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Karnıyarık

Karnıyarık is a summer weekday dinner in kitchens all over Turkey, made when aubergines are glossy, cheap and piled high at the street markets. Small whole aubergines are peeled in stripes, fried until silky, then slit down the middle and packed with minced beef cooked with onion, green pepper and tomato. A short spell in the oven melts it all together. It is eaten warm with plain rice pilaf and a bowl of cacık or yogurt. Chef's tip: press the fried aubergine open with the back of a spoon to make a deep boat, so the filling sits inside rather than rolling off.

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Ijjeh

Ijjeh is the quick supper of Palestinian and Levantine homes: eggs beaten with so much parsley, mint and spring onion that they turn green, spiced with a little cinnamon and allspice, then fried as thick little patties. They are tucked into warm bread with tomatoes and pickles for school lunches, or served on a breakfast spread with olives and labneh. Common mistake: frying in too little oil over a high heat, so the outsides burn before the herbs inside cook. Chef's tip: a spoonful of flour and a pinch of baking powder make them puff and stay soft when eaten cold the next day.

22 min

Palestinian Breakfast & Brunch

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Shulbato

Shulbato is a summer pot from the villages of the West Bank and Galilee, made when the garden overflows: coarse bulgur cooked with aubergine, courgette, peppers, tomato and plenty of onion until the wheat is fluffy and stained red. It is eaten warm or cool on hot days with a bowl of yoghurt or a cucumber salad, and it is also a fasting dish for Christian families. Common mistake: using fine bulgur, which turns mushy; it needs the coarse grade. Chef's tip: let the vegetables catch and brown a little before adding the wheat; that slight char is the flavour of the dish.

60 min

Palestinian Rice & Grains

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Khubeizeh

After the winter rains, mallow (khubeizeh) springs up along field edges and roadsides in Palestine, and families gather bags of it for a humble, much-loved dish: the leaves chopped and wilted with lots of onion fried in olive oil, sometimes with a handful of bulgur or rice to stretch it. It is eaten warm with bread and lemon, soft and earthy like spinach with a slightly silky texture. If you can't forage mallow, use chard or spinach with a little baby kale. Common mistake: drowning the greens in water; they release their own and only need a splash. Chef's tip: brown half the onions deeply and keep the rest soft; you get sweetness and crunch together.

45 min

Palestinian Vegetarian

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Qizha

Qizha is Gaza's own sweet: a dense, near-black semolina cake made with a paste of roasted nigella seeds, eaten especially in winter and during Ramadan, when bakeries in Gaza City stack trays of it. It tastes nutty and slightly bitter, a little like dark sesame, softened by syrup and topped with almonds or pistachios. Nigella paste is sold in some Middle Eastern shops; if you can't find it, grind toasted nigella with tahini as below. Common mistake: over-toasting the nigella, which turns it acrid; stop as soon as it smells fragrant. Chef's tip: rest the mixed batter for 30 minutes before baking so the semolina swells and the cake slices cleanly.

60 min

Palestinian Baking

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Za'atar spice blend

In Palestinian homes za'atar is both a herb and the blend made from it, kept in a jar beside a bowl of olive oil so torn bread can be dipped in one and then the other at breakfast; children grow up on it, and it goes to school in sandwiches. The blend is mostly dried wild za'atar (or thyme and oregano), tangy with sumac, nutty with toasted sesame and seasoned with salt. Common mistake: grinding it to dust; it should be coarse and slightly flaky. Chef's tip: rub the dried leaves with a few drops of olive oil before mixing; it wakes their aroma and helps the sumac cling.

15 min

Palestinian Basics

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Kharroub

Through Ramadan, street vendors in Jerusalem's Old City and in Nablus walk the alleys with brass urns of kharroub on their backs, clacking cups to announce the cold carob drink that breaks the fast. Made by soaking crushed carob pods (or more easily from carob molasses), it is dark, chocolatey-caramel in taste, lightly sweet and very refreshing over ice. Common mistake: boiling the pods hard, which makes the drink bitter and cloudy; soak and simmer gently. Chef's tip: a few drops of orange-blossom water just before serving lifts the earthy carob flavour.

