Grilled Prawns & Crushed Avocado Toast

This recipe makes a delicious starter for a dinner party or a show-stopping snack that really shows off the tropical flavours and vibrant colours of Brazil. Nearly all the preparation can be done a day in advance which will leave you more time to spend with your guests.

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Serves 2

INGREDIENTS

• 6 large tiger prawns, shells and heads on

• 3 cloves of garlic, crushed

• 1 red chilli, halved lengthways, deseeded and thinly sliced

• Olive oil

• Salt and black pepper

For the stock

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• Prawn shells

• 1 small onion, chopped

• Thumb-sized piece fresh ginger, sliced

• 200ml coconut milk

• 200ml chicken stock

• Light soy sauce

• Fish sauce

For the salsa

• Half a ripe mango, cut into ½cm dice

• Half a red onion, finely chopped

• 1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped

• 1 red chilli, finely chopped

• Juice and zest of half a lime

• 2 tablespoons olive oil.

For the crushed avocado

• 1 ripe avocado

• 1 tablespoon soured cream

• 1 tablespoon fresh coriander, chopped

• Juice and zest of half a lime

• 2 slices of sourdough bread cut from a small oval loaf

 

METHOD

To prepare the prawns

Remove the shells and devein the prawns, keeping the heads on. Keep the shells to use in the stock.

Put the prawns, garlic, chilli and olive oil into a bowl, cover and marinate in the refrigerator until needed.

To make the stock

Heat the olive oil in the casserole on a low to medium heat, add the prawn shells, onion and ginger then fry gently for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add the coconut milk and chicken stock, bring to the boil and reduce by half, season with half a teaspoon of soy sauce, teaspoon of fish sauce and salt and black pepper.

Strain the stock into a container and discard the shells and vegetables.

Allow to chill and refrigerate until needed.

To make the salsa

In a bowl mix the mango, red onion, basil, chilli, lime juice and zest, 2 tablespoons of olive oil and season with salt and black pepper. Cover and refrigerate until needed.

To prepare the crushed avocado

Cut the avocado in half, remove the stone and then the flesh. Roughly chop the flesh, put in a bowl along with the soured cream, coriander and juice and zest of half a lime. Season with salt and pepper.

Place a layer of cling-film directly onto the avocado mixture, this will prevent the avocado from turning brown, and refrigerate until needed.

To cook and assemble

Remove all items from the fridge, gently heat the stock in a small saucepan.

Heat the grill on a medium heat setting; meanwhile brush the sourdough slices with a little olive oil. Test the temperature of the pan – see Cook’s notes - and when hot enough place the bread onto the grill and toast on both sides. Remove and spread one side of each slice with crushed avocado and place on a stoneware serving platter until needed.

Test the temperature of the grill again with a little water and, if hot enough, add the prawns and cook for 3 minutes on each side. For the final 30 seconds, turn down the heat and pour in the remaining marinade of chilli, garlic and olive oil.

Remove the pan from the heat. Carefully place three prawns on top of each slice of avocado toast and spoon over the pan juices.

Spoon the mango salsa around the toast, then drizzle with stock.

Serve with a hot water and lemon finger bowl.

Cook's Notes

• To check if the grill is hot enough add a few drops of cold water to the hot surface. If it sizzles and the water evaporates almost immediately, it is hot enough and ready for use. If the water produces steam and has no sizzle, heat the pan for a little longer and repeat the test again.

• You can peel the prawns and make the stock and salsa the day before and refrigerate until needed.

• Take care not to burn the garlic when cooking or it will taste bitter.

• Any leftover stock can be frozen for up to two months.

Chicken & Prawn Xim Xim

Somewhere between a stew and a curry, with fragrant flavours, this dish is reminiscent of Thailand and Africa. The name Xim Xim means stew in some African dialects and almost certainly originates from the African continent. This dish is huge in flavour, packs a strong punch and is a real crowd-pleaser. Serve with boiled rice.

