- Serves 4 - Ready in 1 hour 15 minutes -
*uses up 1/4 large marrow *
Gather together...
1/4 large marrow (approximately 700g ).
100g plain flour.
2 heaped tsp baking powder.
1 tsp white sugar (caster or granulated).
Pinch of salt.
1 tsp dried Basil OR dried Oregano (or a half a teaspoon of each).
150g roughly grated cheese (I use cheddar but you could use parmesan).
4 medium eggs.
100ml rapeseed / olive / vegetable oil.
1 medium onion (very finely diced).
Serve with...
Salad leaves.
Get cooking...
1. Prepare the marrow first, so the moisture has time to drain out. Cut the marrow in half lengthways and discard the seeded part.
2. Put the marrow gratings into a clean tea towel and squeeze the moisture out very thoroughly over the sink, this squeezing will take about 30 seconds, but the longer you squeeze for, the better. Empty the excess moisture out of the large bowl - you can use it to water plants! Then leave the marrow (still in the tea towel) sitting in a large sieve / colander over a bowl (to continue to drain) and set aside.
3. Pre-heat the oven to 180 C (160 C fan) or Gas 4.
4. Butter-grease a fairly deep oven-proof dish (approx. 30cm x 20 cm x 7cm) and set aside.
5. In a large mixing bowl, combine the 100g plain flour (no need to sieve), the 2 heaped tsp baking powder (sieve this in to avoid unpleasant clumps), the 1 tsp white sugar, the pinch of salt, the 1 tsp of dried herbs and the 150g of roughly grated cheese.
6. In a large jug (or a bowl with deep sides so you can mix thoroughly without sloshing over), mix together the 4 eggs, the 100ml oil and the very finely diced onion.
6. Tip the wet ingredients into the dry and stir well until there are no dry patches.
7. Give the grated / blitzed marrow a last good squeeze (to remove more juice) and tip the squeezed-out marrow into the flour/oil/eggs mixture and stir well again.
8. Tip the mixture into the greased oven-proof dish, spread evenly over the base and bake in the oven for 45 minutes, until golden brown (it will still be deliciously soft on the inside, like a pillowy frittata).
9. Stand the dish on a wire rack to cool for a few minutes before cutting up and serving with salad leaves. Yum.
Adapted from the Savoury Marrow Bake recipe on the allrecipes website.