25 min

Palestinian Drinks

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Shai bil maramiya

Offer a guest tea in a Palestinian home and it will most likely come in small glasses, sweet, strong and fragrant with maramiya, the soft-leaved sage that grows on every terrace and is said to settle the stomach after a heavy meal. In winter the leaves are dried; in spring they are picked fresh. Common mistake: boiling the sage with the tea, which brings out a medicinal bitterness; it goes in after the heat is off. Chef's tip: bruise the sage leaves between your fingers before dropping them in, and let them steep only 2–3 minutes.

8 min

Palestinian Drinks

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Shoofly pie

Shoofly pie is the signature sweet of the Amish and Mennonite farms around Lancaster, Pennsylvania, sold at roadside stands and farmers' markets and eaten for breakfast with strong coffee as often as for dessert. This is the 'wet-bottom' kind: a gooey layer of molasses custard under a cakey middle and a buttery brown-sugar crumb. Chef's tip: use mild, light molasses; strong blackstrap makes it bitter.

70 min

American Desserts

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Fried apple hand pies

Fried pies are a staple of Appalachian bake sales, country stores and Grand Ole Opry-era lunch pails across Tennessee, Kentucky and north Georgia, made from apples dried on the porch roof in autumn. The rich filling of stewed dried apple is folded into rounds of tender pastry, crimped with a fork and fried crisp in a skillet. Chef's tip: let the filling go completely cold and use only a heaped tablespoon; overfilled pies burst in the pan.

75 min

American Desserts

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Sumaghiyyeh

Sumaghiyyeh is Gaza's festive dish, cooked in big pots for Eid al-Fitr and eaten cold the next days with bread: chunks of lamb and chickpeas in a thick, purple-brown sauce of sumac, chard, tahini, garlic, dill and chilli. It tastes sour, nutty and herby all at once and is served at room temperature, sealed under a film of olive oil. Common mistake: using ground sumac straight into the pot, which leaves it gritty; soak the sumac and use the strained liquid. Chef's tip: make it a day ahead; the sauce sets and the flavours deepen, just as Gazan families serve it.

130 min

Palestinian Meat

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Qidra

Qidra takes its name from the tall copper or clay pot it is cooked in, which in Hebron is sealed and carried to the neighbourhood bakery to cook slowly in the bread oven for Friday lunch, weddings and Eid. The rice is golden with turmeric and cumin, studded with whole garlic cloves and chickpeas, and the lamb underneath turns meltingly tender. At home, a heavy lidded casserole in the oven does the job. Common mistake: lifting the lid to stir, which breaks the rice and lets the steam escape. Chef's tip: soak the rice for 30 minutes and use only as much broth as the recipe says; the sealed pot loses almost nothing.

180 min

Palestinian Meat

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Maftoul

Maftoul means 'rolled', and in Palestinian villages women still sit together in autumn rolling bulgur and flour by hand into pea-sized pearls, drying them in the sun to last the winter. For a family gathering, the maftoul is steamed over a pot of chicken simmering with onions, chickpeas and caraway, then served on a big platter with the chicken on top and the broth in bowls alongside. Bought maftoul or giant couscous is fine. Common mistake: boiling the maftoul like pasta, which makes it gluey; steam it, then moisten with broth. Chef's tip: toss the dry maftoul with oil and spices before steaming so every grain stays separate.

105 min

Palestinian Chicken

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Zibdiyit gambari

In Gaza's seafront restaurants zibdiyit gambari arrives bubbling in the same clay bowl (zibdiya) in which the sauce was pounded: prawns baked in a fierce tomato sauce full of garlic, green chilli and dill seed, with olive oil pooling at the edges for dipping bread. Families make it at home for special Friday lunches when the catch is good. Common mistake: cooking the prawns as long as the sauce, which makes them tough; they need only a few minutes at the end. Chef's tip: pound the garlic, chilli and dill seed by hand; the rough paste fries into the oil and gives the sauce its punch.

