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Crema de malanga
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Crema de malanga

Malanga root soup

Ask anyone raised in Havana what they were fed when they were ill and the answer is usually crema de malanga: a pale, velvety soup of the starchy root, gently scented with garlic and onion. It is also one of the first foods Cuban babies and grandparents alike are given, because it is soft, mild and filling. The classic mistake is grating raw malanga with bare hands, which can make your skin itch; peel it wearing gloves and rinse it well. Serve it plain or with a few croutons. Chef's tip: blend in the butter at the end rather than frying in it, so the soup tastes clean and creamy rather than heavy.

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Batata harraSpicy garlic potatoes

Batata harra, meaning hot potatoes, is a staple of the hot mezze in Beirut restaurants and at home: crisp cubes of potato tossed while still sizzling in garlic, chilli and a heap of fresh coriander, then squeezed with lemon. Expect it next to falafel and hummus at a Sunday spread or as a side for grilled vegetables on a summer evening. This home version roasts the potatoes instead of deep-frying them, which gives the same golden crunch with much less oil. People often add the garlic and coriander too early, so the garlic burns and turns bitter; they go in only for the last minute in the pan. Chef's tip: parboil the cubes and shake them in the colander until their edges look fluffy, because those rough edges are what turn crisp in the oven.

45 minLebaneseSnacks & StartersVeganGluten freeSpicy
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Pork sisigSizzling chopped pork

Sisig comes from Angeles City in Pampanga, where cooks turned pig's head and ears into a sizzling, sour, peppery bar snack that is now on almost every Filipino menu. This home version is pork, using pork belly (and pig's ears if your butcher has them) that is boiled, grilled until charred, then chopped finely and fried with onion, chilli and calamansi juice. It arrives at the table crackling on a hot cast-iron plate, often with a raw egg stirred in. Eat it with rice, or as pulutan with drinks; a cold calamansi juice works as well. Chef's tip: chop the pork small but not to mince; you want little crisp edges and chewy bits in every spoonful.

110 minFilipinoMeatSpicy
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Empanadas de humitaCreamy corn empanadas

Empanadas de humita are the vegetarian favourite at every Argentine empanada shop, from Tucumán, which claims the best empanadas in the country, to the delivery menus of Buenos Aires. The filling is sweetcorn and onion cooked with red pepper, nutmeg and a little white sauce until creamy, then folded into wheat pastry discs and closed with the twisted edge (repulgue) that tells you what's inside. Unlike the husk-wrapped humita en chala, these are baked and golden. Chef's tip: chill the filling until firm before filling; warm filling melts the pastry and the empanadas open in the oven.

75 minArgentinianSnacks & Starters
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Bacalao al pil pilSalt cod in garlic oil sauce

Bacalao al pil pil belongs to Bilbao and the rest of Bizkaia, where it fills restaurant menus in Lent and Holy Week and reappears on Christmas Eve tables. It is made from just four things: desalted salt cod, olive oil, garlic and a dried chilli. The trick is the sauce. The cod gives off gelatine as it cooks gently in warm oil, and swirling the clay dish round and round turns that oil into a thick, pale, mayonnaise-like emulsion; the name comes from the 'pil pil' sound of it bubbling. Plan ahead, because thick salt cod needs 24–48 hours of soaking in the fridge. Chef's tip: buy thick, skin-on loins (lomos); the gelatine that makes the sauce comes from the skin.

60 minSpanishFishGluten free
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SambuusCrisp beef pastries

Sambuus are the triangles of crisp pastry Somali families fry by the hundred during Ramadan, filling them with minced beef, onion, green chilli, coriander and xawaash; trays of them sit on every iftar table from Hargeisa to Toronto. The filling must be dry, and the pastry thin. The mistake is a wet filling, which steams the pastry from the inside and makes it soggy; cook the mince until all the liquid has gone. Chef's tip: shop-bought spring roll pastry, cut into strips, makes good thin sambuus at home.

