Featured recipe

Sunday roast chicken

Sunday lunch across England and Wales means a roast, and a golden chicken is the most common one on family tables, with crisp roast potatoes, vegetables and gravy made in the roasting tin. A lemon and herbs perfume the bird from inside, and a sage-and-onion stuffing is baked alongside so the chicken cooks evenly. The stuffing can include sausage meat (pork) if you like; leave it out for a pork-free roast. Chef's tip: dry the skin with kitchen paper and leave the bird uncovered in the fridge overnight; dry skin is crisp skin.

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Bacon and cabbage

Bacon and cabbage is the Sunday dinner and the everyday dinner of rural Ireland, cooked in farmhouses from Tipperary to Mayo long before corned beef became the emigrants' version. A joint of cured pork, usually collar or loin bacon, is simmered gently, then the cabbage is cooked in the same salty, porky water, and both are served with floury potatoes and a white parsley sauce. Chef's tip: soak the bacon joint overnight in cold water if it is very salty; ask your butcher, as some cures are milder.

135 min

Irish Meat

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Full Irish breakfast

The full Irish, or simply 'the fry', is the big weekend breakfast served in B&Bs from Donegal to Kerry and in Dublin cafés before the match. It differs from the English breakfast in its back rashers, black and white pudding, and fried soda bread or potato bread to mop up. It contains pork: sausages, rashers and puddings. Chef's tip: cook in stages in one large pan and keep each item warm in a low oven, so everything reaches the plate hot together.

40 min

Irish Breakfast & Brunch

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Dublin Bay prawns in garlic butter

Dublin Bay prawns are not prawns at all but langoustines, the small orange lobsters landed at Howth and Clogherhead and once sold off the boats along the north Dublin coast. Seafood bars in Howth serve them split and grilled under a sizzling garlic, lemon and parsley butter, with brown bread to mop the plate. Chef's tip: they cook in minutes, so take them out as soon as the flesh turns from translucent to white.

25 min

Irish Fish

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Bantry Bay mussels in cider

The sheltered waters of Bantry Bay in West Cork grow rope mussels that end up in pots in every harbour pub from Glengarriff to Kinsale. Here they are steamed in Irish dry cider with leek, garlic and thyme, then finished with a spoonful of cream, giving a sweet-sour, apple-scented broth for dipping brown bread. The cider contains alcohol, which mostly cooks off; for an alcohol-free version use cloudy apple juice with a teaspoon of cider vinegar. Chef's tip: the mussels must be alive when cooked, so check every one before they go in.

30 min

Irish Fish

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Welsh rarebit

Welsh rarebit, caws pobi in Welsh, is far more than cheese on toast: a thick sauce of strong cheese, mustard, Worcestershire-style sauce and ale is spread on toast and grilled until bubbling and blistered. It has been a tavern supper in Wales and across Britain for three hundred years. The ale contains alcohol, so use milk for an alcohol-free version. Many traditional cheddars use animal rennet, and Worcestershire sauce usually contains anchovy, so choose a vegetarian cheese and a vegetarian brown sauce. Chef's tip: take the sauce off the heat as soon as the cheese melts; boiling makes it stringy and oily.

20 min

British Snacks & Starters

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Glamorgan sausages

Glamorgan sausages, selsig Morgannwg, are a meat-free Welsh classic from the old county of Glamorgan in South Wales, made since at least the 1800s and praised by George Borrow on his tour of Wales. Crumbly Caerphilly cheese, leek and fresh breadcrumbs are bound with egg, rolled into sausages, crumbed and fried until crisp and golden. Traditional Caerphilly is often made with animal rennet; look for a vegetarian one. Chef's tip: chill the shaped sausages for 30 minutes before frying so they hold together.

40 min

British Vegetarian

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Anglesey eggs

Anglesey eggs, wyau Ynys Môn, is a farmhouse supper from the island of Anglesey off North Wales: leeky mashed potato piped round halved hard-boiled eggs, covered with cheese sauce and baked until golden. It is cheap, filling and comforting, the kind of dish made on a wet weeknight with what the farm had. Use a vegetarian hard cheese, as traditional cheddar can contain animal rennet. Chef's tip: cool the boiled eggs in cold water straight away so the yolks stay yellow without a grey ring.

50 min

British Vegetarian

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Roast beef and gravy

Roast beef is the heart of the English Sunday lunch, and in Yorkshire it comes with puddings, roast potatoes and a jug of gravy made from the pan juices. A beef joint is seared in a hot oven, then roasted more gently and rested so it slices juicy and pink, with crisp, well-seasoned edges. Serve with Yorkshire puddings, horseradish and greens. Chef's tip: rest the meat for at least 20 minutes under foil; carved straight away, its juices run all over the board.

110 min

British Meat

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Raised pork pie

This is a raised pork pie in the style of Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire, the hunting town whose pies were carried in saddle bags; only pies made in the area may use the town's name, so this is our home version. Chopped, uncured pork shoulder and belly, peppered and spiced with mace, is packed into a crisp hot water crust made with lard, baked with bowed sides, then filled with a savoury jelly. Eat it cold with English mustard and pickle at picnics or on Boxing Day. Chef's tip: work the pastry while it is still warm; as it cools it cracks.

180 min

British Meat

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Cumberland sausage and mash

The Cumberland sausage is a long, unlinked coil of coarse, peppery pork sausage from the old county of Cumberland in the Lake District, cooked whole and cut at the table. With buttery mash and a slow onion gravy it's the pub and family supper of the North West. Chef's tip: cook the coil gently in the oven, held flat with skewers, so it doesn't split and stays juicy.

55 min

British Meat

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Birmingham chicken balti

The balti was born in the 1970s in the Pakistani and Kashmiri restaurants of Sparkbrook and Balsall Heath in Birmingham, an area still called the Balti Triangle. It is cooked fast in a thin steel bowl over fierce heat, so the sauce is reduced and the peppers keep some bite, and it is served sizzling in the same bowl and scooped up with a huge naan. Chef's tip: make the base sauce first and keep the final cook hot and quick; slow simmering turns it into a stew.

50 min

British Chicken

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Morecambe Bay potted shrimps

On the wide sands of Morecambe Bay in Lancashire, tiny brown shrimps have been caught by tractor and horse-drawn nets for centuries, boiled on the boats and picked by hand. Potted in butter flavoured with mace, nutmeg and cayenne, they are a classic English starter, served with hot toast so the butter melts. Buy shrimps ready cooked and peeled. Chef's tip: warm the shrimps in the butter only briefly; boiling them makes them tough and rubbery.

