Featured recipe

Bò bía

Jicama and sausage rice paper rolls

Bò bía carts park outside the schools of Chợ Lớn, Saigon's Chinatown, every afternoon, and the vendor rolls each one to order: sweet stir-fried jicama and carrot, crisp slices of lạp xưởng (Chinese pork sausage), toasted dried shrimp and ribbons of omelette, wrapped with basil and lettuce in soft rice paper and dipped in hoisin sauce loosened with peanut butter. It is a cousin of Chinese popiah and a favourite after-school snack. Chef's tip: dip the rice paper for only a second or two; it keeps softening as you fill it.

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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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Merluza en salsa verdeHake and clams in parsley sauce

Bilbao families have cooked merluza en salsa verde in a shallow clay cazuela for generations, and it still turns up at Sunday lunch and on Christmas Eve. The sauce is just olive oil, garlic, parsley and the fish's own juices, thickened by gently shaking the dish so the gelatine from the hake binds it, much like a pil-pil. Clams open on top at the end. A common mistake is stirring with a spoon, which breaks the fish; swirl the dish instead. Chef's tip: keep the heat low once the hake goes in, because the sauce only comes together when it barely simmers.

40 min

Spanish Fish

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Mole amarillo with vegetablesYellow mole with vegetables

In Oaxaca's central valleys, the 'yellow' mole is the everyday one of the seven: lighter than mole negro, made on weekdays, sold at market fondas in Tlacolula and Ocotlán and folded into empanadas on the comal. Guajillo and costeño chillies give it a brick-orange colour, a few tomatillos make it tangy, and masa stirred in at the end thickens it to a soft, velvety sauce. Oaxacan cooks use chicken or beef broth; this version uses vegetable stock with chayote, green beans and potatoes, which is also how many homes make it during Lent. Serve it in deep bowls with corn tortillas. Chef's tip: the fresh hoja santa leaf (or a few fennel fronds) is what makes it taste Oaxacan, so add it for the last few minutes only.

75 min

Mexican Curries

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Kotopoulo me bamiesChicken and okra stew

In late summer, when Greek markets are full of small, firm okra, home cooks braise them with chicken thighs, tomato and onions until the sauce is thick and glossy; it is a Wednesday-night dish, served with feta and bread. The trick is to keep the okra whole and un-slimy so it holds its shape. Common mistake: stirring the pot once the okra is in; shake it instead. Chef's tip: trim only the very top of each okra cone without cutting into the pod, then toss them with vinegar and salt and leave in the sun or a warm spot for 30 minutes; it firms them up and keeps the sauce clean.

100 min

Greek Chicken

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Lapas grelhadasGrilled limpets with garlic butter

Along the rocky shores of Madeira and the Azores, limpets are prised off the rocks at low tide and grilled within hours, arriving at the table in a hot cast-iron dish, still bubbling with garlic butter. Beach bars in Porto Moniz and on Pico serve them as a starter, with bread for dipping and a squeeze of lemon. They are best when only just cooked, tender with a slight chew. Chef's tip: buy them from a fishmonger who sells them live, still clamped tightly to their shells.

20 min

Portuguese Fish

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Htapodi sti skaraCharcoal-grilled octopus

Octopus tentacles hanging to dry on a line outside a harbour taverna are a summer sight across the Greek islands, and they end up on the grill as one of the great ouzo mezedes, though they are just as good with a cold lemonade. Simmering first makes the octopus tender; the grill adds smoky, crisp tips. It is also a favourite Lenten dish, since shellfish and octopus are allowed on fasting days. Common mistake: grilling raw octopus straight away, which leaves it rubbery. Chef's tip: cook it in its own juices without added water; it gives off plenty of liquid and stays more flavourful.

90 min

Greek Fish

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MenestrónBeef, bean and pasta soup

Think of the Italian minestrone after a century of Lima kitchens: menestrón is thicker, heartier and greener, a weekday soup that families and menú restaurants make in huge pots. Beef shin simmers into a rich broth with potatoes, squash, corn, cabbage, green beans and white beans, then short pasta goes in, and finally a purée of basil, spinach, garlic and fresh cheese turns the whole pot pale green and fragrant. It is a meal in a bowl, best with bread and a squeeze of lime or a spoon of ají. People tend to add the basil purée too early; boiled, it loses its colour and its scent, so stir it in off the heat. Chef's tip: for a vegetarian menestrón, skip the beef and use vegetable stock, with a cheese made with microbial (vegetarian) rennet.

100 min

Peruvian Soups

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Escudella i carn d'ollaChristmas soup with giant pasta

This contains pork (pork belly and pork mince). On Christmas Day, Catalan families sit down to escudella i carn d'olla, served in two courses: first the broth with giant snail-shaped galets pasta, then the carn d'olla, a platter of the meats, chickpeas and vegetables that made it, including the pilota, a large herby meatball. The pot simmers for hours, and the leftovers become the next day's canelons. Chef's tip: start the meats in cold water and skim patiently as it comes to the boil; it is the only way to a clear, golden broth.

