What am I going to do with these?!!

The Sweeper

I've been given... no, not given. Loaned? I wish. Cursed with is too cruel... I've been presented with two of my mate's award-winning marrows.

To give you an idea, they look somewhat like this, only they curve more.

What the hell do I do with these? They're so enormous I'd be suspicious they'll taste of absolutely nothing. I'm tempted to carve them into loch-ness-monster-like shapes for hallowe'en.

BuffyBot

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/chorizopepperandcous_75307.shtml

Some creative ideas here too:

http://www.uktvfood.co.uk/index.cfm?uktv=messageBoards.thread&threadID=10261

Diogenes

I was literally about to start off in a broad yorkshire accent "oooor ar missus look at the size of them their marrows, firm so they is", until I clicked on your bloody link.

Bloody hell? Presented? More like inflicted with. Seriously they look like the bleeding pods from Invasion of the Body Snatchers!

Your friends haven't started talking in a weird monotonous voice have they?

Seriously I wouldn't go to sleep with that in the house...

CJhaughey

Cut the top off them and hollow out with a large spoon, leave a wall thickness of 3cm or so.
Pack brown sugar into them and leave in a dark warm place until the sugar starts to ferment, you will end up with marrow rum.
Tell your friends not to be so stupid with the courgettes next time.

Alun

Stuffed marrow. Cut into thick slices, hollow out the middle, and steam them until they're soft. Put on a baking tray and fill with some kind of mincemeaty / tomatoey mixture mixed up with some uncooked rice. Cook in the oven until the rice is cooked (you may have to add some stock or something half way through) and top with some cheese.

The Sweeper

I measured them for the laugh. Marrow number one is 18 inches long. Marrow number two is 20 inches long. First experimental cooking expedition is tomorrow. It will involve marrow (obviously), cored and stuffed with a mixture of cooked rice mixed with a sweated down ratatouille of bell peppers, sultanas, tomatoes, chili, cumin, coriander, tumeric, tomato puree, almonds and a little chicken stock. I may add some chopped bacon to this mixture, and possibly some chorizo (if I have to use these then they're going to help me clear my fridge).

What do you reckon on baking, 180 for 45 mins? 160 for an hour?

Alun

MinesBIGSLUT wrote:

I measured them for the laugh. Marrow number one is 18 inches long. Marrow number two is 20 inches long. First experimental cooking expedition is tomorrow. It will involve marrow (obviously), cored and stuffed with a mixture of cooked rice mixed with a sweated down ratatouille of bell peppers, sultanas, tomatoes, chili, cumin, coriander, tumeric, tomato puree, almonds and a little chicken stock. I may add some chopped bacon to this mixture, and possibly some chorizo (if I have to use these then they're going to help me clear my fridge).

Sounds good!

What do you reckon on baking, 180 for 45 mins? 160 for an hour?

What I always tell my wife when she starts complaining about the dinner not being ready ... "When it's done!". I normally mix the filling mixture with uncooked rice and make sure the mixture is quite moist so that the rice absorbs the juices while cooking, possibly adding a bit more liquid (stock) part way through if needed. As for cooking time I'd hazard a guess at no more than 30 mins at 160, possibly turning it up to 180 for a few minutes towards the end to brown things a little. If you don't plan on steaming the marrow first, you'll be looking at longer cooking times, maybe an hour or so, and I'd then suggest covering with tin foil for most of the cooking time to keep the steam in and cook the marrow. Raw marrow is very unappetising

I like to add some grated cheese / breadcrumbs at the end too.

I'll be making something similar tomorrow with a marrow I bought last week.

The Sweeper

I'll let you know how I get on. For now, I'm just... daunted.

bonkey

I'm daunted by the mere fact you can fit a 20" marrow into your oven.

So how many you planning on feeding with this? Sounds like about a football-team's worth

Alun

bonkey wrote:

I'm daunted by the mere fact you can fit a 20" marrow into your oven.

So how many you planning on feeding with this? Sounds like about a football-team's worth

Errm, just in case I wasn't clear in my "recipe", you slice the marrow into rounds a couple of inches thick, not lengthwise Anyway, 20" wouldn't win any prizes in any marrow competition I've ever seen!

bonkey

Ach so!!!

I got thrown by the fact that its a very similar recipe to how we'd do stuffed courgettes....which we do slice lengthwise.

The Sweeper

Take Marrow.

Half width-ways. Half lengthways.

Take quarter marrow, scoop out seeds. Stuff marrow with rice, bell peppers, chicken stock, onions, garlic, chili, turmeric and cumin along with chorizo. Wrap in foil and bake in the oven, using bain-marie style bath, for an hour.

Marrow tender. Stuffing perfect.

Taste.

East stuffing, thanking the lord that the marrow is large enough to have accommodated enough stuffing for lunch. Discard marrow.

Alun

Hmmm ... not a big fan of marrow then, I take it ?

I quite like it myself, but it needs to absorb a lot of flavour from whatever is in the stuffing, otherwise it can be pretty bland, I'll admit. I usually use some kind of spag bol like filling in mine with lots of garlic, and fairly well seasoned too, which gets absorbed into the marrow seasoning it as well.

I've measured mine ... it's only 12" long

bonkey

MinesBIGSLUT wrote:

Taste.

East stuffing, thanking the lord that the marrow is large enough to have accommodated enough stuffing for lunch.

Discard marrow.

So does your mate know you've used the prize-winning marrows as disposable cookware?

Asiaprod

bonkey wrote:

So does your mate know you've used the prize-winning marrows as disposable cookware?

Eco-friendly tableware:D, I like that, but don't like marrow very much.

Bonkey, tried your Fondue recipes, it gets a

bonkey

I'll pass that on to She Who is Swiss.

The Sweeper

I haven't told my mate I've used his marrows as disposable cookware, no.

The flavour did pick up some of the stuffing (chili, garlic, turmeric and cumin worked nicely for that). The texture was unpleasant. Of the quarter I prepared, I probably ate through about a quarter of that, then found it was adding nothing to what I was eating, and had a curiously stringy texture.

CJhaughey

I told you, the only use for marrows is to make rum.
They are a singularly unpleasant vegetable.

rockbeer

Cut them into regular blocks, mix some cement and build yourself a conservatory

NextSteps

The point of growing marrows is all in the satisfaction of the gardener, not the cook. They're meant to be ginormous, that's the point. Tasting nice is entirely optional, but the recipient should still be very appreciative. Gardening ain't easy! Haven't you seen the Wallace and Gromit film?

dudara

My grandmother used to make marrow jam. This was a long time ago mind, but I don't remember it tasting too unpleasant.\