30 min

Palestinian Fish

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Djaj mahshi

For Eid, Christmas or a wedding lunch in Palestine, a whole chicken stuffed with spiced rice is the centrepiece: the rice cooked with a little minced lamb, seven-spice and cardamom, packed into the bird and roasted until the skin is lacquered brown, then piled on a platter under handfuls of fried almonds and pine nuts. Serve with yoghurt and a chopped salad. Common mistake: packing the cavity tightly with raw rice, which leaves the centre undercooked; part-cook the rice first and stuff loosely. Chef's tip: simmer the chicken briefly in spiced water before roasting, as many Palestinian cooks do; it seasons the meat and keeps it moist.

160 min

Palestinian Chicken

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Kofta bi tahini

Kofta bi tahini is a family tray-bake from Jerusalem, Nazareth and the West Bank, the kind of dinner that goes into the oven on a weeknight and comes out bubbling and golden: parsley-flecked lamb and beef kofta fingers, sliced potatoes and onions, all covered in a tangy, garlicky tahini sauce. Rice with vermicelli and a chopped salad go alongside. Common mistake: making the tahini sauce too thick; it should pour like single cream, as it thickens a lot in the oven. Chef's tip: brown the kofta and potatoes before they meet the sauce; it keeps the kofta firm and stops the potatoes turning soggy.

80 min

Palestinian Meat

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Makmoura

Makmoura (meaning 'buried') is a village dish from around Jenin in the northern West Bank, made in olive harvest season when there is fresh oil to spare: layers of thin bread dough are baked over chicken and a heap of onions slow-cooked in olive oil with sumac and spice, so the bottom soaks up the juices and the top turns crisp. Families tear it apart by hand and eat it with yoghurt and olives. Common mistake: rushing the onions; they need a full half hour to turn sweet and jammy. Chef's tip: use good, fruity olive oil and don't skimp — it is the soul of the dish.

130 min

Palestinian Chicken

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Galayet bandora

Ask anyone in Amman what they cook when the fridge is nearly empty and the answer is often galayet bandora: ripe tomatoes collapsed in a shallow pan with olive oil, garlic and hot green chilli until they turn jammy and sweet. It turns up at breakfast, as a quick supper, and over a camp fire on desert trips to Wadi Rum, always eaten straight from the pan with torn khubz or shrak. Some families add cubes of lamb; this meatless version is the one most homes make every week. The usual mistake is stirring too much and adding water, which gives you a thin sauce instead of glossy, slightly caramelised tomatoes. Chef's tip: let the tomatoes sit untouched for the first few minutes so their undersides catch and colour; that touch of browning is where the flavour comes from.

30 min

Jordanian Vegetarian

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Shrak

In Bedouin camps around Wadi Rum and Ma'an, shrak is baked fresh for every meal: dough stretched thinner than a handkerchief, flung over a domed iron saj above the fire and lifted off seconds later, soft and blistered. It is the bread that lines the mansaf platter and wraps grilled meat, and it is torn for galayet and labneh at breakfast. At home an upturned wok over a gas flame stands in for the saj. The common mistake is rolling the dough on a dry surface; it tears, so oil your hands and worktop instead and stretch the dough over the backs of your hands like a pizza maker. Chef's tip: rest the dough balls a full 30 minutes, well oiled and covered; relaxed gluten stretches to near see-through without fighting back.

65 min

Jordanian Breads & Parathas

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New England corn chowder

When the sweetcorn stands in late summer at farm stands from Maine to Connecticut, corn chowder is what goes on the stove. It is a milky, chunky soup of corn, potato and onion, thickened by simmering the stripped cobs in the stock. Many cooks start it with salt pork; this vegetarian version gets its depth from butter, smoked paprika and the cob stock instead. Chef's tip: scrape the bare cobs with the back of a knife to get the sweet corn 'milk' into the pot.

50 min

American Soups

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Hilbeh

Hilbeh is the tray cake Jordanian grandmothers bake in winter and for visits after childbirth, when fenugreek is believed to warm and strengthen. Soaked fenugreek seeds swell into soft, jelly-coated beads that dot a dense semolina crumb, giving a gently bitter, maple-like scent that the hot syrup softens. Cut into diamonds, each topped with an almond, it sits on the coffee table beside Arabic coffee from Irbid to Aqaba. The mistake people make is using the seeds dry: they stay hard and bitter, so boil and soak them first. Chef's tip: pour cold syrup over the cake the moment it leaves the oven; hot-on-cold soaks in evenly and keeps the top from going soggy.

