mark's recipes

I like experimenting with food. Send me an ingredient and I'll try and come up with a recipe for you.

[marksrecipes]

Homemade Chocolate Spread

Ingredients:

2 cups roasted organic hazelnuts

⅓ cup organic raw honey

4 tbsp organic, fair trade cocoa powder

6 tbsp of water (amount will vary)

Method:

In a food processor, combine the nuts with the honey and cocoa powder.

Pulse until it starts to form a paste, and then run the food processor continually to puree the mixture.

Add water, a tablespoon at a time, until the mixture reaches a spreadable consistency. You may need to run the food processor for quite a while.

Store the finished product in a pint jar in the fridge.

[marksrecipes]

Black Garlic Mustard

Ingredients:

8 tbsp mustard powder

16 tbsp cold water

8 tbsp white vinegar

1 tsp salt

2 tsp paprika

2 tsp garlic powder

1 clove black garlic

Method:

Finely chop the black garlic clove

Mix the water, vinegar, mustard, paprika, salt, garlic powder and chopped black garlic in a double boiler

Bring the double boiler to the boil, then reduce to a simmer

Whisk the mixture until thoroughly combined

Stir occasionally until thickened

Serve with burgers or sausages

Should keep for 3 months refrigerated

[marksrecipes]

Gyūdon

Ingredients:

200g sirloin

1 onion

1 carrot

1 clove of garlic, finely chopped

190ml beef broth

2 ½ tblsp soy sauce

1 ½ tblsp mirin

2 tblsp sugar

Method:

Put the beef in the freezer and allow to part freeze

Thinly slice the beef (around 2-5mm thick slices are best)

Mix all the liquid ingredients in a bowl as well as the garlic and sugar and marinade the beef for an hour

Chop the onion and carrot into batons

Drain the beef, keeping the liquid

In a pan, bring the liquid to the boil and reduce to a low simemr

Add the carrot and onion and simmer for 5 minutes

Bring back to the boil and quickly add the beef and stir for about a minute - the beef should just be cooked

Serve with steamed rice

[marksrecipes]

Curry Ketchup

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon curry powder

1 teaspoon mustard powder

1/2 teaspoon smokey paprika

big pinch ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 tin chopped tomatoes with juice

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

Method:

Place oil in a medium saucepan, over medium heat.

Saute onions until they are transparent, tender, and begin to brown, about 6 to 8 minutes.

Add the garlic and cook for about 1 minute more. Add the tomato paste, salt, and all of the spices to the pan.

Stir until the tomato paste is evenly distributed, and the spices are fragrant, about 1 minute.

Add brown sugar, vinegar, and crushed tomatoes.

Stir to combine.

Let mixture simmer over low heat for about 45 minutes. Mixture will thicken to a ketchup consistency. Stir occasionally.

Remove pan from heat, and use a blender to blend to the chunky ketchup smooth.

After using the blender, strain ketchup through a fine mesh strainer into a clean bowl. This will remove any unwanted seeds.

Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary. Store ketchup in glass jars in the fridge. Ketchup will last for up to 1 month in the fridge!

[marksrecipes]

Miso Soup

Ingredients:

White and dark miso paste

500ml fish stock

Mirin

Udon noodles

Spring onions

Silken tofu

Sliced bamboo shoots

Method:

In a pan, bring the fish stock to a gentle boil and reduce to barely simmering. Add the noodles and let cook for 2 minutes.

Add 1 tablespoon of dark and 1 of white miso paste.

Add 1 table spoon of mirin and stir well until everything has combined.

Chop spring onions and silken tofu and add to soup.

Add bamboo shoots and leave for a minute to warm through.

[marksrecipes]

Baked French Toast Cubes with Sausage

Ingredients:

2 sausages

3 thick slices of day old bread

2 eggs

½ cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ teaspoon cinnamon

Method:

Mix the milk, eggs, vanilla and cinnamon.

Cut the bread into cubes and lay out in a lipped tray.

Pour the egg/milk mix over the bread and let the bread soak up the moisture. Place in the fridge.

Brown the sausage in a pan/under the grill and set aside to cool.

Cut the sausage into small pieces and sprinkle over the top of the bread in the centre of the tray.