255 min

Spanish Soups

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Menestra de TudelaSpring vegetable stew

In Tudela, at the southern tip of Navarre, the market gardens along the Ebro send out artichokes, peas, broad beans and asparagus all at once in April and May, and the town celebrates with its Jornadas de Exaltación de la Verdura. Menestra is how those vegetables reach the table: every one is cooked on its own, the artichokes and chard stalks are dipped in flour and egg and fried, and everything is brought together at the end in a little garlic and onion sauce. Local cooks often add cured ham; this version leaves it out and is fully vegetarian. Chef's tip: save a cupful of the water the vegetables were boiled in, because it gives the final sauce far more flavour than plain water or stock.

95 min

Spanish Vegetarian

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GloriasPecan and goat milk caramels

Linares, a small town in Nuevo León, is famous across Mexico for glorias: soft, chewy balls of goat's milk caramel packed with pecans, each wrapped in a twist of red cellophane. They are bought by the box at roadside sweet shops on the way to Monterrey and handed out at weddings and Christmas. Goat's milk gives them a gentle tang; a mix of goat's and cow's milk is milder. Chef's tip: the last ten minutes need constant stirring, as the caramel thickens and catches fast.

80 min

Mexican Desserts

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MelopitaHoney and fresh cheese pie

On Sifnos, the Easter table always has a melopita, a crustless pie of fresh cheese, eggs and thyme honey baked until just set and dusted heavily with cinnamon. It is lighter than a cheesecake, gently sweet and floral from the honey, and tastes best a day after baking, cut into squares with coffee. The island cheese is fresh mizithra; ricotta works well and is usually made without animal rennet. Common mistake: baking it too hot, which makes it puff up and crack, then sink and weep. Chef's tip: let it cool slowly in the switched-off oven with the door ajar for a smooth, silky set.

60 min

Greek Desserts

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MelomakaronaHoney-dipped spice cookies

From early December, bakeries and kitchens all over Greece fill tins with melomakarona, the oval cookies that sit beside kourabiedes on every Christmas table and get handed to visitors with coffee. The dough is made with olive oil and orange juice rather than butter, scented with cinnamon and clove, then baked and plunged into warm honey syrup so the inside turns soft and sticky while the edges stay crisp. Common mistake: dipping hot cookies into hot syrup, which turns them to mush; one of the two must be cool. Chef's tip: mix the dough only until it comes together; overworking it squeezes out the oil and the cookies bake hard and greasy.

70 min

Greek Baking

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SeadasFried cheese pastries with honey

Seadas (or sebadas) are Sardinia's festive dessert: large discs of thin pastry wrapped around fresh, tangy cheese and lemon zest, fried until blistered and golden, then drizzled with warm honey, ideally the bitter strawberry-tree honey of the island's hills. The cheese melts into soft, stretchy strings, so they are a sweet-salty, crisp-gooey surprise. Shepherd families once made them at the end of a festa or for Carnival; today every Sardinian restaurant offers them. The pastry is traditionally made with lard, and here it is butter. Chef's tip: melt the cheese into discs first, so it sets flat and is easy to seal inside the pastry.

60 min

Italian Desserts

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MelitzanosalataSmoky aubergine dip

Every Greek taverna puts melitzanosalata on the meze table, especially in summer when aubergines are charred over the same coals as the souvlaki. Unlike Levantine dips it has no tahini: the smoky flesh is chopped with a knife, not puréed, and sharpened with red wine vinegar, raw garlic, parsley and plenty of fruity olive oil, so it stays rough-textured and bright. Serve with warm pitta, grilled bread or alongside fried fish. Common mistake: leaving the bitter juices in; drain the cooked flesh in a sieve for 10 minutes. Chef's tip: char the aubergines directly on a gas flame or barbecue until they collapse; the oven alone will not give the smoky taste.

40 min

Greek Chutneys & Dips

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MelitiniaSweet cheese cups with mastic

Santorini's Easter sweet is melitinia: small, thin pastry cups pinched around a soft filling of fresh cheese, sugar and mastic, baked until the tops crack and turn golden. Islanders bake trays of them on Holy Saturday and offer them on Easter Sunday with coffee, and their resinous, piney mastic perfume sets them apart from cheese pastries elsewhere in Greece. Fresh mizithra is the island cheese; ricotta, usually rennet-free, is a good substitute. Common mistake: grinding mastic on its own, which makes it gum up; always crush it with a spoon of sugar. Chef's tip: roll the pastry very thin, about 2 mm, so it bakes crisp around the creamy filling.

