Whether you’re a die-hard footy fan or just in it for the social element, one thing’s for sure: no one should be watching the World Cup without plenty of snacks and drinks to hand.
We asked four chefs from across the globe to share their signature snack recipes, so you can throw a viewing party to remember. Plus bartenders reveal what you should be washing them down with.
Guacamole from Mexico
Martha Ortiz heads up the kitchen at Ella Canta, an authentic Mexican restaurant on Park Lane, London. She’s shared her homemade guacamole recipe which comes with Mexican cheese and a sweet twist thanks to the presence of a secret ingredient.
Ingredients:
:: 150g white onion, chopped
:: ½ cup fresh lime juice
:: 800g avocado
:: 100g coriander, chopped
:: 90g chile serrano, chopped and seeded, or to taste
:: salt, to taste
:: 100g pomegranate seeds
:: 50g Requesón (white moist cheese—the Mexican version of ricotta)
:: Corn tortilas, cut in triangles and fried, on the side
How to make guacamole:
Soak the onion in lime juice for half an hour, and then drain. Carefully mash the avocado in a bowl or molcajete (a traditional lava-stone mortar with pestle). Add the coriander, onion and chile serrano. Season with salt and pepper.
Serve the guacamole in a elegant plate and decorate with the pomegranate seeds, the requesón cheese, and the tortilla triangles.
Arriba Peru
Martin Morales is the chef and brains behind London-based restaurant Ceviche. Here’s his recipe for a berry delicious Peruvian cocktail. ¡Arriba, arriba!
Ingredients:
:: 50ml of strawberry and raspberry-infused Quebranta pisco (for this you will need 700ml pisco, 20 raspberries, 10 strawberries washed and cut in half. Leave it to infuse for 24 hours).
:: 30ml of fresh lime juice.
:: 20ml sugar syrup (you can easily make it with same amount of sugar dissolve in same amount of water)
:: Egg white (if you’ll use a cocktail shaker you need one egg white per drink, if you use your blender one egg white will be enough for four cocktails).
How to make it:
Add ice and shake, or put all the ingredients in a blender and blend together. Garnish it with a strawberry on the rim of the glass or with raspberry powder forming the Peruvian flag.
Fried cauliflower and shrimp skewers from Egypt
Wesam Masoud is an Egyptian American TV and radio chef, and executive chef of ESCA, a contemporary Mediterranean restaurant in Cairo, Egypt. As Ramadan comes to a close, he’s been enjoying these cauliflower and prawn skewers with family and friends. The dish comes with a garlic lime and coriander “ketchup”.
Ingredients for the skewers:
:: 100g medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
:: 100g fresh cauliflower florets
:: 200g all purpose flour
:: 80g cornstarch
:: 20g baking powder
:: 450g water
:: 1g salt
:: 1g cardamom powder
:: 5-6 long bamboo skewers
Ingredients for the ketchup:
:: 45g cornstarch
:: 100g water
:: 200g lime juice
:: 15g white sugar
:: 30g olive oil
:: 40g cream cheese
:: 25g turmeric powder
:: 15g fresh garlic, finely minced
:: 50g fresh coriander leaves, finely minced
:: 2g salt
:: 1g black pepper powder
:: 0.5g cumin powder
How to make the skewers:
Combine the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt, cardamom powder and water until it resembles the consistency of crepe batter. Store in the fridge until needed. Using a toothpick or skewer, alternate the cauliflower and shrimp.
Dip each skewer in the batter then fry in hot oil at 160C until golden brown. Serve warm.
How to make the ketchup:
Dissolve cornstarch in water with the white sugar, turmeric powder and garlic.
Add lemon juice and cumin powder and bring to a boil until it begins to thicken.
Remove from heat and add the coriander and olive oil, stirring well to incorporate into a glossy thick texture. Allow to cool. If it sets, simply purée in a blender to keep it smooth.
Virgin ‘Sangre Mexicana’
This Mexican-inspired cocktail - a Bloody Mary with a Mexican twist - was created by head mixologist at Studio Bar, Michal Golecki, based at K West Hotel in Shepherd’s Bush. It can be made as a cocktail using Mezcal or as a mocktail using some spicy ginger soda.
Ingredients:
:: 50ml Ginger Soda
:: 40ml Smoky tomato juice
:: 12.5ml Orange juice
:: 10ml Worcestershire sauce
:: 10ml Olive juice
:: Dash of chipotle sauce
:: Pinch of salt and pepper
:: Wedge of lime
:: Optional: Lime and celery salt
How to make it:
Add a handful of ice cubes into the glass you will use for stirring.
Add the ginger soda, olive juice, Worcestershire sauce, orange juice, salt and pepper, chipotle sauce and tomato juice to the glass. Stir thoroughly so all ingredients are mixed together.
Rim an Old Fashioned glass with some lime and celery salt. Put some ice cubes into the glass.
