1. Cachaça Grilled Chicken
If we manage to get any barbecue weather over the Summer, this is a super simple dish to stick on the coals. Cachaça is a Brasilian sugar cane spirit, and using it as a marinade gives the chicken a wonderful sticky sweetness. Serve it with some rice and black beans to complete the Brasilian experience.
How to make it:
500g boneless, skinless chicken thighs
3 garlic cloves, finely crushed
½ tsp dried or fresh chopped oregano
4 tbsp cachaça
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp sea salt
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
few sprigs flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
lime wedges, to serve
Open out the chicken thighs and place them on a chopping board. Cover them with clingfilm and lightly bash them with a meat mallet or rolling pin until the meat is of even thickness. Place in a shallow dish and add the garlic, oregano, cachaça, olive oil, salt and pepper. Use your hands to toss and coat the chicken, working the marinade into the flesh. Cover with clingfilm and chill for at least 4 hours.
Remove the chicken from the fridge half an hour before you start cooking and let it come to room temperature. Light the barbecue and let the flames die down before starting to cook. If cooking indoors, heat a griddle pan until hot. If you like, thread the chicken on to metal skewers, which will make it easier to turn them on the barbecue. Cook on the griddle or barbecue for 2–3 minutes on each side, until just cooked through – the chicken should feel firm when lightly pressed. Leave to rest for 5 minutes before serving with a sprinkling of chopped parsley and the lime wedges on the side. Serves 4.
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Martin Poole
2. Feijoada
For a heartier meal, no Brasilian game is complete without Feijoada, the black bean stew which is Brasil’s National Dish. The recipe typically calls for a variety of meat cuts, but for any veggies in the house, try replacing the meat with a variety of vegetables (squash, sweet potato and aubergine work well) for a “vegoada” – we’ve started serving this at Cabana and it’s been very popoular!
How to make it:
1½ tbsp olive oil
3 chorizo sausages, sliced
1 onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tbsp tomato purée
1 x 400g tin black turtle beans, drained
1 tbsp vegetable or chicken bouillon powder (or 1 stock cube)
a few sprigs thyme
225g Pulled Pork (page XXX)
1 tbsp Spicy Malagueta Marinade (page XXX)
small handful flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Heat the oil in a large pan and add the chorizo. Fry for 2 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Add the onion, celery, carrot and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, over a medium heat for 4–6 minutes, until softened. Stir in the tomato purée and season with salt and pepper. Fry for another 2 minutes, until the vegetables begin to colour.
Add the black beans and stir well. Add the stock powder and thyme leaves and stir again. If you find it a little too thick, add a splash of water – just enough to cover the ingredients. Part-cover the pan and simmer gently for 10–15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until all the ingredients are soft.
Add the Pulled Pork to the pan. Stir well, then taste and adjust the seasoning. Once the pork has heated through, stir in the chopped parsley and ladle into warmed bowls. Serve with Biro-Biro Rice, Toasted Farofa, orange wedges and potato matchsticks.
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Martin Poole
3. Avocado Ice Cream
In Brasil, avocado is eaten with sweet things rather than savoury, and is popular in mousses and ice creams. The avocado gives a velvety texture to the ice cream and tastes delicious with a squeeze of lime. It’s sure to be a talking point amongst friends, and trust us, it tastes great too!
How to make it:
250g caster sugar
zest and juice of 2 lemons
zest and juice of 2 limes
200ml double cream
600ml whole milk
4 large ripe avocados
pinch fine sea salt
Put the sugar and lemon and lime zest and juice in a heavy-based saucepan. Slowly bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Once the sugar has melted, add the cream and stir well. Gradually bring to the boil. As soon as it starts to bubble up, remove the pan from the heat and pour in the milk. Halve the avocados, then remove the stones, scoop out the flesh and place in a food processor or blender. Pour in the milk and cream mixture and blitz until smooth, scraping the sides to make sure there are no chunks of avocado left.
Pour the mixture into the bowl of an ice-cream machine and churn until almost set (or according to the manufacturer’s instructions). Transfer to a plastic container and freeze for at least a few hours to set. (If you do not have an ice-cream maker, freeze the mixture in a shallow plastic container. Take it out after a couple of hours and whisk with a hand or electric whisk. Repeat the process twice, then return the ice cream to the freezer for a final freeze.)
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Martin Poole
The Cabana Cookbook (May 2014) is published by www.quadrille.co.uk
