Loftus David - MasterChef: Street Food of the World

Absolute Press

An imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

www.bloomsbury.com

This electronic edition published in 2017 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

ABSOLUTE PRESS and the A. logo are trademarks of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

First published 2017

Shine TV Limited, 2017

This edition Absolute Press, 2017

Text Genevieve Taylor, 2017

Photography David Loftus, 2017

2017 Endemol Shine Group B.V. Endemol Shine, MasterChef and the MasterChef logo are registered trademarks of Endemol Shine Group BV and used under license. All Rights Reserved.

MasterChef is based on a format by Franc Roddam and is produced by Shine TV for BBC under license from Endemol Shine Group BV in association with Ziji Productions Limited.

Genevieve Taylor has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as Author of this work.

All rights reserved
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British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Library of Congress Cataloguing-in-Publication data has been applied for.

ISBN: 978-1-4729-0916-9 (HB)

ISBN: 978-1-4729-4621-8 (eBook)

ISBN: 978-1-4729-4620-1 (ePDF)

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Publisher Jon Croft

Commissioning Editor Meg Avent

Project Editor Emily North

Art Director and Designer Kim Musgrove

Design Consultant Claire Burton

Photographer David Loftus

Prop stylist Ange Morris

Food Stylist Genevieve Taylor

Assistant food stylists Danielle Combes, Laura Field, Jennifer Henry, Laura Rowe, Helen Upshall

Editor Rachel Malig

Proofreader Eleanor Van Zandt

Indexer Zoe Ross

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the amazing world of MasterChef street food!

The proliferation of street food is perhaps the foodie phenomenon of the past decade and one thats been pretty much impossible to miss. Culinary entrepreneurs across the globe are bringing towns and cities alive with hip food trucks, buzzing night markets and thronging food festivals. It seems we just cannot get enough of this carefree, sociable way of eating and its popularity continues to rise and rise.

Yet street food is far from a recent fad. There is evidence of Aztec markets having had vendors selling snacks to hungry shoppers, including the still very much beloved guacamole! In ancient Rome food was normally bought and eaten on the street by the urban poor who didnt have kitchens of their own to cook in, whilst in medieval London, fresh oysters, pies and baked apples were all commonly eaten on the roadsides.

In these pages myself and 13 MasterChef champions from around the globe bring you a collection of mouthwatering recipes spanning a kaleidoscope of colours, flavours, textures and sheer taste sensations.

So why bother to make street food at home when theres so much good stuff out there on the real streets? For me and our MasterChef contributors its about bringing a bit of adventurous spirit into your kitchen and transporting you to another place, perhaps stretching yourself from a cooking point of view into unknown territory. If you love food then surely one of the most tantalising parts of travelling is to immerse yourself in the edible delights and eating on the street can connect you to a culture in a way dining in a fancy restaurant never will. And whilst you might not have the time, money or inclination to go roaming the world for tasty things to eat, you can really easily bring a sense of adventure and wanderlust into your home kitchen.

With a lifelong passion for travel, some of the most memorable meals of my life have been eaten on the go. My mind was blown by a fragrant Malaysian curry eaten at a bustling night market in Borneo and a steaming hot dog from a sidewalk cart in New York, slathered in vivid yellow mustard, was perhaps the best Id ever eaten. I will never forget the ginger-heavy seafood stir fry at the crab market in Kampot in Cambodia, devoured greedily whilst watching the fishermen haul their catch onto land, or for the incredibly simple but impossible to beat fresh pomegranate seeds tapped from the shell into my cupped palms by an elderly woman on a Cretan roadside these are just a fraction of the things lodged deep in my mind.

This book is divided loosely by the continents of the world, and within these vibrant pages you will find the very best examples from the streets of the Americas, Europe, Africa and the Middle East, India and Asia. Some recipes will be instantly familiar such as Marc Boissieuxs to name just a few.

Think of a street food experience and its perhaps the cuisine of hot climates that spring to mind first the intense tropical flavours of Jamaican from Argentina, which are perfect for a summer barbecue, but taste just as fabulous on a cold day alongside a generous glass of hearty red (Argentinian, of course!). There is plenty of year-round inspiration to be found within these pages.

Many of the recipes are straightforward and can be knocked up with ease, but others are quite involved and might stretch the cook a little. This is a MasterChef book after all, so you expect that, right? However, whether the recipes are simple or challenging, what characterises them all is a laid back approach to their eating. Street food is not food that stands on ceremony, its chilled, casual and low key, eaten messily with hands or scooped from big bowls. This is food that celebrates the very best things in life, family and friends, eating, drinking, laughter and sharing.

Let your culinary global adventure begin happy cooking!

Genevieve Taylor

THE AMERICAS

Think of classic American street food, and no doubt the first thing that springs to mind is a delicious fully loaded burger or a steaming hotdog, dripping with sweet onions and zingy mustard, but once you include central and south America into the mix the food is as colourful and varied as anywhere on the globe. With recipes stretching from Canada to Argentina and pretty much everywhere in between, this is a continent that embraces street eats with both hands.