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Mint pistachio pesto
Featured recipe

Mint pistachio pesto

A fresh, fragrant pesto made with mint leaves and toasted pistachios. It is lovely tossed through hot pasta or spooned over roasted vegetables, and a spoonful lifts a plain vegetable soup.

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Assida zgougouAleppo pine seed pudding

Assida zgougou is made in Tunisian homes once a year, for the Mouled (the Prophet's birthday): a dark, nutty pudding of Aleppo pine seeds (zgougou) cooked with flour and sugar, topped with a pale vanilla custard and decorated with almonds, pistachios, pine nuts and sugared almonds. Families make dozens of glasses to share with neighbours. Zgougou is sold in Tunisian and North African grocers; ground hazelnuts are a stand-in, though the taste is different. Chef's tip: strain the zgougou liquid through muslin twice; any grit ruins the smooth texture.

70 minTunisianDesserts
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Asperges à la flamandeWhite asparagus with egg and butter

In May and June, white asparagus from Mechelen and the sandy fields around Limburg arrive in Belgian markets, and asperges à la flamande (asperges op Vlaamse wijze) is the way to eat them. The pale spears are peeled and cooked until tender, then covered with a warm sauce of melted butter, chopped hard-boiled egg, parsley and nutmeg that is half sauce and half garnish. It is served as a starter in Flemish restaurants all through the short asparagus season, sometimes with a slice of ham alongside; here it stays meat-free. Chef's tip: peel the spears from just below the tip all the way down with a swivel peeler; white asparagus has a thick, bitter skin, and missing even a strip leaves woody threads.

35 minBelgianSnacks & StartersGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Asmara pasta al sugoSpaghetti in berbere tomato sauce

Pasta is part of everyday life in Asmara, a legacy of the Italian years, and in Eritrean homes and cafés 'pasta al sugo' means spaghetti in a slow tomato sauce warmed with berbere, garlic and plenty of onion. It is eaten on weekdays and after church on Sundays, often with a banana or a green chilli on the side. The usual sauce has minced beef; this one uses finely chopped mushrooms and carrot for the same body. Chef's tip: cook the onions and berbere slowly before the tomato goes in; raw berbere tastes dusty.

60 minEritreanPasta & NoodlesVeganSpicy
by KrazyBadal 0 views

ChurchkhelaWalnuts in grape juice coating

Churchkhela are the candle-shaped sweets you see hanging in bunches at every Georgian market, but they are made at home during rtveli, the grape harvest in Kakheti in September and October. Walnuts are threaded on a string and dipped again and again in tatara, fresh grape must thickened with flour, then hung up to dry for a week, until firm and chewy outside and tender within. They are eaten at New Year and kept for months. A common mistake is a tatara that is too thin, which slides off the nuts; it should coat the back of a spoon thickly and fall in ribbons. Chef's tip: let each coat set for 10–15 minutes before the next dip; three or four thin coats look and keep better than one thick one.

120 minGeorgianDessertsVegan
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Ashlyan-fuCold noodle soup with starch jelly

Ashlyan-fu is the street food of Karakol, the town on the eastern shore of Kyrgyzstan's Lake Issyk-Kul, brought by Dungan (Hui) families more than a century ago. Locals eat it for lunch on hot days at the 'ashlyan-fu row' near the bazaar: thick wheat noodles and cubes of wobbly starch jelly in a chilled, sour and fiery broth, with a strip of thin omelette, often alongside a fried potato pirozhok. It's eaten all over Kyrgyzstan and southern Kazakhstan now. This version uses a vegetable sauce rather than meat. Chef's tip: everything must be cold; chill the broth and the jelly properly, as lukewarm ashlyan-fu tastes flat.

70 minKazakhPasta & NoodlesSpicy
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Churpi ningroFiddlehead fern curry

In the monsoon, ningro (fiddlehead fern) shoots appear in the hill markets of Gangtok, Namchi and Darjeeling, curled like violin scrolls. Sikkimese homes cook them quickly with onion, tomato and green chilli, then stir in crumbled soft churpi, a fresh, tangy cheese made from yak or cow's milk, which melts into a creamy, slightly sour sauce. It is a side dish for rice and dal, and tastes green and grassy, a little like asparagus. Chef's tip: always boil ferns for a few minutes and drain before cooking; it removes bitterness. Ricotta or crumbled feta is a fair stand-in for churpi.

25 minIndianSidesGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Chushki byurekFried cheese-stuffed peppers

Chushki byurek are one of the great autumn dishes of Bulgaria: in September, when the long red peppers ripen around Plovdiv and Pazardzhik, they are roasted, peeled, filled with sirene and egg, then dipped in flour, egg and breadcrumbs and fried. The outside crunches, the pepper is silky and sweet, and the salty cheese melts inside. They are served hot as a main course with a tomato salad, or cold the next day. Chef's tip: dry the peeled peppers well before filling; a wet pepper is the usual mistake, and the batter slides off and the oil spits.

