Stuffed Marrow

One of The Boy's workmates has had the good fortune his veg patch producing an exuberant load of courgettes and, consequently, marrows. He's been lumbered with so much fruit that he's been palming them off on his coworkers - well, his glut is our gain!


Still wondering what you're going to do with that glut of courgettes? Have you discovered one or two that were hiding amongst the leaves that are now mammoth marrows? Give this easy recipe a try.

Chorizo stuffed Marrow


You will need: (to serve two)
A medium sized marrow (approx 25cm long)
3 inchs of chorizo sausage, halved and sliced
1 onion, finely chopped,
1 pepper, roughly chopped
handful of sliced olives
50g of grated Parmesan or hard cheese
3 tbsp passata or 3/4 chopped fresh tomatoes
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp chilli, finely chopped (or to taste)
sunflower oil


- Preheat the oven to 190C.
- Half the marrow length ways and score diamond into the insides without piercing the skin.
- Rub a little olive oil into the cut sides of the marrow and season.
- Roast with the cut side up for 15 minutes or until the inside starts to become tender.
- Meanwhile, fry the chorizo in a pan with a little oil until it flavours the pan and expresses its red oil then add the chilli, garlic and onion.
- Sweat the onion until translucent.
- The marrow will begin to soften. Gently scoop out the innards with a spoon being careful to leave about half a centimetre (or more!) on the skin to keep it together. Return the hollowed skins to the oven.
 - Roughly chop the flesh that you've removed and add to the pan. There'll be a lot of moisture in the marrow flesh so be prepared to simmer the stuffing for a few minutes.
 - Remove the marrow from the oven and generously fill them with the filling.
 - Top with sliced olives and parmescan.
 - Return to the oven for 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and golden.
 - Serve with basil and a fresh salad.

Courgette Salad with toasted seeds

Any that grow their own, or know those that do, will be aware that this time of year is courgette season. The plants seem to kick into overdrive and produce trugs of the lovely things. I adore courgettes for their potential; catch them early and you can have the tender young squash complete with pretty flower to stuff or add to your summer salad. Let them swell into fully fledged fruit or allow them to go over and enjoy humungous marrows! Some say that they're bland and unexciting but I seem them as a blank canvas with tons of promise.

The finished summery salad

Whether you're wondering what you're going to do with your allotment glut or you're planning to make the most of them while they're in season, there's lots that you can do with them. Check out my recent recipe or give this simple salad a go.

Courgette Salad with toasted seeds

You will need:

1 courgette

1 large carrot

1 yellow pepper

2 tbsp mixed seeds

2 tbsp lemon juice

- Heat a frying pan on a low heat and sprinkle the seeds in, moving them gently around the pan to ensure that they toast evenly on each side.

- Coursely grate the carrot and courgette and put in a bowl

- De-seed and finely slice the pepper and add to the bowl

- Dress with the lemon juice and toss with your hands until everything is combined

- Top with the seeds and serve