Mists and Mellow Fruitfulness

I love Autumn and Spring - both are times of change.  The magic of autumn lies in the cool mornings, the earthy smell of damp ground and a feeling of a time of rest approaching.  (If only that last bit were true!...) So, how best to exploit this mellow time?  Soup making, for a start.  Well, our marrows were a complete non-event this year so I thought I'd pop out and get one.  Not so simple, it turns out.  Demand in Beaminster for marrows has outstripped supply, with orders being placed at the local supplier ahead of any deliveries such that furtive "under the counter" arrangements to bag the elusive local vegetable were being made.  This time I was in luck though, and was able to obtain a couple of smallish specimens, too small for the popular stuffing option - but fine for soup.

Here's the recipe I used:

Marrow Soup

500g marrow
40g butter
1 medium onion
2 carrots
1 smallish potato
1lt chicken stock
Ground ginger
150ml cream
croutons or fried sage leaves to garnish

Peel the marrow, cut along its length and scoop out the seeds (feed them to the chickens).  Roughly chop the flesh.  In a large pan, melt the butter and add the marrow, and the peeled and chopped onion, carrot and potato.  Fry gently for 5 minutes until they soften but don't let them brown.

Add the stock to the pan, with salt and pepper to taste, bring to the boil then put the lid on and simmer for half an hour or until all the vegetables are tender.

Allow to cool a little, then whizz in a blender.  Or, if you like a bit more texture, you can rub it through a course sieve instead.  Return the pureed soup to the pan and heat it through and adjust the seasoning, adding ground ginger to taste.  Gradually add the cream without letting the soup boil.  Serve with crunchy bread croutons or a few flash-fried sage leaves and a swirl of cream.