A spicy tomato-based take on an Italian classic. Arrabbiata sauce with marrow is hot, spicy and it tastes soooooo good! Mix it with pasta for homemade penne all’arrabbiata; add it to soups, stews and casseroles for extra flavour; use it to spice up your bolognese, or just serve it as a dip with plenty of crusty bread. This is the sauce that you NEED in your life!
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Hubby brought home the biggest marrow I have ever seen last week. I weighed it. It weighed 8 pounds 10 ounces (or 3.9kg), the size of a small baby. I showed a lot of enthusiasm and uttered many oohs and aahs of amazement. He took himself off, happy in the knowledge that I had shown a suitable amount of appreciation, leaving me with the problem of finding something to do with it.
I’m not really a lover of marrow served plain as a side vegetable – I find it a bit bland and watery. It has a spongy texture and soaks up other flavours like a sponge. It needs something with a bit of oomph. Plus, the marrow was so big, and as there are only two of us at home we’d have been eating it for the next 6 months!
However, I didn’t want to get rid of it – marrows contain lots of fibre and essential nutrients like iron, potassium and magnesium. They’re also high in fibre, but low in fat and carbohydrates, and contain a wide range of vitamins.
After much deliberation, I decided to make a version of a spicy arrabbiata sauce, that I could freeze and use in a variety of dishes. Traditional arrabbiata sauce is made with tomatoes, onions, spices and lots of chilli and is the perfect way to spice up a marrow.
I used a quarter of the marrow and made the sauce. It turned out so well! It had just the right amount of heat for my liking (you can adjust the chilli to suit your own taste), with plenty of herbs and a delicious tomato flavour. I tested it by dipping a piece of crusty bread in it – before I could stop myself, I’d eaten a whole slice! It’s the best sauce I’ve ever made (apart from my honey mustard sauce of course).
In fact, my marrow arrabbiata sauce turned out so well that I thought I’d use up the rest of the marrow in the same way (once I’d stocked up on tomatoes and onions). But hubby had other ideas. He’d been chatting to one of his friends down the street and told him about the huge marrow. His friend said he’d love to try it, and so the remainder of the marrow went to a new home! Never mind, I’m sure there’ll be more next year, and in the meantime, I’ve got 5 tubs of it in my freezer.
If you’d like to try this arrabbiata sauce with marrow for yourself, here’s how to do it.
What you will need
**Get the complete list of ingredients and full instructions for making this arrabbiata sauce with marrow on the printable recipe card at the end of this post**
Marrow – I’ve included a picture of the marrow so you can see how big it was! For this recipe, I used 2 pounds (900 grams). The skin of a large marrow is thick and inedible so you will have to peel it off. You should also remove the inner seeds. The easiest way to do this is to cut the marrow in half and then in half again. That way you will have large pieces that are easy to handle. Use a tablespoon to remove the seeds – they come out easily – and then use a potato peeler or sharp knife to remove the skin. Cut the marrow into approximately 2 cm pieces (approx half an inch).
Tomatoes – I use a food processor to blitz the tomatoes to a pulp, this way there is no need to remove the skins. If you don’t have a food processor, just rub the tomatoes on a hand-grater and discard any pieces of skin that don’t get grated.
Onions – The onions also go into the food processor and get processed until they are about the size of grains of rice. If you don’t have a food processor then just chop the onions very finely using a sharp knife.
Garlic – I use 1 garlic clove for each onion. You can chop the garlic with the onions in the food processor or put it through a garlic press. If you prefer, you can use ready chopped garlic from a jar. One teaspoon of ready-chopped garlic should be the equivalent of one clove of fresh garlic but use your own judgement.
Passata – this is tomatoes that have been blended after having the skins and pips removed, and I like to use this in tomato-based sauces instead of stock or water. It is available in bottles and cartons in all the UK supermarkets. Here is a link to passata on Amazon in case you are unsure as to what this is.
Dried oregano – this adds a lovely herby flavour. You can substitute this with dried mixed herbs.
Dried chilli flakes – this is where the heat in the arrabbiata sauce comes from. For this recipe, I used 2 teaspoons of chilli, which was about right for my taste. If you want it hotter or milder, just adjust the chilli flakes accordingly. If you prefer you can substitute this with freshly chopped chillis to your own taste.
Fresh basil – I like to chop this and add it once the sauce is cooked.
How to make arrabbiata sauce with marrows
- Fry the onions with the garlic, oregano and chilli flakes in olive oil until the onions start to turn translucent (1). Don’t rush this step. Do it over a low heat and give the onions time to turn transparent. Don’t let then turn brown.
- Add the blended tomatoes and the passata and bring to the boil (2). Turn down the heat and let them simmer for minute or two then add the cubed zucchini (3). Stir well so that the zucchini is nicely submerged in the tomato sauce then cover with a lid and leave to simmer on a low heat for 30 minutes (4).
- You don’t need any additional water, the marrow contains plenty of water, and that coupled with the blended tomatoes and the passata should be sufficient for this stage of the cooking process.
- After 30 minutes, remove the lid and stir the sauce. This is where you should taste for seasoning and add more chilli or oregano if you think it needs it. It is at this point that I add about a quarter to a half a cup of water to thin the sauce down slightly.
- Replace the lid and allow to simmer for another 30 minutes (1). The marrow should now be completely broken down and absorbed into the sauce.
