A bit of food fusion in Brazil

Ottolenghi protégé Ixta Belfrage is back with her next cookbook

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You're unlikely to see piranha in the seafood aisle of your local supermarket, but the toothy, carnivorous fish are an everyday staple in the Amazon.

"It's delicious," says Brazilian-British chef Ixta Belfrage. "It has the fattiness of a mackerel, but not the strong flavour of mackerel - it kind of tastes like sea-bass. It's quite thin so there's not much flesh."

And with a lot of bones, there's a specific way to slice piranha so you don't end up with a mouthful of spines.

Amazonian river fish and "are some of the most bonkers fish you've ever seen", says the 34-year-old. Another popular species is tambaqui, with its big meaty, fatty ribs eaten in the same way pork ribs would be.

"The fish from the Amazon often taste quite muddy, most of the time it's quite mild, but sometimes it can be quite strong. It's really interesting."