70 min

Greek Baking

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MelcochasPulled panela taffy

Pulling melcocha is a spectacle at roadside stalls in panela country, around Villeta in Cundinamarca and the Santander highlands. A syrup of panela is boiled until thick, cooled just enough to handle, then stretched, folded and stretched again until it turns from dark brown to a pale, satiny gold and becomes chewy. It is twisted into ropes and cut into pieces that taste of caramel and molasses. Kids and adults both buy it in little bags, and it makes a fun kitchen project for a group. Getting the timing wrong is the usual mistake: too hot and it burns your hands and sticks, too cold and it snaps instead of stretching. Work when it feels like warm putty. The syrup is dangerously hot, so keep children well back until it has cooled. Chef's tip: a sugar thermometer takes the guesswork out; take the syrup off at 125 °C for a chewy result.

45 min

Colombian Desserts

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Langosta estilo Puerto NuevoFried split lobster with tortillas

In the fishing village of Puerto Nuevo, south of Rosarito on the Baja coast, dozens of family restaurants serve lobster the same way: split in half, fried in hot pork lard until the shell blisters and the flesh is sweet and just firm, then brought to the table with refried beans, red rice, salsa, melted butter, lime and stacks of soft flour tortillas for making lobster tacos. The local lobster is the clawless spiny kind, but any lobster or raw lobster tails work; frozen raw tails are an easy route. Live lobsters should be bought from a reputable fishmonger, kept cold in the fridge under a damp cloth and cooked the same day. Chef's tip: fry the halves flesh-side down first and don't move them, so the meat gets a light golden crust.

70 min

Mexican Fish

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New York potato knishes

Knishes came from Eastern Europe with Jewish immigrants and became Lower East Side street food, sold from carts and the old knishery on Houston Street with a dab of brown mustard. A thin, stretchy oil dough is wrapped around a peppery filling of mashed potato and deeply browned onions, then baked golden. Chef's tip: cook the onions slowly until truly brown and sweet; pale onions make a bland filling.

85 min

American Snacks & Starters

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Pane frattauFlatbread with tomato and egg

Pane frattau turns dry pane carasau into a hearty plate in twenty minutes: sheets of the crisp bread are dipped in hot broth until just supple, layered with tomato sauce and grated pecorino, and topped with a poached egg whose yolk runs into everything. It is said to have been first served in Orgosolo or Nuoro for a royal visit, and it is now a staple of Barbagia agriturismi and family suppers. Traditionally the broth is made from mutton or meat; this version uses vegetable stock, which works beautifully. Chef's tip: dip each sheet for no more than 2–3 seconds; it keeps softening on the plate.

20 min

Italian Vegetarian

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Mulinciani chiniStuffed aubergines

Mulinciani chini, 'full aubergines' in Calabrian dialect, are what summer gardens across Calabria turn into in August: halved aubergines hollowed out, their pulp fried and mixed with soaked bread, pecorino, egg, garlic and basil, then piled back into the shells and baked in a light tomato sauce. They are made in big trays for family lunches and taken cold to the beach the next day. The filling turns soft and savoury, the shells silky. Chef's tip: they taste best after resting for an hour, so they are perfect to make ahead.

70 min

Italian Vegetarian

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Mel i matóCurd cheese with honey and walnuts

On the road up to Montserrat, farm women once sat at stalls selling fresh mató, a soft, mild, unsalted curd cheese, and the dessert of mató drizzled with honey became a fixture of Catalan restaurants. It is as simple as dessert gets, and best with the freshest cheese. Shop-bought mató and some ricottas are set with animal rennet; this home version is set with lemon juice instead, so it is vegetarian. If you buy cheese, check the label for a vegetarian or microbial rennet. Chef's tip: heat the milk gently and stop at 90 °C; boiling makes the curds tough and grainy.

30 min

Spanish Desserts

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Mexillóns en escabechePickled mussels

Galicia's estuaries are lined with the wooden rafts (bateas) where mussels grow on ropes, and the region's canneries have long sold them in escabeche: steamed, shelled and kept in a warm-spiced marinade of oil, vinegar and paprika. Made at home, they're a tapa for an aperitif with crisps and cold drinks, and they keep for several days. Throw away any mussels with cracked shells, and any open ones that don't close when tapped, before cooking. A common mistake is pouring the marinade over cold mussels straight from the fridge: mix while both are warm so the flavours soak in, then chill. Chef's tip: they taste best after a full day in the fridge.

40 min

Spanish Fish

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Mejillones a la provenzalMussels with garlic and parsley

On the Atlantic coast around Puerto Madryn and the Golfo Nuevo, mussels from cold Patagonian waters are farmed and gathered in quantity, and seafood places along the rambla steam them a la provenzal, which in Argentina means lots of garlic and parsley. A splash of dry white wine goes into the pot; the alcohol mostly cooks off, but you can swap it for fish stock with a little lemon for an alcohol-free pot that tastes just as good. Serve with bread or chips to mop up the briny juices. Cooking mussels too long is the usual slip: they shrink and turn rubbery, so lift the lid as soon as most have opened. Before cooking, throw away any mussel with a broken shell or one that stays open when tapped; after cooking, discard any that stay shut. Chef's tip: keep the garlic in gently warm oil until it just smells sweet; brown garlic turns bitter and dominates the mussels.

