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Sauce graine with chicken and smoked fish
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Sauce graine with chicken and smoked fish

Sauce graine, palm-nut sauce, is the Sunday stew of southern Côte d'Ivoire, made in villages from freshly pounded palm fruit and in Abidjan from tins of palm-nut cream. It is deep orange-red, rich and slightly smoky from the smoked fish that goes in with the chicken, and is eaten with foutou banane, rice or attiéké. The mistake to avoid is boiling it hard at the end; palm-nut sauce should simmer gently until the oil rises to the top, which is how you know it is done. Chef's tip: use bone-in chicken; the bones give the sauce body.

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Matevž

The karst country of Notranjska, south-west of Ljubljana, with its vanishing lakes and stone villages, has a soft spot for matevž: borlotti beans and potatoes crushed together into a coarse, speckled mash, slicked with oil and crowned with fried onion. It is the classic partner for sauerkraut or sour turnip and, on the farm, for a smoked pork sausage; here it stays vegan with olive oil and comes with a caraway sauerkraut. Expect something creamy, earthy and sweet from the onions, cut by the sharp cabbage. Tinned beans keep it to an hour; for dried, soak 250 g overnight and simmer for an hour first. Blitzing it smooth is the usual slip; matevž should be roughly crushed with a masher, bean skins and all. Chef's tip: save a mugful of the cooking water, because matevž firms up as it stands and a splash brings it back.

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Uitsmijter

In Amsterdam's brown cafés and lunchrooms, the uitsmijter is the classic lunch: two or three slices of buttered bread topped with cheese and three fried eggs, sunny side up, with a little pickle and a sprig of cress. The name means 'bouncer', perhaps because it was the last plate served before closing time. Ham is the usual extra; this version keeps it vegetarian with Gouda and tomato. Gouda is usually made with animal rennet, so choose a vegetarian Gouda-style cheese. A common mistake is frying the eggs on high heat, which makes the whites rubbery and brown. Chef's tip: fry the three eggs together in one pan over a medium-low heat with a lid, so the whites set while the yolks stay runny.

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Jamaican Easter bun

Every Good Friday, Jamaicans from Kingston to London buy or bake a dark, glossy spiced bun to slice and eat with processed cheese, a tradition that grew out of the British hot cross bun. This quick-bread version is moist and dense with dried fruit, molasses and warm spice; it traditionally uses stout, which contains alcohol, so for an alcohol-free bun use the same amount of malt drink. The commonest mistake is slicing the bun warm, when it is still sticky and crumbles; it needs a day to firm and mellow. Chef's tip: brush the hot loaf with a honey or sugar syrup glaze straight from the oven for the shiny top.

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Hurmašice

Plates of hurmašice come out for Bajram in Bosnia, offered to every visitor with a small cup of Bosnian coffee. The name comes from hurma, the date, because each little cookie is rolled into a date-like oval and pressed on the fine side of a grater to give it ridges. After baking they are soaked in cool lemon sugar syrup until they are moist, sticky and sweet right through, yet still hold their shape. A walnut half on top is a nice touch. Where most people go wrong is pouring hot syrup over hot biscuits, which turns them to mush; one of the two must be cool. Chef's tip: make them a day ahead; overnight the syrup spreads evenly and the texture becomes soft and tender.

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Cicvara

Shepherds' huts on the Durmitor and Sinjajevina plateaus in northern Montenegro gave the Balkans cicvara, a dish of kajmak and young cheese melted slowly with cornmeal until it turns rich, golden and stretchy and butter seeps out at the edges. It is stirred and eaten hot, often at breakfast after early milking, with a cup of cold sour milk or plain yogurt to cut the richness. Young cheese for this is fresh and mild; most is made with rennet, so look for one with vegetarian rennet if you need to, and use clotted cream if you can't get kajmak. A common mistake is turning up the heat to hurry it, which burns the bottom and makes the cheese seize into rubbery lumps. Chef's tip: stir with a wooden spoon in figure-of-eight strokes and keep going until a thread of cheese stretches as you lift it.