75 minSomaliSnacks & Starters
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Pork tocinoSweet cured pork

In Pampanga, tocino is breakfast: thin slices of pork shoulder in a sweet, garlicky marinade, fried until the sugar caramelises at the edges, then served with garlic fried rice and a fried egg as 'tosilog'. Shop tocino is often bright pink from curing salts; this home version leaves those out, so it is a sweet marinated pork rather than a true cure, gets its warm red colour from annatto and paprika, and must be kept in the fridge and cooked within 3 days (or frozen). Look for pork with a little fat running through it so it stays juicy. Chef's tip: start it in a splash of water; the pork simmers through first, then the sugar glazes once the water is gone, so it doesn't burn before it's cooked.

35 minFilipinoMeatGluten free
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SamgyetangGinseng chicken soup

On the three hottest days of the Korean summer, called boknal, queues form outside samgyetang restaurants all over the country. The idea is to fight heat with heat: a small whole chicken is stuffed with glutinous rice, ginseng, jujubes and garlic, then simmered until the meat falls off the bone. Each person gets their own bird in its own bowl, with salt and pepper for dipping. Ginseng is not advised in pregnancy, so leave it out if unsure. Chef's tip: cut a small slit in the skin of one thigh and tuck the other leg through it, so the stuffing stays inside without string.

90 minKoreanChicken
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Samkeh harraBaked fish with spicy tahini

Samkeh harra, 'hot fish', is the pride of Tripoli and the fishing towns of northern Lebanon, where it is made with a whole sea bream or sea bass on Fridays and for summer lunches by the sea. The fish is baked, then covered with a fiery sauce of tahini, lemon, garlic, chilli and lots of coriander and returned to the oven until bubbling. Walnuts on top are a Tripoli touch. It is eaten warm or at room temperature with bread and a green salad. Chef's tip: loosen the tahini with lemon juice first, then water; it will seize and turn thick before it turns smooth, so keep whisking.

55 minLebaneseFishGluten freeSpicy
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Vegetable samlor korkoVegetable and green papaya soup

Samlor korko is called the national soup of Cambodia, cooked in villages from Battambang to Kampot and eaten at lunch with a bowl of rice. Its name means 'stirring soup', because the cook stands over the pot moving the vegetables as they go in one by one: green papaya, pumpkin, aubergine, long beans and leafy greens, all in a thin, herb-scented broth thickened with a spoonful of ground toasted rice. Prahok usually gives it its funk; fermented soybean paste and a little soy give depth here, and the soup stays light and full of vegetables. Chef's tip: toast the rice slowly until it is the colour of a hazelnut shell; that nutty smell is the backbone of the soup.

50 minCambodianSoupsVeganGluten free
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Shatkora beefBeef curry with wild citrus

Shatkora is a large, thick-skinned citrus that grows in the hills of Sylhet in north-east Bangladesh, and its bitter, perfumed rind is what Sylhetis put in beef curry instead of lemon. The rind and pith are cut into chunks and simmered with the meat, so the sauce turns gently sour and smells like lime leaves and grapefruit at once. It is a home dish for Fridays and Eid, eaten with rice; the many Sylheti families in Britain made it famous in UK curry houses. Shatkora is sold frozen or in brine at South Asian grocers; if you can't get it, use the peel of half a grapefruit and a lime. The common mistake is adding too much shatkora early, which makes the curry bitter. Chef's tip: boil the shatkora pieces in water for 2 minutes and drain before adding them; it removes the harshest bitterness and keeps the fragrance.

130 minBangladeshiMeatGluten free
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Rocoto rellenoStuffed rocoto peppers

Rocoto relleno is the pride of Arequipa's picanterías: fiery rocoto peppers stuffed with a sweet-savoury filling, topped with cheese and baked over sliced potato in an egg and milk custard. The traditional filling is minced beef; this vegetarian version uses mushrooms and lentils fried with ají panca, cumin, peanuts, raisins, olives and boiled egg, which gives the same rich, spiced, slightly sweet bite. The peppers are first blanched several times in fresh water with sugar and vinegar to tame their heat, which is the real skill of the dish. If you can't find rocotos, use small red bell peppers and add a little habanero to the filling. Chef's tip: taste a sliver of rocoto after the second blanching; stop when it is hot but pleasant, and blanch once more if it still burns.