25 min

Argentinian Fish

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MeghliSpiced rice pudding

When a baby is born in Lebanon, the family cooks a big pot of meghli and hands out bowls to every visitor who comes to congratulate them; it also appears at Christmas in Christian homes. Ground rice is simmered with sugar and warm spices — caraway, cinnamon and anise — until it sets into a smooth, cocoa-brown pudding with no milk or eggs at all. Each bowl is topped with desiccated coconut and a generous pile of soaked walnuts, almonds, pistachios and pine nuts. Common mistake: walking away from the pot; ground rice catches and lumps fast, so it needs steady stirring. Chef's tip: soak the nuts in cold water overnight and peel the almonds; they turn plump and crisp, which is the hallmark of a good meghli.

50 min

Lebanese Desserts

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Htapodi me kofto makaronakiOctopus and pasta in tomato

During Lent and on fasting days, coastal families in Crete and the islands turn to octopus, which the church counts as fasting food. In this one-pot dish it is first stewed in its own juices until tender, then simmered in tomato with cinnamon and allspice, and finally the little cut pasta tubes cook right in the sauce, soaking up the deep red, faintly sweet liquid. It is served hot with a squeeze of lemon and a green salad. Common mistake: salting the octopus at the start, which tightens it; season only once it is tender. Chef's tip: buy frozen octopus or freeze fresh for a day; freezing breaks down the tough fibres and saves you the traditional beating on the rocks.

110 min

Greek Fish

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Idaho fry sauce

In Idaho and neighbouring Utah you don't get your fries without fry sauce, the pale pink dip that drive-ins and burger stands across the potato state put out in paper cups. It is mayonnaise and ketchup at heart, sharpened with a little pickle brine, garlic and smoked paprika, and it goes on chips, burgers and onion rings. Chef's tip: make it an hour ahead and chill it, so the garlic and paprika have time to bloom.

5 min

American Chutneys & Dips

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Pfälzer SaumagenStuffed pig's stomach

Saumagen is the pride of the Palatinate, served at wine-village festivals and family dinners from the Haardt hills to Ludwigshafen. A cleaned pig's stomach is stuffed with diced pork shoulder, pork sausage meat, potato and carrot seasoned with marjoram and nutmeg, poached slowly, then sliced thick and fried until crusty. The stomach works only as a casing and is ordered from a butcher; if you can't get one, bake the same filling in a covered terrine in a water bath. Serve with sauerkraut and mashed potato. Chef's tip: fill the stomach only three-quarters full, or it bursts as the potatoes swell.

225 min

German Meat

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Enchiladas minerasGuajillo enchiladas with potatoes

Enchiladas mineras were the supper of Guanajuato's silver miners and are still sold every evening under the arches of the city's plazas and at the Mercado Hidalgo: tortillas dipped in guajillo sauce, fried briefly, rolled around fresh cheese and onion, and buried under fried diced potato and carrot, shredded lettuce, pickled jalapeños and crema. Stalls often add a piece of chicken on the side; this recipe leaves it out and the vegetables make it a full plate. Chef's tip: dip each tortilla in the sauce before frying, not after; that's what gives the slightly crisp, chilli-coated finish.

60 min

Mexican Vegetarian

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Cipolle di Tropea in agrodolceSweet-sour red onions

The red onions grown in the sandy fields along the coast near Tropea are so sweet that Calabrians eat them raw like fruit, and cooked slowly in agrodolce they become soft, jammy and glossy, sharp from the vinegar and mellow from the sugar. They sit on every Calabrian antipasto table, beside cheese and bread, and they are a fine side for grilled vegetables or a frittata. There is no wine in it, only wine vinegar. A jar keeps all week in the fridge. Chef's tip: cut the onions into thick wedges through the root so they hold together while they soften.

30 min

Italian Sides

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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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Mazorca desgranadaSweetcorn with chicken and cheese

Food trucks and street corners in Bogotá and Medellín sell mazorca desgranada in plastic tubs, late into the evening: sweet corn kernels cut off the cob, fried in butter and layered with shredded chicken, melted cheese, crunchy potato sticks, pineapple sauce and salsa rosada. Some stands add bacon, beef or quail eggs; this version keeps to chicken. It is sweet, salty and gooey, and a hit with teenagers. Using tinned corn without draining it well is a common error: the water dilutes the sauces and the tub gets soggy. Chef's tip: fry the corn until a few kernels brown and pop; that caramelised edge stands up to all the sweet sauces. For a vegetarian tub, skip the chicken and use a cheese made with microbial rennet.

