tasty they could have eaten it on its own with a spoon, and I confess I could have too.

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion, finely sliced

1¼ cups beef stock (made from a cube is fine)

2 tablespoons tomato paste or puree

1 teaspoon fresh thyme, finely chopped or ½ teaspoon dried

1 bay leaf

1 generous tablespoon redcurrant or cranberry jelly

1 tablespoons corn flour blended with 2 tablespoons cold water

½ cup Madeira wine

2 generous pinches of ground pepper or to taste

Heat the oil in a small saucepan and sauté the onion over medium heat until it is beginning to become translucent. Add the stock, the tomato puree or paste, the thyme and the bay leaf, stirring to blend well. Stir in the redcurrant or cranberry jelly, stirring until it is dissolved. Bring just to the boil, then turn back the heat to low and simmer for about fifteen minutes.

Strain the mixture through a sieve into a clean saucepan, discarding the onion and bay leaf.  Whisk in the corn flour and water mixture.  This will cause the stock to thicken fairly quickly. Cook, stirring constantly for a minute or so. Add the Madeira, a bit at a time, whisking constantly. Add a pinch of pepper and whisk it in, taste and add a bit more if necessary.

Pour into a gravy boat and serve alongside roast beef, pork or Beef Wellington.

The 21st Century Housewife's© Cabbage with Red Onion and Madeira Sauce

Cabbage is one of "those" vegetables. Along with Brussel sprouts and spinach, it's had a bad reputation for years, but properly cooked, both red and green cabbage are absolutely delicious. They are also really, really good for you, and usually very reasonably priced so great for the budget. I developed this recipe when I was trying to think of things to serve alongside leftover ham and turkey after Christmas, but I've since discovered it goes with just about everything.

2 tablespoons oil (I used olive, but sunflower or Canola would be fine)
1 red onion
1 tablespoon sugar
1 small cabbage, shredded
¼ cup Madeira or sherry
¼ cup chicken or vegetable stock (from a cube is absolutely fine)
1 tbsp soy sauce
½ cup frozen peas

Heat the oil in a frying pan (with a lid) and sauté the red onion over low heat until it is just beginning to soften. Add the sugar and stir to mix through.

Turn the heat up to medium and add the shredded cabbage. Stir-fry for a few minutes until the cabbage is tender-crisp. Add the Madeira or sherry and the chicken stock, along with the soy sauce. Stir to mix and bring to the boil. Allow to bubble away for a minute or so just to let the liquid reduce a bit. Add the peas. Then put the lid on the frying pan, lower the heat and cook for about three to five minutes. (You still want the peas to be nice, bright green.)

Serves four to five as a side dish.

The 21st Century Housewife's© Pork Tenderloin with Balsamic Roast Shallots and Madeira Gravy

I’ve heard so many folks talk about using Madeira in cooking, I bought a bottle recently so I could experiment with it. I have used it in a lot of recipes – from gravies to soups and stews - with great success. If you don’t already know, Madeira is a fortified wine, fairly similar to sherry but with a slightly different flavour to it. Having said that, you can definitely substitute sherry for the Madeira in this recipe if you don’t have any Madeira to hand.

I love pork tenderloin. It is easy to cook and usually very tender. I buy mine from the butcher, who removes the white skin and trims the fat for me so all I have to do is season it and plonk it in the roasting dish. I recommend this course of action highly – the one time I did try to do the trimming myself I ended up frustrated plus I cut my finger!

This dish is definitely good enough for company, but it is a great one to treat yourself to as well! Leftovers keep for a couple days in the fridge and make lovely sandwiches.

Pork Tenderloin with Balsamic Roast Shallots and Madeira Gravy

2 to 3 pork tenderloins
2 cups shallots, peeled and sliced in half if they are big
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil

For the gravy:-

1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 generous tablespoons flour
about 2 cups chicken stock
½ cup Madeira
¼ cup cranberry sauce


Arrange the shallots around the tenderloins in a roasting dish. Mix the balsamic vinegar and the olive oil together and pour over the tenderloin and shallots. Turn the shallots a bit in the pan to coat them with the oil and vinegar. Roast at 375℉ (190℃) for about 30 to 40 minutes until the tenderloin is cooked with no pink inside –with an internal temperature of about 320℉ (160℃).

Meanwhile, make the gravy. Melt the butter with the olive oil in a medium saucepan. Add the onion and cook over very low heat, allowing it to soften slowly for about ten to fifteen minutes.

Add the Madeira and turn the heat up to high. Reduce the Madeira by keeping it at a high heat and stirring occasionally so it does not stick. Basically you want the onion to look like it has absorbed nearly all the Madeira, but with a tiny bit of liquid still in the pan.

Turn the heat back to medium, and sprinkle the Madeira soaked onions with the flour. Stir and allow to cook for about a minute. Gradually add the chicken stock, stirring after each addition. You are aiming for a smooth, fairly thick gravy. You may not need all the stock, or you may need a little more, but I find 2 cups is usually about right.

When the gravy is a nice consistency, stir in the cranberry sauce until it is all blended in and heat through.

Slice the tenderloin and top it with the roasted shallots. Pour a little of the gravy over top to serve, and put the rest in a gravy boat on the table so people can help themselves.