VEG BOX STAR

October veg box star MARROW

Make the most of its delicate flavour in this spiced soup

recipe SAMUEL GOLDSMITH photograph JONATHAN GREGSON

Marrow soup

SERVES 6 PREP 15 mins COOK 35 mins EASY V

1 tbsp vegetable oil 2 onions, roughly chopped 250g potatoes, roughly chopped 1 marrow (about 750g), peeled, deseeded and roughly chopped (see tip, right) 1-2 tbsp curry powder, to taste 500ml vegetable or chicken stock 400g can butter beans, drained 400ml can light coconut milk small handful of coriander leaves

1 Heat the oil in a large pan over a medium heat and fry the onions with a pinch of salt for 6-8 mins until soft. Add the potatoes and cook for 2 mins more, then tip in the marrow and curry powder. Cook for 1 min. Pour in the stock, butter beans and most of the coconut milk (reserve a few tablespoons). Bring the mixture to the boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 20 mins until all the vegetables are tender. 2 Remove from the heat and leave to cool slightly, then transfer the mixture to a blender and blitz until smooth. Return the soup to the pan and warm through over a low heat, then spoon into bowls. Drizzle with the reserved coconut milk and scatter with the coriander.

GOOD TO KNOW healthy • low fat • low cal • fibre • 2 of 5-a-day PER SERVING 184 kcals • fat 8g • saturates 5g • carbs 19g • sugars 6g • fibre 6g • protein 7g • salt 0.5g

tip

If the skin of the marrow isn’t too tough, there’s no need to peel it.

MORE WAYS WITH MARROW

Ideas from the Good Food team

Marrow & pecan cake Heat the oven to 160C/140C fan/ gas 3. Oil a 22cm round springform cake tin and line with baking parchment. Sift 300g self-raising flour, 3 tsp mixed spice and 1/2 tsp baking powder into a bowl. Add 250g light brown soft sugar. In another bowl, beat 4 eggs with the zest and juice of 1 orange, then stir in 250ml sunflower oil. Add 300g coarsely grated marrow flesh (liquid squeezed out) and 150g roughly chopped pecans, and beat this into the flour. Pour the batter into the tin and bake for 1 hr 20 mins until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool in the tin for 30 mins. Remove to a wire rack and cool completely. Beat 50g soft butter with 250g soft cheese and 4 tbsp maple syrup. Spread this over the cooled cake. Sprinkle over 100g roughly chopped pecans.

Marrow curry Cook 1 marrow, peeled and chopped, in a large pan of boiling salted water for 5-7 mins until soft. Drain. Fry 2 tsp mustard seeds and 1 tsp cumin seeds in 2 tbsp sunflower oil in a large shallow pan until crackling. Add 1 large onion, finely sliced, 2 garlic cloves, crushed, 1/2 tsp ground turmeric, 1/2 tsp chilli powder and 1 tsp ground coriander, and fry for 10 mins until the veg is soft and starting to brown. Add the marrow and cook for 5-10 mins until the liquid has evaporated and the marrow is soft. Smash the marrow with a wooden spoon to lightly crush and soften at the edges. Squeeze over the juice of 1/2 lemon and top with a handful of chopped coriander.

...and from our readers

My grandma liked stuffed marrow filled with savoury mince.

Sharon Collins, Edgware

I like my mother-in-law’s recipe. Peel and cut marrow into rounds, deseed and boil briefly. Make a filling using mince and rice, then arrange the marrow rounds in a baking dish and stuff with the filling. Pour over a cheese sauce, sprinkle with grated cheese and bake.

Christina Herrington, London

I try to get a very young, fresh marrow to make marrow and coriander salad. If it’s older and tougher, I use it in a chutney. Lisa Clift, Thatcham

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