60 minBulgarianVegetarian
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AshakLeek-filled dumplings

Ashak are the dumplings Kabul families fold together for Eid, Nowruz and weddings: thin wheat wrappers stuffed with gandana (Afghan garlic chives, here replaced with leeks and spring onions), boiled, then laid on a bed of garlicky strained yoghurt and topped with a tomato sauce and dried mint. Ashak usually come with a minced-meat sauce; this vegetarian version uses yellow split peas in a spiced tomato base, as many Afghan cooks do on meatless days. Making them is a sociable afternoon job, so rope in helpers. Chef's tip: squeeze the salted leeks hard in a cloth before filling; any water left in them soaks the wrappers and they split in the pot.

95 minAfghanSnacks & Starters
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Shopska salad

Shopska salata is named after the Shopi people of the Sofia region and has become Bulgaria's national salad, the first thing ordered at any mehana (tavern) with a cold glass of rakia. Ripe tomatoes, cucumber, onion and soft roasted peppers are dressed simply with sunflower oil and vinegar, then buried under finely grated sirene, the Bulgarian white brined cheese, so the top looks like fresh snow. Unlike a Greek village salad, there are no olives and the cheese is grated, not in a slab. Chef's tip: salt and dress the vegetables before the cheese goes on; dressing over the cheese is the common mistake and turns the white snow soggy.

20 minBulgarianSaladsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Ash reshtehNoodle, bean and herb soup

Ash reshteh is the thick soup Iranians cook in big pots in the days before Nowruz and for Sizdah Bedar, the spring picnic day, when the noodles (reshteh) are said to help you grasp the threads of good luck for the coming year. Chickpeas, beans and lentils are simmered with a mountain of green herbs and spinach, thickened with flat noodles and finished at the table with tangy kashk, crisp onions and a sizzling swirl of mint oil. It is a meal in a bowl, hearty and herby. Kashk is usually made without rennet, but check the label; strained yogurt is a good substitute. Chef's tip: add the noodles only once the beans are soft, and stir often after that, because they thicken the pot and it can catch on the bottom.

120 minPersianSoups
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Kozuyu (Aizu dried scallop soup)

Far inland in the Aizu basin of Fukushima, the old castle town of Aizu-Wakamatsu builds its festive soup on dried scallops, which reached these mountains by trade from the northern coast. Kozuyu is served at New Year, weddings and other celebrations in shallow red lacquer bowls, and it is polite to accept a second or third helping. The stock is clear and lightly salted, full of small cubes of taro, carrot, mushroom, konjac noodles and tiny wheat gluten balls. Expect a delicate, sweet sea flavour rather than anything strong. Chef's tip: keep every drop of the scallop soaking water; it is the whole stock, and the scallops themselves shred into soft threads in the soup.

50 minJapaneseSoups
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Ciorbă de burtăCreamy sour tripe soup

Romanians swear by ciorbă de burtă the morning after a wedding or a long night out, and in Bucharest there are restaurants that serve little else from breakfast onwards. Strips of beef tripe sit in a silky broth thickened with egg yolk and sour cream, sharpened with vinegar and served with mujdei, a raw garlic sauce, and a hot pepper on the side. It takes time, because tripe only turns tender after a long, slow simmer. The mistake most people make is boiling the soup after the yolks go in, which scrambles them into flecks. Chef's tip: buy cleaned, blanched (white, 'dressed') tripe from the butcher; it saves an hour of scrubbing and is much milder.

240 minRomanianSoupsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Ciorbă de legumeSoured vegetable soup

Ciorbă is the sour soup that opens a Romanian lunch, from canteens in Cluj to Sunday tables in Moldavia, and the vegetable version is cooked all through the fasting weeks before Easter and Christmas. Root vegetables, beans and peppers simmer in a light broth that is soured at the end with borș, the fermented wheat-bran liquid sold in bottles at Romanian shops, or with lemon juice. Fresh lovage (leuștean) gives its unmistakable celery-like perfume. It is eaten piping hot with bread and a fresh green chilli on the side. Chef's tip: add the borș only at the end and let it come back just to a simmer; boiling it hard dulls the sour tang.

60 minRomanianSoupsVegan
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Ciorbă de perișoareSour soup with meatballs

Across Romania, from Bucharest canteens to Moldavian grandmothers' kitchens, a pot of ciorbă de perișoare turns up on the Sunday table and again on Monday, when it tastes even better. This version contains pork: soft meatballs of minced pork and rice simmer in a clear vegetable broth that is soured at the end with borș (fermented wheat-bran liquid) or lemon juice, then finished with a handful of lovage. It is eaten very hot with a spoon of sour cream and a fresh green chilli to bite between spoonfuls. A frequent slip is boiling the soup hard once the meatballs are in, which breaks them apart and clouds the broth. Chef's tip: wet your hands in cold water before rolling each meatball; the mixture will not stick and the balls stay smooth and round.

80 minRomanianSoups
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KalanYam and banana yogurt curry

Kalan is one of the old curries of the Onam sadya in central Kerala, made days ahead in temple kitchens and big family homes because it keeps so well. Elephant yam and green nendran banana are cooked with plenty of black pepper, then soured curd is stirred in and slowly reduced until it is thick enough to coat a spoon, before a fine coconut paste goes in. It tastes sharp, peppery and rich, with the toasted fenugreek of the tempering coming through at the end. Spoon a little over hot rice and ghee. Chef's tip: use curd that has sat out for a day and turned properly sour; mild fresh yogurt gives a flat kalan.

