Marrow made tasty

marrow made tasty

I’m sitting writing this entry in my sister’s garden in Jersey, it’s sunny and I am, at long last making use of my stupidly overpriced but trendy sunglasses. So far this year I've only had 3 occasions which would warrant wearing sunglasses and that’s not with out want of trying.

sexy marrow

I’m coming to terms with the fact that summer is on its way out. That warm samphire and crab salad may not happen this year, I might have missed the boat. I’ve been noticing the nights drawing in and that cashmere jumper getting put on every so often. Summer is being slowly pushed out the door but for today at least I’m going to enjoy it. The plan for the afternoon is to take a cycle down to the next village. I have a romantic notion of finding a roadside veg stall and a country pub but perhaps at the back of my mind I’m wondering if that all sounds a little too energetic and maybe I’m best staying here, reading my molecular gastronomy book and drinking gin? Oh the joys of being on one’s jollies.

breadcrumbs - very exciting

I think this recipe, adapted from Mark Hix’s “Seasonal British Food”, is prefect for this time of year; light but cosy. However, my main reason for making this recipe was one of curiosity. Can a marrow really be tasty enough to warrant 2 pages in his lovely book? The short answer is yes.

all ready to go in the oven

Marrow made tasty la Mark Hix –serves 2

Preheat the grill to a high setting

1 moderately sized marrow – halved with seeds removed, each half is then cut into 1-2 cm slices

2 slices of bread turned into breadcrumbs – it can be either brown or white, doesn’t matter

1 medium onion – finely sliced

4 cloves of garlic – finely sliced

4 rashers of bacon or cured ham such as Iberico or a 2 inch chunk of saucisson cut into 0.5-1cm sized cubes

couple of stalks of thyme – leaves stripped from the stem

small handful of flat leave parsley – roughly chopped

vegetable oil for frying

sea salt and pepper to season

Grill the breadcrumbs for a few minutes until crisp and golden, remove from the heat and set aside until later in a large bowl.

In the mean time fry the onions in a pan with oil on a moderately high heat until soft and beginning to get gooey, this should take approx 10 minutes.

Add the bacon or whatever you are using and cook though for a few minutes.

Add the thyme and garlic to this pan and fry for another 2 minutes then add this to the bowl containing the breadcrumbs.

In the same pan that has been used for the onion and bacon add in the marrow, this may need to be done in 2 batches.

The marrow is cooked when the edges have turned golden brown and the flesh is translucent.

Season the marrow well with salt when cooking, taste and adjust as necessary.

Once cooked add the marrow to an ovenproof dish.

Add the parsley to the breadcrumb mixture and pour this on top of the marrow.

Season with salt and pepper.

Grill for about 5 minutes.

Serve with some nice crust bread and a glass of wine (compulsory).

Enjoy.