Marrow & N’duja Ragu from ‘Bread & Stuff’ at The Slow Food Feast at Ludlow Food Festival
Starter; Main Course; Dips, Snacks & Sides
Feeds 4-6 as a main dish
8-10 as a dip
Cook Time: 1.5 Hour
Difficulty: Medium
This was a dish born out of nostalgia without me even realising!
In my opinion bread always needs celebrating. It’s become the star of its own courses in so many restaurants now and I’m all for it. Long gone are the throw away attitudes of old school bread baskets that just get refilled constantly through a meal. Bread has become an art, it’s become a staple and a calling card for so many places, sitting alongside the amuse bouche as an advert for the establishment and a taste of what’s to come.
We waste too much bread. The numbers are bonkers when you consider just how universally loved and used bread is! So I used surplus bread for this course. Splashed with some water and baked in a hot oven for a few minutes - good as new!
As a kid, spag bol was a staple meal. One we all loved, one we all looked forwards to. I was always a more sauce, less pasta kind of person - constantly chasing flavour from day dot! What would always come on the table was a plate of bread and butter. Often French stick form but at the very least soft white sliced. Alongside it was always plenty of butter or margarine!
I have the happiest memories of taking a slice of bread, heavily spreading cold marg all over it, then dipping it into the rich, warm ragu!
I only realised that this was the heart of this dish when I did exactly that when I was serving it!
It was served with some homemade surplus cream butter, a stack of surplus bread and some lovely homemade pickles (the recipes for these are on my page….or they will be shortly!)
The pickles add a lovely tangy nibble to cut through it all!
The Slow Food Feast is at that time of year when everyones failed to pick their courgettes and suddenly they are faced with endless amounts of marrow!
I wanted to highlight the beauty that’s in marrow’s texture. That bit firmer than a courgette it holds up so well to slow cooking, leaving a lovely texture, perfect for a veggie based ragu.
Recently, Slow Food hero, Will from Shropshire Salumi has developed some seriously incredible N’duja sausage. Made with sustainably sourced, local Gloucester Old Spot pork it has the most unctuous flavour, melting soft texture and brilliantly balanced spicing.
It was the perfect addition to this ragu to add an extra story as well as an extra kick of slightly smokey, spicy flavour.
Of course, if you wanted to make this vegan, which I did for guests on the night, you can simply swap out the N’duja for some smoked paprika!
As with any ragu, it’s always better on day 2. Make it in advance, store it in the fridge for a few days, store it in the freezer for months (and months).
INGREDIENTS:
1 Medium Marrow, deseeded and finely diced (3mm)
3 Tbsp Olive Oil or Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oil
2 Onions, peeled and finely diced (3mm)
4 Medium Carrots, peeled and finely diced (3mm)
4 Sticks Celery, finely diced
4 Medium Tomatoes, roughly chopped
5 Garlic Cloves, peeled and minced
4-5 Sprigs of Thyme Leaves, finely chopped
2 Sprigs of Rosemary Leaves, finely chopped
4 Bay Leaves
200g Shropshire Salumi N’duja
3 Tbsp Tomato Paste
300ml White Wine
400g Chopped Tomatoes
400ml Vegetable or Chicken Stock
Handful Fresh Herbs (Basil and/or Parsley), roughly chopped
Salt & Pepper
1-2 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
METHOD:
Heat the oil in a large saucepan on a medium-low heat.
Add the diced and chopped vegetables with a good pinch of salt, along with the thyme, rosemary and bay leaves and cook with a lid on for 10-15 minutes until the veg are completely soft.
The garlic is added to the pan and cooked lightly for 3-4 minutes.
Crumble the N’duja into the pan, stir well. Allow the N’duja to render down and release all of its wonderful oil. This might take 4-5 minutes.
Tomato paste can be added next, stirred through and cooked out for 2-3 minutes.
Turn up the heat slightly and allow to heat to come up slightly before adding the white wine, stirring well and leaving the wine to simmer and reduce by around 1/2 when the alcoholic aromas should subside.
Cover the vegetables with the chopped tomatoes and the stock. I use chicken stock if I’m using N’duja and veggie stock if not. You only just want to cover the vegetables, you don’t want too much excess liquid. Without the usual minced beef and pork in the dish the sauce won’t thicken in quite the same way.
Bring the sauce to a simmer and with a lid off, cook for 15-20 minutes until the sauce has reduced, thickened slightly and is unctuously coating the vegetables.
Take the sauce off the heat, leave it to rest for 10 minutes with the lid off before stirring through the balsamic vinegar and the chopped soft herbs before tasting and adjusting the seasoning. You might want to add a spoon of sugar if you think it’s missing a little sweetness.
I always make this the day before serving - the flavours mellow and blend beautifully overnight.
It stores brilliantly for 3-4 days in the fridge or for 3-4 months in your freezer (or as long as your freezer is on if its our house!).
I served this with some homemade pickles, homemade butter and chunks of surplus bread to start the meal!