75 min

Jordanian Baking

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Rashoof

In the stone villages around Karak and Tafileh, rashoof is what simmers on cold, wet evenings: brown lentils and coarse bulgur cooked soft, then enriched with jameed, the dried salted yoghurt that is also the soul of mansaf. The result is thick, sour and comforting, almost a porridge, finished with a heap of onions fried golden in samneh. Jameed is sold in hard balls or as a liquid in Middle Eastern shops; thick strained yoghurt with a little extra salt makes a fine stand-in. The classic mistake is letting the soup boil hard once the yoghurt goes in, which makes it split into grainy curds. Chef's tip: temper the yoghurt with a ladle of hot soup first and stir in one direction over a low heat; it stays silky.

65 min

Jordanian Soups

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Ka'ak bi ajwa

In the last nights of Ramadan, Jordanian kitchens turn into small bakeries, and trays of ka'ak bi ajwa go into neighbourhood ovens ready for Eid morning. A crumbly semolina pastry scented with anise and mahlab is wrapped round a rope of date paste, closed into rings and baked pale gold, then offered to every visitor with bitter Arabic coffee. Children usually do the rolling. The common mistake is overworking the dough after the butter goes in, which makes the cookies hard rather than sandy. Chef's tip: rest the semolina and butter mixture overnight before adding the liquid; the grains drink the fat and the ka'ak melt in the mouth.

80 min

Jordanian Baking

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Texas potato and egg breakfast tacos

In Austin and San Antonio the breakfast taco is the morning commute: soft flour tortillas wrapped around fillings like crispy potato, scrambled egg and cheese, bought in foil from taquerías and petrol stations and eaten with salsa. Potato and egg is the classic meatless pairing. Chef's tip: fry the diced potatoes in one layer without stirring for the first few minutes so they get a real crust.

30 min

American Breakfast & Brunch

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Wisconsin beer cheese soup

Beer cheese soup is a Wisconsin tavern and Packers game-day classic, made with the state's sharp cheddar and a local lager and served with soft pretzels or popcorn on top. It is thick, silky and tangy, with a little mustard and smoked paprika. It contains beer; most of the alcohol cooks off but not all, so for an alcohol-free version use alcohol-free lager or extra stock with 1 tsp cider vinegar. Aged cheddar is often made with animal rennet, so use a vegetarian cheddar. Chef's tip: add the cheese off the heat, a handful at a time, or it turns grainy.

45 min

American Soups

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Chicago giardiniera

Giardiniera came to Chicago with Italian immigrants, and the city made it its own: a hot mix of chopped chillies, celery, carrot and cauliflower, brined overnight then packed in vinegar and oil. It is what Chicagoans pile on an Italian beef sandwich, a pizza or a sausage, and every deli has its own heat level. Chef's tip: don't skip the overnight salt brine; it draws out water so the vegetables stay crunchy for weeks.

30 min

American Chutneys & Dips

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Green bean casserole from scratch

Green bean casserole was invented in a test kitchen in the 1950s and spread across the Midwest via church cookbooks; today it is on most American Thanksgiving tables. This version skips the tins: fresh beans in a homemade mushroom cream sauce, topped with crisp shallots you fry yourself. Chef's tip: blanch the beans only until bright green and still squeaky, because they cook again in the oven.

65 min

American Sides

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Castroville fried artichokes

Castroville, near Monterey on California's central coast, grows most of America's artichokes and calls itself the artichoke centre of the world. Roadside stands and the annual artichoke festival sell them crisp-fried, the tender hearts dipped in a light batter and served with lemon and garlic mayonnaise. Small 'baby' artichokes are best, as they have almost no choke. Chef's tip: drop each trimmed artichoke straight into lemon water; cut artichokes turn brown within minutes.

45 min

American Snacks & Starters

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