Rediscover the mighty marrow
Previously staple of all our gardens, the neglected marrow is making a culinary comeback, offering versatile flavours and textures when picked and prepared properly – so let your courgettes live large, writes MAT COWARD
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ALMOST every vegetable gardener I know grows courgettes, but the full-size version, the marrow — once a mainstay of British allotments — seems somewhat neglected these days.
Perhaps part of the reason, as with many traditional vegetables which fall out of fashion, is people’s childhood memories of giant marrows grown for size, not flavour, and then mercilessly cooked until any remaining risk of taste or texture had been expunged.
But grown for the kitchen rather than the show bench, picked at the right time, and prepared according to the many excellent, modern recipes available online, I think marrows deserve to regain their former status.
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MAT COWARD offers invaluable advice on which type to grow according to flavour preferences, size of you pocket, timing and plant reliability
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