25 min

British Fish

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Grilled kippers

In the tiny harbour village of Craster on the Northumberland coast, herring have been split and oak-smoked in the same smokehouse for over a century, and kippers are the classic English breakfast fish in seaside hotels and on dining cars. A kipper is cold-smoked but not cooked, so it must be heated through; grilled with butter it turns rich, salty and smoky. Serve with brown bread and butter, a poached egg or a squeeze of lemon. Chef's tip: grill them skin-side up first so the skin crisps and the flesh stays juicy.

15 min

British Fish

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Teesside chicken parmo

The parmo is Middlesbrough's own takeaway dish, said to have been created by an American soldier who settled on Teesside after the Second World War, and it's sold in boxes with chips across the town on a Friday night. A flattened, breaded chicken breast is fried, then covered with white sauce and a thick layer of cheese and grilled until bubbling. Chef's tip: bash the chicken to an even 1 cm, so it cooks through before the crumb burns.

45 min

British Chicken

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Steak and kidney pudding

Steak and kidney pudding is the steamed suet pie of old English chop houses and Northern family kitchens, the kind of dish that filled up mill workers through Lancashire winters. Beef and lamb's kidney in rich gravy are sealed in a basin lined with suet pastry and steamed for hours until the crust is soft and the filling falls apart. Chef's tip: cook the filling first; it gives tender meat and a crust that isn't soggy.

340 min

British Meat

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Liver and onions

Liver and onions is a café and works-canteen classic across the North and the Midlands, cheap, quick and full of iron, eaten with mash and a dollop of gravy. Thin slices of calf's or lamb's liver are fried briefly in butter after the onions have turned slow and sweet. Chef's tip: soak the liver in milk for 30 minutes if you find its flavour strong; it softens the taste.

30 min

British Meat

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Beef and ale pie

Beef and ale pie is the pub supper of Yorkshire and the Midlands, where brewing towns like Burton upon Trent made a dark ale gravy part of the region's cooking. Chuck steak is braised slowly in ale with onions and mushrooms until tender, then topped with flaky pastry. This recipe contains alcohol, most of which cooks off; for an alcohol-free pie use the same amount of beef stock with 1 tablespoon of malt vinegar and a teaspoon of brown sugar. Chef's tip: let the filling cool before topping, so the pastry stays crisp and puffy.

210 min

British Meat

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Pie and mash with liquor

Pie, mash and liquor is the working-class lunch of the East End of London, served in tiled pie shops from Bethnal Green to Walthamstow since the 1800s. Small minced beef pies with a soft suet-style base and a crisp puff lid sit next to a scoop of smooth mash, all flooded with liquor, a thin, bright green parsley sauce. Pie shops make the liquor with the stock from stewed eels; this version uses fish or vegetable stock. Locals add chilli vinegar. Chef's tip: keep the liquor thin and pourable, like single cream, not thick like gravy.

85 min

British Meat

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Roast lamb with mint sauce

Roast leg of lamb is the Easter Sunday lunch of England, when spring lamb from the South Downs and the West Country comes in, served with roast potatoes, spring greens and a jug of mint sauce. The sauce is the English twist: chopped garden mint steeped in vinegar and a little sugar, sharp enough to cut the richness of the meat. Chef's tip: make the mint sauce an hour ahead so the vinegar mellows and the mint flavour comes out.

120 min

British Meat

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Beef Wellington

Beef Wellington is the grand centrepiece of British Christmas and celebration dinners, a whole beef fillet coated in finely chopped mushroom duxelles, wrapped in thin pancakes or ham and golden puff pastry, then sliced at the table to show a pink middle. It is linked, without much proof, to the Duke of Wellington. This version wraps the fillet in crêpes instead of the usual Parma ham. The duxelles is deglazed with a splash of white wine, which contains alcohol; use a little stock for an alcohol-free version. Chef's tip: chill the wrapped fillet before it goes in the pastry so everything stays tight and the base doesn't go soggy.

105 min

British Meat

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ShámbarWheat, bean and smoked pork soup

Mondays in Trujillo mean shámbar: market stalls and huariques across the city put out pots of this thick, smoky soup of cracked wheat, chickpeas, broad beans, peas and canary beans, cooked with smoked ham hock, pork ribs and pork skin, then stirred through with a fried paste of ají panca and garlic and a handful of mint. It is earthy, porky and rib-sticking, and each bowl gets a scoop of crunchy cancha just before eating. Soak the beans and the wheat overnight. People often cook everything together from the start, and the peas turn to mush before the chickpeas soften; cook the hardest pulses first. Chef's tip: toast the wheat in a dry pan before soaking it; it gives the soup a nutty depth the locals look for.

180 min

Peruvian Soups

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ShakriyehLamb shanks in yoghurt sauce

In Damascus, shakriyeh is festive food, cooked for Eid and for welcoming guests because its creamy white sauce is considered a sign of good luck. Lamb on the bone is simmered until tender, then finished in yoghurt that has been stabilised and cooked down into a smooth, tangy sauce with garlic and dried mint. It is spooned over vermicelli rice and eaten piping hot. Common mistake: adding yoghurt straight from the fridge into boiling stock — it splits; cook the yoghurt separately first and stir in one direction. Chef's tip: keep half a cup of the meat broth to thin the sauce at the end — it should flow like single cream.

135 min

Syrian Meat

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Polvo guisado à açorianaOctopus stewed in red wine

On Pico and Terceira, octopus caught among the black volcanic rocks is stewed slowly in red wine with onions, garlic, allspice and a spoonful of pimenta da terra, until the pieces are tender and the sauce is dark and rich. It is a dish for village festas and cold winter Sundays, ladled over potatoes with bread on the side. The recipe uses red wine; for an alcohol-free version, use water with a tablespoon of red wine vinegar. Chef's tip: buy frozen octopus, or freeze fresh octopus for a day; freezing breaks down its fibres and makes it far more tender.

125 min

Portuguese Fish

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Pastéis de TentúgalEgg cream pastry rolls

In Tentúgal, a village of the Mondego plain near Coimbra, a convent pastry is still made by hand-stretching dough across a whole room until it is as thin as tissue, then rolling it around a sweet egg cream. The real ones are sold in the village pastry shops and at Coimbra's markets, shattering at the first bite. Filo pastry with plenty of butter makes a convincing home version. Chef's tip: keep the filo you are not using under a damp cloth, as it dries and cracks in a minute or two.

