Big green things

[mrph]

For some odd reason, I always wanted to grow marrows in the garden, not just courgettes. I'd never really planned beyond the 'growing them' stage, mind you.

Last year I got one marrow. Just one. This year I got four (so far - might get one more before frost kills the plants...).

...which leads on to the question of "what do you do with a marrow?". More than one cook book suggests that the answer is basically "shrug, walk away and cook something else" - as if marrows are a lost cause...

This hasn't helped me to find interesting ways to use them. However, Sarah Raven and Nigel Slater are both, thankfully, made of sterner stuff. :)

Mr Slater's 'Tender" has a recipe for baked marrow with spicy minced pork. Lots of mint, dill and lime. Plus a fair bit of chilli (with the pan-fried mince). It's good. It has a certain kick to it. Definitely autumn food.

Last night's attempt was a little different, though - chicken stock, marrow and coconut milk (plus ginger, basil, mint and onion) as the basis for a soothing, gently warming soup. And half a marrow fed four - including seconds - which is never a bad thing...

Next, I think, it's time to try Nigel Slater's veggie stuffed marrow recipe. Let's see how this one goes... :)

Comments

[valkyriekaren.livejournal.com]

You can make a fairly unpleasant alcoholic drink out of marrow:

http://www.cottagesmallholder.com/farmers-marrow-rum-recipe-492

[venta.livejournal.com]

Do you know it to be unpleasant, or are you just speculating based on it sounding damn nasty?

[valkyriekaren.livejournal.com]

ISTR my parents making it once when I was a kid. I can't remember tasting it but I know the fermentation process smelled NASTY.

[venta.livejournal.com]

I thought the only think you were legally allowed to make out of marrow was chutney. Preferably marrow and ginger.

As for making anything else, I think the rules are pretty much the same as pumpkin: do anything with it, so long as the other things involved are strongly flavoured :)

[mrph.livejournal.com]

I'm saving the chutney as a last resort. Maybe next year. :)

[vyvyan.livejournal.com]

We grew many marrows this year. IIRC, we made marrow soup, stuffed baked marrow, marrow in vegetable stew, and deep-fried battered marrow pieces with a spicy sauce :-) All were delicious, but we were a bit tired of marrow by the end of their season!

[kest]

I don't really know what a marrow is, but googling it seemed to imply it's much like a zucchini (courgette) but lighter green? Anyway, I like all the varieties of summer squash sliced and sauted in a pan with a little olive oil and some spices.

[valkyriekaren.livejournal.com]

It's like a courgette writ large - the usual variety is dark green with lighter green stripes, and it can grow up to two feet long. It's a popular choice for 'monster vegetable competitions'.

[mrph.livejournal.com]

As Karen says, it's basically just a huge zucchini (some types will grow to marrow size if not picked in time, some are specifically grown as marrows).

The flavour tends to be a little more bland (especially in 'accidental' marrows that were supposed to be zucchini...), but they're great for soaking up other flavours or pairing with something that's a bit bolder (cheese, minced meat, ginger...).

Olive oil and spices definitely work, aye. :)

[rosenkavalier.livejournal.com]

If you grate them, they make a good solid basis for a pasta sauce (for example, fried down with bacon, onion and garlic), stew or soup - once they're grated they also freeze well, so can be portioned up to use as and when required. I do find they need to be used with things that have a fairly strong flavour as they're far too bland on their own.

[juudes.livejournal.com]

Fraid I'm unimaginative - I always do stuffed. My friend once stuffed one by cutting it lengthways, stuffing it and putting it back together and it took an age to cook. I slice mine into thick slices, chop the middles out and steam the slices, then make stuffing (using up the chopped middles, of course) and lay them all out on a baking tray to fill them. That way there's more surface area for cheese!

I've heard of Marrow Jam but never attempted it.

[deborah_c]

I also cook marrow as a vegetable -- fried gently in crescents, with a bit of paprika. Yummy :-)

[hedya.livejournal.com]

Strangely enough, stuffed marrow was my harvest dish :)

Not what I did, but a couple of interesting looking recipes:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/chorizopepperandcous_75307

http://www.cookitsimply.com/recipe-0010-0p2091.html