Marrows are like big courgettes, and often overgrown courgettes (like the one in the pic below) are a fantastic substitute. Just hollow out the seeds and fill with something delicious. Here it is filled with lentils, tomatoes and basil, then topped it with a mature cheddar cheese.
Marrows are traditionally grown in the UK. There are competitions to see who has grown the biggest! They are very like courgette but have a firmer skin. They are often served with meat, chopped and cooked in the Sunday roast meat juices or stuffed with a ragu. This recipe is a take on stuffing them with a vegetarian ragu – and it really is tasty. You need to use good quality sweet tomatoes for this one. If lacking those, you can always build more flavour by adding a cooked red pepper from a jar and teaspoon of hot paprika.
Lentil and tomato stuffed marrow
Ingredients
- 1 marrow or overgrown summer squash
- 200 g lentils (I used a mix of black and brown, but any but red will work well)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion chopped
- 3 garlic cloves crushed
- 500 g cherry tomatoes halved
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 100 g cheddar cheese
- 10 g basil leaves torn
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
- Place the lentils in some water and bring to the boil. Simmer for 30 minutes until soft.
- Meanwhile heat the oil and cook the chopped onion until soft. Add the crushed garlic and stir until fragrant.
- Add the halved tomatoes and stir until they begin the break down. Once most of the tomatoes have released their contents add the drained lentils, sugar, vinegar and salt.
- Slice the marrow into 5 cm slices and hollow it by spooning out and discarding the seeds. Replace the seeds with the lentil mixture and top with grated mature cheddar cheese.
- Place in a preheated oven for 30 minutes, until the cheese is golden brown.
Absolutely gorgeous. I used an over grown courgette cut length wise and also microwaved the lentils for 10 mins to save power. Any left over filling has been frozen for the next large courgette!