60 minIndianCurriesGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Kalari kulchaCheese-stuffed kulcha

Kalari, also spelt kaladi, is a fresh, stretchy cheese made in the hills around Udhampur and Ramnagar in Jammu, often from buffalo or goat milk. Street sellers in Jammu city lay slices of it on a hot iron tawa with no oil at all: the cheese releases its own fat and fries to a blistered brown crust while the inside turns soft and slightly stringy. They stuff it into a warm kulcha with onion, tomato, green chutney and a shake of chaat masala, and it is eaten standing up, especially on winter evenings. Outside Jammu, use halloumi, which behaves almost the same, or firm paneer with a teaspoon of oil. Chef's tip: dry the cheese slices on kitchen paper first; wet cheese steams instead of crisping.

25 minIndianSnacks & Starters
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Bircher muesli

Around 1900 the Zürich doctor Maximilian Bircher-Benner served his sanatorium patients a small bowl of raw food before every meal, which he called d'Spys (the dish): a spoonful of soaked oats, plenty of grated apple, lemon juice, nuts and condensed milk. His original was mostly apple, not mostly oats, and that is what sets it apart from the dry muesli mix sold in packets. Swiss cafés and railway kiosks still serve Birchermüesli for breakfast or a light supper, creamy, sharp and fresh, now often with yogurt and berries. This version keeps his balance: oats soaked overnight, a whole apple grated in at the last moment, lemon, hazelnuts and a little honey and yogurt. Chef's tip: grate the apple straight into the lemon juice, skin and all, and stir at once; it stays pale and juicy instead of turning brown.

10 minSwissBreakfast & Brunch
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Clafoutis aux cerisesCherry batter pudding

Clafoutis comes from the Limousin in central France, where black cherries ripen in early summer and families make this simple pudding for Sunday lunch. Whole cherries are scattered in a buttered dish and covered with a sweet, eggy batter, like a cross between a pancake and a custard, then baked until puffed and golden. In the Limousin the cherries are left unstoned, which cooks say gives a faint almond flavour; stone them if you are serving children. It's best warm, dusted with icing sugar. Chef's tip: don't overmix the batter once the flour is in; beating it hard is the common mistake and makes the clafoutis tough and rubbery.

50 minFrenchDesserts
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Coastal Mombasa mixChickpea and potato coconut-mango broth

A Mombasa street-food bowl: chickpeas and potato simmered in coconut milk with raw mango and chilli, ladled into small bowls and topped with crisp lentil fritters, crunchy chevdo and red, green and tamarind chutneys. Make the fritters and chevdo ahead and assemble at the table. It's sweet, sour, hot and crunchy all at once.

60 minAfricanSnacks & StartersSpicy
by KrazyBadal 1 views

Çoban salatasıChopped tomato and cucumber salad

Çoban salatası, the shepherd's salad, is on the table at almost every Turkish meal from Edirne to Van, whether that is a home dinner, a lokanta lunch or a summer barbecue. It is simple by design: small dice of tomato, cucumber, green pepper and onion with parsley, dressed with lemon juice, olive oil and a little sumac. It is eaten alongside pilaf, beans, börek or anything grilled. The common mistake is salting it too early, which draws the water out of the tomatoes and leaves it swimming. Chef's tip: rub the onion slices with salt and sumac and rinse them before adding; the onion stays crunchy but loses its harsh bite.

10 minTurkishSaladsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Raclette

In the Valais, the vineyard-and-glacier canton along the upper Rhône, raclette began as a herders' meal: half a wheel of cheese propped beside an open fire, the melting face scraped (racler) onto a plate of potatoes. Today Valais families and village festivals still serve it the slow way, one plate at a time, while at home most people use a tabletop grill with small pans. The cheese is soft and pungent from the wheel and turns sweet and nutty as it bubbles, set off by sharp cornichons and little pickled onions. A proper Valais raclette needs nothing else: no charcuterie, just potatoes, pickles, pepper and a glass of Fendant or hot tea. Raclette cheese is usually made with animal rennet; choose a wheel or slices labelled with microbial or vegetarian rennet. Chef's tip: keep the potatoes hot in a covered basket wrapped in a cloth, so each scoop of cheese lands on a steaming potato and stays runny.

45 minSwissVegetarianGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Cochinita pibilAchiote slow-roast pork

The Maya of the Yucatán peninsula cooked pork in a pib, a pit lined with hot stones, and in Mérida cochinita pibil is still sold at dawn from market stalls, piled into tacos and tortas for breakfast. Pork shoulder sits overnight in a brick-red paste of achiote and sour orange juice, then roasts slowly wrapped in banana leaves until it pulls apart, soaking in its own tangy juices. It goes into warm tortillas with bright pink pickled onions and, for the brave, a habanero salsa. Chef's tip: if you can't find bitter Seville oranges, mix sweet orange juice with lime juice; the sourness is what tenderises and balances the pork.

270 minMexicanMeatGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Cocido madrileñoChickpea and meat stew

Cocido madrileño is the slow pot of the capital's winter, served at lunch in old Madrid taverns and at home on cold weekends. Everything simmers together for hours (chickpeas, beef shin, chicken, pork belly, ham bone, chorizo, carrots and potatoes) and then it comes to the table in three vuelcos, or 'tippings out': first the broth as a soup with thin noodles, then the chickpeas and vegetables, then the platter of meats. Cabbage and chorizo are cooked in a separate pan so they don't cloud or redden the broth. It is a big project, but most of the time the pot looks after itself. Chef's tip: put the soaked chickpeas into a mesh bag or a loose muslin bundle; they're easy to lift out whole at the end and don't break up in the long simmer.