90 minPeruvianVegetarianGluten freeSpicy
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Porotos granadosFresh bean, pumpkin and corn stew

Porotos granados is what central Chile cooks when the fresh beans arrive in late summer: tender cranberry beans shelled at the kitchen table, simmered with pumpkin until it collapses into a thick orange sauce, then finished with grated corn and basil. Families in the Valle Central eat it on hot days, often with pebre and a tomato salad; when the corn is blended in larger amounts it's called 'con mazamorra'. It's hearty but fresh-tasting, and fully plant-based. Chef's tip: add the corn only in the last 10 minutes; it's there to thicken and sweeten, and overcooked it turns floury.

65 minChileanVegetarianVeganGluten free
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Ají picanteFresh chilli and coriander sauce

Every Colombian table has a bowl of ají, the loose, fresh hot sauce spooned onto empanadas, patacones, sancocho and arepas. Unlike a thick salsa, it is thin and bright: chopped hot chilli, spring onion, tomato and lots of coriander in lime juice, vinegar and water. Each family, from Bogotá to the Pacific coast, swears by its own heat level. Chef's tip: make it at least 30 minutes before eating; the onion softens and the chilli heat spreads through the liquid.

10 minColombianChutneys & DipsVeganGluten freeSpicy
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Samosa thokeSamosa salad

Samosa thoke is pure Yangon street food, born from the city's Indian-Burmese communities: vendors on Mahabandoola Road chop crisp samosas into a bowl with cabbage, onion and mint, ladle over a thin, spiced lentil broth (pe hin ye), and finish it with tamarind, chilli and a squeeze of lime. The samosas soften at the edges while the middle stays crunchy, and the whole bowl is hot, sour and savoury. Use vegan samosas made without ghee. Chef's tip: ladle the broth over at the very last moment and eat straight away; samosa thoke left to sit turns soggy fast.

45 minBurmeseSaladsVeganSpicy
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BasundiThickened sweet milk

Basundi is the reduced-milk dessert of Maharashtra and Gujarat: whole milk simmered patiently in a wide pan, with the skin that forms on top scraped back in, until it is thick, cream-coloured and a little grainy, then sweetened and scented with cardamom and saffron. In Maharashtra it's served with hot puris for Gudi Padwa and Bhau Beej; in Gujarat it turns up at weddings and on Sharad Purnima, and it's also the base of the famous custard-apple (sitafal) basundi. Make it a day ahead; it thickens and tastes richer after a night in the fridge. Chef's tip: use a wide, heavy pan rather than a deep one; more surface means faster evaporation and less time standing at the stove.

90 minIndianIndian SweetsGluten free
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SimitSesame bread rings

Stacked high on wooden trays and pushed through Istanbul on red carts, simit is the city's breakfast on the move: commuters tear one apart on the ferry across the Bosphorus, throwing the odd piece to the gulls. The ring is twisted, dipped in diluted grape molasses (pekmez) and pressed into sesame, so it bakes up with a crackly, nutty, deep brown crust and a chewy, close crumb. Unlike a bagel it is never boiled. At home, serve warm with tea, white cheese, olives and tomatoes. Chef's tip: toast the sesame seeds in a dry pan before coating; raw seeds stay pale and taste of very little.

120 minTurkishBakingVegan
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Sancocho de verdurasVegetable and plantain stew

Sancocho is the big Sunday soup Colombian families cook outdoors on riverbanks and fincas (country houses), with every region from Antioquia to the Valle having its own version. This vegetarian sancocho keeps the essentials: green plantain broken by hand, cassava, potatoes and corn on the cob simmered in a broth seasoned with spring onion, garlic, cumin and plenty of coriander, until the starches thicken it. Serve each bowl with white rice, avocado and lime on the side. Chef's tip: break the plantain into pieces with your hands rather than cutting it; the rough edges release starch and thicken the broth.

