Moqueca baiana (Bahia-style fish stew)

If you're inspired to cook Brazilian with the Olympics kicking off this weekend try this classic fish stew from Thiago Castanho and Luciana Bianchi's Brazilian Food.

This stew is one of the most famous dishes of Brazil and, as its name implies, is traditional to Bahia state. It is prepared with coconut cream and dendê oil and served on a moquequeira (a clay dish made specially for serving moquecas). I usually make this with one of the most popular fish of our region, the filhote.

Serves 4

Spice paste

* 6 black peppercorns

* 1 tsp ground turmeric

* 10g root ginger

* 6 coriander seeds

* ½ pimenta malagueta or hot red chilli, deseeded

* 20g dried salt shrimps

Coconut cream

* 900ml coconut water

* 420g dried coconut meat

* 240g young (green) coconut meat

* 550g filhote or catfish steaks, or hake or halibut fillets

* juice of ½ lime

* salt

* 20ml dendê (palm) oil

* 30g onion, chopped, plus 30g onion, sliced

* 30g tomato, chopped, plus 30g tomato, sliced

* 5g garlic, crushed

* 3 pimentas-de-cheiro or other mild chillies

* 30g red pepper, sliced

* 20g green pepper, sliced

* 5g coriander leaves, roughly chopped

* 5g spring onions, finely chopped

1. First make the spice paste: process the black peppercorns, turmeric, ginger, coriander seeds, chilli and dried shrimp in a blender or food processor until a smooth paste forms. Transfer to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.

2. To make a coconut cream, warm the coconut water in a saucepan. Put it in a blender with the dried coconut meat and process until the coconut pieces are very finely chopped. Strain through a fine sieve, then return it to the blender. Add the young (green) coconut meat, blend until smooth and creamy and set aside.

3. Season the fish with the lime juice and a little salt and set aside.

4. In a large clay pot, heat the dendé oil over a medium heat and sauté the chopped onion, chopped tomato, garlic, pimentas-de-cheiro and 1 tablespoon of the spice paste until the vegetables are softened.

5. Stir in 1.1 litres of the coconut cream, bring to a simmer, then add the fish and cook for 5 minutes.

6. Add the red and green peppers and the tomato and onion slices and cook for a further 5 minutes. Sprinkle with the coriander and spring onions before serving.

Tips from Thiago:

Dendê oil and dried salt shrimps are sold in Brazilian and African stores. Substitute a good-quality shop-bought coconut milk for the coconut cream recipe if you can’t find young (green) coconut meat to make it fresh.

What to drink: Although Brazilians themselves tend to drink caipirinhas or beer with food you might like the idea of serving a Brazilian wine. Marks & Spencer has put together the best selection of which I'd pick the Aracauria Riesling Pinot Grigio which is on offer at the time of writing at £42 a six bottle case (£7 a bottle). Otherwise I'd probably go for an Argentinian Torrontes. A fresh young Viognier could also work.

Extracted from Brazilian Food by Thiago Castanho & Luciana Bianchi, published by Mitchell Beazley at £30 www.octopusbooks.co.uk

Lemons filled with tuna cream

It may feel far from summery in the UK but one can always hope so get yourself into the mood with this lovely recipe from Eleonora Galasso's As the Romans Do.

Lemons filled with tuna cream
Limoni ripieni alla crema di tonno

Eleanora writes: In a favourable climate, lemon trees flower and bear fruit four times a year. Therefore this festive citrus dish can be found on our tables all year round. The creamy filling reminds me of the more famous Pesce Finto di Natale, but with the addition of mascarpone cheese. Italians like variations, after all, hardly ever sticking to a fixed plan. This luminous dish resonates with rural tradition, a nod to the little details that make life a marvellous journey. Bella la vita, eh?

Preparation time: 20 minutes plus chilling

Serves 4

4 large unwaxed lemons

180g (6oz) tinned tuna in olive oil, drained

2 teaspoons salted capers, rinsed

90g (3 1/4oz) mayonnaise

50g (1 3/4oz) mascarpone cheese

50g (1 3/4oz) pitted black olives

3 hard-boiled eggs, peeled

small handful of chives

small handful of dill fronds

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

pinch of salt

pinch of white pepper

pinch of chilli flakes

To garnish

1 tablespoon chopped chives

1 tablespoon chopped dill fronds

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

Halve the lemons lengthways.

Squeeze 4 tablespoons of juice out of one lemon and set this aside, then scoop out the pulp from all the lemons using a teaspoon. Remove and discard the seeds and put the lemon pulp and reserved juice in a food processor together with the rest of the ingredients. Blend together well to form a thick, creamy paste.

