{"id":621,"date":"2014-10-09T20:32:40","date_gmt":"2014-10-09T19:32:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thecherryplumkitchen.com\/?p=621"},"modified":"2014-10-21T20:40:36","modified_gmt":"2014-10-21T19:40:36","slug":"pancetta-and-mushroom-stuffed-marrow-with-spicy-tomato-sauce","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thecherryplumkitchen.com\/?p=621","title":{"rendered":"Pancetta and Mushroom Stuffed Marrow with Spicy Tomato Sauce"},"content":{"rendered":"
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I was given a marrow. \u00a0I’ve come to the conclusion I must be unusual among my peers because I was very pleased to have it. \u00a0Apparently that’s not the general emotion when confronted with a marrow \u2026? \u00a0Also, I never have the slightest difficulty getting through a courgette glut either.<\/p>\n

\"Italian<\/a><\/p>\n

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Shall we do the debate on when is a marrow a marrow? \u00a0Does it have to have stripes and seeds which are hard to the bite? \u00a0Or is it just the courgette you didn’t spot until it had become a marrow????<\/p>\n

Personally, I am content to think of it as supper and it’s the perfect ‘carrier’ for lots of good things ..<\/p>\n

\"Italian<\/a><\/p>\n

I live in a town which is dubbed ‘little Italy’ because we have the largest concentration of Italian families in the UK. \u00a0The 1950s saw a sudden influx of Italian immigrants, primarily from Sicily and villages in Campania, who came to work for the London Brick Company. \u00a0The Italian connection means it’s as easy for me to get pancetta as it is bacon. \u00a0I’m feeling the Italian vibe …<\/p>\n

\"Italian<\/a><\/p>\n

There’s no need to add any oil to the frying pan. \u00a0Low heat and wait for the pancetta’s own fat to melt.<\/p>\n

\"Italian<\/a><\/p>\n

Brush the mushrooms of any dirt, trim and chop them. \u00a0When the fat is oozing out from the pancetta, add them to the pan.<\/p>\n

\"Italian<\/a><\/p>\n

Cook over a medium\/low heat until the mushrooms have softened and the water released from them has cooked away.<\/p>\n

\"Italian<\/a><\/p>\n

Place them in a bowl. \u00a0Add the chopped parsley and thyme, the fresh breadcrumbs and lots of freshly ground black pepper. \u00a0Pancetta is salty so you are unlikely to need to add any additional salt, but there’s no reason not to give the mix a taste.<\/p>\n

\"Italian<\/a><\/p>\n

And that’s the filling done.<\/p>\n

Pre-heat your oven to 190\u00baC\/375\u00baF\/Gas Mark 5.<\/p>\n

\"Italian<\/a><\/p>\n

Peel your marrow. \u00a0(I must remember to get myself a new peeler, mine is feeling blunt.)<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Italian<\/a><\/p>\n

Then cut into slices. \u00a0Being as how this was a 2kg plus beast of a marrow I went for 2″ slices. \u00a0When confronted with a smaller marrow I cut 1\u00bd slices and would serve two rings per person.<\/p>\n

\"Italian<\/a><\/p>\n

Misusing my fish filleting knife, I remove the seeds core.<\/p>\n

\"Italian<\/a><\/p>\n

The seeds I throw away. \u00a0The end of the marrow you can chop up and add to your filling mixture or saut\u00e9 in a little olive oil and freeze to add to soups and the like.<\/p>\n

\"Italian<\/a><\/p>\n

Butter a shallow dish and arrange your marrow rings in a single layer. \u00a0Season with salt and pepper.<\/p>\n

\"Italian<\/a><\/p>\n

Then fill the hollowed out spaces with your pancetta and mushroom filling. \u00a0Pack it down. \u00a0Drizzle with olive oil.<\/p>\n

\"Italian<\/a><\/p>\n

Tightly cover the baking dish with foil so that the marrow will steam as well as bake. \u00a0Place in the oven (Aga: \u00a0bottom set of runners in the Roasting Oven)<\/em> until the marrow is tender to the point of a knife. \u00a0Set the timer for 45 minutes.<\/p>\n

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Set to work on the spicy tomato sauce.<\/p>\n

I find red onions are less prone to making me weep so sometimes dispense with my lovely pink onion goggles<\/a>. \u00a0Otherwise cutting the onion is the same. \u00a0Leaving the root intact, cut off the top of the onion and then in half. \u00a0Peel back the outer layer and make narrow vertical cuts. \u00a0Put the flat of your hand on the top of the onion, nice and out of the way, and cut through towards the root but not through it. \u00a0This sauce isn’t whizzed to smoothness so it’s worth remembering the size of onion you cut is the size you are going to eat. \u00a0Cut down and, miraculously, you are producing neat cubes.<\/p>\n

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Soften in 1 tablespoon of olive oil. \u00a0Gently. \u00a0It needs to be soft and translucent and will take about 5 minutes.<\/p>\n

\"Tomato<\/a><\/p>\n

Add the garlic. I grate mine with a fine microplane grater as I find it means I don’t have any discernible ‘blobs’ of garlic in my sauce. Plus I no longer own a garlic crusher because I hated washing it up! \u00a0Have your tomatoes ready. \u00a0Garlic burns quickly and burnt garlic tastes revolting. \u00a0So, thirty seconds, no more …<\/p>\n

\"Italian<\/a><\/p>\n

Add the tinned tomatoes, tomato puree, caster sugar and cayenne pepper. \u00a0England doesn’t have a great climate for the growing of tomatoes so you get a better result using good quality tinned tomatoes imported from Italy, but the caster sugar is added to give a little sweetness that sun-ripened straight off the vine would have naturally if picked in Campania. \u00a0So far, this is a fairly standard sugo al pomodoro<\/em> \u2026<\/p>\n

\"DSC_0102<\/a><\/p>\n

Only I like a hit of chilli – and that makes it arrabbiata<\/em>. \u00a0Chilli flakes work fine. \u00a0If you’re using fresh, the ‘heat’ is in the pith that holds the seeds inside. \u00a0If you roll your chilli on your work surface you will dislodge the seeds, which is aesthetically better. \u00a0More vigorous rolling will dislodge the pith, which lessens the fire.<\/p>\n

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Cut off the stalk end and turn it up so the seeds and pith can fall out. \u00a0This method of de-seeding minimises the contact your hands have with the chilli fire and makes any inadvertent touching of your eyes less tortuous. \u00a0Cut down the length of the chilli and then across into cubes.<\/p>\n

\"Italian<\/a><\/p>\n

Or just chop. \u00a0I don’t worry about the seeds as I like it spicy and I added a second chilli as a cautious nibble told me these were quite mild. \u00a0Add to the tomato sauce and simmer for half an hour until it’s exactly the consistency you want to eat it at. \u00a0When it’s ready it can be left to cool and re-heated before serving. \u00a0I pop mine in the warming oven and forget about it until supper.<\/p>\n

\"Italian<\/a><\/p>\n

If your marrow doesn’t give beneath the point of a knife it’s not ready. \u00a0Pop the foil back over and put into the oven again. \u00a0My big marrow took an hour.<\/p>\n

\"Italian<\/a><\/p>\n

Serve with the spicy tomato sauce.<\/p>\n

Italians don’t seem to feel any meal is complete without bread. \u00a0I feel the same about candlelight and a generous glass of red wine ..! \u00a0Buon appetito<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Pancetta and Mushroom Stuffed Marrow with Spicy Tomato Sauce<\/strong> – Serves 6<\/em><\/p>\n

For the Pancetta and Mushroom Stuffed Marrow:<\/strong><\/p>\n