180 minSpanishMeat
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AseedaSorghum porridge

Aseeda (asida) is the stiff, slightly sour sorghum porridge eaten across Sudan, especially in Darfur, Kordofan and the countryside, where it is the daily staple. The batter is left to ferment before being cooked into a smooth, firm dough, shaped in a bowl into a dome, and turned out with mullah poured around it. During Ramadan it is a common iftar dish. Chef's tip: beat hard with a wooden spoon once the dough thickens; that beating is what makes aseeda smooth instead of lumpy.

35 minSudaneseRice & GrainsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

ConchasSweet bread buns

Conchas are the most famous pan dulce (sweet bread) in Mexico, piled high in every panadería and eaten for breakfast or merienda with hot chocolate or coffee. The bun is soft, slightly sweet and enriched with egg and butter, and it wears a crunchy, crumbly topping of sugar, fat and flour scored into the seashell pattern that gives it its name. Make some vanilla and some chocolate topping for the classic mix. Chef's tip: shape the dough into very tight balls before adding the topping; the tension makes them rise up instead of spreading out, so the shell cracks into neat stripes.

180 minMexicanBaking
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Plain rice congee with toppingsRice porridge with toppings

Congee (zhou in Mandarin, juk in Cantonese) is what much of China eats for breakfast, and what everyone is given when they are under the weather. The base is just rice and water cooked until the grains burst into a smooth, gentle porridge; the fun is in the toppings, from fried shallots to peanuts and salty pickles, so everyone builds their own bowl. Chef's tip: rinse the rice, then rub it with a little oil and salt and freeze it for an hour if you can; the grains crack and break down twice as fast.

75 minChineseBreakfast & BrunchVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

ConkiesSteamed pumpkin and cornmeal parcels

Conkies are made all over Barbados in late November for Independence Day on 30 November, when they're sold at roadside stalls and steamed in big pots at home; older Bajans remember them from Guy Fawkes Night, too. A spiced batter of grated pumpkin, sweet potato and coconut, cornmeal, sugar and raisins is folded into squares of banana leaf and steamed until it sets. Unwrapped, they're moist, dense, sweet and fragrant with nutmeg, almond and the faint green tea scent of the leaf. Chef's tip: pass the banana leaves briefly over a gas flame or dip them in hot water first; they turn glossy and supple and fold without splitting.

120 minBajanDessertsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Coorg pandi curryDark spiced pork curry

Up in the coffee estates of Kodagu (Coorg), pandi curry is the dish of the Kodava people, cooked for Puttari, the harvest festival, and for every family gathering in between. Fatty pork simmers in its own juices with a masala of coriander and black pepper roasted almost black, then finishes with kachampuli, a dark, sour vinegar made from the Garcinia fruit. It is eaten with kadambuttu (steamed rice balls) or akki otti. Chef's tip: roast the spices slowly over a low heat until they are the colour of strong coffee; this is the dark colour and smoky flavour of a real pandi curry.

105 minIndianMeatGluten freeSpicy
by KrazyBadal 0 views

CoquitoCoconut rum drink

Coquito is Puerto Rico's Christmas in a glass: bottles of it are made in early December, given to neighbours and poured at every parranda, the late-night singing visits from house to house, until the Fiesta de San Sebastián in Old San Juan in January. This version contains alcohol: it blends coconut milk, sweet cream of coconut and condensed and evaporated milk with Puerto Rican white rum, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla. It's thick, cold and sweet, with the warmth of rum behind the spice. For children and anyone avoiding alcohol, make it without the rum as described in the steps. Chef's tip: let it rest in the fridge overnight; the spices bloom and the rum mellows, and it tastes far rounder on the second day.

10 minPuerto RicanDrinksGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Corn bombSpiced corn on the cob chunks

Chunks of tender corn on the cob tossed in hot oil with cumin, green chillies, fresh coriander, turmeric, black pepper and lemon until every kernel is coated. It's hot, tangy and messy to eat with your fingers. Serve hot from the barbecue.

35 minIndianSnacks & StartersVeganGluten freeSpicy
by KrazyBadal 0 views

CornulețeJam-filled crescent cookies

Cornulețe are the little crescent cookies that fill tins in Romanian kitchens before Christmas and New Year, and that grandmothers in Sibiu and Timișoara bake by the hundred for weddings and name days. This version uses a tender yeasted dough made with butter and yogurt, wrapped around a spoonful of thick plum jam (magiun) or rose rahat and rolled into horns. They bake pale and soft, not flaky, and are rolled in vanilla sugar while warm (the recipe makes 32, two per serving), which sets them apart from the cream-cheese rugelach of Jewish baking. Chef's tip: use thick jam and pinch the ends shut; runny jam is the usual mistake and bubbles out and burns on the tray.