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Pyshki

On Bolshaya Konyushennaya street in St Petersburg a small pyshechnaya has been frying these since the 1950s, and locals will tell you firmly that a pyshka is not a ponchik, the filled Moscow doughnut. They come in a paper bag five or six at a time, so hot that the icing sugar melts at the edges, with a glass of sweet milky coffee from a big urn. The soft, fairly wet yeast dough gives a light, open crumb inside a thin golden shell. The usual slip is oil that is too cool: the rings soak it up and turn heavy, so keep a thermometer in the pan at 175 °C. Chef's tip: set each shaped ring on its own small square of baking paper and lower the paper into the oil with it; the paper slips off after a few seconds and the ring stays perfectly round.

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Avelook

In Syunik, the mountainous south of Armenia around Goris, women pick wild mountain sorrel in May and braid the long leaves into ropes that hang drying in every kitchen. In winter and during Lent the braids are soaked, simmered until soft and fried with onion and walnuts, giving a dark, earthy, sour salad with a taste somewhere between spinach and olives. Braids are sold in Armenian shops. A common mistake is skipping the second boil, which leaves the leaves bitter and tough. Chef's tip: squeeze the cooked sorrel well and fry it long enough to dry and slightly crisp at the edges; that is when the flavour deepens.

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Zeeuwse bolus

Zeeuwse bolussen are the sticky spiral buns of Zeeland, the delta province in the south-west, brought there, it is said, by Portuguese Jewish bakers in the 17th century: a soft yeast dough rolled in dark brown sugar and cinnamon, twisted into a coil and baked until the sugar caramelises into a sticky, dark crust. Middelburg bakeries sell them with butter. A common mistake is rolling them in too little sugar; they need a thick coat for the caramel. Chef's tip: twist the sugared rope tightly before coiling it, so the sugar is trapped in the folds.

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Fryske dúmkes

Dúmkes, 'little thumbs', are crisp, spiced biscuits from Friesland, shaped by pressing the dough with a thumb or rolling it into a log and slicing; their flavour comes from aniseed and toasted hazelnuts, and they are dunked in coffee at Frisian kitchen tables. A common mistake is baking them pale, which leaves them soft; they should be golden and snap when broken. Chef's tip: lightly crush the aniseed before mixing, so its sweet liquorice flavour runs through every bite.

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Pastrmajlija

Štip in eastern North Macedonia holds a whole festival for pastrmajlija, a long boat-shaped flatbread baked in a wood oven and loaded with little cubes of salted pork, finished with a cracked egg and sometimes a hot pepper. Traditionally the meat is pastrma, dried salted pork or mutton; this home version salts diced pork shoulder in the fridge for a few hours and then bakes it on the dough until fully cooked, so it is safe and juicy. Eat it hot from the oven, torn by hand, with pickled peppers and a glass of cold yogurt drink. A common mistake is rolling the dough too thin; it needs a soft, chewy base to hold the meat juices. Chef's tip: bake on a pizza stone or upturned heavy tray, as hot as your oven goes.

150 minBalkanMeat
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Gurian pickled cabbage

Gurian pickled cabbage turns heads at the Ozurgeti market: whole cabbage wedges stained deep pink by beetroot, layered with garlic, celery leaves and hot pepper and left to ferment in brine until crunchy and sour. Families in Guria put up big crocks in late autumn for the winter and the New Year table, and serve it beside fatty pork, beans and cornbread. A common mistake is using iodised salt, which can stop the ferment and darken the pickle. Chef's tip: keep the jar at cool room temperature for the first few days, then move it to the fridge once it tastes pleasantly sour, so it stays crisp.

