Roasted Bone Marrow with Parsley Salad

If you’ve yet to experience the fatty goodness of bone marrow, this recipe is a great introduction. The bones are basically roasted and then the marrow is scooped out and spread on toasted bread and topped with a layer of parsley and shallots which adds refreshing acidity to the decadence of the marrow. I’ve seen the dish in a few places, like Prune and Landmarc, though I’ve heard its origins are at St. John’s Restaurant in London, owned by Fergus Henderson and also in his book called “Beyond Nose to Tail” , which was featured on UKTV. It calls for veal marrow bones but I used beef and it was delicious.

Ingredients:

12 x 7-8cm pieces of middle veal marrowbone (or beef)
1 bunch of flat-leaf parsley, picked from the stems and chopped
2 shallots, very thinly sliced
1 modest handful of capers, (extra-fine if possible)
juice of 1 lemon
6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
freshly ground salt and black pepper
toast, to serve (slice a baguette and drizzle a bit of olive oil on top, then toast in the oven for 15 minutes)
coarse sea salt

Preheat the oven to 375F

Place the bone marrow in an oven-proof frying pan or baking sheet. Roast the marrow for 20 minutes until the marrow is loose and giving, but not melting away.

Mix together the parsley, shallots and capers. Make the dressing by mixing together the lemon juice and olive oil. Just before serving toss the parsley mixture with the dressing and season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Scrape the marrow from the bone onto the toast and season with coarse sea salt. Serve with a pinch of parsley salad on top.

Serves 4 (depending on how much you love marrow)