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Serves 4-6

INGREDIENTS

• 4 chicken thighs, cut into 2-3cm chunks
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• Juice and zest of 1 lime
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 onions, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
• Thumb-sized piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• ½ cup roasted peanuts, ground
• ½ cup of roasted cashews
• 80-100g dried shrimps, ground in a food processor – see Cook’s notes
• 2 teaspoons tomato purée
• 600ml hot chicken stock
• 200g king prawns, shells and heads removed and deveined
• 50g creamed coconut, grated
• Small bunch fresh coriander, chopped
• 1 bunch spring onions, finely chopped

METHOD

In a bowl, combine the chicken, garlic, lime juice and zest, cover and allow to marinate in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.

Heat the olive oil in the non-stick frying pan on a low to medium heat. Cook the chicken until sealed all over and golden.

Add the onions and cook for around 5 minutes or until soft but not coloured.

Next add the chilli, ginger and turmeric and fry for a further 2 minutes.

Add the nuts, dried shrimps and tomato purée. Stir to combine then add the chicken stock. Cook for 20 minutes to a thick, stew-like consistency.

Finally, add the prawns and creamed coconut and cook for a further 3 minutes.

Garnish with the coriander and spring onions and serve with boiled rice.

Cook's Notes

• Dried shrimps can be ordered online or bought from Asian supermarkets. Alternatively use 1 tablespoon shrimp paste or a few dashes of fish sauce.
• Large, cooked prawns can be used instead of raw, if preferred.

Surf & Turf with Greens and Coconut Milk Linguine

Ingredients 

Serves 2

• 1 rib eye steak
• light soy sauce
• peanut oil for frying
• Half packet of linguine
• 300g shelled raw tiger prawns (keep the shells & heads)
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 100g kale, baby spinach, or any leftover greens
• thumb size piece of ginger
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 tsp chilli flakes
• 1/2 bunch basil leaves
• 1x 400ml can coconut milk or cream
• 2 limes
• chopped peanuts

Method

Pre-heat your oven to 220C/425F/Gas Mark 7. Peel the prawns and place the shells and heads onto a baking tray to roast off for 8-10 minutes.

Heat a frying pan to a high heat. Rub steak with oil, season generously with just salt and pepper and cook to your liking. Rest on a plate until needed.

Cook linguine in salted boiling water for 7 mins, strain and keep until needed.

Roughly chop the garlic and ginger, heat a saucepan to medium heat and add the coconut oil, garlic, ginger and chilli flakes and cook off for 3-4 minutes without burning. To the saucepan add the roasted shells and heads scraping out any and all the juices from the baking tray. Add the coconut milk, bring to the boil and cook for 10 more minutes reducing by around a third and thickening the stock. 

Into a liquidiser add the kale and any greens then strain the coconut stock and shells through a fine sieve into a liquidiser. Discard the shells and heads. Blend well to a vibrant green, smooth sauce. Squeeze in the juice of half a lime and check for seasoning.

Return the stock to a clean pan, add the prawns, bring to the boil and cook gently for 2-3 minutes or until the prawns are cooked.

Add the linguine to the sauce and mix well pulling with tongs to evenly coat the pasta.

Transfer your pasta to a bowl and serve steak next to pasta on a board. Arrange lime wedges next to the steak and sprinkle pasta with chopped peanuts and red chilli flakes.     

BBQ Prawns with Roast Chilli Salsa

It's getting closer to kick off here in Salvador. There is a real party vibe from all the football fans. There is no other country that loves their football like they do here in Brazil, and I was just about to watch a live match. I hooked up with Paulo, he's a big supporter of the local street food and the local team Bahia Esporte Clube. I had some amazing street food outside the stadium, but I wanted Paulo to show me around inside the stadium. Paulo explains to me that Itaipava Arena Fonte Nova is brand new built for the 2014 World Cup and then goes on to tell me that he an extra surprise for me, the best seats in the arena! But before, we queued for grilled prawns. Have you ever seen that before, prawns at a football match? And they were amazing!

He was not allowed to tell me all the ingredients, but I will say this is one of the best football snacks I have ever had, and it gives me an idea to do something with prawns. 

