Never again regret a courgette that turns into an accidental marrow. This smoky, umami soup is a winner for autumn lunches and freezes brilliantly, too
Serves 8
50g unsalted butter
300g white onions, roughly chopped
5 fat garlic cloves, roughly sliced
1.5kg marrow, roughly cut into 2cm chunks
700g potatoes, roughly cut into 1cm cubes
1.5 ltr chicken or veg stock (or water)
3 tbsp brown miso paste or fermented fava bean paste
Smoked salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 Melt the butter in a large stock pot over a gentle heat, add the onion and garlic and cook gently for 5-10 mins, or until softened.
2 Stir in the marrow and potato and cover with the stock. Bring to the boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for 15-20 mins, or until the potatoes are cooked.
3 Stir in the miso paste and blend until smooth with a stick blender, then season to taste with the smoked salt and freshly ground black pepper. Serve piping hot in deep bowls, with crusty bread on the side.
Cook’s notes: If you’re using a marrow that’s been in storage for a while and has a particularly hard skin, slice it off before cooking as the marrow is unlikely to soften in the cooking time otherwise. If you can’t get hold of a marrow, this soup can easily be made with courgettes instead.
This recipe is by Kathy Bishop who, along with Tom Crowford, blogs at The Seasonal Table about slow food and slow living on their Somerset smallholding. It features in our October issue among other plot-to-plate autumn dishes
Buy this month's The Simple Things - buy, download or subscribe