65 min

Portuguese Baking

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Filé à Oswaldo AranhaBeef fillet with fried garlic

Rio de Janeiro's old-school restaurants, the ones with white-jacketed waiters in Flamengo and Centro, have served this plate since the 1930s, named after the statesman who supposedly ordered it every day. It is simple and generous: a thick fillet steak, seared hard and buried under a pile of golden fried garlic, with white rice, buttery farofa and a heap of crisp potato straws. The garlic is sweet and nutty, the steak juicy, and the farofa soaks up the juices. Cook the steak to your liking; whole beef steaks are safe pink in the middle, but take them further if you prefer. The biggest mistake is frying the garlic too hot, which turns it bitter in seconds; it should go slowly from pale to light gold. Chef's tip: take the garlic out of the oil when it is only just golden, as it keeps darkening on the paper.

45 min

Brazilian Meat

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Pastel de anguFried cornmeal cheese pastries

Itabirito, an iron-mining town south of Belo Horizonte, holds a whole festival for this pastry, and its stalls fry thousands of them in a weekend. The dough is angu, cornmeal cooked thick and kneaded with sweet cassava starch, which fries up blistered, crisp and gently corny. Fillings vary from chicken to minced beef, but cheese is the meatless favourite: semi-cured Minas cheese that melts and stretches. Eat them hot from the pan with a cold drink and a dash of chilli sauce. Minas cheese is usually made with animal rennet; use a vegetarian semi-hard cheese or mozzarella with microbial rennet. Pastéis that burst while frying are almost always overfilled or not sealed; leave a clean 1 cm border and press it shut with a fork. Chef's tip: roll the dough between two sheets of plastic, because it is too soft and sticky to roll on a floured board.

60 min

Brazilian Snacks & Starters

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Polvo à lagareiroRoast octopus with garlic oil

The name honours the lagareiros, the men who worked the olive presses, and the dish is about as generous with olive oil as you'd expect: octopus first simmered until tender, then roasted hot with garlic and oil until the tentacles crisp at the tips. It is a Christmas Eve favourite in many Lisbon homes and a Friday treat in restaurants, always with batatas a murro, small potatoes roasted in their skins then punched open. A common mistake is a rolling boil, which turns octopus tough and peels the skin; keep the water at a lazy simmer. Chef's tip: buy frozen octopus, or freeze fresh for a day; freezing breaks the fibres and makes it far more tender.

110 min

Portuguese Fish

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LokumTurkish delight

Istanbul's confectioners have been cooking lokum since the 18th century, and boxes of it still go to every host, office and family on holiday visits. Real lokum is nothing more than sugar syrup, lemon and cornflour, stirred for an hour until it turns translucent, firm and springy, then scented with rosewater and studded with pistachios. It is a test of patience, not skill. Common mistake: stopping too soon; undercooked lokum is sticky and never sets cleanly. Chef's tip: it is ready when a little dropped into cold water forms a soft, pliable ball and the mixture is the colour of pale honey.

90 min

Turkish Desserts

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Lomi lomi salmonSalmon, tomato and onion relish

Lomi means to massage: at Hawaiian lūʻau and graduation parties, salted salmon is squeezed by hand with diced tomatoes, sweet onion and spring onions into a cold, juicy relish that cuts through rich kalua pig and poi. It arrived with salted salmon traded from the Pacific Northwest by nineteenth-century whalers. The traditional version uses raw salt-cured salmon, which is not for pregnant women, young children or anyone with a weakened immune system; this safer version gently poaches the salmon first. Chef's tip: chill everything well and drain the tomatoes, so the relish stays bright rather than watery.

30 minPacific Islander Fish

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Lomito completoLoaded tenderloin sandwich

Córdoba claims the lomito as its own, and at lomiterías and late-night carts in the city it comes completo: thin, quick-seared slices of beef tenderloin piled into a big soft roll with cooked ham (pork), melting cheese, a fried egg, lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise. It is messy, juicy and filling, the classic end to a night out or a Saturday football match, usually with chips on the side. The meat is only a few millimetres thick, so it cooks in a minute; Córdoba grills cook it through, but as a whole steak you can leave it a little pink to taste. The big error is a lukewarm pan, which boils the thin beef grey instead of searing it. Chef's tip: lay the cheese on the ham in the hot pan to melt while the egg fries, so everything goes into the toasted roll hot at once.

30 min

Argentinian Fast Food

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Shai bil maramiyaSage tea

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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London particularSplit pea and ham soup

London particular is a thick, yellow-green soup of split peas and smoked pork ham hock, named after the pea-souper smogs that once smothered the city. It was a cheap winter warmer in Victorian London eating houses and is still on menus in pubs and cafés when the weather turns. The hock gives a deep smoky saltiness and shreds of soft meat. Chef's tip: skim the grey foam off as the water first boils, for a cleaner taste.

135 min

British Soups

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Tamales oaxaqueñosTamales with black mole and chicken

In Oaxaca, tamales are wrapped in banana leaves rather than corn husks, which makes them flat, square and very moist, with a faint grassy scent from the leaf. These are the classic version filled with mole negro and shredded chicken, sold from steaming pots at morning markets and made by the dozen for Christmas, Candlemas on 2 February and the Day of the Dead. The masa is beaten with pork lard, which gives the traditional light, rich texture; vegetable shortening works if you avoid pork. Use leftover mole negro, or a simplified mole made from good ready-made paste thinned with broth. Eat them with hot chocolate or atole. Chef's tip: keep a coin in the bottom of the steamer; when it stops rattling, the water has run low and needs topping up.

135 min

Mexican Chicken

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Fileja al pomodoro piccanteTwisted pasta in spicy tomato sauce

Around Vibo Valentia, on Calabria's Tyrrhenian side, fileja are still rolled by hand around a thin iron rod or knitting needle, which leaves a long, hollow twist that traps sauce inside and out. Nonne make trays of them for Sunday lunch and village sagre, and the classic dressing is a slow tomato sauce sharpened with Calabrian chilli and sweet red onion from nearby Tropea. Many local cooks melt a spoonful of 'nduja into the pan; this version keeps it vegetarian and lets the chilli carry the heat. Chef's tip: dust the needle with semolina, not flour, and twirl with the flat of your palm so each piece slides off cleanly.

