Chicken Cachaça

It’s summer and that means it’s time to fire up the BBQ! Here’s a great recipe that makes a change from burgers and steaks. Chicken thighs are dark meat so they are slightly fattier than chicken breast but this cut of meat lends itself well to grilling and stays nice and moist.

Chicken

Cachaça, Brazil’s national spirit, is made from sugar cane and apart from being crucial to cocktails such as the caipirinha, it makes a great marinade for meat or fish. You may have heard of cachaça when the World Cup in Brazil was all the rage. Since then, it has been easy to find in the shops. I got my bottle at Cambridge Wine Merchants but cachaça is readily available in various supermarkets too.

Cachaca bottle

The key to the flavours in this Chicken Cachaça recipe is the marinade. It’s easy to make! Here’s what you need.

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Cabana – Westfield Stratford City, London (UK)

Cabana Brasilian Barbecue has a few locations around London. The one I visited is located at Westfield Stratford City’s Chestnut Plaza, which boasts the advantage of two outdoor terraces. Whilst Cabana retains the Portuguese spelling of Brazil (that’s Brasil with an ‘s’), it is not a typical Brazilian restaurant, although the flavours and ingredients are indeed Brazilian. In my opinion, this is a good thing as the menu offers up some fresh, decent Brazilian-inspired fare that appeals to a wide segment of the population.

Cabana Outside5

Collage Cabana Outside

The decor is beautifully thought out with some wonderful upcycled furnishings, such as tables made from wooden cheese shelves and seating covered in jeans. The ambience is comfy, cheerful and fun, complemented by the colourful printed posters that adorn the walls and the friendly servers dressed in Brazilian colours. We arrived as soon as they opened for lunch and most people were seated outside on this warm, sunny day so I had the opportunity to take a few photos of the inside while it was still relatively empty. It filled up quickly afterwards!

Collage Cabana Inside

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