Stuffed Marrow

Make Ahead and Storage

Refrigerated for 3 days. Reheat covered at 180°C / 356°F. Do not freeze.

Making Stuffed Marrow

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1. Halve the marrow lengthways and scoop out the seeds and soft core with a spoon.

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2. Rub the cavities with the 2 tsp salt, set the halves cut side down on a rack and leave 30 minutes.

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3. Meanwhile, soften the onion in the oil 8 minutes, add the garlic for 1 minute, then brown the mince hard, 8 minutes.

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4. Stir in the tomato purée, tomatoes, oregano, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper and simmer 20 minutes, until very thick and almost dry.

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5. Stir the 60 g breadcrumbs into the filling.

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6. Rinse the marrow halves, pat them thoroughly dry and set them in a roasting dish.

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7. Pack the filling into the cavities and press it down.

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8. Mix the cheddar with the 40 g breadcrumbs, scatter over and dot with the butter.

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9. Bake at 180°C / 355°F fan / 200°C / 390°F / gas 6 for 40 minutes, until the marrow is tender and the top is browned.

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Related guide: Prep, cook and total time.

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Tips for Success

• Salt the cavities for half an hour. Everything depends on it.
• Cook the filling until it is drier than seems right.
• Dry the marrow properly before filling it.

Some Background

Salt the hollowed halves and leave them upside down for half an hour. Marrow is almost entirely water and, unsalted, it floods the filling and you serve mince in a puddle — this one step is the whole difference between a good stuffed marrow and the soggy version everyone remembers. Cook the filling down until it is genuinely dry too, drier than you would want to eat on its own, because the marrow will give back plenty as it bakes.

Good Alongside

Buttered new potatoes · A green salad · Brown sauce

Sides from the same cuisine on this site: Dairy-Free Scones, Duck Fat Roast Potatoes, Fried Bread.

Ingredient Swaps

• An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the stand-in usually given when you are out of fresh garlic; it will not brown the same way, and it burns easily, so add it with the liquid.
• Fresh herbs work in place of the dried oregano at roughly three times the quantity — a teaspoon of dried is about a tablespoon of fresh, chopped.

Questions About Stuffed Marrow

The Numbers per Serving

Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.

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