65 min

Italian Pasta & Noodles

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Loobia poloGreen bean rice with spiced lamb

Loobia polo is a weeknight favourite in Tehran homes, the rice dish children ask for when they come home from school and the one packed for picnics on the slopes of Darband. Parboiled basmati is layered with a sauce of minced lamb or beef, short pieces of green bean, tomato paste and a warm hint of cinnamon, then steamed slowly until every grain is stained a soft orange and a crisp tahdig forms underneath. For a meat-free pot, swap the mince for diced potato and keep everything else the same. Serve with mast-o khiar, salad shirazi and torshi. A common mistake is adding the beans raw to the rice layers: brown them in the sauce first or they stay squeaky and pale. Chef's tip: let the tomato paste fry in the oil until it turns brick red before adding water; that is where the deep, sweet flavour comes from.

90 min

Persian Rice & Grains

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Pastel de carne murcianoMinced beef and chorizo pie

Murcia's bakeries sell pastel de carne from first thing in the morning: a round pie with a crisp, coiled puff pastry lid, filled with spiced minced meat, chorizo and hard-boiled egg. People eat one standing at the counter with coffee, or buy a big one for Sunday lunch. Bakers make the coiled lid from a long rope of pastry; at home a scored spiral on a puff pastry lid gives the same look. This contains pork (chorizo). Chef's tip: let the filling cool completely before it goes into the pastry, otherwise the base melts and turns soggy.

85 min

Spanish Meat

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Lorne sausageSquare beef and pork sausage

Lorne sausage, better known in Scotland simply as square sausage or slice, is a skinless loaf of seasoned beef and pork mince that is cut into squares and fried for the full Scottish breakfast, or slapped in a morning roll with brown sauce. It is easy to make at home and freezes well. Chef's tip: freeze the shaped block for an hour before slicing; it cuts into neat, thin squares.

25 min

British Meat

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ShaabiyatCream-filled filo triangles in syrup

Shaabiyat is one of the jewels of Aleppo's pastry shops, made in huge trays for weddings and for Eid visits: buttery filo folded into triangles around a cool, thick milk cream, baked until golden and shatteringly crisp, then splashed with syrup and topped with ground pistachio. The cream stays cool and soft inside the crackling layers. Serve within a few hours of baking. Common mistake: letting the filo dry out while you work — keep the sheets under a damp tea towel. Chef's tip: syrup must be cold and the pastry hot when they meet, so it soaks in without making the layers soggy.

65 min

Syrian Desserts

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Pollo chi jau kayFried chicken in oyster sauce

Any chifa in Lima, from the old dining rooms of Barrio Chino on Calle Capón to the corner chifa in every district, will have chi jau kay on the menu: boneless chicken marinated in soy and ginger, fried in a crisp coating and served under a dark, glossy oyster sauce, scattered with sesame seeds and spring onion. The crust stays crunchy where the sauce hasn't reached and goes sticky where it has. It is shared with arroz chaufa or plain rice and a Chinese soup. The usual misstep is tossing the chicken in the sauce in the pan, which makes it soggy; Lima chifas pour the sauce over at the table. Chef's tip: fry the chicken twice, once to cook and once very hot for a minute to crisp, and it will stay crunchy under the sauce.

45 min

Peruvian Chicken

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NoghlSugar-coated almond slivers

Noghl, the craggy white sugar-coated slivers of almond, is the confection of celebration in Iran, and the town of Urmia in West Azerbaijan is its home. It is showered over newlyweds at weddings, offered to guests at Nowruz and set beside tea on special days. Professionals build the spiky coat in a rotating copper pan over many hours; this home version does the same job in a wide pan, adding the rosewater syrup a little at a time. The usual mistake is adding too much syrup at once, which glues the almonds into a lump instead of building the knobbly crust. Chef's tip: keep the almonds moving constantly and wait until each coat is completely dry before the next.

120 min

Persian Desserts

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FilloasThin Galician crêpes

When Entroido, the Galician carnival, comes round in February, kitchens in Lugo and Ourense fill with stacks of filloas, paper-thin pancakes cooked on a hot iron pan. In the countryside the pan was greased with a piece of pork fat and some villages still make a version with pig's blood at slaughter time; this sweet version uses butter and is vegetarian. They are rolled or folded and eaten with sugar, honey or a spoon of cream. A common mistake is a batter that is too thick: it should be as thin as single cream, so it runs across the pan in a lacy sheet. Chef's tip: rest the batter in the fridge for at least 30 minutes so the flour relaxes and the filloas don't tear.

40 min

Spanish Desserts

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Pastel de ChavesMinced veal puff pastry pies

In the spa town of Chaves near the Spanish border, these crescent-shaped pasties are sold warm from bakeries all day and eaten for breakfast, lunch or with a coffee on the old Roman bridge. Many crisp, buttery layers enclose a savoury filling of minced veal. Chaves bakers use their own protected dough; at home, good all-butter puff pastry gets very close. A common mistake is a warm filling; it melts the butter in the pastry, so cool the meat completely before shaping. Chef's tip: cook the filling and let it cool completely before filling, or it melts the butter in the pastry and the layers will not rise.

65 min

Portuguese Snacks & Starters

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Tavuk pilavChicken and chickpea rice

Glass-fronted carts parked outside Istanbul's ferry piers and office blocks sell tavuk pilav from early morning: rice cooked in rich chicken stock with butter and chickpeas, heaped into a dish and topped with shredded chicken, black pepper and a pickled pepper on the side. Workers eat it standing up with a glass of ayran. At home it is just as easy and makes a whole chicken go a long way. Common mistake: stirring the rice while it steams; it breaks and turns sticky. Chef's tip: wash the rice until the water runs clear and soak it in warm salted water for 30 minutes; every grain stays separate and glossy.

90 min

Turkish Chicken

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HöşmerimCheese and semolina halva

Höşmerim is a winter dessert of the Erzurum plateau and the Bolu highlands, made from unsalted fresh cheese melted with butter and semolina until it turns golden and gives off its own butter, then soaked with syrup. It's eaten warm in small bowls, chewy and rich, topped with crushed walnuts or pistachios, often after a long cold day. Common mistake: using salty or aged cheese, which turns oily and bitter; you need a soft, unsalted fresh cheese such as lor or ricotta. Chef's tip: keep cooking until the fat starts seeping out at the edges and the mixture is the colour of light toffee; that's where the flavour comes from.

