British chef Jack Stein's Down Under-inspired recipes

In his new series Born to Cook: Jack Stein Down Under, the British chef travels around Western Australia meeting the people behind the region's incredible food industry. Here, he shares some recipes from the series.

Abalone with yuzu butter

Yuzu is a Japanese citrus similar to a lemon crossed with a mandarin. Widely popular in Asian cooking, the fruit has started to make it's way into Western dishes across the globe. In Australia, it can be hard to come by so can be substituted with a lemon/lime and orange or grapefruit mix.

Cuisine: Seafood
Serves: 2 (entree)
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:
2 abalone
½ cup chives, chopped
3 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 shallot, chopped
3 Tbsp Yuzu juice (or lime juice)
¼ cup crispy shallots
5 edible flowers (nasturtiums)

Method:
Take the unsalted butter, chopped shallots and a pinch of sea salt into a bowl and add 3 tablespoons of yuzu juice. Press and mix together. Spoon onto a piece of clingfilm and seal, rolling into a log. Freeze for a half hour.

Loosen and remove the abalone from its shell. Cover in clingfilm and tenderise with a mallet. Thinly slice, season with salt and sear on a hot grill in unflavoured oil.

Once the abalone starts to caramelise take off the grill, lay on a plate and lay a few slices of the hardened butter on top.

Quickly grill the abalone to melt the butter, and finish with some crispy shallots and some chopped chives.

Truffle Mac and Cheese

Mac and Cheese is a staple of American comfort food, quickly overtaking the globe. This dish will take the ordinary to the extraordinary with the luxurious addition of truffles and umami flavours to give this dish a new lease on life. If truffles aren't in season, finish with a drizzle of truffle oil.

Cuisine: Comfort food/American
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour

Ingredients:
45g butter
3 heaped Tbsp plain flour
4 cloves garlic, peeled and finely sliced
2 bay leaves - dried
1 litre milk
600g dried macaroni
150g Cheddar cheese , freshly grated
100g Parmesan cheese , freshly grated
a few sprigs fresh thyme , leaves picked
2 splashes Worcestershire sauce
5g vegemite
2g soy sauce
Dijon Mustard
Panko breadcrumb
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Shaved truffle

Method:
Pour the milk into a saucepan on a low-medium heat, and drop in a few stalks of thyme, bay leaves and roughly chopped garlic. In a pot of boiled water, cook the macaroni for six minutes, or until al dente.

To make a blond roux, melt butter in a pan and then add an equal-part flour. Mix together over a low heat. Once the flour is cooked out, slowly add the hot milk, which has been infused with the herbs. Continue whisking out the lumps. Add parmesan and cheddar. Melt through. Add in the dark soy, Worcestershire sauce and a teaspoon of Vegemite. Fold through the cooked and drained macaroni. Pour into ovenproof dish. Melt some butter in a pan and fold through breadcrumbs. Layer over the top. Place in an oven for 10-15 minutes or until the breadcrumbs are browned.

Spoon out to serve and shave fresh truffles on top.

Chocolate Pavé with Cherries

A pavé is from the French meaning "cobblestone," referring to the small brick-shaped servings of food.

Cuisine: Dessert
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour
Chilling/freezing time: overnight

Ingredients:

For the pave:
130g unsalted butter (soft)
125g caster sugar
1 shot espresso
120g pasturised egg yolk
50g honey
80g bitter cocoa powder
Pinch salt
225g double cream
70g dark chocolate

For the peanut brittle:
62g Roasted peanuts
4g caster sugar
¼ pinch Salt
23g water
33g caster sugar
½ tsp golden syrup

For the macerated cherries:
12 cherries
30ml vodka
Fructose

Method:
Beat the butter and sugar in food mixer with the paddle attachment until it resembles a breadcrumb. Add in the espresso and honey. Reduce the speed and add cocoa powder and salt. Add egg yolks until smooth and evenly combined and leave to one side.

Lightly whip cream until stiff with soft peaks, and set to one side.

Melt chocolate gently in the microwave for 30 seconds, in 10 second bursts.

Gently fold all chocolate into cream then this mix into butter/sugar mix (mix until evenly combined, do not over work). Set in a 26 cm x 16 cm x 3 cm brownie tray that has been lined with greaseproof paper and set overnight in the fridge.

In a pan over medium heat put together the roasted peanuts, 4 g of sugar and a pinch of salt. Let the sugar melt. In another pot, make an indirect caramel over a high heat. Add together the water, 33 g of caster sugar and the golden syrup. Using an electric thermometer, bring the ingredients up to exactly 140 degrees Celsius and add in the peanuts. Quickly stir through then pour out onto a piece of baking parchment to cool. They should set together like a peanut brittle.

Put the cherries into a small bowl, adding the vodka and fructose (fruit sugar), leaving to macerate for five minutes.

Assemble on a plate and serve.

Note: Make the chocolate pave the night before to refrigerate overnight (or for a minimum of 8 hours).

Born to Cook: Jack Stein Down Under premieres on Food TV on Wednesday January 24, 8.30pm