Featured recipe

Sugar syrup

Sugar syrup (chashni) is the base of many Indian sweets, and recipes ask for it at different stages. A light syrup is for soaking sweets and sweetening drinks. One-thread and two-thread syrups are boiled longer so the sweet sets. You can make it with milk instead of water for some sweets.

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Sablés normandsButter biscuits

The little town of Lisieux, in the Pays d'Auge, has made sablés since the 1800s, and the word means 'sandy', for the way they crumble on the tongue. They are one of the simplest things a Normandy kitchen bakes: good salted butter, sugar, egg yolks and flour, rolled into a log, sliced and baked pale gold. Normans dip them in coffee or serve them with fruit compote, teurgoule or a bowl of fromage blanc, and children grow up with a tin of them in the cupboard. Chef's tip: work the dough as little as possible once the flour goes in; the less you knead, the more tender and sandy the crumb.

34 min

French Baking

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Bobó de camarãoPrawns in cassava and coconut purée

Velvety, coral-coloured and rich with coconut, bobó de camarão is what Bahian families put on the table when there is something to celebrate, and beach restaurants from Praia do Forte to Itacaré serve it in clay pots with white rice and farofa. Cassava is boiled until it falls apart, blended with coconut milk into a smooth cream, then folded into prawns cooked with onion, tomato, peppers and a slick of dendê oil. The result is somewhere between a stew and a thick sauce, sweet from the prawns and gently earthy from the cassava. A frequent mistake is boiling the prawns in the purée for too long, which leaves them tough and curled; they go in at the very end. Cassava must always be cooked right through, never eaten raw: cut out the woody core and boil it until a knife meets no resistance. Chef's tip: blend the cassava while it is still hot, with some of its cooking water; cold cassava turns gluey in the blender.

65 min

Brazilian Curries

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Salada algarviaTomato, pepper and onion salad

Order grilled sardines or fish at any beach shack between Sagres and Monte Gordo and this salad arrives alongside without anyone asking. It is little more than summer tomatoes, crisp green pepper and sweet onion, dressed with olive oil, a splash of vinegar and plenty of dried oregano, but the juices left in the bowl are the best part, mopped up with bread. Chef's tip: salt the tomatoes 10 minutes before dressing them so they release their juice into the dressing.

15 min

Portuguese Salads

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Cabrito assado à minhotaRoast kid with potatoes

Easter Sunday in the Minho means cabrito: young goat rubbed with garlic, paprika and lard, soaked overnight in white wine and roasted until the meat falls from the bone. Families in Arcos de Valdevez and Monção serve it with roast potatoes and a tray of rice baked in the meat juices. This contains pork (lard and smoked bacon) and uses wine; an alcohol-free option is in the ingredient note. Chef's tip: baste every 20 minutes, as kid is lean and dries out quickly without it.

180 min

Portuguese Meat

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Chuchu refogadoSautéed chayote

Chayote is so cheap and common in Minas Gerais that Brazilians joke it tastes of nothing; this everyday refogado proves the point wrong. Peeled and diced, it is softened in garlic, onion and a little tomato with its own juices until it turns tender, pale green and silky, picking up all the flavour of the base. It is the side you find at every self-service lunch in Belo Horizonte, alongside rice, beans and couve, and works with grilled tofu, eggs or a bean stew. Adding water is the most common error: chuchu releases plenty of liquid, and extra water makes it bland and soupy. Chef's tip: rub a little oil on your hands, or wear gloves, before peeling; the cut fruit releases a sticky sap that leaves your skin tight and dry.

25 min

Brazilian Sides

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Kestane şekeriCandied chestnuts

Bursa sits beneath the chestnut forests of Uludağ, and every sweet shop in the old covered market sells kestane şekeri in neat gold boxes, especially as gifts in autumn and at the new year. Peeled chestnuts are poached and then candied over several days in a vanilla syrup until they turn dense, glossy and tender right through. It takes patience rather than skill. Chef's tip: wrap each chestnut in a square of muslin before poaching; it holds the fragile nuts together through the repeated syrup baths.