Place the outside pieces of bread on the top of the sausage, so you have a bread / sausage / bread layer.

Bake at 200°C until golden brown.

Drizzle with maple syrup and serve.

[marksrecipes]

Roast Potato Stacks

Ingredients:

1 large potato

Olive oil

Paprika

Method:

Using a cookie cutter, cut a core out of the potato and slice into thin strips.

Thread each strip onto a wooden/metal skewer and leave a small gap between each slice.

Brush with a mix of olive oil and paprika.

Bake at 200°C for 40 minutes, turning occasionally and brush with more oil and paprika.

Thread a sprig of rosemary through the strips and serve.

[marksrecipes]

Flatbread

Ingredients:

200g flour

¼ teaspoon salt

100ml warm water

2 tablespoons olive oil

Method:

Mix the flour and salt and gradually pour in the water, mixing as you add.

Add the oil to the dough and knead for 5 minutes.

If the dough is too sticky, add more flour, if it's too dry, add more water.

Let the dough rest for half an hour.

Cut into 4 balls and roll out on a lightly floured surface until round.

In a frying pan, rub some oiled kitchen roll to lightly grease the pan and heat.

Add the flatbread and cook over medium/high for 1-2 minutes, turn and cook for 30 seconds - 1 minute and set aside.

[marksrecipes]

Matcha Latte

Ingredients:

½ teaspoon matcha

Water

Milk

Honey or other sweetener

Method:

Put the matcha in a mug and add about 1 inch of hot water. Whisk until smooth.

Heat the milk until just before it boils and whisk until it develops a stable foam.

Pour the milk over the matcha and top with foam.

Add sweetener if required (honey/sugar/other sweetener).

[marksrecipes]

Coconut Matcha Chocolate Bars

Ingredients:

1 can (397g) condensed milk

200g desiccated coconut

200g dark chocolate (70% cocoa)

2 tablespoons matcha powder

Method:

In a large bowl, stir the coconut and matcha together until a uniform green colour.

Pour the condensed milk into the mix and stir well to combine.

Take out a large tablespoon of mix and form it by hand into a bar shape.

Lay out on a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper.

Place in freezer for about half an hour.

Melt the chocolate over a double boiler.

Once melted, leave to cool for a few minutes until it begins to thicken up.

Take the bars out of the freezer and carefully cover them in chocolate.

Put on a wire rack over a sheet of greaseproof paper to catch drips.

Once the chocolate is almost set, dust with matcha and place in the fridge to finish setting.

[marksrecipes]

Hummus with Pitta Chips

Ingredients:

5 pitta breads

Olive oil

400g Chickpeas

2 garlic cloves

1 lemon (juiced)

Method:

Rinse the chickpeas well and put into a blender with the chopped garlic, lemon juice and 3 tbsp of water. Blend until it forms a paste.

Add a bit more water if needed to make a smooth paste.

Heat oven to 180°C.

Slice each pitta in half so it separates into two thin pieces of bread, then cut into strips or wedges.

Lightly grease a shallow baking tray or sheet and arrange the pitta slices on top.

Cook in the oven for 10 mins until crisp, then leave to cool.

[marksrecipes]

Asian-Style Sticky Spare Ribs

Ingredients:

1kg Rack of ribs

Oyster Sauce

Honey

4 garlic cloves

1 star anise

Chilli flakes

Salt

Method:

Mix 6 tbsp honey and 3 tbsp oyster sauce in a bowl. Chop the garlic and add with the star anise, a pinch of chilli flakes and a pinch of salt. Mix well.

Coat the ribs in the sauce and leave for at least 2 hours to marinade.

Heat the oven to 160° and put the ribs on a baking tray for 90 minutes. Turn occasionally and brush more sauce over them.

Turn the heat up to 200° for 15 minutes, keeping an eye on them as they can burn.

Cut into individual ribs and serve with whatever sides you want.

[marksrecipes]

Corned Beef Hash

Ingredients:

2 medium large potatoes

1 large tin of corned beef

1 medium onion

Beef stock

Medium curry powder (optional)

HP Sauce (optional)

Method: 

Dice the potatoes and the corned beef.

Finely chop the onion.

