Marrow and Cheese Supper Dish

I've been searching for courgette/marrow recipes since discovering my giant courgettes a few days ago. Now, I could make more chutney or jam but I'm running out of jars and still have the damsons and apples to preserve, so Nigel Slater to the rescue! I've found a recipe for Courgette and Lancashire Cheese Crumble that will use up about a half of one of my marrow and provide us with a tasty autumnal supper.

In Nigel's the 'kitchen diaries' cookbook he makes his version on the 23rd of September and, as the recipe title says, uses Lancashire cheese with rosemary as the herb. I'm making my version on the 8th of September and using a strong Cheddar cheese and sage for the herb...good idea to adapt the recipe? Time and tasting will tell. So here's my version of Nigel's crumble...















Marrow and Cheddar Cheese Crumble
Makes 4 hearty helpings
Ingredients
For the tasty base
1 thick slice butter
1 onion, coarsely chopped
1 leek, sliced
1 tbsp HG sage leaves, finely chopped
4 small HG potatoes, scrubbed and cut into cubes
2 lbs HG marrow, skinned, deseeded and cut into cubes
150 ml vegetable stock
3 ozs Cheddar cheese, grated

For the crumble
4 ozs tomato ciabatta (or other bread)
3 ozs hazelnuts
1 tbsp HG sage leaves
2 ozs Cheddar cheese

Method
Melt the butter in a heavy based pan. Add the leek and onion and cook gently until softened. Add the chopped sage and the potatoes, stir well and then place a lid on the pan and cook gently for about 10 minutes. Add the marrow and cook for a further few minutes, then add the vegetable and replacing the lid cook again for about 5 minutes. Place the contents of the pan into a casserole dish.

Meanwhile prepare the crumble topping. Put the bread into a food processor and grind until coarse breadcrumbs, then add the walnuts and the sage leaves and chop until combined with the breadcrumbs. Finally add the Cheedar in small chunks and combine again. You now have your crumble topping.

Sprinkle the grated cheese over the top of the marrow mixture and then cover with the crumble mixture. Place in a pre-heated oven 180C for 35-40 minutes until the top is crisp and golden. Serve with salad and crusty bread to soak up the lovely juices.

The verdict from the Handyman is 'delicious! more please!'