Use a spoon or a piping bag to fill the empty lemon halves, then scatter over the chopped herbs and dried oregano to finish. The filled lemons can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days until needed.

What to drink:
Lemon is quite hard to match with wine. I would choose something crisp and fresh but without too much of a powerful citrus flavour of its own like a Frascati, Falanghina or Greco di Tufo. Assyrtiko from Santorini would also work

This recipe comes from As the Romans Do: La Dolce Vita in a Cookbook by Eleonora Galasso, £25 Mitchell Beazley. Photograph © David Loftus

Smoked trout with griddled lemon, cucumber & sourdough croutons

A fresh, simple, clever recipe for two from one of the most charming of last year's cookery books, Rosie Birkett's A Lot on her Plate

Rosie writes: "This dish, Scandinavian in tone thanks to the pickles and smoked fish, takes ingredients that you may have lying around – lemon, cucumber and bread – and transforms them into something special, by charring them to add a smoky dimension and intensify their natural flavours. I get my smoked trout from Mike Scott, the chef at Hackney’s wonderful Raw Duck restaurant, who smokes it himself at home, but this would work with any good-quality smoked fish, be it trout, mackerel or hot-smoked salmon.

Serves 2

1 tablespoon caster (superfine) sugar

1 tablespoon cider vinegar (get the good unpasteurised stuff if you can)

2 radishes, finely sliced

sea salt

2 baby or Lebanese cucumbers, cut in half lengthwise and halved across the middle

1 lemon, cut in half

1 slice of sourdough bread

6 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for grilling

2 tablespoons roughly chopped dill

2 smoked trout fillets, skin removed

borage flowers, to garnish (optional)

4 teaspoons plain natural yoghurt, to serve

Dissolve the sugar in the vinegar in a small bowl and quick-pickle the radish slices in the mixture.

Heat a griddle pan over a high heat until it’s stinking hot. Scatter with a pinch of sea salt. Brush the cucumber pieces, cut sides of the lemon and sourdough bread with olive oil and griddle for about 8 minutes, until there are black grill marks on them, turning the bread and cucumber over once.

When the ingredients are grilled, remove from the heat and squeeze the lemon juice into a bowl with the olive oil. Whisk with a fork, add the dill and a pinch of salt, and whisk some more, until well combined. Cut the sourdough into croutons.

Drain the radishes from their pickle liquor and place on kitchen paper to absorb the excess vinegar. Divide the cucumber between two plates and flake over the smoked trout. Top with the radish slices and drizzle over the dill and lemon oil.

Scatter over the sourdough croutons and borage flowers, if using, and finish eachserving with a couple of teaspoons of natural yoghurt.

What to drink: I think you want something equally fresh-tasting with this. A crisp dry white like a Picpoul or an Albarino would be good or try a (genuinely) dry young riesling

From A Lot on her Plate by Rosie Birkett (Hardie Grant, £25.00) Photography: Helen Cathcart. For more recipes see Rosie's website.

Carrot pie with apple and goat cheese

This unusual recipe from Dutch cookery writer Yvette van Boven's lovely Home Made Summer is a great way to kick off National Vegetarian Week.

It's well worth getting the book for the other recipes too - including an imaginative range of drinks.

Carrot pie with apple and goat cheese

for 6 to 8 servings

8 carrots, peeled

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed

1 onion, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced

1 fresh, tart apple, peeled, cored, and sliced as thinly as possible

4 oz (100 g) soft goat cheese

½ cup (100 g) crème fraîche

½ cup plus 2 tbsp (150 ml) carrot juice

3 large eggs

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Boil the carrots in salted water for 8 minutes, until just tender. Drain and rinse under cold running water. Halve them lengthwise and set them aside.

Grease a 9-inch (24-cm) tart pan with a removable bottom with a little butter.

On a well-floured counter, roll out the puff pastry into a nice round slab the size of the pie plate. Press the dough firmly into the plate and trim the edges neatly. With a fork, stab some holes in the bottom, then cover the dough and place the pie plate in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).

Arrange the onion and apple over the bottom of the pastry in the pie plate and place the halved carrots on top in a spoke pattern. Crumble the goat cheese over the pie, somewhat in between the carrots.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the crème fraîche, carrot juice, and eggs. Season with salt and pepper. Pour the mixture over the carrots and sprinkle everything generously with pepper.

Bake the pie on the lower rack of the oven for about 35 minutes, until golden brown.

What to drink: Almost any crisp fresh white or rosé would work with this. I'd probably go for a smooth Italian white like a Soave, an unoaked Chardonnay or Chenin Blanc or a Provencal rosé. Verdelho would be nice too. Or cider . . . yes, cider would be lovely.