Name: Slow-cooked marrow with fennel & tomato
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 1 young marrow (about 1kg); 4 tbsp olive oil plus a drizzle to serve; 1 rosemary sprig plus extra leaves chopped to serve; pinch of fennel seeds; 2 red onions finely sliced; pinch of dried chilli; ½ fennel bulb sliced; 2 garlic cloves crushed; 50ml white wine; 500g tomatoes chopped; 1 tbsp red wine vinegar; 2 tbsp capers; 400g can butter beans drained; 2 large slices of sourdough to serve; soft fresh goat’s cheese to serve; 1 tbsp oregano to serve

Slow-cooked marrow with fennel & tomato

Try this vegetarian stew with crusty sourdough, or as an accompaniment to grilled meats. Marrow is the star here, but you're getting four of your five-a-day

1 hr 30 min total 30 min prep 1 hr cook 4 459 cal

Instructions

Tap a step to mark it done

1 Halve, deseed and chop the marrow into chunks. Toss in some salt and leave the chunks to drain in a colander for 30 mins to remove excess water.
2 Heat the olive oil in a large pan over a medium heat. Add the rosemary and fennel seeds and cook for a few mins until the rosemary is sizzling. Add the red onion, dried chilli, fennel and a large pinch of salt, and cook for 10 mins until the onions are starting to colour and sweeten.
3 Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for another min. Turn up the heat slightly, add the marrow and a good grind of pepper, and cook for 10 mins, stirring so it doesn’t catch.
4 Deglaze the pan with the white wine. Cook until it’s evaporated, then add the tomatoes and red wine vinegar. Stir to combine everything, then turn down the heat and cook, stirring occasionally, on the lowest heat for at least 35 mins, until the tomatoes have concentrated and the marrow has taken on all the flavours in the pan. Stir in the capers and butter beans to warm them through.
5 Toast the sourdough and cut each slice in half. Divide the mixture between four plates, then spread the toast with the goat’s cheese, drizzle with some olive oil, scatter over the oregano and rosemary, and serve.