Summer recipes from Shelina Permalloo
Millions watched Shelina Permalloo cook her way to victory in MasterChef last year inspired by her family’s traditional Mauritian food. Now Shelina has partnered with Stella Artois to create a series of recipes which match Stella Artois Cidre. 
So what was the appeal of using Cidre?
‘I've always paired fruits with a lot of my savoury dishes, so it’s a natural pairing,’ she enthuses when we chatted.
‘My most favourite [recipe using Cidre] would be the Laab, because it’s actually a really beautiful light dish which has got a lot of beautiful and contrasting flavours.’
Where does her love of food come from?
‘I have to dedicate all my passions for cooking to my mother – she pretty much taught me everything I know about Mauritian food which is my cultural heritage,’ smiles Shelina.
And just how important is her heritage to her, I wonder?
‘For me it’s kind of who I am really,’ she explains. ‘I have to thank my parents for that because I was born in Southampton and it would have been quite easy for me not to have seen myself as having Mauritian blood because everyone I knew was mostly English when I was growing up, until I got to London where there were loads of different types of people.
‘I do see myself as British in every way, I've just been lucky enough to know a different language and have a different food history I suppose.’
She’s never lived in the country which inspires her cuisine. ‘I have never lived in Mauritius, I would just like to retire there,’ she laughs.
But while there’s no dish she would refuse to eat (‘I’ll try anything,’ she confesses) does she have any cooking pet hates?
‘Double dipping gets me every time,’ she exclaims.
So, do try these recipes at home – just remember keep your spoon clean...
Serves: 4
Preparation & Cooking time: 2 hours
Method:
1. Peel the pears, cut them in half and then scoop out the core from the pears
2. In a pan bring to a simmer Cidre Pear, water, sugar, lemon halves, cinnamon and star anise and add the pears to this
3. Simmer for around 20 minutes until the pears are tender
4. Let the pears cool completely in the syrup (this will take around 1.5hrs)
5. Whip the cream, with the sugar, vanilla and mix spice - soft set peaks
6. Serve the pears with some of the syrup and a generous dollop of spiced cream
Ingredients
Serves: 4
Preparation & Cooking time: 1 hour
Method:
1.Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the sliced onions with sugar and allow to cook down for around 10 minutes until softened
2.Add the Cidre Pear and continue cooking the onions for a further 15-20 minutes until the onions have reduced to a thick jam like consistency. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely
3.Remove the pastry from the packaging onto a lightly floured surface. Brush the edges of the pasty with egg wash (1 beaten egg with a pinch of salt)
4.Scatter over the onion mixture, along with crumbled varying sizes of gorgonzola, cumin and the black pepper
5.Pre heat oven to 200 degrees and bake the tart straight onto a wire rack for around 20 minutes
6.Serve immediately This rustic red onion and gorgonzola tart is packed full of flavour and great for taking on a picnic
This Mauritian-inspired recipe is a stylish, moreish canapé
Ingredients
To Serve:
Lettuce cups (baby gem or iceberg lettuce works well for this) and garnish with some chopped spring onion.
Serves: 4
Preparation & Cooking time: 30 minutes
Method:
1. In a dry wok over a high heat, add the rice and dry cook for around 3 minutes until the rice has browned
2. Remove from heat and pound lightly in a pestle and mortar, and set aside
3. In a pestle and mortar lightly pound together the garlic, ginger, chilli, coriander stalk into a rough paste
4. In a wok on a high heat, fry the shallots and add the paste with some vegetable oil, and then add the mince. Cook for about 5 minutes
5. Add the Cidre, shrimp paste, fish sauce, lime juice and sugar and cook for a further 2-3 minutes
6. Take off the heat and toss through the finely chopped coriander and mint
7. Serve with lettuce cups, garnish of spring onion and toasted rice
Shelina Permalloo has created a range of recipes perfectly paired with Stella Artois Cidre this summer. For futher tips and advice, check out Shelina talking about her craft in the Stella Artois Connoisseurs Series.
So what was the appeal of using Cidre?
‘I've always paired fruits with a lot of my savoury dishes, so it’s a natural pairing,’ she enthuses when we chatted.
‘My most favourite [recipe using Cidre] would be the Laab, because it’s actually a really beautiful light dish which has got a lot of beautiful and contrasting flavours.’
Where does her love of food come from?
‘I have to dedicate all my passions for cooking to my mother – she pretty much taught me everything I know about Mauritian food which is my cultural heritage,’ smiles Shelina.
And just how important is her heritage to her, I wonder?