80 minRomanianBaking
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Coto MakassarBeef and peanut soup

Before the sun is fully up over Makassar's harbour, coto warungs are already serving dockers and office workers alike from huge clay-coloured pots. This South Sulawesi soup is thick, brown and opaque, its body coming from roasted peanuts ground almost to flour and simmered into a broth made with the cloudy water from rinsing rice. Diced beef (and traditionally offal) sits in a nutty, cumin-and-pepper broth that's eaten with diamond-shaped ketupat rice cakes broken into the bowl, plus lime and a spoon of chilli. Chef's tip: grind the cooled peanuts in short bursts and stop while they're still sandy; a few seconds too long and you get peanut butter that turns the soup claggy.

120 minIndonesianSoupsGluten free
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Cou-cou with Bajan vegetable stewCornmeal and okra with vegetable stew

Cou-cou is Friday lunch in Barbados, and paired with flying fish it makes the island's national dish, served in homes and the fish fry stalls of Oistins. Fine cornmeal is stirred into okra and its cooking water with a flat wooden cou-cou stick until it is smooth, thick and pulls away from the pot, then shaped in a buttered bowl. It's soft, mild and comforting, made for soaking up the rich tomato gravy around it. Here the gravy is a stew of peppers, tomatoes, aubergine and butter beans cooked with Bajan seasoning; flying fish steamed in the same sauce is the classic for fish eaters. Chef's tip: whisk the cornmeal into cold water before it goes into the pot; adding it dry to boiling liquid is the fastest way to lumps.

65 minBajanVegetarianGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Couscous royalCouscous with lamb, chicken and sausage

Couscous royal is the big-occasion couscous that Algerian and Moroccan families brought to France and that is now served for weddings and Sunday gatherings from Oran to Marseille: a pot of lamb and chicken simmered with vegetables and chickpeas in a mildly spiced broth, grilled merguez on the side, and a mountain of steamed couscous. The mistake is putting all the vegetables in at once; the courgettes go mushy while the turnips are still hard, so add them in stages. Chef's tip: brown the lamb and chicken well before the water goes in; that colour flavours the whole broth.

160 minAlgerianMeat
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Couscous tfayaCouscous with caramelised onions

Tfaya is the sweet onion topping that turns a plain couscous into a celebration dish; in Fez and Rabat it is made for weddings, naming ceremonies and Eid, and families in Tétouan add it to Friday couscous too. Onions are cooked slowly with raisins, cinnamon, honey and a little saffron until they collapse into a sticky, mahogany jam, then piled over the couscous with chickpeas and fried almonds. Traditionally it crowns couscous with meat; here the chickpeas and almonds carry the dish, making it a sweet-savoury vegetarian main for a feast. Chef's tip: soak the raisins first, or they draw liquid from the onions and the tfaya catches before it caramelises.

60 minMoroccanRice & Grains
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Gyutan (Sendai grilled beef tongue)

Sendai, the biggest city in Miyagi prefecture, turned beef tongue into its signature dish in the years after the Second World War. Specialist gyutan restaurants line the streets around Sendai Station, and the classic set is always the same: grilled tongue, a bowl of rice cooked with barley, a clear oxtail soup and a few pickles with a green chilli miso. This home version uses tongue sliced by a butcher, a short salt cure and a very hot pan, with a quick clear beef soup in place of the long-simmered oxtail. The meat should be chewy in a pleasant, bouncy way, with a smoky crust. Chef's tip: ask the butcher to peel the tongue and cut it into 1 cm slices; thick slices with shallow cuts on both sides stay juicy, while thin ones dry out in seconds.

60 minJapaneseMeat
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CozonacSweet braided bread

Cozonac is the festive loaf every Romanian family bakes for Easter and Christmas, filling kitchens from Craiova to Suceava with the smell of butter, rum, lemon and orange zest. The rich yeast dough is rolled around a walnut and cocoa filling studded with pieces of rahat (Turkish delight), then braided and baked in a tall loaf tin so each slice shows a dark swirl. Unlike Slovenian potica, which is rolled into a thin spiral ring, cozonac is a braided loaf. It is eaten in thick slices with coffee on the feast mornings. Chef's tip: knead until the dough is silky and comes away from the bowl, then be patient with the rises; under-proving is the classic mistake and gives a dense, heavy loaf.

110 minRomanianBaking
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Crème brûléeBurnt cream custard

Crème brûlée, 'burnt cream', is the dessert on almost every Paris bistro menu: a shallow dish of rich vanilla custard, cold and silky, under a thin sheet of caramelised sugar you crack with the back of a spoon. Unlike the stovetop Spanish crema catalana, it's made with cream and baked gently in a water bath. The custards are made a day ahead, which makes it ideal for dinner parties; only the sugar is burnt at the last minute. Chef's tip: take them out of the oven while the middle still wobbles like jelly; overbaking is the common mistake and the custard turns grainy and splits.

60 minFrenchDessertsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Crni rižotBlack cuttlefish risotto

Along the Dalmatian coast, from Korčula to Dubrovnik, konobas serve crni rižot as the first thing fishermen order when they come ashore, its jet-black colour startling against a white plate. Cuttlefish is cooked slowly with onion and garlic until tender, then rice goes in with fish stock and the ink sac, making a creamy, sea-sweet rice that tastes of the shore. It traditionally includes a splash of dry white wine; for an alcohol-free version, use more stock with a squeeze of lemon. The usual mistake is adding the cuttlefish late and cooking it fast, which leaves it rubbery; it needs to stew first. Chef's tip: serve with a drizzle of good olive oil and grated hard sheep's cheese if you like, and warn your guests about black teeth.