150 min

Turkish Desserts

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Philly cheesesteak

The cheesesteak was born in South Philadelphia in the 1930s, and the rival stands on Passyunk Avenue still keep the city arguing over whether it should come with melted cheese sauce, provolone or American cheese, and 'wit' or 'witout' fried onions. Paper-thin ribeye is chopped on a hot griddle, cheese is melted over it and the lot is scooped into a soft, crusty hoagie roll. Chef's tip: freeze the beef for 40 minutes before slicing; it firms up so you can cut it almost see-through.

35 min

American Fast Food

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KeteToasted flour butter rolls

Bakeries in Erzurum and Kars sell kete by the dozen for breakfast and long bus journeys: soft yeasted rolls coiled around a filling of flour toasted in butter until it smells of biscuits. Inside, the layers turn flaky and tender, and the crust is glazed with egg and sesame. They are eaten with strong tea, white cheese and olives, and keep well for a few days. Common mistake: under-toasting the flour for the filling; it should go a pale sandy gold and smell nutty, or the centre tastes raw. Chef's tip: roll the dough thin before spreading the filling and coiling it; thin layers bake into the flaky swirl that makes kete special.

70 min

Turkish Baking

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Chuño phutiFreeze-dried potatoes with egg and cheese

Chuño are potatoes freeze-dried the ancient way on the Altiplano: left out on frosty nights, trampled to squeeze out the water and dried in the high sun, so they keep for years. In Puno and across the border in Bolivia, they are soaked, crumbled and fried with onion, then scrambled with egg and fresh cheese to make phuti, a hearty breakfast or supper eaten with a hot tea. The texture is dense and slightly chewy, and the flavour earthy and a little tangy. Chuño is sold dried in Andean shops; it must soak overnight (ideally 24 hours, with the water changed) and then be peeled, which adds time before you start. The mistake is not soaking or rinsing enough: under-soaked chuño smells strong and stays hard in the middle. Serve with a fresh tomato salsa or uchucuta. Fresh cheese is usually made with animal rennet, so use a vegetarian one if needed. Chef's tip: squeeze the soaked chuño hard between your palms before crumbling; the drier it is, the better it fries.

40 min

Peruvian Vegetarian

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Chupe de camaronesPrawn chowder

Arequipa's picanterías serve one chupe on each day of the week, and the prawn one, made with crayfish-like camarones from the Majes and Ocoña rivers, is the grandest, especially on Fridays in Lent. It is a big orange chowder: a broth made from the prawn shells and heads, coloured with ají panca, filled with potatoes, corn, broad beans and a little rice, then softened with evaporated milk and fresh cheese, with an egg poached in each bowl. Rich, sweet and gently spicy, it needs nothing but bread. Large shell-on prawns stand in well for river prawns. Many cooks boil the prawns from the start and they turn to rubber; add them at the end and cook only until pink and opaque. Chef's tip: fry the heads and shells in the oil first and press them hard; the orange fat that comes out is what gives chupe its colour and depth.

75 min

Peruvian Soups

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Maryland crab soup

Maryland crab soup is the red, vegetable-packed soup of Baltimore crab houses and Eastern Shore church fundraisers, simmered in a beef broth with tomatoes, corn, beans and lots of crab seasoning, with blue crab meat stirred in at the end. Locals eat a cup before a tray of steamed crabs. Chef's tip: let the vegetables cook fully before the crab goes in; crab meat only needs warming, and stirring too much shreds it.

70 min

American Soups

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Maryland crab cakes

Around Chesapeake Bay, from Baltimore's crab houses to the docks of the Eastern Shore, a proper crab cake is judged by how little holds it together: sweet lump blue crab, a spoon of mayonnaise and mustard, a little seasoning and just enough crumbs to bind. They are eaten as a platter with coleslaw or in a soft roll with tartare sauce through the summer crab season. Chef's tip: chill the shaped cakes for an hour; it firms them so they don't fall apart in the pan.

35 min

American Fish

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Manhattan clam chowder

Manhattan clam chowder swaps New England's cream for tomatoes, a style that grew up in the Portuguese and Italian fish restaurants of New York and Coney Island and is still ladled out in Fulton Street lunch counters. It is a brothy red soup with clams, potato, carrot, celery and a little bacon (pork), lighter than the white kind and peppery with thyme. Chef's tip: add the chopped clams only for the last few minutes; long boiling turns them to rubber.

60 min

American Soups

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Salada de feijão-fradinhoBlack-eyed pea salad

Black-eyed peas are the bean of Bahia, ground for acarajé and abará and simmered whole for the caruru feasts of late September. Cooked until just tender and dressed while warm, they also make this bright salad that appears on Salvador's por-quilo lunch buffets and next to grilled food at weekend gatherings. Tomato, red onion, two kinds of pepper, coriander and plenty of lime give it crunch and sharpness, and the peas stay creamy inside. It goes with rice and grilled vegetables, or stands alone as a light lunch. Soak the dried peas for at least 4 hours or overnight before you start. The trap to avoid is boiling the peas hard until the skins split; they turn to mush when tossed. Chef's tip: dress the peas while they are still warm with the lime, oil and salt only, then add the raw vegetables once they are cool so everything stays crisp.

40 min

Brazilian Salads

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Chicken sauce piquante

Sauce piquante is the fiery tomato-and-roux braise of the Cajun parishes, cooked in big black pots for family reunions and the Raceland sauce piquante festival, with chicken, rabbit, alligator or turtle. This chicken version simmers until falling off the bone in a sauce sharp with chilli, vinegar and plenty of black pepper. Serve over rice. Chef's tip: let it sit for 20 minutes off the heat before serving; the heat and sharpness mellow and blend.

95 min

American Chicken

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Salada de maionesePotato, carrot and pea mayonnaise salad

Sunday lunch in Rio, a birthday churrasco, the Christmas Eve table: wherever Brazilian families gather, a bowl of salada de maionese is there. Potatoes and carrots are cooked in small cubes, mixed with peas, chopped hard-boiled egg, a squeeze of lime and plenty of mayonnaise, then chilled until cold and creamy. Some homes add diced green apple or olives; the soft potato and sweet carrot with the tangy dressing are the heart of it. Serve it with rice, farofa and anything grilled. Dressing the potatoes while still hot is the usual misstep: the mayonnaise splits and turns oily, so let them cool first. Keep it in the fridge and don't leave it out in the heat for more than two hours. Chef's tip: toss the warm potatoes with the lime juice and salt only, so they absorb the seasoning before the mayonnaise goes on.

40 min

Brazilian Salads

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BozghormehPounded lamb and chickpeas with kashk

Bozghormeh is a dish of Kerman, the desert city in south-east Iran, cooked on winter weekends and for family gatherings. Lamb and chickpeas are simmered with turmeric until soft, then pounded together and finished with kashk (salty fermented whey), lots of fried onion and garlic and a dusting of dried mint; it is scooped up with flatbread rather than eaten with rice. The result is creamy, tangy and deeply savoury. A common mistake is boiling after the kashk goes in; it turns grainy, so add it at the end over a low heat. Chef's tip: if you can't find kashk, mix thick Greek yogurt with a pinch of salt and a squeeze of lemon; it's milder but close.

150 min

Persian Meat

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Green chile cheeseburger

The green chile cheeseburger is the pride of New Mexico, with an official trail of roadside diners and bars from San Antonio, New Mexico, to Santa Fe competing for the best one. A juicy beef patty is topped with melted American or cheddar cheese and a heap of roasted, chopped green chile, which adds smoky heat that cuts through the richness. Chef's tip: put the chile on before the cheese and let the cheese melt over it, so it holds the chile in place.

35 min

American Fast Food

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LabskausCorned beef, potato and beetroot hash

Labskaus is the pink, rough-textured hash that ships' cooks made from salted beef and potatoes, and it is still on the menu in harbour pubs from Hamburg to Bremen, often as a hearty lunch after a cold walk along the Elbe. Salt beef is fried with onion, then pounded into mashed potato with pickled beetroot and a splash of its juice, so the whole plate turns magenta. A fried egg goes on top, with gherkins and, for those who like it, a rolled pickled herring on the side. Chef's tip: keep back some of the beetroot liquid and add it at the end, a spoon at a time; it is the sharpness that stops the hash tasting heavy.

60 min

German Meat

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New Mexico carne adovada

Carne adovada is the slow-braised red chile pork of northern New Mexico, a speciality of Chimayó and the Española Valley, eaten in burritos, with eggs for breakfast or with sopaipillas on the side. Pork shoulder marinates overnight in a smooth sauce of dried red chile pods, garlic and oregano, then bakes until it falls into soft shreds stained deep red. Chef's tip: marinate it overnight in the fridge; the chile works into the meat and makes it extra tender.

200 min

American Meat

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PingadoHot milk with coffee

Order 'um pingado' at the balcão of any São Paulo padaria at 7 in the morning and the attendant pours hot milk into a ridged glass tumbler (the copo americano) and 'drips' in a splash of strong coffee, hence the name. It is milkier and gentler than a média (half coffee, half milk), creamy and lightly sweet, usually drunk standing up with a pão na chapa, a toasted buttered roll. At home you need strong filter coffee and milk heated until steaming. Scalding the milk is the frequent mistake, as boiled milk tastes flat and forms a skin. Chef's tip: froth the hot milk for a few seconds with a whisk or by pouring it back and forth between two jugs before adding the coffee, as padaria machines do.

7 min

Brazilian Drinks

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Cima alla genoveseStuffed cold veal breast

Cima alla genovese is a summer dish from Genoa and the Ligurian coast, sold by the slice in old delicatessens and set out for festive lunches and picnics. A pocket of veal breast is filled with a soft mixture of minced veal, egg, peas, parmigiano, pine nuts and marjoram, sewn shut and poached gently in broth, then pressed overnight so each cold slice shows a mosaic of green peas and golden egg. Traditional recipes add brains, sweetbreads and udder; this version keeps to veal mince so it is easier to make at home. Ask the butcher to cut the pocket for you. Serve it cool with a green salad and a little salsa verde. Chef's tip: fill the pocket only two-thirds full; the stuffing swells as it cooks and will burst the seams if packed tight.

195 min

Italian Meat

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Huachinango a la veracruzanaRed snapper in tomato sauce

In the port of Veracruz, fish a la veracruzana shows the city's centuries of trade with Spain: red snapper baked in a sauce of tomato, onion and garlic with green olives, capers, bay and herbs, sharpened with pickled yellow chillies. It is served at seafront restaurants on Sundays and is a favourite on Christmas Eve, when many families eat fish. The sauce is tangy, briny and gently hot, and the fish stays moist under it. Serve it with plain white rice to soak up the sauce. Chef's tip: cook the sauce down until thick before the fish goes in; the fish releases juices as it bakes and will thin it out.

65 min

Mexican Fish

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Cincinnati goettaPork, beef and oat slices

Goetta is Cincinnati's breakfast meat, brought by German immigrants who stretched a little pork and beef with steel-cut oats; the city even holds a summer Goettafest beside the Ohio River. Pork mince, beef mince and pinhead oats are simmered with onion and spices into a thick loaf, chilled, then sliced and fried until crisp and brown outside and soft within. Serve with eggs and toast. Chef's tip: fry the slices in a dry, hot non-stick pan and leave them alone for 5 minutes; turning too early makes them crumble.

170 min

American Breakfast & Brunch

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Hawaiian macaroni salad

Every Hawaiian plate lunch, from drive-ins in Hilo to the lunch wagons of Honolulu, comes with two scoops of rice and one of this soft, creamy macaroni salad. It is simpler than American pasta salads: overcooked elbow macaroni soaked in vinegar while hot, then folded with lots of mayonnaise, a little milk and grated carrot. Chef's tip: cook the pasta past al dente, a few minutes longer than the packet says; plate-lunch mac is meant to be soft so it soaks up the dressing.

30 minPacific Islander Salads

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Lacón con grelosCured pork shoulder with turnip tops

Lacón con grelos is the great dish of Entroido, the Galician carnival, when restaurants in Lugo and A Coruña serve platters of it to tables of friends. This contains pork (cured pork shoulder and chorizo). The lacón is soaked, then simmered with chorizo, and turnip tops and potatoes are cooked in the same rich broth. It's served with olive oil and a sprinkle of paprika. A common mistake is skipping the soaking, which leaves the meat far too salty to eat. Chef's tip: save the cooking liquid, as it makes the base for a caldo the next day.

170 min

Spanish Meat

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Hawaiian shave ice

Shave ice came to Hawaii with Japanese plantation workers, and on hot afternoons on Oahu's North Shore families still queue at roadside stands for a towering, soft cone of ice soaked in rainbow syrups. The ice is shaved so fine it is like fresh snow and soaks up the syrup instead of letting it run to the bottom. Without a shaver, freeze ice in a block and scrape it with a fork. Chef's tip: let the ice block sit out for 5 minutes before shaving; slightly tempered ice gives fluffier flakes.

30 minPacific Islander Desserts

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MaftoulHand-rolled couscous with chicken

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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Kadayıf dolmasıWalnut pancakes in syrup

In Erzurum, kadayıf means not shredded pastry but small, spongy pancakes cooked on one side only. For kadayıf dolması they're filled with walnuts, folded into half-moons, fried golden and plunged into syrup, and they are the city's pride on festival days and at weddings. The outside is crisp and syrupy, the inside soft and nutty. Common mistake: cooking the pancakes on both sides; the uncooked, bubbly top is what sticks the edges together. Chef's tip: the syrup must be cold and the dolma hot straight from the oil, so they absorb syrup without going soggy.

80 min

Turkish Desserts

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Kadınbudu köfteFried rice and mince patties

The name means 'lady's thigh', a playful Ottoman-era compliment to their plump, tender shape, and these köfte still appear in Istanbul home kitchens and old lokantas for Friday lunch. Half the meat is cooked with onion first, then mixed with raw mince, rice and herbs, so the köfte are unusually soft and moist. They are dipped in egg and fried golden, and served with a simple tomato salad and pilaf or mashed potato. Chef's tip: the rice must be fully cooked and cooled before mixing, or the köfte crack and fall apart in the pan.

65 min

Turkish Meat

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Hawaiian butter mochi

Butter mochi is the sweet of Hawaii's potlucks, school fundraisers and family parties, a local mix of Japanese mochi and the islands' coconut. Glutinous rice flour is baked with coconut milk, evaporated milk, butter and eggs into a golden, chewy cake with crisp edges and a soft, bouncy middle. Chef's tip: cut it with a plastic knife once fully cooled; a metal knife drags and sticks.

70 minPacific Islander Baking

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Hawaiian malasadas

Malasadas came to Hawaii with Portuguese workers from Madeira and the Azores in the 1870s, and on Malasada Day, the Tuesday before Lent, bakeries in Honolulu have queues round the block. They are eggy, airy yeast doughnuts with no hole, fried golden and rolled in sugar while hot; some are filled with haupia or custard. Chef's tip: the dough is very soft and sticky, so oil your hands rather than adding more flour, or the malasadas turn heavy.

50 minPacific Islander Baking

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Salade lyonnaiseFrisée, bacon and poached egg salad

Every bouchon in Lyon, the small checked-tablecloth restaurants of the old town and the Presqu'île, puts salade lyonnaise on its menu as a starter or light lunch. Bitter, crunchy frisée is tossed with a sharp mustard vinaigrette, then topped with hot smoked pork lardons, garlicky croutons and a poached egg whose yolk spills into the leaves and turns the dressing creamy. It's the meeting of hot and cold, soft and crisp that makes it work. The egg is served runny, so use pasteurised eggs for pregnant women, young children, older people or anyone with a weakened immune system, or cook the egg until set. Chef's tip: deglaze the lardon pan with the vinegar and pour it warm over the leaves so they wilt very slightly.

30 min

French Salads

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Ohio Shaker lemon pie

The Shaker communities of Ohio and Kentucky wasted nothing, so they sliced whole lemons, peel and all, and left them overnight in sugar until the rind turned soft and syrupy. Baked with eggs between two crusts, the filling is like a bright, chunky marmalade custard, sweet, sour and faintly bitter. Shaker villages and Ohio bakeries still make it for spring. Chef's tip: slice the lemons paper-thin, ideally on a mandoline; thick slices stay chewy and bitter.

75 min

American Desserts

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Iowa scalloped corn

In Iowa, scalloped corn is the dish everyone brings to the Thanksgiving table, the church potluck and the Sunday dinner after a funeral. Sweetcorn kernels and creamed corn are baked with milk, eggs and buttery crushed crackers into a soft, spoonable pudding with a golden, crunchy top. Chef's tip: save a third of the crackers for the top and mix them with melted butter so they crisp instead of going soggy.

60 min

American Sides

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Clarinhas de FãoGourd and egg yolk pastries

Clarinhas come from Fão, a small riverside town near Esposende, where they are sold warm and sugary from bakery counters and at summer fairs on the Cávado estuary. Thin pastry is folded around a filling of candied fig-leaf gourd (doce de chila) thickened with egg yolk, fried until blistered, then rolled in sugar. Chila jam is sold in Portuguese shops; a thick pumpkin jam works well in its place. A common mistake is overfilling the pastries, so the jam bursts through the seams while they fry. Chef's tip: cook the filling until it is firm enough to hold its shape on a spoon, or it will leak and spit in the oil.

75 min

Portuguese Desserts

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Clootie dumplingBoiled spiced fruit pudding

The clootie dumpling takes its name from the cloot, the cotton cloth it is boiled in, and it is the birthday and Hogmanay pudding of Scottish grannies from Fife to the Borders. It is a dense, dark, spiced fruit pudding with a sticky skin that forms when the floured cloth is dried in front of the oven. Leftover slices are fried for breakfast. Traditional recipes use beef suet; this one uses vegetable suet so it stays vegetarian. Chef's tip: dust the scalded cloth thickly with flour before filling it; that flour is what forms the famous skin.

270 min

British Desserts

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Bica de TrivesButtery cream cake

Pobra de Trives, a mountain town in Ourense, holds a festival every August in honour of its bica, a rich, close-textured cake made with fresh cream and butter from local dairies. It is baked in a rectangular tin, sold in paper and eaten in thick slices with coffee or a glass of milk. The sugar scattered on top bakes into a thin, crackly crust. A common mistake is overmixing once the flour goes in, which makes it tough; fold just until no streaks remain. Chef's tip: whip the egg whites separately and fold them in last for a lighter crumb.

65 min

Spanish Baking

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Kärntner KasnudelnCurd cheese filled pasta half-moons

Kasnudeln are the pride of Carinthia in Austria's south, where every village claims the best filling and where they are eaten on Fridays and at church fairs. Big half-moons of thin noodle dough are stuffed with crumbly curd cheese, floury potato, onion and fresh mint, then sealed with a braided edge called 'krendeln' that keeps the filling in as they simmer. They are served with a generous pour of brown butter and chives, often with a green salad. A common mistake is rolling the dough too thick: it should be thin enough to see your hand through, or the folded edges turn stodgy. Carinthian Topfen is usually made without animal rennet, but check the label and pick a vegetarian quark. Chef's tip: if crimping feels tricky, press the edges with a fork first, then practise the braid on the last few.

90 min

Austrian Pasta & Noodles

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Coca de llandaLemon and olive oil sponge

Every Valencian grandmother has a coca de llanda, a plain, fluffy sponge named after the shallow metal tray (llanda) it is baked in, and it turns up at breakfast, at afternoon merienda and in lunchboxes all over the Comunitat Valenciana. Sunflower oil and milk keep it moist for days, lemon zest perfumes it, and a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar on top bakes into a crackly crust. A common mistake is opening the oven in the first 25 minutes, which makes the middle sink. Chef's tip: let the batter rest for 10 minutes in the tin before it goes into the oven; the cinnamon sugar then sits on the surface instead of sinking in.

50 min

Spanish Baking

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Coca de recapteFlatbread with roasted vegetables

In Lleida and the farmland of inland Catalonia, the coca de recapte was once baked in the village oven on bread day, topped with whatever was in the larder; recapte means provisions. Today bakeries sell long trays of it, and families take slices on Sunday outings. The topping is essentially escalivada: aubergine, red pepper and onion, roasted then laid raw-side-up on the dough. Bakeries often add salted sardines or anchovies; this version is vegetarian. Chef's tip: roast the vegetables only until soft, not falling apart; they cook a second time on the coca.

120 min

Spanish Vegetarian

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Coca de Sant JoanCandied fruit and pine nut brioche

On the night of 23 June, the Revetlla de Sant Joan, Catalonia lights bonfires, sets off firecrackers on every beach and street, and shares a long oval coca: a soft, lemony brioche topped with candied fruit, pine nuts and crunchy sugar. Bakeries sell thousands, but a homemade one, still slightly warm, is something else. Some recipes add a splash of anise liqueur; this one uses aniseed instead. Chef's tip: give the shaped dough a long, slow second rise; a well-proved coca bakes up light, an under-proved one dense.

65 min

Spanish Baking

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Coca de tomacaRoasted tomato and pepper flatbread

On the night of Sant Joan in late June, Alicante's beaches fill with people eating cocas while the bonfires burn, and coca de tomaca is the plainest and best loved: a thin, olive-oil dough baked under a layer of tomato, red pepper and onion that roasts down to something sweet and jammy. Bakeries in towns like Alcoy and Elche sell it by the slab all year round, and it is just as good cold the next day at a picnic. Many versions add tinned tuna or sardines; this one keeps it vegetable-only, so it is vegan. A common mistake is piling the vegetables on raw and wet, which leaves the base soggy; salt and drain the tomato first. Chef's tip: bake on the lowest shelf so the base crisps before the topping colours.

65 min

Spanish Snacks & Starters

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Coca de trempóPepper, tomato and onion flatbread

Bakeries across Mallorca sell coca de trempó by the slab from June to September, and it travels to every beach and village fiesta wrapped in paper. Trempó is the island's summer salad of green pepper, tomato and sweet onion; here it is chopped, drained and baked over a thin, crisp olive-oil dough until the edges of the vegetables just catch. Some bakers work lard into the dough; this version uses olive oil only, so it is vegan. Cut it into squares and eat it warm or cold. Chef's tip: salt and drain the chopped vegetables for 20 minutes before topping, so the base bakes crisp instead of soggy.

60 min

Spanish Breads & Parathas

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CocadaChewy coconut sweet

Baianas in long white skirts sell cocada from glass-fronted trays in the Pelourinho and on the beaches of Salvador, alongside acarajé, in shades from snow-white to dark caramel. It is the simplest of sweets: fresh coconut cooked in sugar syrup until it binds into chewy, glossy clusters, crisp on the edges and soft inside. Cocada branca keeps the sugar pale; cocada queimada takes the sugar to caramel first, which gives a deeper, slightly bitter edge (see the last step). Freshly grated coconut makes the best texture; frozen grated coconut from Asian or Latin shops is a good second choice. Dropping the mixture too soon is the usual mistake, because it stays sticky and spreads into a flat puddle. Chef's tip: a spoonful should hold its shape on a cold plate before you start dropping the rest.

45 min

Brazilian Desserts

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