30 min

Turkish Desserts

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SfougatoCourgette and cheese oven omelette

Sfougato means 'sponge', which is just how this island oven omelette looks when it comes out puffed and golden; in the Cyclades and the Dodecanese it's the summer answer to too many courgettes. Grated courgette, spring onion and mint are softened in olive oil, mixed with eggs and cheese and baked, then cut into squares for lunch with bread and tomatoes or packed for a day at the beach. Kefalotyri and feta are usually made with animal rennet, so use vegetarian versions if you need to. Common mistake: leaving the courgettes wet, which gives a watery, rubbery omelette. Chef's tip: let the softened vegetables cool for a few minutes before adding the eggs so they don't scramble at the edges.

60 min

Greek Breakfast & Brunch

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Horta vrastaBoiled greens with lemon and oil

In Greek villages women still go out with a knife and a bag after the first autumn rains to gather horta: dandelion, wild chicory, amaranth, mustard greens. Boiled and dressed with the best olive oil and lemon, they are served warm or cool with almost every meal, from fried fish in a seaside taverna to a fasting-day plate of beans. The taste is pleasantly bitter and grassy. Common mistake: boiling them to khaki; cook only until the stems are tender and the leaves still deep green. Chef's tip: salt the cooking water generously like pasta water and dress the greens while warm, so they drink up the oil and lemon.

25 min

Greek Sides

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Sfakiani pitaCheese pancakes with honey

Shepherds in the mountains of Sfakia, on Crete's wild south coast, made these with what they had on hand: flour, oil, a ball of fresh cheese and the thyme honey from their hives. A soft dough is wrapped around the cheese, rolled out as thin as a plate and cooked in a dry pan, then eaten hot with honey running over it, for breakfast or as a late sweet with Greek coffee. Village cooks often add a splash of raki to the dough; here lemon juice does the same job and keeps it alcohol-free. The cheese is fresh mizithra, or use ricotta, which is usually rennet-free. Common mistake: cooking over too high a heat, which scorches the outside before the thin layer of cheese inside warms through. Chef's tip: roll from the centre outwards and give the disc a quarter turn each time so the cheese spreads evenly to the edge.

65 min

Greek Breakfast & Brunch

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Hornazo de SalamancaPork, chorizo and egg pie

Salamanca's students and families picnic by the river Tormes on Lunes de Aguas, the Monday after Easter Monday, and the hornazo is what they unwrap: a golden pie with a bread-like crust, packed with layers of marinated pork loin, chorizo, cured ham and hard-boiled egg. It is eaten cold, in thick slices, and bakeries sell it all through spring. This contains pork (loin, chorizo and ham). The dough traditionally includes white wine; use water with a little lemon juice to keep it alcohol-free. Chef's tip: fry the loin slices first so they are cooked through before they go into the pie.

100 min

Spanish Meat

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Tamalitos verdesGreen fresh corn tamales

Bright green from a whole bunch of coriander, tamalitos verdes are the morning snack of Chiclayo and Trujillo, sold warm at market stalls and bakeries and unwrapped at the table with a heap of salsa criolla on top. Fresh corn is ground with coriander, onion and ají amarillo into a soft dough, wrapped around a strip of fresh cheese in corn husks and steamed. They should be tender, moist and herby, with a slightly sweet corn flavour and a salty melting middle. Traditional ones are made with lard; this version uses vegetable oil to stay vegetarian. The classic problem is a dough that's too wet, which makes the tamales fall apart; the starchy Peruvian choclo is ideal, and if you use sweet corn, add the cornmeal to firm it up. Queso fresco is usually made with animal rennet, so look for a vegetarian fresh cheese. Chef's tip: keep the steamer water at a steady simmer and top it up with boiling water, never cold, so the steam never stops.

90 min

Peruvian Snacks & Starters

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Pestrofa sti skaraGrilled whole trout

Trout farms line the cold rivers of Tzoumerka and the springs of the Louros, and the tavernas beside them grill the fish whole over charcoal, served with ladolemono, horta and chips. At home a hot grill pan or overhead grill does the job: the skin blisters and crisps while the flesh stays moist and pink-white. Common mistake: turning the fish too early, so the skin tears — leave it until it lifts away by itself. Chef's tip: slash the skin twice on each side so the heat reaches the thick part near the head and the fish cooks evenly.

25 min

Greek Fish

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Pollo alla romanaChicken with peppers and tomato

On Ferragosto, the 15 August holiday when half of Rome heads for the coast, families who stay behind cook pollo alla romana, often the day before so it can be eaten at room temperature. Jointed chicken is browned, then stewed slowly with sweet red and yellow peppers, tomato, garlic and marjoram until the peppers collapse into a sweet, glossy sauce. A little white wine goes in at the start; there's an alcohol-free swap in the ingredients. Serve it with crusty bread for the sauce and a plate of tomatoes or green beans. Chef's tip: season the chicken a few hours ahead and keep it covered in the fridge, so the salt reaches right into the meat.

80 min

Italian Chicken

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SericaiaCinnamon baked egg custard

Sericaia is the pride of Elvas, on the Spanish border, and of Alentejo convent baking: a light custard of eggs, milk and sugar lifted with beaten whites, spooned into a clay dish, dusted with cinnamon and baked until it puffs and splits into deep cracks. It is always served with Elvas plums in syrup, whose sharpness cuts the sweetness; any good plums poached in syrup will do. It is a Sunday and festive dessert across the region. A common mistake is spreading the mixture smooth: drop it in large spoonfuls so it bakes into the craggy, cracked top that defines it. Chef's tip: cook the yolk custard until really thick before folding in the whites; a thin custard collapses in the oven.

60 min

Portuguese Desserts

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Tamar hindiTamarind drink

During Ramadan in Damascus, street sellers in bright waistcoats pour tamar hindi from tall brass jugs on their backs, clinking cups to call buyers before iftar. The drink is a deep brown infusion of tamarind, sweetened and sharpened with lemon and a touch of rose or orange blossom, served ice cold to quench a day's thirst. It is fruity, tangy and refreshing, and made in a big batch to keep in the fridge. Common mistake: boiling the tamarind hard — gentle soaking gives a clean taste, while boiling makes it muddy. Chef's tip: strain twice, the second time through a cloth, for a clear, glossy drink.