‘For me it’s kind of who I am really,’ she explains. ‘I have to thank my parents for that because I was born in Southampton and it would have been quite easy for me not to have seen myself as having Mauritian blood because everyone I knew was mostly English when I was growing up, until I got to London where there were loads of different types of people.
‘I do see myself as British in every way, I've just been lucky enough to know a different language and have a different food history I suppose.’
She’s never lived in the country which inspires her cuisine. ‘I have never lived in Mauritius, I would just like to retire there,’ she laughs.
But while there’s no dish she would refuse to eat (‘I’ll try anything,’ she confesses) does she have any cooking pet hates?
‘Double dipping gets me every time,’ she exclaims.
So, do try these recipes at home – just remember keep your spoon clean...
Poached pears with Cidre and spiced cream
A stylish treat for a delicious dessert optionIngredients
- 1 bottle (568ml) Stella Artois Cidre Pear 400ml water
- 100g unrefined caster sugar
- 4 pears
- 1 lemon, chopped in half
- 2 sticks cinnamon
- 2 star anise
- 200ml whipping cream
- 2 tbsp unrefined icing sugar
- 1 tbsp ground mix spice
- 1 vanilla pod sliced in half and seeds removed
Serves: 4
Preparation & Cooking time: 2 hours
Method:
1. Peel the pears, cut them in half and then scoop out the core from the pears
2. In a pan bring to a simmer Cidre Pear, water, sugar, lemon halves, cinnamon and star anise and add the pears to this
3. Simmer for around 20 minutes until the pears are tender
4. Let the pears cool completely in the syrup (this will take around 1.5hrs)
5. Whip the cream, with the sugar, vanilla and mix spice - soft set peaks
6. Serve the pears with some of the syrup and a generous dollop of spiced cream
Gorgonzola, red onion & cumin tartlet (pictured top)
This rustic red onion and gorgonzola tart is packed full of flavour and great for taking on a picnicIngredients
- 1 packet 320g ready roll puff pastry
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 3 red onions
- 3 tbsp unrefined light muscavado sugar
- 300ml Stella Artois Cidre Pear
- 200g gorgonzola
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp cumin seeds
- 1/2tsp crushed black pepper
Serves: 4
Preparation & Cooking time: 1 hour
Method:
1.Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the sliced onions with sugar and allow to cook down for around 10 minutes until softened
2.Add the Cidre Pear and continue cooking the onions for a further 15-20 minutes until the onions have reduced to a thick jam like consistency. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely
3.Remove the pastry from the packaging onto a lightly floured surface. Brush the edges of the pasty with egg wash (1 beaten egg with a pinch of salt)
4.Scatter over the onion mixture, along with crumbled varying sizes of gorgonzola, cumin and the black pepper
5.Pre heat oven to 200 degrees and bake the tart straight onto a wire rack for around 20 minutes
6.Serve immediately This rustic red onion and gorgonzola tart is packed full of flavour and great for taking on a picnic
Chicken Laab (spiced salad)
This Mauritian-inspired recipe is a stylish, moreish canapé Ingredients
- 600g minced chicken
- 28g coriander including stalk
- 1 tbsp grated ginger
- 2 cloves of grated garlic
- 1 tbsp shrimp paste
- 2 birds eye chilli finely chopped (seeds in if you like it hot)
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 100ml Stella Artois Cidre
- Juice of 2 limes
- 2 shallots finely chopped
- 10 mint leaves finely chopped
- 50g toasted rice (basmati works best)
- 1 tbsp unrefined dark muscavado sugar
To Serve:
Lettuce cups (baby gem or iceberg lettuce works well for this) and garnish with some chopped spring onion.
Serves: 4
Preparation & Cooking time: 30 minutes
Method:
1. In a dry wok over a high heat, add the rice and dry cook for around 3 minutes until the rice has browned
2. Remove from heat and pound lightly in a pestle and mortar, and set aside
3. In a pestle and mortar lightly pound together the garlic, ginger, chilli, coriander stalk into a rough paste
4. In a wok on a high heat, fry the shallots and add the paste with some vegetable oil, and then add the mince. Cook for about 5 minutes
5. Add the Cidre, shrimp paste, fish sauce, lime juice and sugar and cook for a further 2-3 minutes
6. Take off the heat and toss through the finely chopped coriander and mint
7. Serve with lettuce cups, garnish of spring onion and toasted rice
Shelina Permalloo has created a range of recipes perfectly paired with Stella Artois Cidre this summer. For futher tips and advice, check out Shelina talking about her craft in the Stella Artois Connoisseurs Series.