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Groninger mosterdsoep

Groningen in the far north of the Netherlands has been making mustard since the Middle Ages, and its creamy mustard soup is served in every café in the city: a velvety roux soup with leek, stock and cream, sharpened with a generous amount of coarse Groninger mustard. Most cafés top it with crisp bacon bits; this vegetarian version uses toasted croutons and chives. A common mistake is boiling the soup after the mustard goes in, which makes it bitter and grainy. Chef's tip: whisk the mustard in off the heat at the end, so it keeps its tang.

30 minDutchSoups
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Serundeng

Serundeng is the crunchy, sweet-savoury sprinkle that comes in a little tub with every Indonesian takeaway in the Netherlands: grated coconut slowly toasted with a spice paste of shallot, garlic, coriander and cumin, palm sugar and tamarind until golden and dry, then mixed with fried peanuts. It is scattered over rice. Most versions use shrimp paste; this one is vegan. A common mistake is toasting over high heat, which burns the coconut in seconds. Chef's tip: keep stirring over a low heat for the full 20 minutes; the coconut turns golden slowly and evenly and stays crunchy for weeks.

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Kupati

Kupati are the coarse, spicy sausages of Imereti, made after a winter pig slaughter and grilled over vine cuttings or fried in a pan with onions; in Kutaisi they are a staple of village feasts. This is a pork recipe: minced pork shoulder with a share of pork heart and liver, seasoned with dried barberries, garlic, cinnamon, khmeli-suneli and hot pepper, stuffed into casings. A common mistake is overfilling the casings, which makes them burst as they cook. Chef's tip: poach the sausages gently first, then brown them; they cook through evenly and stay juicy. Pork sausages must reach 71 °C in the centre.

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Ričet

Ričet simmers in Slovenian school canteens, army kitchens and Julian Alps mountain huts alike: pearl barley and beans cooked down with carrot, celeriac and parsley root until the broth is thick and almost porridge-like. Most cooks in Ljubljana and Carniola make it with a smoked pork knuckle or ribs; this meat-free ričet gets its smoky backbone from smoked paprika and tomato purée fried in oil, and it is vegan. Soak the beans in cold water for 8–12 hours before you start. Serve in deep bowls with rye bread and a little horseradish or a splash of vinegar at the table. Salting at the start is the usual slip, as the beans stay stubbornly firm while the barley turns to mush, so season only once the beans are creamy. Chef's tip: ričet is even better the next day; it thickens overnight, so loosen it with hot water as you reheat.

120 minBalkanSoupsVegan
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Cramique

Cramique is the Sunday breakfast loaf of Brussels and Wallonia: a soft, golden brioche packed with raisins, bought from the bakery on Sunday morning and sliced thickly with salted butter. Its sister, craquelin, swaps the raisins for pearl sugar. A common mistake is adding the raisins at the start of kneading, which tears the gluten and turns the dough grey. Chef's tip: soak the raisins in warm tea for 20 minutes, then knead them in only at the end, gently.

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Filet américain

Despite its name, filet américain is a Belgian classic, served in Brussels brasseries with a mound of fries, or spread on a baguette as the famous 'broodje américain': very fresh lean beef, finely minced and mixed with mayonnaise, mustard, capers, chopped onion, parsley and a dash of Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco, so it is creamy and tangy. The beef is eaten raw, so it is not for pregnant women, young children or anyone with a weakened immune system. Buy a whole piece of the freshest steak from a trusted butcher, trim it and mince it yourself just before serving; never use ready-minced beef. A common mistake is preparing it in advance; make it and eat it at once. Chef's tip: chill the meat and the bowl well and mix with a fork, not a processor, so it stays loose. Use shop-bought mayonnaise, which is made with pasteurised egg.

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Podvarak

On Serbian winter tables, at Christmas, slava feast days and Sunday lunch in Vojvodina farmhouses, podvarak is the sauerkraut that has drunk up the roast. Shredded fermented cabbage is fried with plenty of onion and paprika, then baked under pieces of pork shoulder (turkey is the other favourite) until the top of the kraut caramelises and the meat falls from the bone. It is sharp, sweet and savoury at once; serve it with mashed potato or bread and pickled peppers. Fry in lard for the old-fashioned flavour or sunflower oil if you prefer. Baking it dry is the common mistake: the cabbage needs water and a tight cover first, or the edges scorch before it softens. Chef's tip: uncover for the last 40 minutes and baste the meat; the sticky, browned edges of the kraut are the prized bit.

