In Off Duty Chef: Bringing It Home, his new TV series, chef Mark Moriarty is back in his parents’ home in Ventry in Co Kerry. This series will see him explore the coastal and countryside surroundings that have inspired some of his favourite dishes; here, he shares four of the recipes that will feature in the series.
Fish fillet burgers with skinny chips and seaweed seasoning
Ingredients, serves four
400g cleaned monkfish fillet
200g plain flour
2 tbsp onion powder
2 tbsp ground coriander
1 tbsp cracked black pepper
4 burger buns
4 slices American cheese
For the tartar sauce
3 tbsp capers
5 large gherkins, diced
Handful parsley, chopped
Handful dill, chopped
Zest of half a lemon
1 tsp tabasco sauce
1 heaped tbsp mayonnaise
For the skinny chips
5 nori sheets
1 tbsp aromat seasoning
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp ground coriander
200g frozen skinny chips
Method
1. Preheat your oven to 200C before starting with your monkfish. Cut the tail in half lengthways through the middle, before halving it into four flat pieces.
2. Mix the flour, onion powder, ground coriander, black pepper together and season with salt. Dip the monkfish in this until coated and place on a tray in the fridge. Leave for 30 mins until it forms a pasty glaze on the fish.
3. In the meantime, make the tartare sauce. Chop the capers roughly and place in a bowl along with the diced gherkins, parsley and dill. Bind it together with the mayonnaise and season with lemon zest and tabasco. Reserve in the fridge.
4. For the chip seasoning, place the nori sheets in a blender with the aromat, onion powder and coriander powder. Season with salt and blitz to a fine powder. Store in a dry place.
5. Place the skinny chips on a tray at this point and get them in the oven for 20 mins, shaking regularly so they are crispy all over. While they cook, place a non- stick pan on the heat and add a good amount of vegetable oil for shallow frying.
6. Once the oil is just below smoking hot, remove the monkfish from the fridge and re-dust in your flour mix before carefully adding to the pan. Cook for two minutes on both sides until crispy and golden brown, then drain on a paper towel. Remove the chips from the oven and dust in the nori seasoning.
7. To assemble, toast your burger buns and add a spoonful of tartar sauce to each. Place the fried monkfish on top along with the sliced cheese, and serve with the seasoned chips.
Proper tomato penne pasta
Ingredients, serves four
10 high quality, ripe tomatoes (San Marzano)
1 whole head of garlic
8 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp caster sugar
1 tbsp dried chilli flakes
Sea salt
320g penne pasta
80g Parmesan cheese, grated
Handful basil leaves
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 120C, line one large oven tray with tinfoil.
2. To make the sauce, begin by halving your tomatoes and placing flat side up on the lined tray, find space on there for the whole garlic bulb as well.
3. Place the olive oil, tomato paste, sugar, chilli flakes and salt in a bowl and whisk until incorporated, then season heavily with sea salt. Pour this dressing over the tomatoes on both trays. Cook in the oven for four hours until the tomatoes become leathery in texture and reduce in size.
4. Once the tomatoes are like this, place a heavy-based saucepan filled with water on the heat. Season with sea salt and bring to the boil. Drop the penne and cook for 10- 12 mins until just soft.
5. While the pasta is cooking, get your tomatoes into a blender along with all the oil and juices from the tray. Using a serrated knife, carefully remove the base (thicker end) of the garlic bulb, gently squeeze out all the roasted garlic pulp into the blender. Blend to a smooth and thick puree and adjust the seasoning with salt. This will keep for a few days in the fridge and also freezes well.
6. Now to the pasta, once cooked, strain off the water keeping a small amount remaining in the pot, add in your tomato pasta and mix with the pasta water over a medium heat until a smooth sauce coats the pasta.
7. Get your grated Parmesan in at this point and remove the pot from the heat. Mix with a spoon until the cheese melts and coats the pasta. Serve in warm bowls with some basil leaves.
Spatchcock chicken and bulgur wheat
Ingredients, serves four
1 whole chicken (1.5kg)
4 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp each onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, dried rosemary, dried oregano and chilli powder
1 tbsp black mustard seeds
Sea salt
200g bulgur wheat
1 chicken stockpot
1 red onion, peeled and diced
50g feta
80g pitted black olives, sliced
100g cherry tomatoes, halved
Handful fresh mint leaves
1 lemon, zested
4 large potatoes, diced
Method
1. Preheat your oven to 200C.
2. Place the chicken breast side down, with legs towards you. Using a kitchen scissors, cut up along each side of the backbone to remove it, cutting through the ribs as you go. Turn the chicken over and flatten with the heel or palm of your hand to level it out and then place on a rack over an ovenproof tray
3. Place the diced potatoes under the wire rack on the tray
4. Place the oil in a bowl and add the onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, rosemary, oregano,mustard seeds, chilli powder and sea salt and mix well with a spoon. Spoon the mix over the chicken and rub in evenly with your hand.
5. Cook the chicken at 210C for 50 minutes. Remove and allow to rest for 15 minutes before serving.
6. Add 300ml of water to a pot along with the chicken stockpot. Bring to the boil then add the bulgur wheat. Cover the pot with a lid and remove from the heat. Allow to sit for 15 minutes then strain (if needed) and spread onto a large tray to cool and to prevent over cooking.
7. When cooled, add the bulgur wheat to a large bowl with the sliced red onion, crumbled feta, sliced black olives, cherry tomatoes and some ripped mint leaves and mix. Season with sea salt and lemon zest.
8. Spoon the bulgur wheat salad onto a large serving dish, then place the spatchcock chicken on top. Pour some of the juices from the tray over the chicken and garnish with some lemon zest. Serve the roasted potatoes alongside.
Raspberry and vanilla puff tart
Ingredients, serves 8
For the pastry
1 block of ready made puff pastry
1 egg yolk
50g icing sugar
For the filling
250ml milk
250ml cream
2 vanilla pods or 1 tbsp vanilla extract
30g cornflour
5 egg yolks
100g caster sugar
To garnish
200g ripe summer raspberries
Mint leaves
6 tsp raspberry jam
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 200C.
2. Take your puff pastry from the fridge. Roll it on a heavily floured surface until it’s approximately 2cm thick. Cut into a rough circle using your tart case or ring. Line the tart case or ring, leaving some overhanging pastry but with the pas try filled into all edges and corners.
3. Line the pastry case with a sheet of parchment and place a heavy-based saucepan in the middle, leaving a little space around the edges so the pastry can puff inwards. Bake for 30 mins before removing the pot. The pas try should be brown all over. Once the pastry is cooled, use a fine grater to file down the edges and achieve a neat edge.
4. Mix the egg white and icing sugar into a paste and brush the interior and exterior of the pastry with a pastry brush. Return the tart to the oven for eight mins at 200C until it goes dark golden brown and shiny. Remove and allow to sit at room temperature.
5. Now to make the vanilla cream filling, place the milk and cream in a medium saucepan with the scraped vanilla seeds and pod, allow it to simmer.
6. Mix the egg yolks, sugar and cornflour in a separate bowl, scorch with the milk and cream and then return to the medium saucepan. Increase the heat and whisk until the mix thickens and bubbles before placing in the fridge to cool. Once cold, mix lightly with a spatula to create a smooth texture
7. To assemble the tart, cover the base with a thin layer of jam, top with the pastry cream and then the fresh fruit. Garnish with mint leaves and serve chilled.
Off Duty Chef: Bringing It Home with Mark Moriarty airs on RTÉ One on Wednesdays at 8.30pm