Spicy Marrow Soup

A rather unusual and incongruous vegetable to make into soup is the marrow, but try this recipe for Spicy Marrow Soup and even confirmed marrow haters (and we have a couple in our family!) will be converted.

The smoked paprika makes a huge contribution to the taste and is available in major supermarkets
— use it if you can rather than regular paprika.

The pungent taste of Thai mint goes really well with the spiciness.
Regular mint can of course be substituted if you need to.

Spicy Marrow Soup
  • 25g butter
  • 2 tbsp oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1½ tbsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tbsp tomato puree
  • 1 good sized marrow, peeled and deseeded
  • 600 ml chicken or vegetable stock
  • 440 ml coconut milk or
  • 3cm slice creamed coconut dissolved in 400ml water
  • salt and black pepper to taste
  • 4 tbsp Thai mint leaves — shredded

Method:

  • Melt the butter with the oil in a large saucepan and sauté the onion and garlic over a low heat until very soft but not brown.
  • Meanwhile prepare the marrow and cut into 1 – 2 cm cubes.
  • When the onion is completely soft add the smoked paprika and the tomato puree.
  • Cook for a further 2 minutes being careful that the contents of the pan do not stick.
  • Add the marrow and the stock and simmer the soup for 20 minutes until the marrow cubes are very tender. You can at this point add a couple of small peeled and cubed potatoes if you would like a thicker soup.
  • Once the soup has cooled a little, blitz until smooth either in a liquidizer or with a stick blender.
  • Add the coconut milk and the shredded herbs and season to taste.
  • Reheat gently and sprinkle each bowl with a few shredded mint leaves and a little more smoked paprika.
  • Serve with warm bread.