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INGREDIENTS

• 24 raw tiger prawns, shells on
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
• 1 teaspoon chilli flakes
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Sea salt and black pepper

FOR THE SALSA:

• 4 ripe tomatoes
• 2 red chillies
• 4 spring onions
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
• 1 teaspoon chipotle paste
• Juice of 1 to 2 limes
• Pinch caster sugar
• Small bunch coriander, roughly chopped
• Lime wedges, to serve

METHOD

Toss the prawns with the garlic, chilli flakes and oil, cover with clingfilm and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours, or overnight if possible.

Meanwhile, make the salsa. Preheat the barbeque to a high heat, lay the tomatoes, chillies and spring onions on the grill and cook for 3 to 4 minutes until charred and starting to soften.

Remove from the grill and transfer to a chopping board. Roughly chop everything together then tip into a liquidiser and add the remaining ingredients. Pulse to a rough purée then season to taste and set aside. Meanwhile remove the prawns from the fridge and bring to room temperature. Lay the prawns on the grill and cook for 1 to 2 minutes on each side until pink. Transfer to a platter and serve with the salsa and lime wedges.

Bean Fritters with Prawn and Mango Ceviche

My search for Brazil's best street food has brought me to it's first ever capital: Salvador de Bahia! 

Claudia's acaraje.

Salvador de Bahia is a city steeped in history and known as one the most spiritual places in Brazil being home to 365 Catholic churches, one for each day of the year. It's also one of the most significant locations for Candomble, a polytheistic religion. Candomble came to Brazil with the arrival of African slaves, and it's a popular religion in Salvador. Specific street foods go hand in hand with the faith as believers think it establishes a connection with the Candomble Gods, known as Orishas. This is so interesting and never thought I would find a religion linked to street food culture. William, my guide in Salvador took me to try acaraje, which is thought to be the oldest street food in Brazil from Claudia. Claudia is famous in these parts, the stall has been in her family for nearly 60 years and the square where she works from has been informally named after her grandmother, Dinha!

Claudia & I. 

So, what is acaraje? It is a bean fritter made of black-eyed peas fried in palm oil then filled with vatapa, a spicy paste made from shrimp, ground cashews, palm oil and a few other ingredients. It's then served with a salad called caruru, made out of green and red tomatoes, fried shrimps and homemade hot pepper sauce. 

William says that they are so popular that the whole of Salvador smells like palm oil because of it. 

Ararajes are a street snack so steeped in tradition, and I will stick with that principle for the fritter but giving the filling my very own fresh, modern twist. 

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INGREDIENTS

FOR THE CEVICHE:

• 250g raw tiger prawns, deveined
• 1 small red onion, peeled and finely chopped
• Juice of 2 limes
• 1 large mango, peeled, stoned and finely diced
• 1 to 2 red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped
• 1 ripe tomato, deseeded and finely chopped
• Small bunch coriander, finely chopped
• Sea salt and black pepper

FOR THE FRITTERS:

• 2 tablespoons dried prawn
• 1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
• 2 x 400g cans black-eyed beans, drained
• 1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
• 3 to 4 tablespoons plain flour
• Vegetable oil for deep frying

FOR THE GARNISH:

• Hot pepper sauce
• Lime wedges

METHOD

Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil, add the prawns and blanch for 1 minute. Drain the prawns, roughly chop and combine with the remaining ingredients to make your ceviche. Season to taste and refrigerate until needed. Cover the dried shrimp in boiling water and leave to soak for 15 minutes until softened. Drain, then blitz in a food processor with the onion, garlic and chilli until finely chopped. Add the beans, blitz until smooth and season to taste.

Tip into a bowl and gradually add flour until the mixture forms a stiff dough. Dip two spoons in a little oil and shape the mixture into 10 to 12 rough oval shapes. Heat the oil for deep frying to 160°C and fry in batches for 8 to 10 minutes until golden brown and crisp. Drain on kitchen paper and season with sea salt whilst still warm. Split the fritters open, stuff with the ceviche and serve with hot pepper sauce, lime wedges a cold beer.

