Marrow (the vegetable)?

Stacia Kane

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My husband's boss grows marrow in her garden, and yesterday sent him home with one. It is HUGE: a foot long, 3.5 lbs (1.8kg). And orange, which surprised hubs since he always thought they were green, but apparently orange is acceptable, too.

His mom said she doesn't remember how she used to cook her stuffed marrow and, frankly, she's a pretty bad cook anyway, so I don't want to ask for her recipe, really. Most of the recipes I'm finding online are for spicy fillings, and I can't have capsicums or peppers (allergic).

Plus, I've never had marrow, so don't really know what it tastes like! I guess it's a lot like a zucchini?

Anybody here like or cook marrow, and have any tips for me?
 

alleycat

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You could use it in a ratatouille (stewed vegetables). There are a lot of ratatouille recipes online; I don't have one I particularly recommend. With a ratatouille you can basically use whatever other vegetables you'd like (although it's typical to use tomatoes in the recipe).
 
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Marlys

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It is zucchini. We in America borrowed the Italian word, while in the UK they tend to use 'courgette' for small zucchini and 'marrow' for fully-grown ones. Google all of them for more ideas--also 'summer squash.'

You could stuff it with a lot of things that don't include peppers: go Italian and do a tomato and meat sauce, top with cheese. Or try ground lamb with a yogurt sauce. Or go veggie with spinach, feta, and rice.

Or don't stuff it at all--cut it into chunks and roast it.
 

alleycat

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Here's a ratatouille recipe without peppers but, really, you can substitute any kind of vegetables you have on hand or that are fresh in the market. In a classic ratatouille recipe the vegetables are cooked separately, but this one cooks them all together.

http://sweetenoughthanks.wordpress.com/2013/06/13/marrow-ratatouille/

I also like Marlys' idea of just roasting it.
 
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alleycat

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By the way, in the famous Agatha Christie novel The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Hercule Poirot has retired to a village to grow vegetable marrows. In his first scene he is introduced when he gets mad and tosses a marrow over the fence and almost hits his new neighbor.
 

Stacia Kane

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Thanks, guys! I really appreciate the info/ideas!



By the way, in the famous Agatha Christie novel The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Hercule Poirot has retired to a village to grow vegetable marrows. In his first scene he is introduced when he gets mad and tosses a marrow over the fence and almost hits his new neighbor.

Ha! Awesome.
 

firedrake

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Someone gave us a marrow the size of a small bomb a few weeks back. I stuffed it with a mixture of ground beef that had been cooked slowly with tinned tomatoes, onion and herbs. It was...all right, but I wouldn't have it again. :(
 

kikazaru

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When zucchinis become marrow it's best to grate them and use them in baking. I've made chocolate zucchini loaf and spiced zucchini muffins which are delicious and well received by all. And somewhere I've got a recipe for zucchini fritters with feta and mint which I think would be good for marrow as well. Here is a recipe from epicurious that uses dill instead of mint - be sure to read the reviews and adjust accordingly.
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Zucchini-Keftedes-with-Feta-and-Dill-364592
 

benbenberi

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I believe that UK "marrow" = US "summer squash." Zucchini/courgette is one sort, but the whole class of whatever color are broadly similar and you can use the same types of recipes.
 

kikazaru

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I came across a recipe in a magazine last evening for "Squash Ribbons" which sounded good and I don't have it with me but I do remember the method and ingredients (but not the precise measurements) so you'd have to improvise with what you have and like.

Peel skin off of squash or marrow and using a mandolin or a vegetable peeler, cut thin long strips of squash so that they resemble egg noodles.

In a sauce pan, add a glug of oil, saute some garlic, and onion til soft, add aprox 1/4 cup of white wine, a small basket of cherry tomatoes cut in half and the squash strips, saute, stirring gently for aprox 4 minutes. Add some pesto and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.
 

jennontheisland

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Aw, I was hoping for some kind of new weird veggie I could go searching for. Turns out it's just a giant zucchini?

Well, then.

Ratatouille for sure. Chop veggies, put in pot, simmer, eat. Seasonings should be provencal style: thyme, savoury, basil, etc. Easiest stuff ever. You can serve it as a stew, with bread, or on top of rice or noodles, or as a side dish with a protein.

Make any kind of quick bread, muffin, or biscuit/scone, and add an extra 1/4 cup of flour and 2 c of grated marrow to the mix in the final step. It will completely disappear in a chocolate muffin or cupcake. (Also, you can get away with whole wheat flour a lot easier for some reason; neglible change in texture)

Z-oodles! Use a veggie peeler to peel strips off it (a mandoline or a spiralizer work too), then either steam for 2-5 minutes in a pot with half an inch of water, or sautee them in butter/oil with garlic. Put stuff on top of them as if they were pasta (noodles!).

ETA: kika calls them ribbons
 
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blacbird

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Aw, I was hoping for some kind of new weird veggie I could go searching for. Turns out it's just a giant zucchini?

Yup. That's about it. When I lived in England, vegetable marrow was, to me, an unaccountably popular thing to cook. So I tried it. Like eating watery mucelage, minus the flavor.

Young zucchinis (courgettes, in Britain) are at least firmer and more flavorful. I cannot understand why anybody would let them grow so big the skins toughen and the insides turn into white mush of no discernible taste. And then eat them.

Even more weird was the British aversion to winter squash, the ones with yellow/orange flesh, full of flavor and useful in all manner of cooking, even including baked breads and pastries. But my experience there was that most British people would sooner eat their shoes than try an American winter squash.

caw
 

harmonyisarine

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I've also got an allergy to pepper, so when I want to make a recipe that usually calls for them I sub out tomatoes (I try to use ones with fewer seeds, or scrape the seeds out) or just change the spice profile so that it's not just bland and sad.

Though I would have to agree with blacbird, I always pick my zucchinis when they're no more than a foot long and only about two inches in diameter. Much tastier. Big ones go into zucchini bread.