150 minBalkanMeatGluten free
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Pkhlovani

Pkhlovani comes from Pshavi, the high, wooded valleys north-east of Mtskheta, where cooks fill a plain dough with whatever greens the slopes and gardens give: beet tops, spinach, nettles, wild sorrel, with handfuls of coriander and a little crumbled cheese. It is baked as a large round in a pan and cut into wedges at harvest meals and on the long table of a village supra. The filling should taste green and peppery rather than cheesy. The usual mistake is to pack in raw, wet greens; they release water, the base turns soggy and the pie splits. Chef's tip: wring the cooked greens in a clean tea towel until they feel almost dry, which concentrates their flavour and keeps the crust crisp.

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Ghomi

Across Samegrelo and Guria, ghomi plays the role bread plays elsewhere: a soft, smooth porridge of white corn and cornmeal, set on the table unseasoned so that slices of sulguni can be pushed into it to melt, and so that bazhe, ajika or bean stew can be scooped up with it. In Zugdidi homes it is cooked in a heavy pot and stirred with a flat wooden paddle. A common mistake is stirring too little; ghomi catches easily and lumps form at the bottom. Chef's tip: cook it until it comes away from the sides in one smooth mass, then wet a spoon and smooth the top; ghomi should feel like soft polenta that can be scooped, not runny porridge.

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Achma

Ask in Batumi and someone will call achma the Georgian lasagne: thin sheets of egg dough are boiled one by one, layered in a deep tray with salty cheese and a lot of butter, and baked until the top crackles and the inside is soft and molten. It is made for name days and holidays across Adjara, and slices are carried to neighbours on a plate. A common mistake is boiling the sheets too long; they should be barely cooked and still firm, or the layers merge into a heavy paste. Chef's tip: plunge every boiled sheet into iced water and lay it out on a towel, so the layers stay distinct and silky. Most sulguni and imeruli cheeses use animal rennet, so choose vegetarian versions.

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Chanakhi

In Tbilisi homes and restaurants chanakhi arrives in its own small clay pot, the lid lifted at the table to release a cloud of steam smelling of lamb, tomato, basil and garlic. Lamb, potato, aubergine, onion and tomato are layered raw with herbs and left to cook slowly in their own juices, so the vegetables soak up the lamb fat and the meat goes spoon-soft. A common mistake is adding too much water; the vegetables release plenty, and a watery pot tastes flat. Chef's tip: put a tomato slice on top of each pot as a lid of its own, which bastes everything below as it melts.

150 minGeorgianMeatGluten free
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Komplet lepinja

Roadside inns in the hills around Užice and Zlatibor in western Serbia serve this as a breakfast for people with a long day ahead: a round flatbread hollowed out and filled with kajmak and an egg, baked, then soaked with pretop, the hot fat and juices left from roasting pork or lamb. It is rich, salty and messy, eaten with your hands with a yogurt drink and pickled peppers. At home, save the drippings from a Sunday pork roast, keep them in the fridge and reheat until bubbling. The usual slip is cutting the lid too thin, which leaves no room for the egg and it spills over the side. Bake until the white is fully set; for anyone pregnant, very young, elderly or unwell, bake on until the yolk is firm too. Chef's tip: put the lid back on for the last two minutes so it toasts, then dunk it straight into the hot drippings.

