Marrow

Manolos Marrow

Not everything you cook can turn out fabulously (edible is often a bonus), some things have to be average. My baked marrow was just that - average. My mother-in-law, or mi suegra, was given a marrow by one of her friends Manolo, which she promptly gave to me looking slightly bewildered. Guessing marrows are not big in Spain then. The marrow was stashed in the pantry and promptly forgotten about for a bit as I was rather clueless myself. Dad came to the rescue and mentioned they used to stuff and roast marrow when he was a child, splitting it down the middle and wrapping it in foil like a parcel to cook it. The internet once again provided a recipe which I had a bash at this evening.

Oven ready

It was easy and quick to prepare, effectively a beef mince, onion and herb stuffing. The whole thing cooked well and looked rather attractive. It was just a bit bland. If I made it again (the likelihood of being given another marrow being pretty small) I would really boost the seasoning in the stuffing, maybe adding a bit of chilli and paprika, or even some chopped sun dried tomatoes - definitely more black pepper. Cheese, it  needed some nice mature cheddar on the top, so I grated some and added it at the table with a healthy sprinkling of pepper. Still, it got eaten with no complaints.

Where's the cheese?

Baked Stuffed Marrow
Ingredients
1 medium-sized marrow
1 small onion
200 g minced beef
100 g pork sausage meat or 100 g extra minced beef
30 g soft white breadcrumbs

1/2 red pepper
1 tbsp chopped parsley
1 tbsp chopped chives
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper
1 egg

Optional Chilli powder and paprika to taste

Method

Halve the marrow lengthways and scoop out the seeds. Lay each half side by side, in a large, shallow casserole dish.
Skin and chop the onion finely or grate it. Put into a basin with the beef, sausage-meat, if used, breadcrumbs, parsley, chives, Worcestershire sauce, and seasoning. Mix well. Beat the egg until liquid and use it to bind the mixture.
Divide the stuffing between each marrow half. Cover the dish and bake in a moderate oven, 180°C for 1 hour. Strain off most of the liquid in the casserole. *Add cheese*

Recipe from here.