Stuffed Marrow Ingredients

1 large marrow, washed and cut in half. Scrape out the seeds and a bit of the flesh so that you have a nice big hollow in the middle to take the ragu sauce.

250g minced lamb and 250 g minced beef
2 large onions chopped very finely

4 garlic cloves chopped very finely
Small glass of red wine
4 large tomatoes, peeled and chopped, or a can of chopped tomatoes if you must.
1 small can tomato puree
1 teaspoon each dried oregano and thyme.
Salt and pepper
60 g grated parmesan
olive oil

What to do. Roughly speaking:

In a large saucepan or deep frying pan, heat the olive oil. Add the finely chopped onions and garlic and fry until soft, stirring all the time. You don’t want them brown, just soft. Add the minced meat and keep it all moving until the meat is browned. Add red wine and turn the heat right up to drive off all the alcohol. Keep stirring. Now add the tomatoes, dried herbs, salt and pepper. This ragu should be quite dry, so if there’s a lot of liquid from the tomatoes keep the heat high for a few minutes to drive off some of the excess. Now add the tomato puree, mix it in well and simmer gently for about 20 minutes.

Pre-heat your oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4

Kay’s Essex Road Recipes

Place the 2 marrow halves on a large sheet of foil on a baking tray. Spoon the meat sauce into the centre of each half and cover with another sheet of foil. Seal the top and bottom sheets of foil together so that the marrow is foil-wrapped.

Place the stuffed marrow in the oven for about 45 minutes. Take off the top sheet of foil and turn up the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6. (Stick a small knife into the edge of the marrow to make sure that it’s cooked, if not just leave it in the oven for 10 – 15 minutes before the next step) Sprinkle the grated parmesan over the top of the 2 marrow halves and continue to cook for about 10 more minutes.