Marrow 'pasta' with tomatoes, mozzarella and pesto

Shame on me! I haven't been into my garden in... 3 weeks! I've been so busy that whenever it has been on my schedule of things I must do today, I either collapse with exhaustion or life gets in the way. It's been a tough couple of weeks at work, but I've survived and things should start to return to normal throughout the next week.

I've also not posted anything for a while. Could there be a better way to quell my guilt than combine the two?

When I finally hacked my way through the overgrown ferns and made it to the garden, I was surprised to see that my neglected courgette plant held a solitary marrow -albeit slightly nibbled. It had produced more, but only their stumps remained. (I feel very guilty.) At least they're organic! I was also faced with a lot of weeding...

When faced with a marrow so many people have no idea what to do with it. I understand, I really do. Marrows are, alone, quite watery and bland in taste. However, they are also a quite versatile vegetable, and deserve a second chance. With the correct treatment, seasoning and accompaniment, the humble marrow can be transformed into something exciting and unusual. A few years ago I made a lasagne using marrow instead of pasta, and today I have followed the same principle.

1 marrow

4 tbsp pine nuts
Pinch of salt
250g fresh basil leaves
50g Parmesan, grated
300ml extra virgin olive oil
A few handfuls of cherry tomatoes, halved
A ball of mozzarella


1, Slice the marrow lengthways, about 1 cm thick. Heat a griddle and colour the marrow, taking care not to overcook, until al dente.
2, Toast the pine nuts in a dry pan, and then cool completely. Lightly crush half of them in a pestle and mortar, along with a pinch of salt (if you don't have a pestle and mortar, a blender or food processor will work, if it is small enough to catch the sauce)
3, Add the basil leaves to the pestle and mortar, and working as quickly as possible, pound them into the mixture until you have a thickish paste.
4, Mix in the cheese, and then gradually incorporate the oil. Taste to season.
5, Slice the marrow into chunks, about 2 inch long, then add them to a large bowl.
6, Add the tomatoes, pesto and mozzarella to the bowl, then leave for ten minutes for the flavours to infuse.
7, Garnish with basil leaves and a sprinkling of toasted pine nuts, and serve with crusty bread.

Linguine with Mediterranean vegetables and ricotta

The vegetables I cooked for this dish were originally meant to go with milestone lentils - a sort of green puy lentil. My plan for the evening was slightly altered when I got home and discovered Mr. Fox asleep in my garden.

I had meant to do some gardening but didn't want to disturb sleeping beauty. The opinion of many is that foxes are vermin, and although I understand that it isn't pleasant to find your rubbish strewn across the street because the hungry animals have broken into them, I also feel incredibly sad when I see the thin animals roaming the streets in the evenings. This fox has been visiting the garden for the last few months, but I've never seen him so comfortable.

So, I ended up cutting back the ivy on the street and became so engrossed that I completely forgot about the lentils simmering away on the stove top. Needless to say, they burnt and I had to re-think my dinner.

Serves 2-3

One red onion

One aubergine

One courgette

A handful of ripe tomatoes

A handful of mint

Juice of one lemon

Cold pressed rapeseed oil/olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

One tub of ricotta cheese

Enough linguine to feed you

1, Begin by slicing your onion finely and add to a frying pan with a tablespoon of oil. 

2, Cube your aubergine and add it to the cooking onion, and sprinkle with a pinch or two of salt. Fry these together until the aubergine is browned - don't be afraid to add more oil if necessary. 

3, Slice your courgette and add it to the pan, fry until soft.

4, Add the pasta to a large pan of salted boiling water and drizzle a small amount of oil into the pan to stop it sticking together. After a minute or so stir the pasta.

5, Chop the tomatoes into chunks and add the frying pan. Keep this on the heat for a few minutes, stirring, then take it off and squeeze over the lemon juice. 

6, When the pasta is close the ready, chop the mint finely and add it to the vegetables. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper.
7, Drain the pasta when ready and return to the pan. Mix the ricotta through and then add the vegetables.

You may want to season this further on the plate, or add a grating of parmesan cheese. Personally, a drizzle of olive oil was enough.

Cannelloni with wilted greens, ricotta and a rich tomato sauce

In my veg box this week I received some 'greens' - mustard, rocket, pak choi, spinach and other, unknown green leaves. MM leaves for the Schumacher college tomorrow so this will be the last meal I cook for him in a month - and cannelloni is so much fun. As I've mentioned before, the temptation to eat spinach every evening is strong, but I decided to push the boat out and replace the traditional spinach and ricotta cannelloni with the mixed greens. MM has got used to me trying out recipes on him - and this one was no failure. Filling, impressive and flexible - you could put anything in the cannelloni.

1 onion, finely diced

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

300g mixed greens

200g ricotta

Juice of half a lemon

Cannelloni tubes

1 tin tomatoes - I use Cirio tetrapaks (they are the best I've ever found)

1 clove garlic

Dried oregano

1 tsp honey

Preheat the oven to 180/gas mark 5

1, Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a deep pan over a low heat. Add half onion and cook gently for fifteen minutes until soft and golden, stirring occasionally.

2, Add the chopped garlic and dried oregano and cook for another five minutes, taking care not to burn the onions. Add the tomatoes and honey into the pan with the onions, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

3, In a frying pan, add the other half of the onion and cook gently, then add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes.4, Wash and chop the greens, then add them to the pan - there may be too much for the pan so wait until a handful has wilted then add more.

5, When all the greens are cooked, remove from the heat and put them in a large bowl. Add the ricotta and lemon juice, then season to taste. 

6, Take the cannelloni and, using a couple of teaspoons, push the green mix inside. I find it helpful to use the handle end of the teaspoon to push the mixture inside, otherwise you get loads of filling at one end and none in the middle.

7, Place the filled cannelloni in a baking tray and pour the tomato sauce on top. You need to make sure the sauce isn't too dry, otherwise the pasta has no juices to cook in.

8, Bake for about half an hour (or follow packet instructions) and serve with a side of more green veggies.

Broad bean and courgette spagetti

It's the start of summer vegetables! The first ones I've got my hands on are broad beans, hopefully next week there'll be some organic UK asparagus available - watch this space. It's really starting to feel like summer is making itself known in Edinburgh. We've had a good two weeks of glorious weather, in the garden I can't weed fast enough, and all those delightful veggies are coming back!

Tip: When selecting broad beans, gently feel the pod to test how large and firm the beans inside are. It's always a bit of a guessing game, but in general you can feel the beans themselves and the size.

Tonight, I didn't want to do anything too taxing, so pasta was on the cards. I decided to make a broad bean and courgette pasta with ricotta and a lemon dressing.

Serves 2
1 courgette
500g broad beans in their pods
Juice of 1 lemon
1 clove garlic, finely diced
Salt and pepper to taste
Enough spagetti to feed you
A good couple of glugs of quality olive oil
100g ricotta cheese

1, Peel your bean pods and collect the beans in a bowl, then put into boiling water and simmer for 5 minutes.
2, While the beans are simmering, cut your courgette halfways, then cut into 1/2 cm slices.
3, When the broad beans are ready, drain and leave to cool a little before peeling. In this time you can start to fry your courgette in a little olive oil until lightly browned. Remove from the heat.
4, Put the pasta in a pan of boiling, salted water until al dente.
5, When the pasta is close to being done, add the lemon juice and garlic to the broad beans and courgetters, and mix well.
6, When the pasta is ready, drain and then mix all of the veg and juices with it, then sprinkle the ricotta over and stir. Give it a final taste, and serve.