15 min

Syrian Drinks

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Sequência de camarãoPrawn feast in several styles

Around the Lagoa da Conceição and the old fishing village of Santo Antônio de Lisboa, Florianópolis restaurants serve sequência de camarão, a parade of prawn dishes that keeps arriving until you give up: prawns fried in garlic oil, crisp breaded prawns, a light prawn stew with tomato and coconut milk, and pirão made from the shells, with rice and salad. This home version brings the four together for a long lunch. Prawns must be very fresh and kept cold, and every batch is cooked only until pink and opaque right through. The usual mistake is cooking all the prawns at once and serving them lukewarm; the sequence works because each dish arrives hot. Make the stew and pirão first and keep them warm, then fry at the last minute. Chef's tip: buy shell-on prawns and simmer the heads and shells for the pirão; it gives the whole meal its sea flavour.

120 min

Brazilian Fish

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Finkenwerder ScholleFried plaice with bacon and shrimps

Finkenwerder was a fishing village on an Elbe island, and the way its fishermen cooked plaice is now Hamburg's signature fish dish, eaten from May to autumn when plaice is plump. A whole fish is dusted and fried in butter, then covered with crisp cubes of smoked pork belly bacon and a handful of tiny brown North Sea shrimps warmed in the same pan, and served with parsley potatoes and cucumber salad. The bacon is pork; leave it out and add capers for a pork-free plate. Chef's tip: score the dark skin side lightly twice so the fish stays flat in the pan and cooks evenly to the bone.

40 min

German Fish

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SenfgurkenMustard pickled cucumber

Senfgurken are the big, pale golden chunks of peeled cucumber that German families put up in late summer, when the fat yellow-skinned 'Schmorgurken' are cheap at markets from Brandenburg to the Rhineland. Pickled in sweet vinegar with mustard seeds, dill and onion, they are served through the winter with cold cuts, cheese boards, potato salad or a plate of fried eggs and potatoes. Unlike gherkins they are soft-crunchy and mellow. The mistake is skipping the overnight salting, which leaves the cucumbers watery so they dilute the vinegar and spoil sooner. Chef's tip: scrape out every bit of the seedy core with a teaspoon; it is what turns soft and slimy in the jar.

40 min

German Sides

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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 min

Portuguese Snacks & Starters

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PantxinetaCustard and almond puff pastry tart

Pantxineta was first baked in a pastry shop in San Sebastián's old town in the early twentieth century, and Donostiarras still buy it on Sunday mornings to take to family lunch. Two layers of buttery puff pastry enclose vanilla pastry cream, and the top is covered with flaked almonds and icing sugar. It is best eaten warm on the day it is made, while the pastry shatters. A common mistake is filling the pastry with warm custard, which melts the butter layers and stops them rising. Chef's tip: chill the assembled tart for 20 minutes before baking so the pastry keeps sharp edges.

70 min

Spanish Baking

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Pollo al discoChicken with peppers and wine

Out on the estancias of the Pampas, the disco de arado (an old plough disc welded onto legs) is set over a wood fire for long weekend lunches, and chicken braised in it is one of the most loved dishes: pieces browned in the wide, sloping pan, then cooked down with onions, peppers, garlic, paprika and a splash of white wine until the sauce is sweet and glossy. Friends stand around the fire with bread for dipping. A large, heavy casserole or wok on the hob does the job at home. The recipe uses white wine; for an alcohol-free version, use the same amount of chicken stock plus 1 tablespoon of white wine vinegar. Chicken must reach 74 °C at the thickest part near the bone. The common mistake is piling everything in at once, which boils the chicken pale, so brown it well first. Chef's tip: push the browned chicken up the sloping sides while the vegetables cook in the centre, as disco cooks do; in a casserole, lift it onto a plate.

75 min

Argentinian Chicken

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Cuscuz paulistaCornmeal with palm heart and sardines

Nothing like North African couscous, cuscuz paulista is a moulded cake of corn flakes cooked in a rich tomato sauce, packed into a ring mould decorated with sardines, sliced egg, tomato, palm hearts and peas, then turned out so the pattern shows. São Paulo bakeries and family lunches serve it cold or at room temperature, in slices, for birthdays, Easter and Sunday tables. It is moist, savoury and tangy, with bursts of olive and fish. It needs at least an hour to set in the fridge, so it is perfect to make the day before. The thing that most often goes wrong is a mixture that is too dry, which crumbles when turned out; it should look like soft, wet polenta before it goes into the mould. For a vegetarian version, skip the sardines and add extra palm hearts. Chef's tip: oil the mould generously and press the decoration against the sides firmly, so it sticks to the cuscuz and not the tin.

55 min

Brazilian Rice & Grains

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Fırın kebabıSlow-roasted lamb on bread

Konya's fırın kebabı comes from the city's old tandır ovens, where whole sides of lamb hung for hours until the meat collapsed and the fat crisped. Served on a sheet of thin pide with the cooking juices soaked in, a raw onion on the side and a jug of ayran, it is a Sunday treat and a wedding dish. A low home oven and a tightly covered tray give the same soft, juicy result. Common mistake: uncovering it too soon; the lamb needs steamy, sealed heat for hours before it gets its final browning. Chef's tip: rest the cooked lamb on the bread, not on a board; the bread drinks up every drop of juice.

255 min

Turkish Meat

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Lulas recheadasSquid stuffed with chouriço and rice

Fishermen's wives in Portimão stretched a modest catch of squid by filling the bodies with chopped tentacles, rice and a little chouriço, then simmering them slowly in tomato sauce until meltingly tender. It is a Sunday dish in the western Algarve, served sliced into rounds with boiled potatoes or more rice. This contains pork (chouriço), and the sauce uses white wine; replace it with the same amount of fish or vegetable stock for an alcohol-free version. Chef's tip: fill the squid only two-thirds full, because the rice swells and can split them.

90 min

Portuguese Fish

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PanuchosBean-stuffed tortillas with chicken

Mérida's loncherías and the evening stands around its parks sell panuchos by the plateful: small corn tortillas puffed on the griddle, slit open, stuffed with black bean paste and fried until the edges crisp. They are topped with shredded chicken marinated in achiote and bitter orange, sharp pink pickled onion, tomato and avocado, with fiery habanero salsa on the side for those who want it. Bitter (Seville) orange is the traditional sour; a mix of orange and lime juice works well. Two or three make a supper with a cold drink. Chef's tip: let the tortilla balloon on the hot comal before you slit it; if it doesn't puff, there is no pocket for the beans.