75 minBalkanFishGluten free
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Crossing-the-bridge noodles with vegetable brothRice noodles in hot broth

Guo qiao mi xian comes from Mengzi in southern Yunnan. The story goes that a scholar's wife carried soup across a bridge to his island study each day, and found that a layer of oil kept it piping hot. Today in Kunming it arrives as a big bowl of scalding broth plus small plates of raw thinly sliced vegetables, tofu skin, herbs and rice noodles, which you slide in yourself so they cook at the table. This vegetarian broth is built on mushroom, corn and soybean sprouts. Chef's tip: the broth must be at a rolling boil when it goes into a warmed bowl; that heat is what cooks the toppings.

60 minChineseSoups
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Chhum hanSteamed vegetables with chilli dip

Chhum han is how Mizo families eat vegetables at their simplest: whatever is in the garden (pumpkin, chayote, beans, aubergine, cabbage, potato) steamed or boiled until just tender and served on a plate with a sharp dip of crushed chilli, garlic, salt and herbs. In Aizawl it is part of almost every home meal, eaten with rice and bai. The vegetables taste of themselves, and the dip does the work. Chef's tip: steam each vegetable for its own time and take it off when a knife slides in; overcooked chhum han is watery and dull.

25 minIndianSidesVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

KutiaWheat berries with poppy seeds

Kutia is the first dish tasted on Ukrainian Christmas Eve, once the first star appears in the sky: a bowl of whole wheat berries mixed with ground poppy seed 'milk', honey, walnuts and raisins. Families in Lviv, Ternopil and the villages of the west traditionally throw a spoonful at the ceiling for luck and set a bowl aside for departed relatives, and the head of the house greets the evening with it. It is eaten at room temperature, sweet, nutty and chewy, and the spoon must touch every guest's plate. Chef's tip: soak and grind the poppy seed until it turns white and milky; common mistake is using it whole, which leaves kutia gritty and grey instead of creamy.

120 minUkrainianDesserts
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CsirkepaprikásPaprika chicken in sour cream sauce

Csirkepaprikás is the Sunday chicken of Hungarian homes, cooked by grandmothers in villages and in Budapest flats alike and always served with nokedli, the little egg dumplings. Chicken thighs braise gently with onion, plenty of sweet paprika, tomato and pepper, then soured cream is stirred in to make a velvety, brick-orange sauce. Chef's tip: mix the soured cream with a spoonful of flour and some hot sauce before adding it; this stops it from splitting.

70 minHungarianChicken
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CuberdonsRaspberry cone candies

Cuberdons are the purple, cone-shaped sweets sold from handcarts on the Groentenmarkt in Ghent, where locals call them neuzekes, 'little noses'. A thin, firm sugar crust encloses a syrupy raspberry centre, and they only stay that way for about three weeks before the inside crystallises, which is why they have never become an export. They are made with gum arabic, not gelatine, so they suit vegetarians and vegans. Making them at home is a fun weekend project: the syrup is poured into cone-shaped hollows pressed into a tray of dry cornflour, which slowly draws moisture out and forms the crust. Chef's tip: use a sugar thermometer and be exact; just a few degrees too low and the cones never form a crust, a few too high and they set solid all the way through.

65 minBelgianDessertsVeganGluten free
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KompotFruit and berry drink

Kompot is the drink of Russian summers: a big pan of water with whatever the garden or market offers, apples, cherries, redcurrants, strawberries, plums, simmered for a few minutes, lightly sweetened and served cold from the fridge. It is what children drink with lunch at school canteens and summer camps from Moscow to Novosibirsk, and dacha cellars are lined with three-litre jars of it bottled for winter. The fruit at the bottom of the glass is everyone's favourite part. Chef's tip: switch off the heat as soon as it boils and let the fruit steep as it cools; long boiling makes it taste stewed and dull.

20 minRussianDrinksVeganGluten free
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MantıBeef dumplings with garlic yogurt

Kayseri, in central Anatolia, is famous across Turkey for mantı so small that, by local saying, forty should fit on one spoon. Families make big batches together on winter afternoons, rolling the dough thin and pinching each square around a pea of spiced minced meat, and the dumplings were traditionally part of a bride's test in the kitchen. They are boiled and served under garlicky yogurt, then drenched in butter sizzled with red pepper. Chef's tip: make a double batch and freeze the uncooked dumplings on a floured tray; they cook from frozen in about 2 minutes extra.

90 minTurkishPasta & Noodles
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Curanto en ollaShellfish and meat pot

On the island of Chiloé in southern Chile, curanto is cooked in a pit lined with hot stones and covered with huge nalca leaves; in town kitchens and in Puerto Montt's market it is made in a big pot instead, curanto en olla. Mussels and clams, smoked pork, chicken and sausage steam together over potatoes and milcao (potato dumplings) until the juices make a rich broth, served in cups on the side. This dish contains pork and shellfish. Some cooks add white wine; this version uses water. The mistake is adding the shellfish too early; they go in at the end and must open, and any that stay closed are thrown away. Chef's tip: make the milcao a little ahead and keep it in the fridge so it holds its shape.