60 minColombianSoupsVeganGluten free
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Sancocho panameñoChicken and yam soup

Sancocho is Panama's national dish, a golden chicken soup thickened with ñame (white yam), seasoned with culantro (a strong, saw-edged cousin of coriander), oregano and onion; families make it on Sundays, after a long night out and whenever someone is unwell, and the soup from the town of Chitré in the Azuero peninsula is said to be the best. It is served with white rice on the side, which people spoon into the bowl. The mistake is adding the yam too early; it dissolves and the broth turns gluey, so add it after the chicken has simmered. Chef's tip: some of the yam should break down to thicken the broth, so let it cook until the edges soften.

90 minCentral AmericanSoupsGluten free
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PortokalopitaOrange fillo cake

Portokalopita is a Greek orange cake with an unusual trick: instead of flour, it uses dried, torn fillo pastry, which soaks up an orange yogurt batter and then a hot orange syrup. It became a favourite in Greek homes in the 1990s and is now baked for coffee mornings, Sunday visits and village festivals across the country. The texture is like a moist sponge with crisp edges, very orangey and not too sweet. It keeps beautifully, so it is perfect for making the day before. Chef's tip: dry the fillo properly until crisp; using it soft is the usual mistake and gives a heavy, gummy cake.

75 minGreekBaking
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Bicol expressPork in coconut milk and chilli

Bicol, the peninsula at the southern tip of Luzon, cooks almost everything in coconut milk with plenty of chilli, and Bicol express is the pork dish that carries the region's name all over the country (locals often call it sinilihan, 'with chillies'). Pork shoulder is cooked down in coconut milk until the liquid turns to oil and the meat is tender, then finished with coconut cream, long green chillies and a spoon of shrimp paste. It is rich, salty and properly hot. Serve it with lots of plain rice. Chef's tip: let the coconut milk reduce until it 'breaks' and you see the oil; that is when the sauce gets its toasty, deep flavour.

65 minFilipinoMeatGluten freeSpicy
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BabruBlack gram stuffed fried bread

Ask anyone who grew up in Shimla about babru and they will mention a paper plate of them in the Lower Bazaar, still puffing from the oil, with a ladle of dark tamarind chutney poured over. Unlike Uttar Pradesh's flaky urad kachori, babru is made from a soft, yeasted wheat dough, so it fries up light and bready, and it is pressed flat and wide rather than shaped into a ball. The filling is whole black gram, soaked and ground with ginger and green chilli. In Himachal homes it is a tea-time and festival snack, and it travels well in a tiffin. Chef's tip: grind the dal coarse and thick, like hummus; a runny paste leaks and makes the babru greasy.

120 minIndianBreads & ParathasVegan
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Posta negra cartageneraBeef in dark panela sauce

Posta negra comes from the Caribbean coast, from Cartagena's old walled city and the towns around it, and it is what a family cooks for a birthday or a Sunday when the grandparents visit. A whole piece of beef is browned, then braised slowly with onion, a little cola-coloured panela (unrefined cane sugar) and Worcestershire-style sauce until the sauce turns nearly black and glossy, sweet and tangy at once. It is sliced and served with coconut rice, fried plantain and a tomato and onion salad. The most common mistake is letting the panela burn when caramelising: it should turn a deep mahogany and smell like toffee, not acrid smoke. Chef's tip: slice the meat across the grain only after it has rested, then return the slices to the sauce so they soak it up.

180 minColombianMeat
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Bastar aamatMixed vegetable curry

Aamat comes from the forested Bastar region of southern Chhattisgarh, where Gond and Halba families cook whatever the garden and forest give: pumpkin, brinjal, beans, drumsticks and, in the monsoon, sour fermented bamboo shoot. There is almost no oil and no heavy masala. Instead a paste of soaked rice turns the broth silky, and garlic, ginger and green chilli carry the flavour. It is served in bowls with plain rice, especially at village feasts and the Bastar Dussehra gatherings. Tinned bamboo shoot works well; leave it out and add lime at the end if you cannot find it. Chef's tip: keep stirring as you pour in the rice paste, because it sinks and sets into lumps on the bottom of the pot if left alone.

