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Friday 16 September 2016

Marrow it's a cucurbit !


A marrow is a cucurbit, which means it’s from the same family as the melon, cucumber, squash and courgette. The marrow is actually a courgette that has been left on the plant to grow a little longer; likewise, if you pick a marrow when small it is classed as a courgette. Marrow has a creamy flesh, edible skin and seeds and a mild flavour. 

Availability
In season in August and September.

Choose the best
Size matters - a huge marrow is best reserved for a horticultural competition. Hunt out the smallest marrow you can find - it should be no bigger than your forearm. Large marrows will taste bitter and have a watery consistency. 

Prepare it
You can steam, bake, boil, fry or roast marrow. The stripy skin is edible, but if you are roasting or frying you might want to remove the seeds and stringy middles so you can just enjoy the flesh. 

Store it
Keep refrigerated in a vegetable bag if you have one and use within three days.

Cook it
Marrow is a blank canvas so works well with strong flavours - pile on citrus, chilli, garlic, bacon, spices and robust herbs like rosemary and thyme. Stuff them and cover with cheese, mash into savoury dishes or grate into cakes. You can also turn marrow into chutney to serve alongside cheeseboards, ham or curry. 

Alternatives
Try courgette or squash.

Above words and picture from here



Looking for a marrow recipe? Why not consider trying this!
Stuffed Marrow Bake
... it makes the most of marrow in a budget friendly family supper ...


Ingredients
Serves up to 6
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tbsp dried mixed herbs
500g turkey mince
2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes
1 marrow, cut into 4cm thick slices
4 tbsp breadcrumbs
3 tbsp grated Parmesan

Method:
1. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and cook the onion, garlic and 2 tsp of the herbs for 3 mins until starting to soften. Add the turkey and brown all over, then tip in the tomatoes and cook for 5 mins more.
2. Scoop out the middle of the marrow and discard (or fry, then freeze for another time – try it mashed with potato). Arrange the slices in a baking dish. Spoon the mince into the middle of each marrow slice, then spoon the rest over the top. Cover with foil and bake for 30 mins.
3. Meanwhile, mix remaining herbs with the breadcrumbs and Parmesan. Remove the marrow from the oven, uncover, and sprinkle over the crumbs. Return to the oven for 10 mins more until crumbs are golden and crisp and marrow is tender.

Original recipe idea from here

We bring a variety of articles and recipe ideas to this blog, and not all may be suitable for you. If you may have any food allergies, or underlying health issues these must always be taken into account. If you are a diabetic and not sure how certain foods may affect your blood sugars, test is best, i.e. use your meter.

All the best Jan

16 comments:

Francisco Manuel Carrajola Oliveira said...

Hummm deve ser delicioso.
Um abraço e bom fim-de-semana.
Andarilhar

Lowcarb team member said...

Francisco translation
Hummm should be delicious
A hug and good end - of - week.


Many thanks ... and a good weekend to you
Muito obrigado ... e um bom fim de semana para você

All the best Jan ... Todo o melhor Jan

sage said...

I don't think I've ever seen one of these.

Jo said...

We enjoy stuffed marrow but turkey mince is something I never use, I'll have to substitute the beef mince I usually use and try this recipe instead.

Lowcarb team member said...

Hi Jo ... You could use beef or lamb mince! In fact I should think any type of mince could work well here. I love the grated Parmesan on top!

All the best Jan

Debbie said...

goodness, i had no idea. similar to my stuffed peppers!!!

PerthDailyPhoto said...

I have to admit I haven't cooked with marrow before Jan. When I lived in Africa my mum used to use gem squash, I think it may be similar! My new favourite vegetable is fennel, love it 😊 Have a fab weekend.

Bob Bushell said...

A fetching idea, but soya vegetarian and the other one.

happyone said...

I've never cooked with marrow nor have I eaten it. Looks good though.

JFM said...

Great info and a delicious looking recipe!!!
I showed the photo to my hubby and I swear that he started to salivate!
This is a wonderful post and a very informative blog...great job to all~


All the Best
Jan

Anonymous said...

Very interesting and new to me. Enjoy your weekend.

Linda said...

This does look quite good!

Conniecrafter said...

Once again sharing something I hadn't heard of before, I don't think I have ever seen it around here.
Jan, I tried to find a way to privately email you but couldn't find one anywhere, I wanted to ask you if you would like to receive a card from me... if you are interested could you email me your mailing address :)

DeniseinVA said...

I guess marrow and zucchini are the same thing just bigger? I remember eating marrow back in England. I don't eat zucchini/courgettes very often. I would love to try this recipe with zucchini as we can't get the larger marrow.

Sara - Villa Emilia said...

I have to admit I'm still, after some research on the Internet and books, rather confused about what 'marrow' would be in Finnish. :) Doesn't matter, it looks delicious. The Stuffed Marrow Bake reminds me of the delicious stuffed zucchine I ate in Italy. Mothers make divine ones and also in restaurants they serve tasty ones, often as an antipasto. :)

Lisa said...

Just the name marrow is enough to put me off this vegetable!
Lisa x