150 min

Mexican Snacks & Starters

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SenfeierEggs in mustard sauce

Senfeier is a dish many people who grew up in Berlin, Saxony or anywhere in the old East remember from school canteens and Friday suppers: halved hard-boiled eggs in a smooth, pale mustard sauce, with boiled or mashed potatoes to soak it up. It is cheap, fast and comforting, and the sauce is a simple butter-and-flour roux loosened with stock and milk, then sharpened with two kinds of mustard. A common mistake is boiling the sauce hard after the mustard goes in, which makes it taste flat and grainy; add it off the heat. Chef's tip: a spoon of the gherkin pickling liquid at the end lifts the whole sauce.

30 min

German Vegetarian

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Hongos de pino en escabechePickled pine mushrooms

After the autumn rains in the pine plantations of Neuquén and Río Negro, slippery jacks (Suillus luteus) pop up by the thousand, and around San Martín de los Andes and Villa La Angostura they are sold fresh by the roadside, dried in bags, or bottled like this. The mushrooms are blanched in vinegar, then kept in oil with garlic, bay and peppercorns, ending up tender, tangy and slightly silky, a classic part of a picada with cheese and bread or beside grilled vegetables. Wild mushrooms must only be eaten if identified by an expert or bought from a trusted seller; if in doubt, use cultivated mushrooms such as chestnut or king oyster. The common mistake is skipping the peeling: the slimy skin on the cap turns the pickle gluey, so pull it off first. Garlic in oil can carry botulism, so the jar must live in the fridge and be eaten within two weeks. Chef's tip: let the jar rest for two days before opening; the vinegar mellows and the flavours come together.

40 min

Argentinian Chutneys & Dips

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Pollo al chilindrónChicken with pepper, tomato and ham

Chilindrón is the red sauce that Aragon is known for across Spain: sweet red peppers, onion and tomato cooked down slowly with serrano ham until thick and glossy. Chicken is the most common partner (lamb is the other), and a big pot of it is a typical dish at summer village fiestas in the Pyrenees foothills and at family meals all year. This contains pork (cured serrano ham). The recipe uses a little white wine; use chicken stock instead for no alcohol. A common mistake is hurrying the sofrito: the peppers need a slow 20 minutes to soften and sweeten before the chicken goes back in. Chef's tip: if you have roasted red peppers or a spoonful of choricero pepper paste, stir some in for a deeper, smokier colour.

90 min

Spanish Chicken

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Northumberland pan haggertyLayered potato, onion and cheese

Pan haggerty is a frugal supper from Northumberland and the Durham pit villages, made in a single heavy frying pan from thin layers of potato, onion and grated cheese. The bottom turns crisp and brown while the top melts under the grill, and it is eaten straight from the pan with pickles. Cheddar is often made with animal rennet, so use a vegetarian cheddar. Chef's tip: slice the potatoes paper-thin and dry them in a tea towel; wet slices steam instead of browning.

60 min

British Vegetarian

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Gordas de frijol negroBlack bean masa cakes

In the Sotavento region of southern Veracruz, around Tlacotalpan and Los Tuxtlas, cooks knead well-fried black beans straight into the corn masa, so the little cakes come out speckled grey-black, then fry them until they puff up like balloons. Gordas de frijol are a supper snack from street stalls and fiesta tables, split and topped with salsa, chopped onion and, for a non-vegan version, a crumble of fresh cheese. Avocado leaf in the beans gives a faint aniseed note. Chef's tip: the beans must be very thick and cooled; warm, wet beans make a sticky dough that will not puff.

40 min

Mexican Snacks & Starters

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Pão alentejanoSourdough country loaf

Almost every Alentejo meal leans on this bread: it is crumbled into açorda, laid under soups and stews, fried into migas and, fresh, eaten with olives and sheep's cheese. Village bakers make it with a sourdough starter, white wheat flour, water and salt, and give each round loaf a little knob of dough on top, called the cuco. The crumb should be dense, moist and chewy and the crust thick and crackling, so it lasts a week. You need an active starter that doubles within 6 hours of feeding. A common mistake is baking too pale; let the crust go a deep brown for flavour and keeping. Chef's tip: use a wetter dough than you think; it gives the open, moist crumb that keeps the bread soft for days.

90 min

Portuguese Breads & Parathas

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SembusekSpiced mince flatbread pies

Mardin's stone bakeries fill their ovens with sembusek on weekend mornings: thin rounds of dough folded over a filling of minced meat, onion, parsley and pepper paste, sealed into half-moons and baked until crisp and freckled. Families make big batches for picnics and Ramadan, and eat them warm with ayran or a glass of tea. The meat goes in raw and cooks inside the pastry, so roll the dough thin enough to cook through. Common mistake: a wet filling that makes the base soggy; squeeze the grated onion hard. Chef's tip: brush the tops with a little water and butter as they come out of the oven so they soften just enough to fold over a bite of salad.

65 min

Turkish Meat

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FischbrötchenHerring roll with onion and gherkin

Fischbrötchen are what people eat standing up at the Landungsbrücken piers in Hamburg, on the Sunday fish market, or from a kiosk on the dyke at any North Sea harbour. A crusty white roll is filled with sharp marinated herring, raw onion rings, gherkin and a little crisp lettuce, and eaten in a few bites with the wind in your face. The herring is cured, not cooked, so use commercially prepared Bismarck-style marinated herring from the chilled counter, which has been frozen before curing as the law requires; it is not for pregnant women, young children or anyone with a weakened immune system. Chef's tip: slice the onion paper-thin and rinse it in cold water for a minute so it stays crunchy but stops shouting over the fish.

10 min

German Fish

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Polenta fritaFried polenta sticks

Italian immigrants brought polenta to São Paulo, and the city's bars and cantinas turned the leftovers into one of its best snacks: thick sticks of set polenta, deep-fried until the outside is crunchy and bubbled and the inside stays soft and creamy. They arrive in paper-lined baskets in Bixiga cantinas and corner botecos alike, sprinkled with salt, to be eaten with a cold drink; some places dust them with grated cheese, which makes them no longer vegan. Kids love them as a side with tomato sauce. They fall apart in the oil when the polenta is too soft, so cook it until very thick and let it set completely in the fridge. Chef's tip: dry the cut sticks on kitchen paper and fry in small batches, so the oil temperature stays high and the crust forms at once.

