Marko's Home Cooking

Beef tenderloin is the king of meat. With its very lean and soft structure and subtle flavour it compliments well with stronger flavours. Though this perfect piece of meat is great even by itself with steak fries. This recipe is a bit different yet not too complicated and promised to thrill every meat lovers senses. Prep time: 10mins Cook time: 20mins Total time: 30mins Serves 4 Ingredients: 4 tenderloin steaks around 3cm thick 2 tsp Dijon mustard 100g bacon 2 medium sized purple onions 0,2dcl balsamic vinegar 0,2dcl red wine 1 tsp sugar Method: Rub the steaks with the mustard and leave to rest for around 30 minutes in the fridge. Slice the purple onion and put it in a food processor. Add a spoon of water and blend the onion. Heat olive oil in a pan and add the blended onions. Simmer until the excess water evaporates, then add the balsamic vinegar, red wine and sugar and continue cooking until it gets the consistency of a jam. While the jam is cooking, slice the bacon into very thin sm...

Filled peppers are a common dish in many cuisines around the world though the preparation styles vary a lot geographically. This recipe is a common way to prepare the dish as it is done in Croatia. Peppers are filled with meat mixture and simmered in tomato sauce. It is important to note that during cooking the dish shouldnt be stirred but the shaken as to not break the peppers. Many people like to eat mashed potatoes as a side with this dish but personally I would recommend pasta. Category: meat dishes, main course Prep time: 30min Cooking time: 1h 30min  Serves 8 Ingredients: 10 medium sized bell peppers (3 hot and 7 sweet) 600g of mixed minced meat (50% pork, 50% beef) 10dkg rice 1 medium onion 500ml tomato puree 500ml water 3 tbs flour Method: Finely dice the onion. Heat up a little sunflower oil in a pan and simmer onion about 5min then add the rice and continue simmering while stirring for another 5min. Add a little water if needed. Remove from heat and let it cool down. O...

Pljeskavica is a complicated dish to make. It has a similar shape to a hamburger and uses minced meat but that's where the similarities end. Pljeskavica contains more fat than a burger and has a different texture. Hot pepper and onion are also a must in every pljeskavica, and the gourmet version adds bacon, cheese and powdered paprika to the mix. The most important part in making this dish is the meat because without proper meat, even if the proper recipe is used the results won't be satisfactory. The ideal meat mix is 60% beef, 30% pork and 10% lard. Pljeskavica is best eaten with baked beans, somun (a type of bun) and young kajmak (sour cream). Prep time: 2 days Cooking time: 20 mins Portions : 2 Ingredients : 400g minced beef chuck 200g minced pork 100g lard 1 onion Fresh hot pepper 1tsp powdered sweet paprika 0,5dcl carbonated water 50g bacon 50g gauda cheese Instructions : In a large bowl squeeze and mix meat well using your hands, add salt to taste, cover with plastic wra...

There are two main types of baked beans in south east Europe, the Macedonian "Gravče na tavče" and "prebranac". The main difference is in the type of bean being used. Large white type of kidney bean called Tetovac is used in "gravče na tavče" while brown kidney bean type is used in prebranac. During the season when fresh tomato and paprika are available they will give even better taste to the dish. During winter the dish is usually made without vegatbles. Bacon can be used but it is not necessary since this dish is primarily eaten as an accompaniment to meat (grill, roasted or cooked). You can decide by yourself to use bacon or leave it out. Personally I prefer to use bacon because when roasted in the beans it adds a special flavour to the dish.  The best way to prepare this dish is in a earthen pot. Category: side dish, baked dish Prep time : 10min Cooking time: 30min Portions : 4 Ingredients: 800g canned large white kidney beans 2 tbsp of tomato puree 1 ...