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Warm Marmite broth

Little more than stock, Marmite and butter

Easy5 min hands-on · 5 min totalServes 1
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A mug of dark, steaming savoury broth with a faint gloss of butter on the surface.

Scales by the mug. Warm two portions together in a small pan rather than one at a time.

Some days call for a spoon and a bowl, and other days call for a mug you can hold with both hands and nothing more. Warm stock stirred with a teaspoon of Marmite and a knob of butter is closer to making a hot drink than to cooking, which is the whole appeal on a day like that. The Marmite wants dissolving thoroughly rather than left thick and sludgy at the bottom of the mug, since a small, well-stirred amount carries plenty of flavour on its own. Sip it slowly, and let the salt and the warmth do the small amount of work being asked of them.

Suits after surgery, chemotherapy diarrhoea, a new stoma, a high-output stoma, during pelvic radiotherapy, after a low anterior resection, before a colonoscopy or surgery

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Ingredients

Contains: Milk, Celery

  • 250 mlclear stock, chicken or vegetable, strained if home-made, or a good stock cube
  • 1 tspMarmite
  • 1 knobunsalted butter

Method

  1. Heat the stock in a small pan until steaming hot, or warm it in a mug in the microwave for 90 seconds to 2 minutes.

  2. Stir in the Marmite until it has dissolved completely, with no dark streaks left at the bottom, then stir in the butter until it has melted in.

  3. Pour into a mug if you heated it in a pan, and sip it while it is properly hot.

Watch-points

  • Use a clear stock, strained if home-made, or a good stock cube dissolved well.
  • Keep the Marmite to a teaspoon or so, and stir it in thoroughly. A small, well-dissolved amount is easier to manage than a thick spoonful.

Stoma note: A salty broth like this can help replace fluid and salt lost through a high-output stoma, taken in small, regular sips rather than all at once.

Make it more nourishing

  • Stir in an extra 15 g of butter, which melts into the surface and adds about 110 kcal.
  • Whisk in a tablespoon of skimmed milk powder for a creamier mug, about 4 g more protein and 45 kcal.
  • Stir a tablespoon of double cream into the mug at the end, for about 70 kcal and a mellower, less salty broth.

Swaps

Instead of clear stock, use 250 ml of hot water and an extra half teaspoon of Marmite
works when there is no stock to hand, though the flavour is a little flatter
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