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Poach the fish in water until just done; remove from water and allow to drain well. In a saucepan, combine the red wine vinegar, sugar, onions, and spices. Taste for sweetness and flavor and adjust to achieve a proper balance between vinegar and sugar. Bring to a boil; then reduce heat to medium. Continue cooking until the onions are thoroughly soft. In a frying pan, heat a little olive oil. Fry the fish on both sides in the hot oil until it’s a crispy light brown. Remove from the oil and drain. Place the fish in a serving platter and ladle the sauce on top. Serves 2 to 3.

During Julian’s life, fish was a common meal, especially during Lent. Before she entered her anchorage, she, along with everyone else in her community, would have observed the season of Lent by abstaining from the consumption of meat (including poultry), animal fats, milk, or eggs from Ash Wednesday to Easter, except on Sundays (which were feast days). (After she became an anchoress, her observation of Lent was even more severe.)

Lent, which begins about one month before the Vernal Equinox, comes from the Anglo-Saxon word that means, “spring.” This was a time when the entire community focused on sacrifice in order to identify with Christ’s death. However, it was also a good example of eating seasonally. After the winter, provisions were starting to run low. New crops weren’t growing yet, hens weren’t laying as much, and cows and lambs were heavy with their young. Community-wide limitations on diet helped make the food last until spring came.

To the medieval mind, the natural cycles of hunger and feasting, winter and spring, were sacramental symbols of Christ’s life and death, experienced annually in ordinary life.