Harvest Festival - English Baked Stuffed Autumn Marrow/Zucchini

French Tart's Note:

Harvest Home! A heart warming and traditional English recipe, which is a wonderful way to deal with those large marrows (zucchini) from the autumn garden! The marrow is stuffed with a savoury beef and onion mixture and is then baked in foil. This is an old family recipe, which always pleases and is regularly requested when these giant marrows are in season – it is hearty and full of flavour and is wonderful when served with a hot tomato sauce, steamed fresh seasonal vegetables and piles of fluffy mashed potatoes. The preparation is a little time-consuming, but the stuffed marrow is then baked slowly in the oven, leaving you free to follow other pursuits. I have posted a full set of step-by-step photos with this recipe, it shows how easy it is to prepare and cook, as well as showing how delicious it looks when served piping hot at your dinner table! The title of this recipe was taken from memories of all the Harvest Festivals we had every year, that were held at school or the local parish church - marrows (LARGE zucchini) were always a BIG feature of the harvest display!

• Total Time: 2 hrs 30 mins
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 2 hrs

Ingredients:

Serves: 6-8

Yield: 1.0 Stuffed ...

• 1 large marrow , about 1 . 5 kg (Zucchini)
• 500 g minced beef
• 2 medium onions , peeled and finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves , peeled and minced
• ½ large red pepper , deseeded and finely chopped
• 1 tomato , skinned and chopped
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 2 tablespoons tomato puree
• 2 tablespoons breadcrumbs
• 1 egg
• salt
• black pepper
• fresh parsley , to garnish
• oil , to grease
• aluminum foil

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
2. Wash and cut the marrow in half, then peel strips of skin with a swivel head vegetable peeler, to create a striped pattern; scoop out all the seeds and discard them. Prick the inside flesh thoroughly with a fork.
3. Put all the stuffing ingredients together in a large mixing bowl and mix together - I find that it is better to use your hands to bring it all together. (Wet your hands before you start to prevent the mixture sticking to your hands!).
4. Spoon half the stuffing mixture into each half of marrow, pressing down quite firmly to make the mixture fill the hollows.
5. Carefully place one stuffed marrow half on top of the other half - see photos - and press together, before wrapping in a large sheet of well greased foil. (I use a low fat olive oil spray to grease my foil.).
6. Place the foil wrapped stuffed marrow into a large baking tray or ovenproof dish and cook in the pre-heated oven for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, checking after 1 1/2 hours. The marrow should be soft but still hold its shape. (If you use a smaller or larger marrow, please adjust the cooking time).
7. Take the marrow out of the oven when cooked and allow to sit for 5 minutes. Carefully remove the foil and serve hot, cut into slices, with the juices from the dish poured back over the marrow, or mixed into your tomato sauce if making. Serve with steamed fresh vegetables and mashed potatoes. Garnish with fresh parsley.
8. This is also wonderful when served with a hot tomato sauce. Gently fry one finely chopped onion with a clove of garlic in a pan until soft and golden; add a tin of chopped tomatoes, gently heat for a further 5 minutes, check for seasoning and add juices from the marrow, salt, pepper to taste. Allow to cool slightly and then blend the sauce in a blender or with a hand held immersion mixer until smooth. Gently re-heat and serve with the stuffed marrow.

Reviews

[NurseJaney]

*Made for Australia/NZ Swap #31* What a wonderful experience ! The 22 photos were stupendous ! My finished product looked EXACTLY like FT's ! I started with a 2 pound Zuke - weighed with me on the bathroom scale. (We call these "baseball bats" !) Prepared all the stuffing ingredients just to the recipe. Cut the zucchini into 4 quarters, and stuffed, wrapped, and placed in a foil-lined casserole --(THAT was a great idea ! It DID ooze a tad!), and baked for exactly 2 hours. It sliced just beautifully, and served with parsley potatoes and sliced tomatoes from the garden. Not that we like "spicy", but it was just a tad bland for us -- added a sprinkle of taco seasoning on the slices which helped. There is a good bit of stuffing left, which I will use to prepare green peppers tonight, and will play with some seasonings first. Thanks for posting, FT -- you always inspire me to reach beyond my capabilities ! This would make a beautiful luncheon platter, and was not at all difficult to prepare !