Hi everyone, I hope you are all enjoying the rewards of your labour and have an abundance of peas, beans, squash, tomatos, potatoes etc etc.
One thing that we can never get right is the timing when picking our beloved courgettes and for those forgetful plot owners amoungst us, help is at hand as I have found a lovely recipe for Marrows!
Marrow & Ginger Jam
This light, spicy conserve is a very traditional way of using up marrows, or courgettes that have grown too big for their boots. It’s perfect for topping buttered toast or crusty bread. You could add a bit of apple or pear too, if you have some early windfalls.
4 unwaxed lemons
1.8 kg/4 lbs marrow, peeled and cut into sugar-cubed-size-pieces
1.8 kg/4 lbs jam sugar (with added pectin)
large knob of fresh root ginger, about 85g/3oz, peeled and shredded
1. Pare the zest from the lemons with a peeler, then juice them, keeping the juice, shells and any pips. Tie the shells and pips into a muslin bag. Put the marrow into a preserving pan with 2 tbsp of the lemon juice, then cook on a medium heat, stirring often, until the pieces are turning translucent and soft but not mushy. Bubble off any juices before stirring in the sugar, the rest of the juice, the zest, ginger and the muslin bag. Stir until the sugar dissolves.
2. Bring to the boil, then simmer for about 10-15 minutes or until the marrow has softened completely and the jam has reached settling point.* Pot the jam into warm jars. The flavour of the jam will mature and intensify over the next few months, so tuck it away in a dark, cool place.
* To test for settling point, put a saucer into the freezer well before you start boiling. Spoon a little of the jam onto the saucer. Once cool, push it ith your finger. If the jam wrinkles, it’s ready.
Recipe stolen from the Good Food magazine!
Enjoy x
Filed under: Seasonal Recipes Tagged: | marrow, recipes, Seasonal Recipes
we have had trouble with our courgettes we pick them regularly but they seem to grow into marrows.
also beetroot we have so many ready to pick does anyone have any recipes for pickling.
In my (little) experience Courgettes can and will grow very quickly if the position is correct. They seem to like slightly cooler and damper conditions which I think you guys have at the end of the S & F site. The only answer I think is to pick them quicker (every 2/3 days maybe) and maybe grow less if you have too many!
I LOVE beetroot but Dave won’t grow any for me – perhaps we could start buying your excess? or organise a veg swap?
I saw a recipe for Beetroot and chocolate cake which looked delicious, also chutneys and jams on the Good Food website – look at http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/ for some ideas.
Hope this helps. Lotty
Cheers lotty for the advice
i’m gonna give the cake a try
if i see you or dave at the site i’ll pass some beetroot over
thanks again