45 min

Brazilian Snacks & Starters

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ŞekerpareSemolina almond cookies in syrup

Şekerpare is the cookie that every Turkish household bakes for bayram visits, when trays are passed to relatives and neighbours along with coffee and cologne for the hands. Soft, buttery rounds of semolina dough are each topped with an almond, baked until golden and then soaked in syrup until they are tender all the way through but still hold their shape. They keep for days and taste better on the second. Common mistake: cold syrup on cold cookies, which never soaks in; one of them must be hot. Chef's tip: bake until the bases are properly golden; pale cookies turn mushy when they meet the syrup.

50 min

Turkish Baking

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Ma'aroukMahlab-scented sweet bread

As soon as Ramadan begins, bakeries in Damascus and Aleppo stack up golden loaves of ma'arouk, a soft, slightly sweet brioche-like bread that people buy on the way home to break the fast. The dough is perfumed with mahlab (ground cherry stones), topped with nigella and sesame seeds, and is often braided or filled with date paste. Eat it warm with tea, or toasted the next morning with white cheese. Common mistake: adding too much flour while kneading; the dough should stay soft and a little tacky for a tender crumb. Chef's tip: brush with sugar syrup as soon as the loaves leave the oven — it gives the classic shine and keeps the crust soft.

55 min

Syrian Baking

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Secretos de porco pretoGrilled black pork

The secreto is a thin, marbled cut hidden between the shoulder fat and the loin of the Alentejo black pig, the free-ranging breed that fattens on acorns under the cork oaks. Butchers once kept it for themselves; now it is on every Alentejo grill menu, served with fried potatoes, migas or a salad of orange and onion. This contains pork. It needs only salt, garlic and a hot grill, since the fat inside bastes it as it cooks. A common mistake is moving the meat around: leave it on the grill so it builds a crisp, browned crust. Chef's tip: let the meat come to room temperature for 20 minutes before cooking, so it browns evenly and stays juicy.

20 min

Portuguese Meat

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Maçã do amorToffee apples

A shiny red apple on a stick is the picture of a Brazilian festa junina stall, lined up in rows beside the quentão and pipoca. The 'love apple' is a small, tart apple dipped in hot sugar syrup that hardens into a thin, crackling, ruby-red shell; you bite through glass and hit crisp fruit. It is a good one to make at home for a June party because the syrup takes 15 minutes and the apples are ready as soon as the shell cools. Choose a plant-based red colouring to keep it vegan. Where it tends to fail: any water or wax on the apple skin stops the syrup sticking, so it slides off in a puddle. Chef's tip: dip the apples in boiling water for 10 seconds and dry them thoroughly to remove the wax before you start.

30 min

Brazilian Desserts

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Macaxeira fritaFried cassava sticks

Northeastern Brazilians call cassava macaxeira, and fried sticks of it come out with carne de sol, with grilled cheese at beach shacks, and in a bowl beside a cold drink at any bar from Natal to Maceió. Boiling first makes the inside soft and floury; frying afterwards gives a thick, blistered crust that stays crunchy far longer than potato chips. They need only coarse salt, though a dip of vinagrete or garlic mayonnaise is common. Buy sweet cassava, cook it fully, and never eat it raw. The frequent mistake is boiling until the cassava falls apart, which makes sticks that break up in the oil; stop as soon as a knife slides in. Chef's tip: let the boiled sticks steam dry and cool completely, even chill them for an hour, before frying; the drier surface is what makes them crackle.

45 min

Brazilian Sides

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Machaca con huevoDried beef scrambled with egg

Monterrey and Sonora both claim machaca, the dried, pounded beef that once let ranchers carry meat across the desert. At breakfast it is fried with onion, tomato and green chilli, then scrambled with eggs and rolled into soft flour tortillas, and it turns up in every lonchería and roadside café in the north. The beef is savoury, salty and chewy against the soft egg. Proper machaca is hard to find outside Mexico; shredded leftover roast beef or brisket, dried out in the pan until crisp, makes a good substitute, as does unsweetened beef jerky pounded into shreds. Chef's tip: fry the machaca on its own first until the edges crackle, which brings back the toasty flavour before anything wet goes in.

25 min

Mexican Breakfast & Brunch

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Machaca de pescadoShredded fish with tomato and pepper

On the waterfront in La Paz, Baja California Sur, machaca de pescado is the sea's answer to beef machaca: firm fish is poached, shredded and fried with onion, pepper, tomato and chilli until almost dry and full of flavour. Fishermen's families once made it with shark or smoked marlin, and today it fills breakfast burritos, tacos and tostadas in cafés along the malecón. Any firm white fish such as cod, hake or mahi-mahi works well. It is savoury, lightly spicy and tender. Serve it with corn tortillas, rice or refried beans. Chef's tip: squeeze the shredded fish in your hands to get rid of excess water before it hits the pan, so it fries rather than stews.

40 min

Mexican Fish

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Seco de chabeloPlantain mash with dried beef

Piura's picanterías, near the dry northern border, serve this rough, savoury mash at lunch: green plantains, roasted or boiled and pounded, mixed with fried strips of carne seca (salted dried beef) and a quick sofrito of onion, tomato and ají amarillo. It is dense, salty and smoky, with the plantain's starchy sweetness, and is eaten with salsa criolla and fried ripe plantain or chifles (plantain crisps). The legend says it was invented for a soldier called Chabelo in the War of the Pacific. Use carne seca or cecina from Latin shops, or unseasoned beef jerky. Pounding the plantains smooth is the classic mistake: chabelo should be lumpy and rustic. Chef's tip: soak the dried beef in warm water for 30 minutes and taste a piece; if it's still very salty, change the water and soak again.

60 min

Peruvian Meat

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Seco de cabritoBraised kid goat with coriander

Ask anyone in Chiclayo or Lambayeque for the north's great Sunday dish and seco de cabrito comes up first: young goat, marinated in garlic and vinegar, then braised slowly in a deep green sauce of blended coriander, ají amarillo and chicha de jora, with grated loche, the local aromatic squash. The meat turns tender and the sauce is herby, sour and warm. It comes to the table with white rice and frejoles (stewed canary beans) and a sharp salsa criolla. Chicha de jora is a fermented maize beer and contains alcohol; the alcohol-free swap in the ingredients keeps the tang. Lamb shoulder stands in well for kid. People often blend the coriander with the stems discarded, but the stems carry the most flavour, so use the whole bunch. Chef's tip: add half the coriander at the start and half 10 minutes before the end, so the sauce stays bright green.

120 min

Peruvian Curries

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