35 min

Colombian Fast Food

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Mar i muntanyaChicken and prawn casserole

Sea and mountain: the cooks of the Empordà, between the Pyrenees and the Costa Brava, have long put chicken and seafood in one pot, and this version with prawns is the one most families make for a celebration lunch. The sauce is a dark sofrito finished with a picada of almonds, hazelnuts, garlic and a little dark chocolate, which adds depth rather than sweetness. It uses wine; the alcohol-free option is in the ingredient list. Chef's tip: cook the prawns only briefly at the start and return them at the end, so they stay juicy while the chicken braises.

90 min

Spanish Chicken

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Lancaster chicken corn soup

Every summer fire company picnic and church fair in Lancaster County sells this golden soup by the quart: chicken broth tinted with saffron, packed with sweetcorn and shredded chicken, and thickened with rivels, little rubbly dumplings rubbed between the fingers. Some cooks add chopped hard-boiled egg on top. Chef's tip: rub the rivel dough over the simmering soup through your fingers so the pieces fall in small, like grains of rice.

110 min

American Soups

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MazamorraHominy milk pudding

Long before cake, there was mazamorra: dried white maize, soaked and simmered with water until the kernels burst, then finished with milk, sugar and cinnamon. In colonial Buenos Aires mazamorreras sold it from clay pots on the street, and it still turns up at school and town-hall celebrations every 25 May and on cold evenings in the interior, eaten warm or cold from a bowl. The kernels stay pleasantly chewy in a creamy, gently sweet milk, a bit like rice pudding with more bite. Look for maíz blanco pisado (cracked white hominy) in Latin American shops; dried white pozole corn is the closest substitute. Plan ahead: the corn needs soaking overnight. Adding the milk too early is the main mistake, because the corn will not soften in milk and the pot catches on the bottom, so cook it in water first. Chef's tip: stir in a little of the hot liquid with the sugar before you add the rest of the milk, and serve it with a dusting of cinnamon or a spoonful of honey.

160 min

Argentinian Desserts

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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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Biscuits roses de ReimsPink dipping biscuits

Bakers in Reims created these pale-pink, sugar-dusted finger biscuits in the late 1600s, baking the dough twice so it would keep, and they are still the city's signature treat. In Champagne it is the custom to dip them into a glass of Champagne, which they soak up without falling apart; at home they are just as good dipped in tea, hot chocolate or a fruit coulis, or layered into a charlotte. The pink colour is from a little food colouring and the vanilla scent fills the kitchen. Chef's tip: dust the piped fingers with icing sugar twice, a few minutes apart; that gives them their fine, crackled crust.

60 min

French Baking

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Maroilles tart

The Avesnois, the green, hedged corner of northern France near the Belgian border, makes Maroilles, a square, orange-rinded cheese with a powerful smell and a surprisingly gentle, creamy taste. Its most famous use is this tart, sold hot in slices at markets and fairs in Maubeuge and Avesnes-sur-Helpe and eaten with a salad and a cold drink. A yeasted bread-dough base is topped with slices of Maroilles and a little crème fraîche and baked until bubbling. Maroilles is made with animal rennet; a vegetarian washed-rind cheese gives the same melting richness. Chef's tip: leave the rind on; it carries much of the flavour and turns golden in the oven.

50 min

French Baking

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Kalamarakia gemistaRice-stuffed squid in tomato

Stuffed squid is Lenten and summer food all over the Cyclades: the bodies are filled with rice, onion, the chopped tentacles, dill, mint and pine nuts, then baked in a light tomato sauce until the squid is tender and the rice has drunk up the juices. Families on Paros and Naxos make a tray for a Friday or a feast day of the Virgin in August, and serve it warm with bread and a salad. Common mistake: packing the squid full; the rice swells and splits them, so fill only two-thirds. Chef's tip: close each squid with a toothpick through the opening, threaded like a stitch.

100 min

Greek Fish

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Macarons parisiensChocolate ganache macarons

The smooth, round macaron with its ruffled 'foot', sandwiched around a ganache, is a Paris creation of the early 1900s, and the city's tearooms still sell them in pastel rows for gifts, weddings and afternoon tea. They are made from just ground almonds, icing sugar and egg whites, but they reward care: weigh everything, age the whites if you can, and rest the piped shells until a skin forms. This recipe uses a simple dark chocolate ganache; once you have the method, change the filling to raspberry jam or lemon curd. Chef's tip: bang the tray firmly on the worktop three times after piping; it knocks out air bubbles that would crack the tops.

90 min

French Baking

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Opéra cakeAlmond coffee chocolate layer cake

Named after the Palais Garnier opera house, the opéra is the elegant rectangle in the window of every grand Paris pâtisserie: thin layers of almond joconde sponge soaked in coffee syrup, coffee buttercream and dark chocolate ganache, finished with a mirror-smooth chocolate glaze. Parisians buy it for birthdays and dinner parties, cut into neat slices. It takes an afternoon but each part is simple, and it is easier made a day ahead. You need a 30 × 40 cm baking tray. The coffee gives a grown-up flavour, so use decaf for children. Chef's tip: trim the sides with a hot, dry knife after chilling; wiping the blade between cuts gives the clean stripes that make an opéra.