Pineapple, Prawn and Okra Salad

Mariana guides me to a market in Salvador where you can find the best selection of raw ingredients, the Feira de Sao Joaquim. The market takes place every day in Salvador's lower city and was established in 1960. It is the biggest free market in Salvador boasting the best local products coming from all over the state. 

Mariana walks me thru the market and takes me to try a few of the most used ingredients in this region. I tried cashew fruit, the nut is actually above the fruit, you would never believe it was from the same plant. Okra called quiabo in Brazil, is used in some of the most traditional dishes and dried smoked shrimps are an absolute local delicacy. And lastly, palm oil is the base of many Bahian dishes and it is often used to fry or flavour stews, giving them their authentic orange colour.  

Well, there was certainly no shortage of inspiration in the market in Salvador and just being around this fantastic produce has inspired this dish - Pineapple, Prawn & Okra Salad. 

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My Pineapple, Prawn and Okra Salad

INGREDIENTS

• 1 large pineapple
• 100g bulgur wheat
• 200ml hot chicken stock
• olive oil
• 1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
• 2 red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped
• 125g okra, trimmed
• 125ml dry white wine
• Juice of 1 lime
• Small bunch of parsley, finely chopped
• Small bunch basil, finely chopped
• Small bunch coriander, chopped
• 150g raw tiger prawns shelled and deveined
• Sea salt and black pepper
• 50g parmesan cheese, finely grated

METHOD

Preheat your oven to 200C or 400F.

Cut the pineapple in half lengthways, cut out the core and discard. Scoop out most of the flesh, leaving some inside, then cut into small dice and drain off any excess juice.

Put the pineapple halves onto a baking tray, cut side up, and roast for 10 minutes until softened. Meanwhile bring the stock to the boil, pour over the bulgar wheat and cover with clingfilm.

Leave to stand for 15 minutes then remove the cling film and fluff the grains with a fork. While the bulgar wheat is soaking, heat a little olive oil in a saucepan, add the onion, garlic and chilli and sweat gently for 5 minutes until soft. Increase the heat, add the okra and cook for 2 minutes.

Add the wine, bring to the boil and cook for a further 2 to 3 minutes. Add the prawns, cook quickly until just pink then remove from the heat.

Stir in the pineapple, bulgar wheat, lime juice and herbs then divide the mixture between the pineapple halves. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and place under a hot grill for 2 to 3 minutes until golden brown and bubbling.

Leave to cool for a minute before serving.

Gourmet Sausage Rolls

This is the ultimate street food snack, the Gourmet Sausage Roll, made with pork and prawns in an oyster sauce, served in a light puff pastry. 

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My Gourmet Sausage Rolls

Ingredients

• Olive oil
• 4 spring onions, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
• 1 green chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
• Thumb-sized piece ginger, peeled and grated
• 7 oz (200g) raw prawns, deveined and roughly chopped
• 2 tsps cornflour
• 3½ oz (100g) minced pork
• 3½ oz (100g) pork sausage meat
• 1 tbsps oyster sauce
• 1 sheet ready-rolled puff pastry
• 2 egg yolks, beaten
• Sea salt flakes
• Chilli sauce
• Light soy sauce

Method

Heat a little oil in a frying pan, add the spring onions, garlic, chilli and ginger and cook gently for 5 minutes until softened. Tip into a bowl and leave to cool. Toss the prawns in the cornflour then combine with the cooled onion mixture, pork, sausage meat and oyster sauce.

Lay the pastry sheet out on a lightly floured surface. Roll the filling into a rough sausage shape and lay down one side of the pastry. Brush around the filling with a little beaten egg yolk then roll up into a large sausage roll. Trim the edges of the pastry then transfer to a tray, cover with clingfilm and refrigerate for 30 minutes until firm. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius or 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Cut the sausage roll into 4 then lay on a baking sheet, brush with egg yolk and sprinkle with a little salt. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown and risen.

Leave to cool slightly then serve with chilli sauce and soy sauce.