55 minIndianCurriesVeganGluten free
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BibingkaCoconut rice cake

During the nine dawn masses of Simbang Gabi, from 16 to 24 December, vendors set up outside churches across the Philippines baking bibingka in clay pots with hot coals both underneath and on top. Churchgoers buy them on the way out at 5 am, still steaming in their banana-leaf liners, with a hot drink. The cake is made from rice flour and coconut milk, springy and slightly chewy, with a browned, buttery top covered in salty white cheese, slices of salted duck egg, sugar and grated coconut. This version bakes it in an ordinary oven and finishes it under the grill for that charred top. Chef's tip: warm the banana leaves over a flame for a few seconds until they turn glossy and supple; cold leaves crack and the batter leaks under them.

50 minFilipinoBakingGluten free
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SandeshSoft fresh cheese sweets

Sandesh is the most delicate of Bengal's sweets, made in Kolkata's sweet shops every morning from chhena, fresh milk curds. The chhena is kneaded until silky, cooked briefly with sugar and pressed into little rounds or moulds. It's soft, fine-textured and milky, sweet but light, often scented with cardamom or saffron. This is the soft 'norom pak' style. Serve at room temperature as a sweet with tea or after a meal. Chef's tip: hang the chhena only until it stops dripping; if it's too dry, the sandesh turn crumbly, and if too wet they won't hold a shape.

40 minIndianIndian SweetsGluten free
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Chiles en nogadaStuffed poblanos in walnut sauce

Chiles en nogada belong to Puebla and to September, when fresh walnuts, peaches, pears and pomegranates are all in season and Mexico celebrates its independence: the green chilli, white walnut sauce and red pomegranate are the colours of the flag. Roasted poblano peppers are stuffed with picadillo, a sweet-savoury hash of fruit, nuts and spices, then cloaked in nogada, a cool sauce of fresh walnuts, milk and fresh cheese. Our vegetarian picadillo uses mushrooms for the savoury depth that minced meat usually gives. It is served at room temperature, never hot, as a centrepiece for a celebration lunch. Chef's tip: soak the walnuts in milk overnight and rub off as much of the papery skin as you can; the skins make the nogada bitter and grey. Use a fresh cheese made with vegetarian rennet.

120 minMexicanVegetarianGluten free
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Chiles rellenosCheese-stuffed poblano peppers

Chiles rellenos de queso are a Puebla classic and a fixture of Mexican home cooking: roasted poblano peppers filled with melting cheese, coated in an airy egg batter called capeado, fried until golden and served swimming in a thin, mildly spiced tomato broth (caldillo). The batter is like a soufflé omelette that hugs the chilli, and the cheese inside stretches in long strings. Serve with arroz rojo and warm tortillas. Choose an Oaxaca cheese or mozzarella made with vegetarian rennet. Chef's tip: the chillies must be completely dry and dusted with rice flour before they go into the batter; any moisture makes the egg slide off in the pan.

75 minMexicanVegetarianGluten free
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EloteMexican street corn

Elote (corn on the cob) is sold all over Mexico from street carts in the evening: grilled or boiled cobs speared on a stick, slathered in mayonnaise and crema, rolled in crumbly cotija cheese and dusted with chilli powder, with a squeeze of lime. Charring the corn adds smokiness to the sweet kernels, and the creamy, salty, sour and hot toppings make it irresistible. Serve it at a barbecue or as a snack; kids can skip the chilli. Cotija is often made with animal rennet, so use a vegetarian-rennet feta or a vegetarian hard cheese if that matters to you. Chef's tip: let the cobs cool for a minute before spreading the mayonnaise, so it clings rather than sliding off.

20 minMexicanSnacks & StartersGluten free
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RugbrødDark rye loaf

In Denmark rugbrød is not a speciality but the daily bread: a dark, dense, slightly sour loaf of rye flour, cracked rye kernels and seeds, baked in a tin and sliced thin for every smørrebrød lunch. Bakeries in Aarhus and Copenhagen sell it by the brick, and many households keep a jar of rye sourdough starter in the fridge just for it. The dough is more of a thick porridge than a dough; you spoon it into the tin rather than shape it. It needs patience: a long sour, a long bake and a full day of resting before it is cut. Chef's tip: wait at least 12 hours, ideally 24, before slicing; the crumb is still setting as it cools and cut early it will be gummy.