- If you would like to make the sauce even smoother, you can blend it with a stick blender or whizz it around in the blender attachment of your food processor.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the chopped basil. (2).
Allow to cool and ladle meal-sized portions into plastic freezer containers or Ziploc bags and freeze. I managed to get 5 containers weighing about 250 grams (8 ounces) each.
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Ways to use arrabbiata sauce
There are so many uses for the versatile arrabbiata sauce with marrow:
- Just mix a defrosted portion of arrabbiata sauce with plain boiled penne for instant penne all’arrabbiata.
- Fry prawns (or shrimp) in garlic butter until they turn pink. Mix in a defrosted portion of your homemade arrabbiata sauce and serve over cooked linguine for quick and easy linguine prawn arrabbiata. (I tried this the day I made the sauce – it was yummy).
- Add spice to your bolognese by frying mince (or ground beef) in a little olive oil until browned and crumbly. Add a portion of this sauce, simmer for 10 minutes to let the beef flavours mingle with the flavours of the sauce and serve over spaghetti.
- Spread some of the sauce liberally onto a shop-bought pizza base and top with your favourite toppings before putting in the oven for 15 minutes.
- Use it as a dip – I think it would go perfectly with these sesame chicken strips.
These are just a few ideas to get you started. How would you serve this arrabbiata sauce? Let me know in the comments below.
Questions
Pack the cooled sauce into suitable-sized freezer containers and you can freeze it for up to 6 months. To use, let it defrost in the refrigerator, or if you are in a hurry you can defrost it in the refrigerator.
The sauce can be stored safely in the refrigerator in a covered container for up to 4 days.
Arrabbiata means ‘angry’ in Italian which is appropriate considering the spicy nature of this dish.
A marrow is simply a courgette that has been left on the plant to grow larger. All marrows start out their life as either baby marrows, courgettes or zucchini (what you call them will depend on where in the world you live).
Picked small, the skin and seeds of courgettes are tender and edible. However, once a courgette has matured into a marrow, the skin becomes tough and inedible and the seeds are no longer sweet and tender. Both the skin and seeds of a marrow should be removed before cooking.
The exception to this is when you are stuffing a marrow, in which case you can cook it with the skin on.
Actually, there’s not much difference. Both are made with tomatoes and onions, but while marinara sauce has a sweet, mild taste, arrabbiata sauce is hot and firey due to the addition of chillies.
No, you actually can’t taste the marrow at all in this sauce. The marrow breaks down while the arrabbiata sauce is cooking, and takes on the flavours of the tomatoes and onions. It tastes like a spicy tomato sauce.
Pin for later
If you would like to try this spicy arrabbiata sauce with marrow for yourself, why not pin the recipe to one of your Pinterest boards so you can find it easily. Just click the image below.
Other recipes you may enjoy
Here are some other ways of using courgettes or marrows that you may like to try:
- Baby marrows with tomato and onion
- Zucchini and goat cheese tarts
- Cheesy zucchini bake with cream crackers
- Zucchini and pistachio cake with cream cheese frosting
The recipe
Arrabbiata sauce with marrow
(Click the stars to rate this recipe)
Ingredients
- 2 pounds / 900 grams marrow skin and pips removed and then cubed
- 4 medium tomatoes pulsed in a food processer or grated on a box grater
- 3 medium onions pulsed in a food processer or very finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced (or use an equivalent amount of minced garlic from a jar)
- 2 cups / 480 ml tomato passata
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons dried chilli flakes or to your own taste
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large frying pan or saucepan. Fry the onions gently with the garlic, oregano and chilli flakes until the onions start to turn translucent. Take your time and don't allow the onions to turn brown. Stir often. This will take about 4 minutes.3 medium onions, 2 teaspoons dried oregano, 2 teaspoons dried chilli flakes, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 3 cloves garlic
- Add the grated tomatoes along with the passata, and bring to the boil.4 medium tomatoes, 2 cups / 480 ml tomato passata
- Turn down the heat and add the cubed marrow. Stir well so that the zucchini is nicely submerged in the tomato sauce then cover with a lid and leave to simmer on a low heat for 30 minutes2 pounds / 900 grams marrow
- After 30 minutes, remove the lid and stir the sauce. Taste for seasoning and add salt and black pepper to taste. Add extra chilli and oregano at this point if you think it needs it. Add ¼ cup watersalt and pepper
- Replace the lid and continue to simmer for another 30 minutes until the marrow has completely broken down.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the chopped basil.2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil
Notes
- Mix with boiled penne for instant penne all’arribbiata.
- Fry prawns (or shrimp) in garlic butter until they turn pink. Mix in a defrosted portion of your homemade arrabbiata sauce and serve over cooked linguine for quick and easy linguine prawn arrabbiata.
- Add spice to your bolognese by frying mince (or ground beef) in a little olive oil until browned and crumbly. Add a portion of this sauce, simmer for 10 minutes to let the beef flavours mingle with the flavours of the sauce and serve over spaghetti.
- Spread some of the sauce liberally onto a shop-bought pizza base and top with your favourite toppings before putting in the oven for 15 minutes.
- Use it as a dip.
Nutrition
I am not a nutritionist. The nutrition information has been calculated using an on-line calculator, and is intended for information and guidance purposes only. If the nutrition information is important to you, you should consider calculating it yourself, using your preferred tool.
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