Stuffed Marrow.

A marrow is a 'cucurbit' which means its from the same family as the melon, cucumber, squash and courgette (zucchini). All these are now in season. You can often tell this by the low price and the abundance of a fruit or vegetable at the market if you do not grow your own. You can eat the skin, flesh and the seeds.

We were gifted with half a marrow, homegrown by our neighbour. This brought back a childhood memory for me when my father use to grow marrows on our allotment. My mother would stuff the marrow with savoury mincemeat then bake it in the oven. It made a cheap hearty meal for a large family.
So I decided to make this dish and share it with our neighbours which they thought highly amusing when presented in a ring; A dish the Greeks don't appear to cook in our village.

Stuffed Marrow.
1. Peel the marrow (You can leave on the skin but I have found this can sometimes be tough) and cut it into approx 4cm rings.

2. Scoop out the seeds and pulp (save) and place the rings on a baking tray.

 

3. Make up a bolognese mixture in a frying pan.

 

• Minced meat
• Onion
• Tinned tomatoes. (I used fresh cherry tomatoes) 
• Green pepper
• Tomato puree 
• Season to taste - garlic, pepper, chilli, herbs, Worchester sauce, beef stock cube.  

4. Stuff the marrow rings with the mixture.

5. Make a crusty topping by mixing grated parmesan cheese, breadcrumbs and herbs. sprinkle over the top. Bake in the oven 200/180 fan for approx 30 mins.

NB. You can eat the seeds.
Remove the seeds from the pulp. Place in a jar of water and shake to wash them. Place initially on kitchen paper to soak away access water then spread on a baking tray to dry. (you can put them in the oven once turned off after cooking the marrow.) Serve on salads or eat as a snack.
The skin and pulp can be given to the chickens to eat. Nothing is wasted.

As a child I would spend hours threading the seeds onto a length of wool to make a necklace or bracelet and wore them proudly until they fell apart.