135 minChileanFish
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CurrywurstSausage with curry ketchup

This is a pork dish. Currywurst was born in post-war Berlin, and today kiosks across the city sell it all day and long into the night, on a little paper tray with a wooden fork. A fried pork sausage is cut into bite-size pieces and drowned in a warm, tangy tomato sauce spiced with curry powder, then dusted with more curry powder and served with chips or a bread roll. The sauce is homemade here, so it has no brand of ketchup in it. The usual mistake is cooking the sausages too hot, so they split and burn outside while staying raw inside. Chef's tip: let the sauce simmer a full 10 minutes; the curry powder needs that time to lose its raw, dusty taste.

35 minGermanFast Food
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CurtidoPickled cabbage relish

No plate of pupusas in El Salvador arrives without a jar of curtido beside it: a tangy, crunchy slaw of cabbage, carrot and onion lightly pickled in vinegar with Mexican oregano. Pupuserías keep a big jar on every table, and the sharpness cuts through melted cheese and corn perfectly. It's also good with beans, tacos or a cheese sandwich. Chef's tip: make it a day ahead; it is crisp and raw on day one but turns mellow and properly pickled by day two.

20 minCentral AmericanSaladsVeganGluten free
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Liège waffles

In Liège, in French-speaking Wallonia, the waffle is not a light batter but a rich yeasted dough studded with pearl sugar, eaten warm from a paper sleeve as you walk down the street. As it cooks in a deep-grid iron, the sugar nuggets melt and caramelise into a crackling, toffee-like crust, while the inside stays soft and chewy like brioche. Belgians eat them plain, any time of day, not loaded with cream (that is the lighter Brussels waffle). Chef's tip: knead the pearl sugar in only at the very end, after the dough has risen; if it goes in earlier, it dissolves and the waffles lose their crunch.

50 minBelgianBaking
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Cypriot sheftaliaPork and herb sausages

This is a pork recipe. Sheftalia are the little skinless sausages you find on every souvla barbecue in Cyprus, from Limassol beach grills to Sunday family gatherings in Nicosia gardens. Minced pork is mixed with onion, parsley and mint, wrapped in lacy caul fat and grilled slowly so the fat melts and bastes the meat. They come tucked into a large pitta with salad, lemon and tahini. Ask a butcher for caul fat (sometimes called lace fat); without it you can still shape the mix into thick sausages and grill them on an oiled rack. Chef's tip: soak the caul fat in warm, lightly vinegared water first; it becomes supple and stretches without tearing.

55 minGreekMeat
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Kamatama udonUdon with raw egg

Kagawa, the smallest prefecture in Japan, eats more udon than anywhere else, and its Sanuki udon is known for a firm, springy bite. Locals queue at self-service udon shops at breakfast, and one of the most popular orders is kamatama: noodles lifted straight from the boiling pot, dropped onto a raw egg and tossed until the heat turns the egg into a glossy coating, a little like carbonara. A splash of soy sauce and some spring onion are all it needs. Use frozen Sanuki-style udon, which is closest to fresh. Chef's tip: warm the bowls and crack the egg in first. The noodles must go in seconds after leaving the water, or the egg won't cook into a sauce.

10 minJapanesePasta & Noodles
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Stoemp with leeks and spinach

Stoemp (from the Brussels dialect word for 'to mash') is what Brussels brasseries such as those around the Marolles serve on cold days: potatoes crushed together with whatever vegetable is in season, rich with butter and nutmeg. Unlike Dutch stamppot, the vegetables are usually cooked separately and softened in butter first, which gives a sweeter, silkier mash. Leek and spinach is one of the most popular versions in Brussels, and a fried egg with a runny yolk on top turns it into supper. The meat versions come with sausages; this is meat-free. Chef's tip: cook the leeks slowly in butter until they almost melt; quick-fried leeks stay stringy and squeaky in the mash.

45 minBelgianVegetarianGluten free
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Dabo koloCrunchy spiced dough bites

Dabo kolo are small crunchy nuggets of spiced dough, sold in paper cones in markets from Addis Ababa to Gondar and offered to guests with coffee. Families make big batches before holidays such as Enkutatash (Ethiopian New Year in September) and for long journeys, since they keep for weeks. The dough is seasoned with berbere and a little sugar, rolled into thin ropes, cut into tiny pieces and toasted until crisp. Children love them, and they can be made mild by reducing the berbere. Chef's tip: cut the pieces as small and even as you can, about the size of a chickpea, so they crunch all the way through.

50 minEthiopianSnacks & StartersVegan
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Dabu-dabuFresh tomato and chilli salsa

Every table in Manado, North Sulawesi, has a bowl of dabu-dabu: diced tomato, shallot and red chilli with calamansi juice and lemon basil, sometimes dressed with hot oil. It is spooned over grilled food, fried tofu and the pumpkin porridge tinutuan, and its cool juiciness makes very hot chilli easier to take. Unlike Bali's sambal matah, it is built on tomato and stays chunky and wet. Chef's tip: salt the tomatoes and leave them 5 minutes before mixing, so they release juice that becomes the dressing.