Add a 1.5 pints of beef stock to a large pan.

Add the onion, beef and potatoes to the stock.

Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes - half an hour until slightly reduced and the potatoes are very soft.

Serve with fresh crusty bread.

Optional extras: add a tablespoon of medium curry powder to the stock and 2 tablespoon of HP sauce to give the hash a nice spicy kick.

[marksrecipes]

Cold Brewed Tea

Ingredients:

Loose leaf tea (black, green, oolong, puerh, herbal)

Filtered water

Method:

Add 2-3 teaspoons of loose-leaf tea to a medium/large glass jug/jar.

Pour 1 litre of filtered water over the leaves.

Place in the fridge for 6-12 hours.

White teas will brew the quickest, followed by green teas and twisted/flat oolongs, allow the most time for oolongs, puerhs, herbal infusions and black teas.

Cold brewing a high-quality sencha tea can really raise this amazing tea to another level.

As with cold brewed coffee, cold water extracts a different chemical balance from the tea than hot water. This means there are fewer catechins and less caffeine. In terms of flavour, a reduction in catechins and caffeine reduces the bitterness of tea.

If required, sweeten with raw cane sugar, although cold brewing tea brings out more natural sweetness, so it may not be necessary.

[marksrecipes]

Mexican Style Adobo Paste

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons black pepper

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons ground Chipotle peppers

1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic

1 teaspoon finely chopped onion

2 teaspoons dried oregano, crumbled

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder

Olive oil

Method:

In a small bowl, mix together thoroughly the black pepper, salt, Chipolte, garlic, onion, oregano, cumin and cocoa powder.

Add olive oil to form a paste

Store paste in an air-tight container in a cool, dark cupboard. It will last for serveral months.

[marksrecipes]

Matcha Lemonade

Ingredients:

1 cup hot water

2 cups white sugar

2 cups fresh lemon juice

1 ½ tablespoon matcha

3 ½ cups sparkling water

Method:

Pour sugar and hot water into a large mixing bowl and stir together until sugar dissolves.

Stir in lemon juice and matcha.

Pour mixture into the well of a blender and blend until lemonade is smooth.

Transfer lemonade into a large jug and stir in sparkling water.

Allow mixture to sit for 5 minutes.

Stir gently again and serve.

[marksrecipes]

Fresh Egg Pasta

Ingredients:

1 ⅔ cups Italian "00" flour (or half Italian "00" flour and half Farina di Semola)

2 medium or large eggs

1 tablespoon olive oil

A pinch of sea salt

Method:

Sift the flour onto a clean work surface and make a well in the centre with your fist.

Break the eggs into the well and add the oil and a pinch of salt to the well.

Gradually mix the egg mixture into the flour using the fingers of one hand, bringing the ingredients together into a firm dough. If the dough feels too dry, add a few drops of water; if it's too wet, add a little more flour.

Knead the pasta until smooth for about 2 - 5 minutes. Lightly massage it with a hint of olive oil, put the dough in a plastic food bag, and allow it to rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. The pasta will be much more elastic after resting.

Feed the blob of pasta dough through the widest setting of a pasta machine. As the sheet of dough comes out of the machine, fold it into thirds and then feed it through the rollers again, still on the widest setting. Pass the dough through this setting a total of 4 or 5 times. This effectively kneads the dough, ensuring the resulting pasta is silky smooth.

Pass the pasta through the machine again, starting at the widest setting and gradually reducing the settings, one pass at a time, until the pasta achieves the required thickness. The pasta sheet will become very long; if you are having trouble keeping the dough from folding onto itself or are making ravioli, cut the sheet of dough in half and feed each half through separately. Generally the second-from-last setting is best for tagliatelle and the last setting is best for ravioli and any other shapes that are to be filled.

After the pasta has reached the requisite thickness, hang it over a broom handle or the back of a chair to dry a little; this will make cutting it easier in humid weather, as it will not be so sticky. Or, if you're in a hurry, you can dust the pasta with a little flour and place it on clean kitchen towels and let it rest.

Shape the pasta by hand or pass the pasta through the chosen cutters (tagliatelle, etc.) and then drape the cut pasta over the broom handle or chair back again to dry a little, until ready to cook.