The Olympics are here, and we have gone mad for all things Brazil, including the delicious, delicious food!

We’ve been getting in the mood with some of the finest Brazilian recipes to tantalise your tastebuds Samba style!

Every four years, the Summer Olympics dominate our summer calendar, London 2012 was such a success that we have re-lit our Olympic interest with British success for a change!

Getting yourself to Rio might be a stretch for most, especially in terms of cost, but you can still enjoy the action on TV with an Olympic-themed bash.

But with a midnight start time here in Blighty, it might be one for the grown-ups.

We’ve got a few special recipes that really showcase Brazil’s many flavours. So make sure you give these a try, we’re sure that you’ll really enjoy them.

To start, we need a cocktail to liven things up a little, of course it has to be the Caipirinha!

Caipirinha cocktails

A photo posted by Romi (@romixpau) on Aug 3, 2016 at 4:54am PDT

Ingredients

• 1 Lime, cut into quarters – or alternative fruit.
• 2 teaspoons of brown sugar
• 5cl/50ml Cachaça
• Crushed ice

Method

1. Place the lime and sugar in the glass
2. Mash the ingredients together
3. Fill with crushed ice
4. Pour over the Cachaça

Canapes with drinks are ideal, so the addition of some Shrimp, Mango and Avocado tostadas will really get you warmed up for the main event. Incredibly refreshing and moreish, your guests will love this seafood delight.

Shrimp, Mango and avocado tostadas

A photo posted by Chatelaine (@chatelainemag) on Jul 8, 2016 at 10:00am PDT

Ingredients

• 500g of cooked shrimp (you can use prawns if shrimp is unavailable)
• 250g finely diced and seeded cucumber
• 125g finely diced red pepper
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely diced
• 125g red onion
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 mango, peeled and diced evenly
• 1 avocado, peeled and pitted, diced evenly
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• sprinkle of black pepper
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped coriander leaves
• vegetable oil for frying
• 6 soft 8-inch flour tortillas

Method

1. Remove the shrimp tails and discard.
2. Chop the cooked shrimp into ¼’s and place in a bowl
3. Add cucumber, red pepper, jalapeno, red onion, lime juice, olive oil, mango, avocado, salt, pepper and coriander to the bowl. Stir gently to combine but do not over-mix. Cover and place in the fridge until ready to use.
4. Cut your tortillas into small 2-inch pieces. Around 24 in total.
5. Line a baking tray with a paper towel.
6. Heat enough vegetable oil to coat the bottom of a large pan. When hot add tortillas, but don’t add too many so they overlap.
7. Flip tortillas once crisp on one side and cook the other side. Once both sides a are cooked, place the crispy tortillas on the paper-lined baking tray.
8. When ready to serve, place a tablespoon of the shrimp mixture onto each tostada. Top with a small dollop of sour cream and serve.

For the main event, we have a dish that really marries the produce of Brazil into a beautiful meaty package. Coffee and Ancho Chile pepper-rubbed Pork tenderloin is a spicy and creamy dish with coconut and peanut butter, therefore unsuitable for those with a peanut allergy.

Coffee and Ancho Chile pepper-rubbed Pork tenderloin

A photo posted by McCormick @ Instagram (@mccormickspice) on Aug 2, 2016 at 1:45pm PDT

Ingredients

For the coconut ancho chile sauce

• 3 dried acho chiles
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 125g finely chopped white onion
• 2 measures (60ml) of bourbon or whisky
• 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespooon sweet smoked paprika
• 1 can coconut milk
• 125g smooth peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground pepper

For the spice rub

• 65g ground coffee
• 3 tablespoons ancho chile powder
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons ground allspice
• 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 pork tenderloins (approx 750g), trimmed

Method

To make the coconut ancho chile sauce

Place the chiles in a bowl and cover with hot tap water. Using a can, bowl or other heavy item, weigh down the chiles so they are fully submerged. Leave to sit for 20 minutes, and drain in a colander.

Remove the hard stems and seeds from the chiles, if you wish to have a spicer sauce leave some seeds in the chiles. Cut into 1-inch pieces.

Heat some olive oil in a saute pot over a medium heat. Add the onion and saute until translucent. Turn off the heat and add the bourbon/whiskey to deglaze pan. This may cause the pan to flame – be careful! Put a lid over the mixture to extinguish the flame if necessary. Turn heat back to medium and reduce the bourbon/whiskey slightly.

Add the chopped ancho chiles, brown sugar, cumin, paprika, coconut milk, peanut butter, lime juice, salt and pepper to the pan. Mix and then simmer for 10 minutes.

Remove the mixture and puree in a food processor or high-power blender. We will return the smooth mixture to the saucepan to reheat later.

To make the pork tenderloin

Place all of the spice rub ingredients into a bowl, then stir and combine.

Heat your grill to around 200ºC, using a heatproof basting brush, light brush your grill with vegetable oil.

Massage the mixed spice rub into the pork tenderloins and place the pork on your grill.

Turn once 2 minutes to sear all sides of the meat. Once cooked on all sides, cook for an additional 12 to 14 minutes, turning no more than twice during the cooking process.

Remove the pork from the grill and allow to rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving with the ancho chile sauce.

To accompany our pork we have a refreshing Olympic salad to take the edge off the intense spices and dark coffee flavours. The perfect side dish to such a meaty, and filling dish.

Olympic chopped salad

A photo posted by Elizabeth Camarena (@msliz03) on Aug 2, 2016 at 7:20pm PDT

Ingredients

For the salad

• 2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds
• 1 can heats of palm, drained and diced
• 1 can of sweetcorn
• 2 avocados, peeled, pitted and diced
• 300g tomatoes
• 125g finely chopped red onion
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 250g diced red bell pepper
• 125g chopped coriander leaves

For the vinaigrette

• 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 100ml extra virgin olive oil
• ½ teaspoon salt
• pinch of black pepper
• tortilla chips

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 170ºC, place the pumpkin seeds on a baking sheet and roast in the oven for around 5 minutes. Remove and set aside to cool.
2. Combine all of the salad ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
3. To make the vinaigrette, whisk together the vinegar and lime juice, then slowly whisk in the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Toss the salad with the vinaigrette, place the salad in a mixing bowl and serve with the tortilla chips.

After a sumptuous main course, and refreshing salad, we need a dessert that is not only easy to make but also as good as the dishes before it.

Well how about an incredibly easy fruit finish of cinnamon grilled pineapple? That’s what you’re getting!

Cinnamon grilled pineapple

A photo posted by …AJ (@daainstaman) on Jun 22, 2016 at 2:08pm PDT

Ingredients

• 1 fresh pineapple
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 100g brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons white rum or cachaca

Method

1. Using a knife, remove the rind from the pineapple and cut the pineapple into 8 even slices.
2. Core the pineapple using a round cutter approximately 1-inch in diameter.
3. Place the cut fruit onto a baking sheet.
4. Combine the cinnamon and sugar in a bowl, brush the cut pineapple with the rum and sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture evenly on top of each slice and each side.
5. Heat your grill to 200ºC and place the pineapples on or under the grill for around 2 minutes. Turn the pineapple slices over and grill for a further 2 minutes.
6. Serve alone or with vanilla ice cream.

Now you’ve got the arsenal to go for Gold this summer!