World Cup Foodie Fever!

It’s been four long years but finally the FIFA World Cup is back. All that fervour, passion and excitement for your favourite teams makes the perfect scenario for a footy party with your friends and with the convenient match timings, you can catch two matches after work. To make your get together a hit, serve food from the countries who are playing against each other to give your party a quirky theme to it.

A splash of Brazil

From the effervescent land of Brazil comes a delicious, refreshing lemonade with a twist!

Brazilian Lemonade — Makes 4 glasses

Ingredients

• 2 limes   
• ½ cup sugar  
• 3 cups water   
• 3 tbsps condensed milk  
• Ice

Method

• Wash limes thoroughly. Cut off the ends and slice into eight wedges. Place limes in a blender with the sugar, condensed milk, water and ice.
• Blend in an electric blender pulsing it 5 times. Strain through a fine mesh strainer to remove rinds. Serve over ice.

Germany’s heavenly combination

From Germany, try out this quick and divine dessert consisting of cream and apples.

Rauhreif — Serves: 6

INGREDIENTS

• 1/3 cup orange juice
• 2 tbsps lemon juice
• 6 tbsps sugar
• 6 apples
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• ½ tsp vanilla extract

Method

• Chill the mixing bowl and wire beater in the fridge or freezer.
• Combine the orange juice, lemon juice and 3 tbsps of the sugar in a large bowl. Stir it together and set aside.
• Core and peel an apple. Shred the apple with a food processor or grater. Immediately place the shredded apple in the juice mixture and stir it together with a rubber spatula. Repeat with the remaining apples. Set this aside.
• In the chilled mixing bowl, beat the heavy whipping cream until it begins to thicken. Sprinkle in the remaining 3 tbsps of sugar and the vanilla extract.
• Beat the cream until it is firm enough to hold stiff peaks when the beater is lifted from the bowl.
• Add the apple mixture to the whipped cream and fold it in with a rubber spatula.
• Serve immediately in individual dessert dishes.

Tapas — Spain’s gift to mankind
From Spain, try out the classic tapas — Patatas Bravas, a simple yet oh-so-tasty starter which you’ll love!

BRAVA SAUCE
In a saucepan, heat 3 tbsps olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, sauté until the onion is soft. Turn off the heat and add the paprika, tabasco sauce and thyme, stirring well. Transfer to a bowl and add the ketchup and mayonnaise. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

INGREDIENTS

• 3 tbsps of olive oil
• 4 large potatoes, peeled, and cut to 1-inch cubes
• 2 tbsps minced onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 ½ tbsps paprika
• ¼ tsp tabasco sauce
• ¼ tsp ground thyme
• ½ cup (4 fl. oz) ketchup
• ½ cup (4 fl. oz) mayonnaise
• Chopped parsley, to garnish
• 1 cup (8 fl. oz) olive oil for frying

THE POTATOES
Sprinkle the potatoes lightly with salt and black pepper. In a large pan, fry the potatoes in 1 cup (8 fl. oz) olive oil until cooked through and golden brown, stirring occasionally. Mix the potatoes with the sauce just before serving to ensure that the potatoes retain their crispness. Garnish with chopped parsley and serve warm.

—The writer is a Food and Lifestyle blogger at La Grandiosa