110 min

French Baking

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Flamiche aux poireauxLeek and cream tart

Flamiche means 'cake' in old Flemish, and in Picardy, around Amiens and Abbeville, it is a tart of leeks melted slowly in butter and set in eggs and cream, baked in a crisp pastry case and sometimes covered with a pastry lid. The leeks from the market gardens (hortillonnages) of Amiens are famous, and flamiche is served warm as a starter or as a supper with green salad, especially from autumn to spring. The leeks must be cooked until soft and sweet, never browned. Chef's tip: squeeze the cooked leeks in a sieve before adding the custard; any water left in them stops the filling from setting and soaks the pastry.

90 min

French Baking

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Brie de Meaux in puff pastry

Meaux, east of Paris, has made Brie since the Middle Ages, and the town's cheese fair still crowns the 'queen of cheeses' each year. Baking a small Brie in puff pastry with honey and nuts is a favourite of Île-de-France home cooks for drinks parties, Christmas Eve and New Year: the pastry goes crisp and golden while the cheese inside turns into a warm, flowing sauce for dipping bread and apple slices. A small 500 g Brie or a thick wedge works better than a huge wheel. Brie de Meaux is made with animal rennet, so choose a vegetarian Brie for a vegetarian table. Chef's tip: rest it for 10 minutes after baking; cut at once, the cheese floods out and the pastry goes soggy.

45 min

French Snacks & Starters

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Mote de quesoYam and cheese soup

Few dishes say Colombian savanna country like a pot of mote de queso. Families in Montería, Sincelejo and the towns around them make it for Sunday lunch and during Holy Week, when meat is off the table: white yam is boiled until it collapses into a thick, almost creamy broth, seasoned with a fry of onion and garlic, and finished with cubes of salty queso costeño and a squeeze of lime. It is eaten with plain white rice, sliced avocado and a fried ripe plantain on the side. Outside Colombia, a firm feta-style or halloumi-style cheese stands in for queso costeño; both are often set with animal rennet, so choose a vegetarian (microbial-rennet) one. The trap most cooks fall into is adding the cheese too early, so it dissolves into strings and the soup turns gluey and over-salted. Chef's tip: wear gloves or oil your hands when peeling the yam, because the raw juice can make skin itch.

60 min

Colombian Soups

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CiaudeddaArtichoke, broad bean and potato stew

When the first artichokes and broad beans arrive in April and May, Lucanian kitchens make ciaudedda: a gentle one-pot stew of artichoke wedges, sweet young beans, potatoes and spring onions, cooked slowly in olive oil and a little water until everything is soft and glossy. Around Potenza and in the Vulture hills it is served as a main course with bread, or as a side at Easter lunch. Many cooks start it with diced pancetta; this version leaves it out and lets the vegetables do the work. Chef's tip: let it rest for 10 minutes off the heat before serving, as the flavours deepen once it stops bubbling.

50 min

Italian Vegetarian

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Bollo limpioSteamed corn bundles

Before most of Barranquilla has opened its shutters, the bollo sellers are out with baskets of husk-wrapped corn logs. Bollo limpio is the plainest of them: white corn, soaked, cooked, ground and kneaded with nothing but salt, then tied in husks and boiled until firm. The result is dense and slightly springy, with a clean, sweet corn taste and a faint grassiness from the husks. It is torn open at breakfast and eaten with a slab of salty cheese and a spoon of suero costeño, or alongside fried fish and stews at lunch; this version itself is vegan. Plan ahead: the dried corn needs soaking overnight. If the dough is too dry, the bollos crack and turn crumbly, so knead in water until it feels like soft modelling clay. Chef's tip: if you cannot grind dried corn, 1 kg of ready-made unflavoured white corn masa from a Latin shop gives a close result; skip straight to the kneading.

180 min

Colombian Breads & Parathas

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CholadoShaved ice with fruit

On a hot afternoon in Jamundí, just south of Cali, the stalls along the road to the river build cholados in tall plastic cups: a base of shaved ice drenched in bright fruit syrups, layers of chopped mango, papaya, pineapple, banana and strawberries, then a ribbon of condensed milk and a shower of coconut. It is half drink, half dessert, eaten with a long spoon as the ice melts into fruity, creamy slush. Children love it, and it is quick to build at home. The commonest mistake is shaving the ice too early; it melts into water before you finish assembling, so crush it at the last moment. Chef's tip: chill the fruit and glasses well beforehand and squeeze a little lime over the fruit so it stays bright.