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Hollandse nieuwe haring

Every June, the first barrel of Hollandse nieuwe, the new season's young herring, is auctioned in Scheveningen and the herring stalls of Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague fly their flags: the fish is mild, fatty and lightly salted, sold cleaned with the tail on and eaten raw, either lowered head-back into the mouth by the tail or cut into pieces on a paper tray with chopped raw onion and gherkin. Dutch law requires the herring to be frozen first, which kills parasites; buy it ready-cleaned from a fishmonger. It is not cooked, so it is not for pregnant women, young children or anyone with a weakened immune system. A common mistake is keeping it at room temperature; serve it ice-cold. Chef's tip: eat it within a few hours of buying, on a cold plate, for the clean, sweet taste.

10 minDutchFishGluten free
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Babi pangang

Babi pangang is one of the most ordered dishes in the 'Chinees-Indisch' restaurants found in every Dutch town: crisp-skinned roast pork belly, sliced and smothered in a bright red, sweet-sour sauce with tomato, ginger and pickled vegetables, served with rice or nasi goreng. This is a pork dish. A common mistake is pouring the sauce over too early, which turns the crackling soft. Chef's tip: dry the skin overnight in the fridge and roast it hot at the end, then pour the sauce around, not over, the pork at the table. Whole pork joints are safe at 63 °C plus a rest; belly is best cooked longer, until tender.

105 minDutchMeat
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Begova čorba

Fit for an Ottoman bey, this velvety soup is the opening course of special dinners in Sarajevo and across Bosnia and Herzegovina, ladled out at weddings, Bajram tables and in the old aščinice, the canteens of the Baščaršija bazaar. Chicken simmers with carrot, celeriac and parsley root, and small okra pods go in to give a gentle, silky body; at the end, egg yolks and sour cream turn it creamy and pale gold, with a sharp lift from lemon. A common mistake is pouring the yolks straight into boiling soup, where they scramble: warm them with a little broth first. Chef's tip: dried okra, if you can find it in a Turkish shop, is traditional and less slimy; soak it in water with a splash of vinegar.

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Lukken

Lukken are paper-thin, crisp waffle biscuits baked in West Flanders, around Kortrijk and Roeselare, in the days before New Year, when children go from house to house wishing neighbours a happy new year and are rewarded with them. They are made in a special iron that presses a fine pattern; a pizzelle iron or a thin-waffle (gaufrette) iron works. A common mistake is using too much batter, which makes them thick and soft. Chef's tip: use only a teaspoon of dough per biscuit and roll them while warm if you like, for 'rolled lukken'.

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Kabuni

Kabuni is one of the oldest dishes of Albania, served in Tirana and the central lowlands at Bajram, weddings and wakes: rice fried in butter, cooked in a savoury lamb broth, then sweetened with sugar and studded with raisins and cinnamon. The result is buttery, gently sweet and fragrant, a sweet course with a savoury soul, eaten warm in small bowls. Because it is cooked in lamb stock it is not vegetarian. Where most people go wrong is skipping the frying of the rice; it is the toasting in butter that gives kabuni its nutty taste. Chef's tip: soak the raisins in hot water while the rice cooks so they swell and stay juicy.

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Përshesh

Weddings and big family gatherings in Kosovo often start with a tray of përshesh: crumbled cornbread soaked in rich chicken broth and baked until it sets into a soft, savoury, spoonable bake with a golden crust, topped with pieces of the poached chicken. It is homely and filling, eaten with pickled peppers and a cucumber salad. A common mistake is using a sweet, wheat-heavy cornbread: it falls apart and tastes like cake. Make a plain, coarse bread with cornmeal only. Chef's tip: bake the cornbread the day before; stale crumbs soak up the broth more evenly.

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Frikandel speciaal

The frikandel is the snack-bar sausage of the Netherlands, fried from frozen in every cafetaria and eaten at football matches and after a night out: a long, skinless sausage of finely minced meat, and 'speciaal' means split open and topped with mayonnaise, curry ketchup and raw chopped onion. Factory frikandellen use a mix of meats; this homemade version uses beef and pork mince, so it contains pork. A common mistake is skipping the poaching step, so the sausages break up in the fryer. Chef's tip: roll them in cling film and poach first, then chill; they hold their shape and fry crisp in minutes. Minced meat must reach 71 °C.