135 minScandinavianBreads & ParathasVegan
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CanjeeroSpongy fermented pancakes

Canjeero (also called laxoox) is Somali breakfast, made fresh each morning in homes and sold in cafés from Mogadishu to Djibouti: thin, spongy pancakes from a soured batter, cooked on one side only so the top is full of tiny holes. Eaten warm, they are drizzled with sesame oil or ghee and sprinkled with sugar, then rolled up with sweet spiced tea; on weekends they come with liver or beans. They are smaller and lighter than Ethiopian injera and made mostly from wheat. Chef's tip: spread the batter in a spiral with the back of the ladle, starting in the middle; that is what makes the thin, even, lacy sheet.

40 minSomaliBreakfast & BrunchVegan
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Chilka rotiRice and chana dal pancakes

Chilka roti is an everyday breakfast and evening snack in Jharkhand's villages, and a favourite offering at Sarhul, the spring festival of the sal trees. Rice and chana dal are soaked and ground into a batter that is poured onto a hot tawa and cooked with a lid, so the roti comes out thick, soft and spongy with a lightly crisp base, much heartier than a thin rice-flour chila. It is eaten hot with a tomato or coriander chutney or with ghugni. Chef's tip: grease the tawa with a cut onion dipped in oil; it keeps the roti from sticking and adds a little flavour.

50 minIndianBreads & ParathasVeganGluten free
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SangaCorn and greens in palm cream

Sanga is a home dish of the Beti people around Yaoundé in the Centre region of Cameroon, made in the maize season: young corn is grated off the cob and cooked with finely shredded njama njama (huckleberry leaves) and the orange pulp pressed from palm nuts. It is eaten warm from a bowl, sometimes with a little sugar stirred in. Spinach and tinned palm nut concentrate make a good version abroad. Chef's tip: grate the kernels off the cob rather than slicing them; the milky pulp is what thickens sanga.

60 minCameroonianVegetarianVeganGluten free
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Sichuan chilli oil wontonsTofu and mushroom wontons in chilli oil

In Chengdu these are called hong you chao shou, 'red oil folded hands', after the way the wrappers are crossed over like arms. Little noodle shops serve them morning to night, slick with chilli oil, black vinegar and garlic. Our filling is firm tofu, shiitake and Chinese chives, so it's juicy without meat. Make a double batch: they freeze well uncooked. Chef's tip: squeeze the tofu hard in a cloth before mixing; dry filling seals better and the wontons won't burst in the water.

50 minChineseSnacks & StartersSpicy
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PoticaWalnut and honey spiral cake

No Slovenian Easter or Christmas table is complete without potica, a yeasted dough rolled thin around a honeyed walnut filling and baked in a fluted ring mould called a potičnik. When sliced, each piece shows a tight spiral of pale dough and dark nuts. Families in Ljubljana and across Carniola argue about the best filling, but walnut with honey is the classic one, eaten with coffee from Christmas morning until the tin is empty. Unlike a braided Romanian cozonac, the beauty is all in the thin, even swirl. Chef's tip: spread the filling no thicker than the dough and roll it up tightly; a loose roll or a thick layer leaves a gap between dough and filling once baked, the most common potica fault.

210 minBalkanBaking
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CannoliFried shells with sweet ricotta

Cannoli were once a Carnival treat in Palermo; now Sicilian pastry shops fill them all year, piping the sweet sheep's-milk ricotta cream into the crisp, bubbly shells only when you order, so they never go soft. The ends are dipped in chopped pistachios, candied orange or chocolate chips. Traditional shells are fried with lard; this version uses butter in the dough and sunflower oil to fry. You need metal cannoli tubes. Chef's tip: drain the ricotta overnight and push it through a sieve; it makes a silky cream that holds its shape instead of a runny, grainy filling.

90 minItalianDesserts
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Empanadas colombianasPotato corn empanadas

Colombian empanadas are small, crunchy half-moons made with yellow corn dough rather than wheat, sold hot from street stands across Bogotá, Medellín and Cali and eaten with a squeeze of lime and a spoonful of ají. The classic filling mixes potato with hogao and often meat; this version keeps the potato and hogao, seasoned with cumin and coriander, which many families make on its own anyway. They are crisp outside and soft and savoury inside. Chef's tip: roll the dough thin, about 3 mm; thick corn dough stays heavy and absorbs oil.

75 minColombianSnacks & StartersVeganGluten free
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Lamb potjiekosLamb and vegetable stew

Potjiekos is the long, sociable cook of South African weekends: a cast-iron three-legged pot (potjie) sits over a small fire for hours while friends talk around it, and the rule is that once the layers are in, nobody stirs. The lamb is browned at the bottom, then potatoes, carrots, butternut, green beans and mushrooms are stacked on top so the hardest vegetables are nearest the heat. A heavy casserole on the hob or in the oven works just as well. Some cooks add a glass of red wine or beer; this version uses stock only, and you may swap 150 ml of it for wine if you like. The mistake is stirring the pot, which turns the neat layers into mush. Chef's tip: add only a little liquid; the vegetables give off their own juice as they steam.

210 minSouth AfricanMeatGluten free
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Pouding chômeurCake baked in maple syrup

Pouding chômeur ('unemployed person's pudding') was created in Québec during the Depression of the 1930s, from the cheapest ingredients: flour, sugar, a little butter and hot syrup. As it bakes, the light batter rises through the syrup, which settles underneath as a rich caramel sauce. Today it's made with maple syrup and is a fixture of Québec sugar shacks (cabanes à sucre) in March and April, and of family Sunday dinners. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream. Chef's tip: pour the syrup on boiling hot and spoon the batter over in blobs; never stir them together.

50 minCanadianDesserts
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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
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CantucciTwice-baked almond biscuits

Cantucci, also called biscotti di Prato, are the hard almond biscuits of Prato, near Florence, where bakeries have sold them since the 1800s. The dough is shaped into logs, baked, sliced on the diagonal and baked again until crisp and golden, so they keep for weeks. In Tuscany they end a meal dipped in a small glass of Vin Santo; with coffee works just as well. The traditional recipe has no butter or oil, only eggs, sugar, flour and whole almonds. Chef's tip: slice the logs while still warm with a serrated knife and a firm sawing motion; once cold, they crumble.

60 minItalianBaking
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Empanadas salteñasBaked beef empanadas

In Salta, in Argentina's far northwest, empanadas are small, sealed with a tight twisted edge (the repulgue) and so juicy that locals eat them leaning forward with their feet apart. The filling is hand-cut beef with potato, spring onion, cumin and paprika, plus chopped hard-boiled egg; they are eaten at Sunday gatherings, at peñas with folk music and on any public holiday. The mistake that ruins them is filling them while the beef is still warm: the fat melts the pastry. Chill the filling until it is firm. Chef's tip: add a few spoonfuls of the cooking juices to the cold filling; they set to a jelly in the fridge and melt in the oven, which is where the famous juiciness comes from.

105 minArgentinianSnacks & Starters
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Empanadas venezolanasFried corn empanadas

Venezuelan empanadas are big, crisp half-moons made with white precooked corn flour, fried to order at beach kiosks on Margarita Island and at breakfast stands across Caracas. Compared with the small, potato-filled Colombian empanadas, they are larger, paler and often a little sweet in the dough, and the classic vegetarian fillings are simply grated white cheese or black beans with cheese (like an arepa dominó). Eat them hot with guasacaca or a squeeze of lime. Chef's tip: add a spoonful of sugar to the dough; it helps the crust turn golden and blistered in the oil.

50 minVenezuelanSnacks & StartersGluten free
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SabichAubergine and egg pita

Sabich came to Israel with Iraqi Jews, who ate fried aubergine and hard-boiled eggs on Saturday mornings when no cooking was allowed. In Ramat Gan in the 1950s someone stuffed it all into a pita, and today it is street food all over Tel Aviv: crisp-edged aubergine, sliced egg, hummus, tahini, chopped salad and a spoonful of tangy amba mango pickle, with zhug for heat. It is messy, rich and best eaten standing up with a paper napkin. Chef's tip: salt the aubergine and dry it well before frying; it soaks up far less oil and comes out creamy instead of greasy.

40 minIsraeliFast Food
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EncebolladoTuna and yuca soup

Encebollado is the morning soup of Guayaquil and the Ecuadorian coast, sold from street carts and small cevicherías from dawn and famous as a cure after a late night: tuna poached in a broth of tomato, cumin and chilli, with soft chunks of yuca, topped with a heap of lime-pickled red onion and coriander, and eaten with banana chips (chifles) and popcorn. The mistake is boiling the tuna until it goes dry; poach it gently and add it back at the end. Chef's tip: pickle the onion at least 20 minutes ahead so it turns pink and loses its sharpness.

75 minAndeanSoupsGluten free
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Poulet bicycletteGrilled free-range chicken

Across Burkina Faso and northern Côte d'Ivoire, "bicycle chicken" is the lean village chicken once carried to market strapped to the back of a bike; in Ouagadougou and Bobo-Dioulasso it is grilled whole at open-air stalls in the evening and eaten with fries, attiéké or a chunk of bread. The birds are smaller and firmer than supermarket chicken, so a small free-range or poussin works best at home. The mistake is grilling a whole chicken over high heat from the start, which burns the outside before the inside is safe; start it on indirect heat or in the oven, then char it. Chef's tip: spatchcock the bird so it cooks evenly and fast.

80 minAfricanChickenGluten free
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Sangkhya lapovCustard-filled steamed pumpkin

Sangkhya lapov is the showpiece of a Cambodian dessert stall: a squat green pumpkin, hollowed out, filled with an egg, coconut and palm sugar custard and steamed whole, then cut into wedges so every slice shows a band of orange flesh around a creamy caramel-coloured centre. In Phnom Penh it is sold by the slice at night markets and made at home for weddings and Pchum Ben. A small kabocha of about 1 kg is ideal. Chef's tip: cool it completely, ideally overnight in the fridge, before slicing; warm custard is soft and slumps out of the pumpkin.

75 minCambodianDessertsGluten free
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Enduri pithaSteamed rice cakes with coconut

Enduri (or haladi patra pitha) is the sweet of Prathamastami in Odisha, the November festival when Odia mothers pray for their eldest child, who gets the first pitha of the day. Fermented rice-and-urad batter is spread on fresh turmeric leaves, filled with coconut, jaggery, black pepper and cardamom, folded and steamed until the leaves give the cake a green, gingery perfume. The cake is soft and slightly springy. Chef's tip: if you can't find turmeric leaves, use banana leaf with a pinch of grated fresh turmeric in the batter; the flavour is close.

60 minIndianDessertsGluten free
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Poulet DGChicken with plantain and vegetables

Poulet DG, short for "poulet directeur général", earned its name in Yaoundé in the 1980s as a dish rich enough for the boss; now it is the centrepiece at weddings and Sunday lunches across Cameroon. Chicken is browned and simmered with tomato, peppers, carrots and green beans, then fried ripe plantain is folded in at the end, so every mouthful is savoury and sweet. The mistake is stirring the plantain in too early, when it breaks up and goes mushy; add it in the last few minutes. Chef's tip: choose plantains that are yellow with lots of black spots, ripe enough to caramelise but still firm.

90 minCameroonianChickenGluten free
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Engadiner NusstorteWalnut caramel pie

The Engadiner Nusstorte comes from the high Engadine valley in Graubünden, where pastry cooks who had emigrated to Italian and French cities brought home their skills in the 1800s, and walnuts arrived from Italy over the passes. It is a shallow, closed tart of rich butter pastry filled with chopped walnuts set in thick, golden cream caramel. Bakeries all over Switzerland sell it, and it keeps for weeks, so families give it as a gift and take it on hikes. Cut it into thin wedges: it is very rich, chewy, crunchy and buttery all at once. Chef's tip: let the caramel reach a deep amber before you pour in the cream; pale caramel tastes only of sugar, dark amber gives the toffee note the tart is known for.

80 minSwissBaking
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