15 min

Colombian Desserts

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PanzerottiFried tomato and mozzarella pockets

Walk through old Bari in the early evening and you will smell panzerotti before you see them: palm-sized half-moons of soft yeast dough, sealed around tomato and mozzarella and fried until blistered and golden. They are smaller and plumper than a Neapolitan pizza fritta and nothing like a baked calzone; you eat them standing up, straight from a paper bag, blowing on the first bite because the filling is molten. Puglian families make a big batch for Saturday nights and children's parties. Chef's tip: dice and drain the mozzarella for an hour beforehand, because a wet filling is what makes them burst in the oil.

90 min

Italian Fast Food

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Ras el hanout

Ras el hanout means 'head of the shop', and every spice seller in the Marrakech souk will tell you theirs is the best: a warm, complex mix of a dozen or more spices that they grind to their own formula. This home version balances earthy cumin and coriander with sweet cinnamon, ginger and turmeric, the perfume of cardamom and dried rosebuds, and the heat of black pepper. Rub it on vegetables before roasting, stir a teaspoon into tagines, lentils or couscous broth, or season chickpeas and roast pumpkin with it. Toasting the whole spices first takes 5 minutes and makes a real difference. Chef's tip: make small batches and store the blend in a sealed jar away from light; it is at its best for about 3 months.

15 min

Moroccan Basics

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FurrunduGreen papaya and cane sugar sweet

Cuiabá's grandmothers have a sweet for every fruit, and furrundu is the one that turns an unripe papaya into something special. The green fruit is grated, squeezed and cooked slowly with rapadura (dark unrefined cane sugar), fresh ginger, cloves and cinnamon until it is dark brown, sticky and chewy, with a warm spice that lingers. It is sold in small pots at Cuiabá's Mercado do Porto and at festas de santo in Mato Grosso, eaten by the spoonful with a slice of fresh cheese or on its own. The mistake to avoid is skipping the rinse: green papaya oozes a milky latex that tastes bitter and can irritate the skin, so wear gloves and wash the grated fruit well. Chef's tip: stop cooking when you can drag a spoon across the bottom of the pan and see the base for a second; it firms up a lot as it cools.

90 min

Brazilian Desserts

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Kalamar tavaFried squid with walnut sauce

On the waterfront in Bodrum and in every Aegean fish meyhane, a plate of kalamar tava arrives hot among the cold meze: tender rings of squid in a light, crisp coat, with a bowl of tarator, a thick sauce of walnuts, bread, garlic and lemon, for dipping. The trick is speed; squid is tender after a minute or two in the oil and rubbery after five. Chef's tip: soak the rings in milk or fizzy mineral water for half an hour in the fridge; it tenderises them and helps the coating cling.

50 min

Turkish Fish

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Halva-ye khormaDate halva

Along the Gulf coast, in Bushehr, Ahvaz and Abadan, halva-ye khorma is made from the year's soft dates and served at breakfast with bread, at funerals and on Thursday evenings in memory of the dead. Flour is toasted slowly until nutty, then beaten with warm date paste, saffron, cardamom and rosewater into a dense, glossy halva that is pressed into a dish and decorated. A common mistake is adding cold date paste to the hot flour, which seizes into lumps; warm the dates first. Chef's tip: keep stirring until the halva leaves the sides of the pan in one smooth ball, which means it will slice neatly once cool.

40 min

Persian Desserts

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Matjes HausfrauenartHerring in apple cream sauce

Matjes nach Hausfrauenart, 'housewife's matjes', is the early-summer plate of northern Germany, eaten when the new season's young herring arrives in June, from Glückstadt on the Elbe to the cafés of Emden. Mild, buttery matjes fillets are covered in a cool sauce of sour cream and yoghurt with crisp apple, onion and gherkin, and served with hot boiled new potatoes in their skins and sometimes green beans. Matjes is cured raw herring, so buy commercially prepared, previously frozen fillets from the chilled counter and keep them cold; it is not for pregnant women, young children or anyone with a weakened immune system. Chef's tip: make the sauce first and let it chill for 20 minutes so the apple and onion flavour it before the fish goes in.

30 min

German Fish

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Mission burrito

The Mission burrito comes from the taquerias of San Francisco's Mission District, where in the 1960s and 70s cooks began steaming huge flour tortillas and packing them with grilled meat, rice, beans, salsa, cheese and guacamole, then rolling the whole lot tight in foil. One is lunch and dinner for a student. Chef's tip: steam the tortilla until it is soft and stretchy; a cold tortilla splits as you roll it.

70 min

American Fast Food

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Kalam polo ShiraziCabbage and herb rice with meatballs

Kalam polo is the rice that Shirazi families cook from late autumn into spring, when white cabbage is sweet and the herb sellers of the Vakil Bazaar pile up basil, tarragon and dill. Shredded cabbage is fried until caramel-brown, mixed with a big handful of herbs and a touch of cumin, then layered through basmati with tiny meatballs no bigger than a chickpea and steamed into a fragrant, green-flecked pilaf. For a vegetarian pot, leave the meatballs out and add a handful of cooked chickpeas. Serve with Shirazi salad and yogurt. A common mistake is frying the cabbage too briefly; it must turn golden and sweet, or it gives the rice a sulphurous taste. Chef's tip: dry the chopped herbs on a tea towel before frying so they crisp instead of stew.