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Njeguški ražanj

Njeguši, the stone village high above the Bay of Kotor in Montenegro, is famous for two things: its air-dried pršut ham and its sheep's cheese. This dish wraps both inside thin pork escalopes, which are rolled tight, threaded onto skewers and roasted, traditionally on a spit, until the outside is browned and the cheese melts into the ham. It is pork through and through, and once the rolls are cooked right through the cured ham inside is cooked too. Serve with roast potatoes and a little kajmak or sour cream. A common mistake is pounding the pork too thin, so it tears; aim for 5 mm. Chef's tip: marinate the pork overnight in the fridge with garlic and oil; the meat stays juicy around the salty filling.

90 minBalkanMeatGluten free
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Borano

In the hill villages behind Batumi, where cows graze the Adjarian mountains in summer, borano is what a shepherd's family makes when someone drops in: a pan of golden butter, a heap of young cheese melted into it until it turns stretchy and oily, and squares of hot mchadi cornbread to drag through it. It is rich, salty and meant to be shared straight from the pan at the table. A common mistake is using a very hard, dry cheese, which turns grainy and oily instead of stretching. Chef's tip: use clarified butter or ghee so the butter can get really hot without burning, and add the cheese in one layer so it melts evenly. Sulguni and imeruli are often made with animal rennet, so choose a vegetarian cheese.

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Svanetian salt

In the stone-towered villages of upper Svaneti, salt was precious and families stretched it by grinding it with garlic and the spices that grow on their slopes: blue fenugreek, coriander seed, dried dill seed, marigold and hot pepper. The result is a fragrant, damp, greenish salt that every Svan kitchen keeps in a jar, rubbed on potatoes, stirred into soups or sprinkled on tomatoes and cucumbers. A common mistake is using fine table salt, which turns to paste; coarse salt grinds the garlic and dries it at the same time. Chef's tip: spread the finished salt on a tray and let it dry for a day before jarring, so it keeps for months.

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June plum juice

When June plums (ambarella) fall from backyard trees across Jamaica, families blend the sour green-gold fruit into a sharp, refreshing juice with fresh ginger and lime. It is tangy like green apple, with a faintly mango-like perfume, and is drunk ice-cold with Sunday lunch. The big mistake is blending the spiny stone in with the flesh; cut the flesh away first or the juice turns bitter and fibrous. Chef's tip: use slightly underripe, firm plums for the brightest, sharpest flavour.

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Imeretian cheese

Imeruli kveli is the everyday cheese of western Georgia: in Kutaisi's Green Bazaar it sits in wet white wheels, mild and milky with a faint sourness, ready to be grated into khachapuri, sliced with tomatoes and herbs, or stretched into sulguni. Families in Imereti make it in a morning from the day's milk. Traditionally it is set with animal rennet; use vegetarian (microbial) rennet for a vegetarian cheese. A common mistake is heating the curd too hard, which squeezes out the moisture and gives a rubbery cheese instead of a soft, springy one. Chef's tip: make a double batch, keep one wheel fresh for eating and leave the other in brine for two or three days, which gives it the saltier bite that bakers prefer for khachapuri.

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Surströmming

Surströmming is fermented Baltic herring from Höga Kusten, the High Coast of northern Sweden, sold in bulging tins at the end of August, when the 'surströmmingspremiär' begins and families gather outdoors for parties. The smell is famously strong, so tins are opened outside, ideally under a bowl of water, and the fillets are rinsed, then rolled in tunnbröd with boiled almond potatoes, red onion and sour cream. This recipe uses shop-bought surströmming; never try to ferment fish at home. The fish is fermented, not cooked, so it is not for pregnant women, young children or anyone with a weakened immune system. A common mistake is opening the tin indoors. Chef's tip: soak the fillets briefly in cold water to tame the saltiness and smell, and pile on the onion and sour cream.

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