Cherrapeno: July 2014

I recently saw a brilliant summery salad that's totally different to anything I've made before - a fabulous light salad called Puy Lentil & Carrot Tabbouleh and the perfect dish to serve alongside grilled vegetables and meats.

I saw it on Sunday Brunch, where it was cooked by guest chef Maria Elia, who has a great website with some very modern vegetarian dishes. She has also written some cookery books which means I'm going to have to investigate a little more!

Puy Lentil & Carrot Tabbouleh

This recipe is adapted from Maria Elia, Sunday Brunch.
I used a packet of ready to eat puy lentils from Merchant Gourmet and less mint.

Serves 4-6 as a side dish.

2 medium carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
120g flat leaf parsley, with stalks
60g mint leaves, picked
2 tomatoes, finely diced
1 small red onion, finely diced
50g black/puy lentils, cooked
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground allspice
Juice of 1 lemon
100ml olive oil
Sea salt

Using a food processor, cut the carrots roughly and then pulse the processor until they resemble the texture of puy lentils. Put the carrots into a large bowl.

With a sharp knife, slice the parsley as thinly as possible, repeat with the mint and add to the carrots. Dice the tomatoes and red onion and add to the carrots, along with the lentils and spices.

Dress with the lemon juice and olive oil and season with some sea salt before putting the tabbouleh in a serving dish.

I'm linking this recipe to the #cookblogshare linky at Supergolden Bakes. Have a look at the other recipes shared this week!

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Do not use photos without full credit or permission.

Table set for a Brazilian gourmet extravaganza!

If you hear the word 'Brazil' and the first thing you think of is football, think again! Think food. Think Brazilian food. It's fabulous, spicy and different. Want to know a bit more? Read on!

A few weeks ago, I was invited to a Brazilian supper club by a wonderful blogging friend, Rosana McPhee. I was rather thrilled to get this invitation, because I knew it had been quite a while in the planning and it would be a fun and totally different foodie experience for me. Rosana is one of London's top Brazilian food bloggers, along with Italian-Japanese Brazilian chef Luiz Hara (The London Foodie), whose lovely home was the setting for the supper club. As well as Rosana, who was responsible for the canapés and desserts, Dhruv Baker was there to cook the starters and main dishes. Yes, you might remember the name Dhruv Baker, as he was the 2010 MasterChef winner! The evening was sponsored by Tilda, the famous rice company.

Classic Caipirinha and a selection of the canapés

The garden was the perfect place to start the evening, mingling with the other guests and sipping classic Caipirinhas. We were treated to a variety of canapés, including Bolinho de Arroz (rice fritters made with a mix of dried shrimp, white fish and chicken) served with a lime and saffron mayonnaise, Pao de Queijo (baked Brazilian cheese bread), Empadinha (mini pies with palm heart filling) and Coração de Galinha (chicken heart BBQ sticks, grilled and served with toasted cassava).

Brazilian 'wish ribbons'

We went inside and were seated at a beautifully laid out dinner table, which had colourful Brazilian 'wish ribbons' on the plates. The ribbon is given to you by a friend, and needs to be tied around your wrist by another friend. It's tied on with three knots and you make a wish for each knot. It's a cute thing to do and makes a great conversation starter!

Feijoada - a very famous Brazilian black bean stew, with Tilda Brazilian Samba rice and shredded greens

Talking of starters, our first dish was Feijoada, a classic comforting Brazilian black bean stew which was served with Tilda's new, limited edition, Brazilian Samba Rice.

Our fish dish, Moqueca

The starters were followed by a fish dish called Moqueca, a light and fresh dish of white fish stewed in coconut milk with tomato, coriander, annatto and palm oil. It was served with Pirao Peixe, a traditional accompaniment to the stew, made with fish, onions, herbs and broth that has been thickened with cassava flour.

Picanha with pimenta de bico - check out those Brazilian chilli peppers!

Our side dishes

Earlier in the evening, Dhruv had been outside cooking rump cap of beef on the barbecue. This was for the Picanha with Pimenta de Bico - beef roasted under a blanket of rock salt and served with some amazing little bright red Brazilian chilli peppers and roasted garlic bulbs. There were some interesting side dishes to accompany the beef, including a sautee cassava and fried plantain dish, and a salad made with palm hearts, tomatoes and red onions. Rosana pointed out that the heart of palm had been sourced and bought from a 100% environmentally friendly producer.

Trio of Brazilian desserts. Did you know that the tree that produces cashew nuts also has caju fruit growing from it?

There was a grand ending to the dinner, with a gorgeous trio of Brazilian desserts. The trio was made up of a caju sorbet (a refreshing cashew fruit sorbet), Brigadeiro de Copo (a kind of Brazilian chocolate pot) and Quindim (a rich egg custard and coconut tart).

Luiz Hara, Dhruv Baker & Rosana McPhee

It was a brilliant evening, and one that introduced me to lots of new and exciting flavours. My travel wish list has just been extended with the addition of Brazil, but in the meantime, I'm going to have a go at some of Rosana's delicious recipes! If you want to know some interesting facts about Brazil, have a look at this article that Rosana wrote for Morrisons Magazine.

Tilda Brazilian Samba rice

I was given some 'Brazilian Samba' rice sachets to try at home. It's the first time I have used pre-cooked rice, I've never really thought about buying it before. I can honestly say I was quite impressed. All you do is heat it for 2 minutes in the microwave, you don't even have to put it into a dish first. It comes out piping hot, the grains are all lovely and separate and there's a whiff of spices in the air. The Basmati rice is lightly flavoured with onions, chilli, garlic, parsley, lime extract and herbs, not overpowering at all. It is a limited edition though, which will be in the shops until November 2014.

There's more information on the Tilda website, and plenty of recipes and meal ideas.

Here are a few more photos of the evening: