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Bolo de pote (cake in a jar)
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Bolo de pote (cake in a jar)

On Sundays, when Avenida Paulista closes to cars, sellers line the pavement with cool boxes of bolo de pote, and the same jars turn up at São Paulo's weekly street fairs and outside metro stations: soft sponge cake layered with creamy fillings and eaten with a spoon. Brigadeiro cream (condensed milk cooked with cocoa) and a sweet, milky cream made with milk powder are the two everyone wants. They are rich and very sweet, so the jars are small. They contain egg, wheat and milk. Chef's tip: take both creams off the heat while they are still a little runny; they thicken as they cool and must stay soft enough to spread.

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60 minGermanSidesVeganGluten free
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50 minPersianBreakfast & BrunchVeganGluten free
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Accras de légumesVegetable fritters

Accras are the first thing on the table at a Sunday lunch, a christening or a Christmas réveillon in Martinique and Guadeloupe, and they are sold by the paper bag from roadside stalls and beach shacks. The best-known version is made with salt cod; this is the vegetable one, with grated carrot and courgette, spring onion, garlic, parsley and a little Scotch bonnet in a light batter. They puff up in the oil and should be crisp outside and soft inside. Serve them hot with sauce chien and lime. Chef's tip: rest the batter for half an hour; it thickens and the fritters puff up much better.

70 minFrenchSnacks & StartersSpicy
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15 minSpanishSnacks & StartersVeganGluten free
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Pejelagarto asadoGrilled fish with green salsa

In Tabasco, pejelagarto, a prehistoric-looking freshwater gar from the rivers and lagoons, is skewered and grilled whole over wood in its armoured skin, then eaten with tortillas, lime and fierce chile amashito at roadside stands around Villahermosa. The fish is almost never sold outside the region, so this is a practical version using any firm white fish, such as snapper, sea bass or thick hake fillets, grilled until smoky and served with a bright green tomatillo salsa. Serrano or bird's eye chillies stand in for amashito. Serve with warm corn tortillas for tacos. Chef's tip: oil the fish, not the grill bars, and leave it alone for the first few minutes so the skin releases by itself.

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AçmaSoft buttery breakfast rings

Every simit seller's glass cart in Istanbul has a softer cousin stacked beside the sesame rings: açma, a pillowy, slightly sweet ring of enriched dough that commuters tear apart on the ferry with a glass of tea and a wedge of white cheese. The crumb is close to brioche but lighter, with a shiny golden crust and black nigella seeds on top. Plain ones are best warm; some bakers fold olives or cheese into them. Chef's tip: rest the rolled ropes for ten minutes before shaping, so the gluten relaxes and the rings keep their shape instead of shrinking back.

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Pestrofa sti skaraGrilled whole trout

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25 minGreekFishGluten free
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Peixinhos da hortaBattered green beans

Order a round of petiscos in an old Lisbon tasca and a plate of these often lands first: flat green beans in a thin, crackly batter, eaten with the fingers alongside a cold drink. The name means 'little fish from the garden', because on meatless church days the beans stood in for fried sardines. Portuguese missionaries are often credited with carrying the idea of batter-fried food to Japan in the 1500s, where it may have grown into tempura. Serve them hot, with lemon wedges and a pinch of flaky salt. Chef's tip: dry the blanched beans completely on a towel; any water left on them stops the batter sticking and makes the oil spit.

40 minPortugueseSnacks & Starters
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Adas bi hamodLentils with chard and lemon

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60 minLebaneseSoupsVeganGluten free
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Peixada cearenseFish poached in coconut broth

Fortaleza's beach restaurants, the barracas on Praia do Futuro, build a whole Sunday around peixada: thick steaks of firm white fish poached in a coconut broth with potatoes, carrots, chayote, cabbage and peppers, crowned with halved boiled eggs. The fish is mild and juicy, the broth fragrant with coriander, and half of it is ladled off and thickened with cassava flour into pirão, a soft, savoury porridge eaten alongside with white rice and pepper sauce. A common mistake is putting the fish in with the vegetables from the start, so it breaks up before the potatoes are done; the vegetables get a head start. Use snapper, sea bass, hake or another firm white fish in steaks. Chef's tip: stir the farinha into the hot broth off the heat, a little at a time, and whisk hard; it is the only way to get a smooth, lump-free pirão.

65 minBrazilianFishGluten free
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Adobo arequipeñoMarinated slow-cooked pork

On Sunday mornings in Arequipa, families head to picanterías in Cayma and Yanahuara for a steaming bowl of adobo, chunks of pork that have marinated overnight in chicha de jora (fermented maize beer), ají panca, garlic and cumin, then cooked slowly in a clay pot with thick wedges of red onion. The sauce is dark red, tangy and garlicky rather than hot, and you mop it up with pan de tres puntas, the city's triangular bread; a mug of anise tea follows. Chicha de jora contains alcohol; for an alcohol-free adobo, use the vinegar and water swap in the ingredient list, which gives the same sour edge. Boiling it hard is the classic error, as it toughens the pork; it should barely tremble under the lid. Chef's tip: marinate the pork the evening before, always in the fridge, and cook it the next morning in its marinade.

170 minPeruvianCurriesGluten free
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Pé de molequePeanut brittle

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25 minBrazilianDessertsVeganGluten free
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AeropuertoFried rice and noodles with omelette

Nobody agrees why Lima's chifas call it 'airport', though the favourite story is that everything 'lands' on one plate: arroz chaufa and fried noodles stir-fried together in a smoking wok with roast pork, bean sprouts, snow peas and spring onion, then crowned with a thin egg omelette, sometimes with a few fried wontons alongside. It is hearty, smoky and salty from soy and oyster sauce, a late-night and lunchtime favourite to share. The main mistake is using freshly cooked rice, which goes mushy; use rice cooked the day before and kept in the fridge. Chef's tip: for a veg version, swap the pork for firm tofu and extra vegetables, and use a mushroom-based 'oyster' sauce.

40 minPeruvianRice & Grains
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Pavê de pêssegoLayered peach biscuit dessert

No Brazilian Christmas or New Year table feels complete without a glass dish of pavê in the fridge, and the old joke at every family supper is 'é pavê ou pra comer?' ('is it pavê or is it for eating?'). Rows of Maria or champagne biscuits are softened in milk or peach syrup, then layered with a thick vanilla custard made from condensed milk and egg yolks, sliced peaches and a cloud of whipped cream. It is cool, creamy and fruity, a relief after a heavy ceia. Chocolate pavê is just as common: replace the peaches with a chocolate layer, as in the tip. Too much soaking liquid is the classic fault, and the dessert collapses into a pool in the base. Chef's tip: dip each biscuit for a single count in the syrup; they keep softening overnight in the custard. For chocolate pavê, stir 100 g melted dark chocolate into half the custard and layer it in place of the peaches.

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In the Langhe and Monferrato hills of Piedmont, agnolotti del plin are the Sunday and feast-day pasta, made from whatever roast was left from the day before and pinched shut with a quick twist of the fingers (plin means pinch in dialect). Each parcel is barely a mouthful of thin egg pasta around a savoury filling of roast veal, pork shoulder and beef with a little cabbage, egg and parmigiano, so this is a pork dish as well as a veal one. In the trattorie of Alba they arrive either glossed with butter and sage or simply dressed in the reduced roasting juices, sometimes with no plate at all, served in a napkin. They want nothing alongside except a green salad afterwards. Chef's tip: keep the filling quite firm and the blobs small, no bigger than a hazelnut, or the pasta will not seal tightly around them.

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AguachilePrawns in lime and chilli water

Along the Sinaloa coast, from Mazatlán to Culiacán, aguachile is the cold plate that starts a long seafood lunch at the beachside palapas, eaten straight from a stone molcajete with tostadas and a cold drink. The classic version is raw prawns cured only in lime, and that raw version is the risky one: lime juice does not kill bacteria or parasites the way heat does. This safer version poaches the prawns for a minute or two until just pink and opaque, chills them and then dresses them, so you keep the snap and the fierce, grassy chilli heat. Even so, treat any cold seafood dish with care: the raw classic is not for pregnant women, young children or anyone with a weakened immune system. Serve with crisp corn tostadas and slices of avocado. Chef's tip: blend the chilli water with ice-cold water and pour it on at the last minute, so it stays vivid green and the prawns stay crisp.

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AguajinaAguaje palm fruit drink

Aguaje is the scaly, chestnut-red fruit of the moriche palm that grows in the flooded forests around Iquitos, and its orange flesh ends up in ice lollies, ice cream and, above all, aguajina, the cold drink sold in plastic cups at every corner and in Belén market. The taste is unusual and loved locally: tangy, a little like apricot and carrot, with a rich, slightly oily body. Fresh aguaje must be softened in warm water for an hour before its thin layer of pulp can be scraped off; outside Peru, frozen aguaje pulp from Latin American shops is the realistic choice and gives a good result. A common slip is adding all the sugar before tasting: the pulp's sourness varies from pack to pack, so sweeten at the end. Serve very cold with lunch or on a hot afternoon. Chef's tip: blend the pulp with only part of the water first, so it breaks down fully, then stir in the rest.

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Pato no tucupiDuck in cassava tucupi broth

Belém eats pato no tucupi above all at the Círio de Nazaré lunch in October, but restaurants around the Ver-o-Peso serve it year round. Duck is marinated, roasted until the skin is brown, then simmered in tucupi, the yellow, sour broth pressed from wild cassava, with garlic, culantro and basil, and finished with jambu, a leaf that makes lips tingle and go pleasantly numb. The flavour is tart, savoury and electric. Raw tucupi is toxic: buy only commercial tucupi sold frozen or bottled in Brazilian shops, which has already been cooked, and still boil it as below. Jambu is sold frozen there too, or as fresh paracress (Szechuan buttons). Allow an overnight marinade in the fridge. A frequent mistake is skipping the roast and just boiling the duck, which leaves the skin flabby and the broth greasy. Serve with white rice and farinha d'água. Chef's tip: blanch the jambu separately and add it at the end so it stays green and keeps its buzz.

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Patlıcan musakkaAubergine and mince stew

Turkish musakka has little in common with the Greek bake: there is no béchamel and no potato, just fried aubergine and a mince sauce with peppers and tomato, layered in a pan and simmered until the aubergine melts. It is a summer favourite in home kitchens from İzmir to Ankara, served warm with rice pilaf and a bowl of cacık. Salting and draining the aubergine stops it drinking too much oil. Common mistake: frying the aubergine pale; it needs to be properly golden or it turns slimy in the sauce. Chef's tip: bake the aubergine slices brushed with oil at 220 °C instead of frying if you want a lighter dish.

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Ajil-e moshkel goshaMixed nuts and dried fruit

On Chaharshanbe Suri, the bonfire night on the last Tuesday evening before Nowruz, families across Iran jump over small fires in the street and then share a big bowl of ajil-e moshkel gosha, the 'nuts that untie problems', making a wish as they eat. The same mix comes out again on Yalda, the longest night of the year in December. It mixes salted roasted pistachios and almonds with roasted chickpeas, sweet dried figs, white mulberries, raisins and sugared almonds, so every handful is sweet, salty and crunchy. The common mistake is using raw nuts; the toasting is what makes it taste like the bazaar version. Chef's tip: toss the warm nuts with a little salted water and let them dry in the oven for a light salty coating that sticks.

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Bacalao al ajoarrieroSalt cod with garlic and pepper

The muleteers who carried goods over the mountain roads into Pamplona, the arrieros, lived on salt cod because it kept for weeks, and the garlicky way they cooked it took their name. Today ajoarriero is ordered in the bars around Pamplona's Plaza del Castillo, especially during San Fermín, and served in small earthenware dishes with bread. The Navarrese version is red with peppers, tomato and dried choricero pepper, and many cooks stir in egg at the end. Chef's tip: taste the cod after soaking and only salt the dish at the very end, if at all.

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The town of Akçaabat, just west of Trabzon, is lined with köfte houses whose grills turn out small, oblong, firm meatballs that taste strongly of garlic. Made from beef mince bound with soaked stale bread, they are seared fast so the outside chars while the inside stays juicy, then served with grilled peppers, a pile of onion and parsley, and a white bean salad. Common mistake: overworking the meat with wet hands after the bread has gone in, which turns them dense; knead hard before adding bread, then mix gently. Cook until the centre reaches 71 °C. Chef's tip: rest the shaped köfte in the fridge overnight; they hold their shape on the grill and the garlic mellows into the meat.

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PatayAlgarroba pod cake

Long before sugar reached the dry northwest, the pods of the algarrobo tree were the region's sweetness, and patay is the oldest way of keeping them: the pods are ground, the flour is moistened and pressed into a cake that dries into something dense, fudgy and naturally sweet, with notes of cocoa, coffee and caramel. In Santiago del Estero you still buy it in round slabs at markets and roadside stalls, to eat with mate or to crumble into milk. Harina de algarroba comes from the South American Prosopis tree; look for it in health-food shops or online, and mesquite flour is the same family and works well. Mediterranean carob flour is different and tastes more bitter. Too much water is the way most first attempts go wrong: the cake should be pressed from a damp, crumbly mix, not a batter, or it bakes up gummy. Chef's tip: sieve the flour twice; algarroba flour clumps, and lumps stay as hard grains.

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Patatesli kol böreğiPotato and onion filo coil

Kol böreği is the long 'arm' börek that Istanbul neighbourhood bakeries coil into round trays and sell by weight in the morning, and the potato version is the one home cooks make for guests at five o'clock tea. Thin sheets of yufka are brushed with a milk and oil wash, rolled around a peppery potato and onion filling, then coiled and baked until shatteringly crisp outside and soft within. Serve it warm with tea or ayran. Chef's tip: let the filling cool completely before rolling; warm potato steams the pastry from inside and makes it soggy.

80 minTurkishSnacks & Starters
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Patates lemonatesLemon-oregano roast potatoes

These are the potatoes that come out of Peloponnese bakers' ovens alongside Sunday roasts, and that every Greek grandmother has a firm opinion on. Wedges roast in a bath of lemon juice, olive oil, garlic and oregano; the liquid soaks into the potatoes, then evaporates, leaving them sticky, golden and tangy, with fluffy middles. Serve with roast chicken or lamb, or with feta, a salad and bread for a meatless lunch. Common mistake: crowding the tin, so the potatoes steam instead of browning. Chef's tip: add a final squeeze of fresh lemon as they come out of the oven; the cooked juice loses its brightness.

90 minGreekSidesVeganGluten free
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Albaloo poloSour cherry rice with meatballs

In early summer the markets of Tehran fill with dark sour cherries, and many families cook a pot of albaloo polo the same week, also bringing it out for weddings and Yalda night because the red-and-gold rice looks so festive. The cherries are simmered into a glossy syrup, then layered through basmati with marble-sized lamb meatballs (some cooks use shredded chicken instead), and the whole pot is steamed until the rice turns pink and fragrant. The taste is sweet, sharp and savoury at once. A common mistake is pouring in all the syrup; it makes the rice soggy, so keep some back to drizzle at the table. Chef's tip: frozen or jarred pitted sour cherries in light syrup work well out of season; drain them and use half the sugar.

95 minPersianChickenGluten free
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Patatas revolconasPaprika mashed potatoes with crisp pork

Shepherds in the Gredos mountains of Ávila once lived on these "tumbled" potatoes, roughly mashed with garlicky paprika oil and topped with crunchy fried pork belly, called torreznos. Bars in Ávila, Salamanca and Béjar now serve them on the house as a tapa, or as a starter before a steak on a chilly evening. This contains pork (pork belly). Chef's tip: save the potato cooking water; a splash makes the mash loose and spoonable without milk or butter.

55 minSpanishSidesGluten free
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AlboroníaAubergine, pumpkin and pepper stew

Alboronía is one of the oldest dishes in Andalusia; its name comes from the Arabic of al-Andalus, and cooks in Córdoba, Jaén and the villages of the Sierra Morena still make it in late summer, when aubergines, peppers and the first pumpkins share the market stalls. The vegetables cook down slowly with cumin, paprika and a little vinegar until they melt together into something between a stew and a jam-like sauté. Eat it warm with bread, or cold the next day as a tapa. A common mistake is stirring the pumpkin too often, which mashes it into the sauce instead of leaving soft chunks. Chef's tip: let the pumpkin go in only after the onion and peppers are soft, so it holds a few pieces among the purée instead of disappearing.

75 minSpanishVegetarianVeganGluten free
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Alcachofas a la montillanaArtichokes braised in wine with mint

Montilla, south of Córdoba, makes a pale, dry wine from sun-dried Pedro Ximénez grapes, and in late winter and spring its kitchens braise young artichokes in it with a little saffron and fresh mint. Many cooks add cubes of cured ham; this version leaves it out and lets the artichokes, wine and mint carry the dish. It uses wine; the alcohol-free option is in the ingredient list. Serve it as a starter, or as a main with bread and a fried egg. A common mistake is trimming the artichokes without dropping them straight into lemon water, so they turn black before they reach the pan. Chef's tip: drop each trimmed artichoke straight into lemon water, because cut artichokes blacken within a minute in the air.

65 minSpanishVegetarianVegan
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Alcatra da TerceiraBeef pot roast in wine

Alcatra is the feast dish of Terceira, cooked for the Holy Spirit festivals of spring and summer in unglazed clay pots that go into the bread oven after the loaves come out. Big pieces of beef braise for hours in wine with onions, bacon, allspice and bay, until the meat falls apart and the sauce turns dark and spiced. It is served with slices of massa sovada to soak up every drop. This contains pork (streaky bacon) and uses red wine; for an alcohol-free version, use the same amount of beef stock with 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar. Chef's tip: crush the allspice just before using; whole berries give the sauce its warm, clove-like scent.

260 minPortugueseMeat
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AlevropitaCrisp batter pie with feta

Shepherd families in the stone villages of Zagori, north of Ioannina, made alevropita when there was no time to roll pastry: a runny flour batter poured over sizzling oil in a very hot tin, dotted with feta and baked until crisp and lacy at the edges. It's now on every taverna table in Epirus, cut into rough squares and eaten warm with a bowl of thick yoghurt or a tomato salad. Feta is usually made with animal rennet; use a vegetarian feta-style cheese if you need to. Common mistake: pouring the batter into a cold tin — the oil must be smoking-hot, or the pie turns heavy instead of crunchy. Chef's tip: use a wide, shallow metal tray so the batter is only about 5 mm deep.

30 minGreekSnacks & Starters
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