10 minIndonesianChutneys & DipsVeganGluten freeSpicy
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Rose and basil sherbet

Şərbət is poured at the start of every Azerbaijani wedding, and the rose kind, scented with rosewater from the Absheron rose gardens, is the most loved; in Baku it is set out in crystal jugs for Novruz guests and at Ramadan iftar. This version adds two kinds of basil (reyhan): purple basil leaves steeped in the syrup for a clove-like scent, and soaked basil seeds that swell into soft, jelly-coated pearls. Lemon keeps it from tasting like perfume. Serve very cold, with ice, alongside sweets or a rich plov. Chef's tip: soak the basil seeds in plenty of water, at least 20 times their volume; crowded seeds clump into a single lump.

20 minAzerbaijaniDrinksVeganGluten free
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Dahi baiganaFried aubergine in yogurt

Dahi baigana is one of the easiest dishes of an Odia summer lunch, and it turns up at home thalis in Puri and Bhubaneswar beside dalma and rice. Thick rounds of aubergine are rubbed with turmeric and salt, fried until golden and creamy, then bathed in whisked yogurt that has been tempered with mustard seeds, cumin, curry leaves and dried chilli. It is served at room temperature: cool, tangy and smoky from the fried aubergine. Chef's tip: add the tempering to the yogurt, never the yogurt to the hot pan, so it doesn't split.

25 minIndianSidesGluten free
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Dak bokkeumtangSpicy chicken and potato stew

Chicken on the bone braised with big chunks of potato in a thick red sauce is a weeknight staple in Daejeon, the central city where many Korean rail lines meet, and in homes right across the country. Some people still call it dakdoritang. Unlike Andong's soy-based jjimdak, it gets its colour and heat from chilli flakes and gochujang, and the potatoes slowly thicken the sauce as they soften. It's usually brought to the table in the pot and shared, with rice and kimchi, and the last of the sauce is spooned over rice. Chef's tip: blanch the chicken for 3 minutes and rinse it first; this takes away scum and excess fat, so the sauce stays bright and clean-tasting.

50 minKoreanChickenSpicy
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Dak galbiSpicy stir-fried chicken

Chuncheon, a lakeside city in Gangwon province, is so proud of dak galbi that it has a whole lane of restaurants and a yearly festival for it. There, a waiter stir-fries the marinated chicken, cabbage, sweet potato and rice cakes on a huge round iron pan in the middle of your table. When the pan is nearly empty, rice is fried in the leftover sauce to finish the meal. This version is made in a large frying pan or wok at home. Chef's tip: a teaspoon of curry powder in the marinade is a Chuncheon trick; you won't taste curry, but the sauce tastes deeper.

40 minKoreanChickenSpicy
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Dakor na gotaGram flour and fenugreek fritters

Pilgrims who come to the Ranchhodraiji temple at Dakor, in the Charotar belt of central Gujarat, rarely leave without a paper cone of gota from the shops around the temple square. These fritters are different from ordinary bhajia: the batter uses coarse gram flour, crushed black pepper and coriander seeds and plenty of fresh methi, and it is whipped light so the gota come out round, craggy and soft inside. Families buy the ready-mixed flour to take home and fry them on the first rainy evening of the monsoon. Serve them with green chutney, fried green chillies and a cup of masala chai. Chef's tip: beat the batter by hand in one direction for a full 3 minutes before frying; the air you whip in matters as much as the baking soda.

35 minIndianSnacks & StartersVeganGluten free
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DakosBarley rusk with tomato and cheese

Dakos is Crete's favourite summer meze: a round, hard barley rusk softened with a sprinkle of water, piled with grated ripe tomato and crumbled cheese, then drenched in olive oil and dusted with oregano. On the island it's made with soft, tangy mizithra and eaten in the afternoon with a glass of raki, but feta works well. The rusk drinks up the tomato juice and oil while keeping a little crunch. Look for barley rusks (paximadia) in Greek or Middle Eastern shops. Chef's tip: wet the rusk lightly, just enough to take the edge off; soaking it is the common mistake and it falls apart before you can eat it.

10 minGreekSalads
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Dal baati churmaLentil dal with baked wheat balls

Dal baati churma is the dish every Rajasthani wedding and festival is built around. Baati are hard, round wheat breads, traditionally buried in desert embers, cracked open and drowned in ghee; they are eaten with panchmel dal made from five lentils and with churma, baati crumbs sweetened with sugar and cardamom. The joy is in the contrast: crunchy and soft, spicy and sweet, all rich with ghee. Serve with sliced onion, green chillies and lime. Chef's tip: rub the ghee into the baati flour until a handful holds its shape when squeezed; that shortening is what makes the baati crumbly inside instead of bready.

90 minIndianCurries
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Dal bhatLentils, rice and vegetables

Across Nepal, from Terai farmhouses to trekking lodges below Everest, dal bhat is not a dish so much as the meal itself, eaten twice a day, late morning and early evening, often with the words "dal bhat power, 24 hour". The plate is always the same idea: a mound of plain rice (bhat), a thin, soupy lentil dal scented with jimbu (a dried Himalayan allium) fried in ghee, a dry vegetable tarkari, a little stir-fried greens when there are some, and a sharp spoonful of achar. You pour the dal over the rice and mix it by hand, a little at a time, with bites of curry and pickle. Most newcomers make the dal too thick; Nepali dal should run off the spoon like a light soup so it soaks the rice. Chef's tip: fry the jimbu in the hot ghee only until it darkens a shade and smells of garlicky onion, about 10 seconds, then pour it straight into the dal and cover the pan to trap the aroma.

60 minNepaliCurriesGluten free
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