Mercy for Marrows

[woolcraft]

I just can't believe all this anti-marrow talk on this site! Surely this is a bonus veg at the end of the courgette season and a veggie which will keep.

Secret to cooking it is never let it near water - either steam it or bake it. True it needs care and seasoning in the cooking but can be truly gorgeous to eat.

Try some of the following combinations:

Marrow, tomato, aubergine, onion, mushroom, feta cheese (turkish syle).

Marrow, tomato, garlic, anchovy etc (mediterranean style).

Marrow, ginger, sultanas, apples - serve with cream or icecream.

Most pizza type toppings can be successful if used to fill the cavity before baking in a tin half full with water (put a layer of foil between marrow and water before baking). Can also be cooked like this in a slow cooker.


Let's all post our favourite marrow recipe here and see how many we get.

Sue

[Goodlife1970]

Hi Sue,Im with you on the Marrow front,I love them! Im afraid I dont do anything exciting with them though (thats when I can get them as I havent grown any...yet!) just boil and add black pepper but I think theyre yummy like that! Would like to try Marrow rum,recipe anyone?

[ina]

I believe I've got the recipe for marrow rum somewhere in my pile of stuff in the kitchen - will check when I get home! I must admit that I prefer courgette to marrow, simply because of the size... Better suited to single people.

[Muddypause]

I like marrow - boiled, stuffed, steamed... I realise I have weird tastes, but boiled marrow is fine by me, though some white sauce over it helps.

The recipe for marrow rum that I know of (I've never got round to trying it yet):

Cut marrow in half lengthways and hollow out. Pack both halves with brown sugar, reassemble the halves, slide into a sock and hang up over a bowl. That's it. Apparently it will slowly start to drip. I've no idea how long it takes before you have anything drinkable, or even if it has any significant alcohol content. Or even how old the sock needs to be.

[Dave]

I'll have to give that a try this year. You'd have to have pretty big feet to have a sock big enough to put a marrow in.
I often make a marrow and ginger chutney, one marrow can make quite a lot - I finished the last of my 2004 marrows in December last year.

[Shirley]

shock horror confession to make here - I've NEVER eaten marrow in my life.

Now, I find myself wanting to grow them - and it's not just for the marrow rum ('onest guv) - although that certainly does sound interesting!! I do like courgettes - would they need a polytunnel up here in Scotland??

[hedgewitch]

I'm a Marrow fan too, I love 'em

[Millymollymandy]

Aarrrgggh - no, I remember the watery mush my grandmother cooked.

[Libby]

I know I have a marrow and ginger jam recipe in one of my cookbooks.
If anyone wants it, I,ll dig it out tomorrow.

Form an orderly queue please

[Goodlife1970]

I like marrow - boiled, stuffed, steamed... I realise I have weird tastes, but boiled marrow is fine by me, though some white sauce over it helps.

The recipe for marrow rum that I know of (I've never got round to trying it yet):

Cut marrow in half lengthways and hollow out. Pack both halves with brown sugar, reassemble the halves, slide into a sock and hang up over a bowl. That's it. Apparently it will slowly start to drip. I've no idea how long it takes before you have anything drinkable, or even if it has any significant alcohol content. Or even how old the sock needs to be.

Thanks Stew,cant wait to give that a try,just as soon as I find a man with large,clean feet!

[ina]

As far as I remember, my recipe (which I haven't found yet) cut off the top end of the marrow, which makes it a bit more difficult to hollow out, but easier to keep together! And it didn't use a sock , but an orange net or similar... And I think you had to top up with sugar after a while, as it dissolves and settles in the marrow.

[Shirley]

http://www.j-paine.org/recipes.html

Marrow Rum
Large marrow
Demerara sugar
Ginger
Pair ladies' nylon stockings

Slice the top off the marrow and scoop out the seeds, but leave as much of the flesh as possible, and don't puncture the skin. The seeds are attached to the inside of the marrow with little strings: one way to detach obstinate seeds is to fill the marrow with water and shake well. Fit a stocking onto the marrow, and pack the marrow tightly with Demerara sugar. Stand upright in a large vase or similar and leave for a day. Osmosis will draw fluid from the marrow into the sugar, dissolving some and leaving a gap below the end of the marrow. Add a teaspoon of ginger (finely chopped fresh ginger root if available, otherwise dried ginger) and pack more sugar on top. Replace the marrow upright in the pot, and cover to ensure nothing can fall into the pot or the end of the marrow. Pulling the second stocking down over the top of the marrow and pot is a good way to do this. Leave in a cool dark place for at least two weeks, and if possible, four. Inspect at intervals.

The idea is that the sugar ferments, generating an alcoholic liquor which gradually eats its way through the bottom of the marrow and collects in the pot. It takes three or four weeks to reach full strength, during which time the marrow becomes very floppy. The stocking filters the liquor and also provides much-needed surgical support. I have tried this recipe three times, twice with marrows and once with a Turk's Head Turban gourd, also from Elder Stubbs. One week's fermentation gives a liquor which has a pleasant taste but is not very strong - after three weeks, it has a noticeable punch. The ginger adds pungency to counteract the blandness of the marrow, giving the rum a pleasant warmth.

Male readers may like to know that ladies' stockings can be bought from Fred's Discount Store on the Cowley Road:
-- Do you sell stockings?
-- What size do you want?
-- To fit this marrow. I don't know its size.
-- We have some knee-high.
-- I don't know whether the marrow is knee-high.
[Measure it against my leg: yes, it just comes up to my knee.]
May I try it on?
Fred's don't have fitting rooms for marrows, so we remove one of the stockings from its cardboard pack and pull it up around the marrow.
-- Fine, I'll take that. How much?
-- You have to buy the pair.
-- I don't need the pair, I only have one marrow.
But I had to buy the pair.

This recipe was inspired by Ron at the Kidlington and Gosford gym, with suggestions by Kostas from the Excelsior.

[Goodlife1970]

Priceless! If happiness belongs to the self sufficient then laughter surely belongs to the self sufficient-ishers!

[ina]

My recipe is rather less funny, but may contain a few additional useful hints... so I'll give it to you anyway.

1 large firm ripe marrow
Demerara sugar

The marrow should be very, very firm and too tough for cooking or cutting with a kitchen knife. Saw through the stalk end, and scoop out the seeds and pulp. Fill the marrow completely with sugar. Put the top back in place and tape it tightly in place. Put into a bag made of strong cloth and hang it in a cool, dry place. After two weeks, fill the marrow again with sugar. Seal the top again and hang up the marrow. After about a month, the sugar will begin to drip. Take the marrow from the bag and make a hole in it where the sugar is starting to drip. Let the liquid run through a muslin-covered funnel into bottles. Cork them lightly. Fermentation will soon start. When it has ceased (in a few weeks) cork firmly. Keep for at least a year before using.

Question is - who can wait a year before trying?

Recipe from Mary Nowak: The farmhouse kitchen.