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COLUMN: Ilse Cooks the Books (Baby Marrow and Feta Salad with Mint)

───   11:34 Fri, 17 Nov 2017

COLUMN: Ilse Cooks the Books (Baby Marrow and Feta Salad with Mint) | News Article

Summer… it’s a time of sunshine, braai fires, cool drinks in the shade and… baby marrows.


Baby marrows, otherwise known as zucchini, is a summer vegetable. They are plentiful and cheap in summer, which makes them a star ingredient in many dishes. 

By the way, botanically baby marrows are fruits (so says Wikipedia, and who am I to disagree?).  Made me think of the old joke: What is the difference between knowledge and wisdom? Knowledge is knowing that baby marrow is a fruit.  Wisdom is knowing not to put it into a fruit salad.

I love baby marrow, but making them interesting and fun in summer, might be a bit of a challenge.  If you’re a banting enthusiast, you will already be familiar with baby marrow noodles, which can be used as a substitute for normal pasta.  However, you can’t really serve baby marrow pasta as a side dish when you’re having friends over for a braai, can you?!

Don’t worry, I have the solution.

MARIANA’S COUNTRY KITCHEN – BABY MARROW AND FETA SALAD WITH MINT

Fortunately, Mariana Esterhuizen will come to your rescue this summer.  This wonderful cook and gardener runs Mariana’s Deli and Bistro in Stanford, in the Western Cape. Readers of Taste magazine will know her from the column she has been writing for the past ten years. That is how I got to know about her and I really fell in love with the food she cooks.

Her recipe book, Mariana’s Country Kitchen, is a wonderful story about her life on Stanford and how the food she cooks changes through the seasons. She champions local produce and local producers and that is something I also think is extremely important. 

But let’s get back to your star baby marrow salad for summer. You could make this all summer long and your friends would love you for it.  Trust me, I’ve made it a couple of times myself and it’s always a winner!

BABY MARROW AND FETA SALAD WITH MINT

125ml lemon-infused olive oil (I just used a mixture of good olive oil and lemon to taste)

2 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped

2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

350g baby marrows

120g shelled peas

80g shelled broad beans (these are sometimes hard to find.  I used shelled edamame beans, which I bought from the freezer section at Woolworths)

100g goat’s milk feta, cubed (or just use normal feta if you’re not a fan of goat’s milk)

1 medium red onion, sliced

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Pour the olive oil into a blender, add the mint and parsley and blend at high speed. Set aside while you prepare the salad.

Rinse the baby marrows, trim the stem ends and leave them whole. Bring a medium-sized saucepan of water to the boil, add salt and boil the baby marrows gently until just tender (I prefer mine with still a bit of bite.) Leave the marrows in a colander to drain.

Just before you are ready to serve, blanch the peas and broad beans until they are bright green and drain. Cut the drained baby marrows diagonally and place them on a serving platter.  Add the peas and broad beans, and scatter the cubed cheese and sliced onion over the vegetables. 

Pour the herb dressing over the salad, adjust the seasoning if necessary and serve at room temperature.

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