Pour the mixture over the ice and fix the wedge of lime onto the rim of the glass to garnish.
Chicharron pork sandwich from Peru
Martin Morales, of Ceviche, has shared his chicharron pork sandwich recipe (serves 4), a quintessential Peruvian sandwich commonly served on roadside cafes in the Andes of Peru and also in Lima. It’s a little more high maintenance, but well worth the effort. “Add a fried egg and it’s the bomb,” says Morales.
Ingredients for the sandwich:
:: 1kg pork shoulder (or pork belly)
:: 2 tbsp salt
:: 1 onion, halved
:: 2 bay leaves
:: Vegetable oil, for frying (optional)
:: 4 crusty bread rolls
:: 1 portion of julienned Salsa Criolla (recipe to make it below)
:: 1 portion of chilli mayo
For the sweet potato fries:
:: 2 sweet potatoes, peeled
:: Corn flour, for dusting
:: Vegetable oil, for deep-frying
How to make Salsa Criolla:
Finely slice 1 red onion, 2 cored and deseeded medium tomatoes and 2 deseeded and deveined red chillies as finely as you can. Soak the red onion in iced water for 10 minutes. Drain thoroughly and then mix with 1 tablespoon lime juice, 1 tablespoon olive oil and 2 finely chopped coriander sprigs. Season with salt and black pepper.
How to make the sandwich:
Cut the pork into fairly large chunks and rub all over with the salt. Leave to
marinate for at least a few hours, but preferably overnight.
When you are ready to cook the pork, rinse it well to remove the salt and pat dry with kitchen paper. Place the pork in a wide-based saucepan. Scantily cover the pork with water, add the onion and bay leaves and bring to the boil over medium heat. Skim off any foam that appears on the surface and then partially cover. Leave to simmer over low heat until the water has completely evaporated. Test the pork for tenderness by piercing the meat with a fork or skewer. If it is not yet falling apart, add some more water and continue to simmer.
Take the lid off and let the pork fry in its own fat over high heat, turning regularly and adding a little oil if needed, until it is crispy and golden brown and the meat is very tender. This should take about 20–30 minutes.
Cut the sweet potatoes into thin strips, a similar size to French fries. If you have a deep-fat fryer, heat the vegetable oil to 170°C. If not, pour the oil to a depth of
about 5cm in a large, deep saucepan, making sure that it is no more than half full. To test if the oil is hot enough, drop in a cube of bread; if it sizzles and turns
golden, the oil is ready. Dust the sweet potatoes with corn flour and deep-fry them until they are golden and crisp.
Fill the crusty rolls with the pork, sweet potato fries, plenty of Salsa Criolla and
some chilli mayo if using.
Chocolate espresso martini made with Swiss chocolate
The perfect cocktail for coffee-lovers, made by mixologists at The Sun Inn, Edinburgh, with a nod to Switzerland thanks to the presence of a smooth Swiss chocolate liqueur.
Ingredients:
:: 30ml Stoli Vodka
:: 25ml freshly ground espresso
:: 17.5ml Gomme
:: 25ml Cresta Swiss Chocolate Liqueur
How to make it:
Place a few ice cubes in your Martini glass and place in the fridge until very cold
Pour the Gomme, vodka, espresso and chocolate liqueur into a shaker, add a handful of ice directly from the freezer, you do not want to dilute the liquid, only mix and froth so direct from the freezer is best. Shake vigorously over your shoulder for twenty seconds, hopefully smashing up the ice in the process, this is what makes a nice creamy Martini. Break the vacuum on the shaker and then pour the liquid through a strainer and also a bar sieve in to avoid any ice getting into the drink.
Add three coffee beans and fresh shavings of Swiss Chocolate to finish.
Black beans “caldinho” from Brazil
This recipe comes from Elton Júnior, executive chef of Dalva e Dito, a restaurant owned by esteemed Brazilian chef Alex Atala. Júnior describes it as an “easy” dish to make, however you’ll have to head to your local butcher’s for some pig’s trotters if you want to make it truly special.
Ingredients for the vegetable broth:
:: 1 white onion
:: 1 carrot
:: 1 celery stem
:: 1 leek
:: 500ml water
:: 1 bay leaf
:: 1 thyme branch
For the caldinho:
:: 80g black beans
:: Vegetable broth
:: 25g bacon chopped into small cubes
:: 15g pig’s trotters
:: 1 garlic clove
:: 12g white onions
:: 1 pinch of salt
:: 1 sprinkle of chives
:: 5ml olive oil
How to make it:
Gather all the ingredients for the vegetable broth inside a pan and cook it for two hours on a low heat. Strain it and save the liquid broth.
Put the beans, the vegetable broth, the bacon and the pig’s trotter inside a pan. Cook it until the beans start to dissolve. Retrieve the foot, process it and pass it through a sieve.
Braise the garlic and the onion in a frying pan with the spur olive oil. Gather all preparations and serve.