My modest garden is rewarding me in abundance far beyond its small scale. The courgettes/ zucchini/ marrows, call them what you will, are still delivering, and though I pick most of them at a fairly standard courgette size, I leave a few to grow larger.

One, of a medium size of about 30 cm long, wandered into the kitchen yesterday and announced that it would like to be stuffed and air-fried. Who am I not to oblige?

Having picked it, I gave it a rinse (always rinse marrows no matter their size, they’re always a bit sandy because of how low-slung they are) and sliced it in half lengthways. Then I left it on the countertop to enjoy its last few moments of life while I plotted what to fill it with.

Sausage meat as a filling is an old tradition. Cumberland pork sausage, one of the most popular sausages in Britain, originates in that former county of England, now part of Cumbria, and its chief flavour is pepper. Both black and white pepper are used in its preparation. The other most popular English sausage is Lincolnshire, which is herby rather than peppery.

I used the filling of a standard pack of Cumberland pork sausage as the chief component of this stuffing. Once removed from its casing and weighed, it amounted to 500 g of sausage meat.

(Makes 2 large marrow boats)

Ingredients

3 Tbsp olive oil

1 large white onion, finely chopped

500 g Cumberland pork sausage meat

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 heaped tsp dried oregano

60 ml tomato paste

Salt to taste

Black pepper to taste

1 cup Cheddar cheese for the filling and more to go on top

Breadcrumbs

Olive oil spray

Oregano leaves for garnish

Method

Slice the marrow in half lengthways, then use a dessert spoon to scrape out the soft centre part with its tiny seeds. Discard this.

Now scrape out the actual marrow flesh and chop it up.

Snip the casing at the end of the sausage/s, then cut all the way through from one end to the other. Remove the meat and put it in a container.

Chop the onion and garlic.

Cook the onion and garlic on a gentle heat, stirring now and then, until softened and taking on a bit of golden colour.

Add the sausage meat and work it with a wooden spoon to get rid of any clumps.

Add the marrow flesh, oregano and tomato paste, and cook gently for 10 minutes, checking that it does not catch at the bottom of the pan.

Season with salt and black pepper, and stir in the grated Cheddar cheese.

Spoon the filling into the two “boats”.

Grate more Cheddar cheese over the tops. Sprinkle fine breadcrumbs over.

Finally, spray the base of the air fryer and the tops of both marrow boats with olive oil spray.

Preheat the air fryer at 190℃ for 5 minutes.

Cook the halves at 190℃ for 15 minutes. I used the bake setting. Only one would fit my Instant Vortex Plus 5.7 litre air fryer basket, so I cooked one after the other. 

Then I gave them another 3 minutes at 205℃ on the grill setting.

Garnish with oregano leaves or parsley. I served a simple tomato and feta salad on the side. DM

Tony Jackman is Galliova Food Writer 2023, jointly with TGIFood columnist Anna Trapido.

Follow Tony Jackman on Instagram @tony_jackman_cooks.