100 min

Persian Rice & Grains

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Kal kababSmoky aubergine with walnuts and pomegranate

Kal kabab comes from the rice-growing plains around Rasht, where late-summer aubergines are charred straight on the embers and mashed with a green, sour mixture of herbs, walnuts, garlic and sour pomegranate paste. Unlike Tehran's creamy kashk-e bademjan it has no dairy and is eaten cool, as a starter or side with kateh and grilled food, scooped up with bread. Golpar, ground Persian hogweed seed, adds a resinous edge. A common mistake is pulling the aubergines off the flame too early: they must collapse completely and the skin must blacken all over, or the flesh is bitter and the dish lacks smoke. Chef's tip: pound the walnuts, garlic and herbs to a paste before adding the aubergine, so the sour green flavour runs through every bite.

45 min

Persian Chutneys & Dips

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Hssoua belboula (barley soup with milk)

Few things are as soothing on a cold morning in Fez or Marrakech as a bowl of hssoua belboula, the pale, porridge-like soup of cracked barley cooked in water and then milk. Many families eat it for breakfast in winter or as a light supper, and it often appears on the Ramadan table too. It is mild and gently savoury, with a whisper of cumin and a knob of butter melting on top, and the barley grains stay soft but slightly chewy. Serve it piping hot with a little extra cumin to sprinkle, plus dates or bread on the side. A common slip is adding the milk too early and boiling hard, which catches on the bottom and scorches the soup. Chef's tip: rinse the barley grits in a sieve until the water runs almost clear; it washes away loose flour so the soup is creamy rather than gluey.

40 min

Moroccan Soups

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Moroccan lentils (aadess)

Cheap, filling and ready in under an hour, aadess turns up on home tables from Fez to Casablanca and in the clay bowls of small medina eateries that sell beans and lentils with bread to workers at lunchtime. The lentils stay whole but tender, sitting in a thick, brick-coloured sauce of grated tomato, garlic, cumin and paprika, finished with a generous slick of olive oil and fresh herbs. Scoop it up with crusty khobz; a dab of harissa or a few olives on the side is all it needs. Chef's tip: pick through the lentils on a plate before you rinse them, since small stones turn up even in good bags.

50 min

Moroccan Curries

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Mate com limãoIced mate with lime

On Copacabana and Ipanema, vendors in orange uniforms trudge across the hot sand carrying two metal barrels, one of iced mate tea and one of limonada, shouting 'mate, limão!' and mixing the two in a plastic cup for each customer. The tea is chá mate tostado, roasted yerba mate leaves brewed like ordinary tea, with a smoky, toasty taste; with sweet lime lemonade it becomes the definitive carioca beach drink, cold, tangy and gently caffeinated. Toasted mate is sold loose or in tea bags in Brazilian shops; green yerba mate gives a grassier result. Squeezing the limes too hard, or blending them whole, is the usual pitfall, because the white pith turns the lemonade bitter. Chef's tip: brew the tea strong and chill it completely before mixing, so the ice does not dilute it.

15 min

Brazilian Drinks

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Mderbel (tangy aubergine relish)

Where zaalouk is a smoky mash, mderbel keeps its aubergine in soft, silky slices that have been fried first and then stewed down with garlic, sweet paprika, cumin and a sharp splash of vinegar. Old Fez families make it as one of the cooked salads that open a festive meal, and it keeps beautifully for a few days, so it is often made the day before. The flavour is rich from the oil, tangy, a little sweet and deeply garlicky; serve it at room temperature with bread, alongside other salads or next to grilled vegetables. The usual mistake is frying the aubergine in oil that isn't hot enough, so the slices drink it up and turn greasy. Chef's tip: salt the slices and leave them for 20 minutes, then pat them very dry; they drink far less oil and fry to a deep gold.

60 min

Moroccan Sides

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Southern fried catfish

Fried catfish is the Friday night fish-fry and Delta church supper of Mississippi and Arkansas, where much of America's catfish is farmed. Fillets are soaked in seasoned milk or buttermilk, rolled in cornmeal and fried until the crust crackles and the mild, sweet fish inside flakes apart. Serve with hushpuppies, slaw and lemon. Chef's tip: cut thick fillets in half lengthways so they cook in the same time as the crust browns.

30 min

American Fish

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Matambre arrolladoRolled stuffed flank steak

Christmas and New Year in Argentina fall in high summer, so the festive table is crowded with cold dishes, and matambre arrollado is the one that draws a crowd: a thin sheet of beef from between the ribs and skin (matambre, the rose or flank cut), spread with garlic and parsley, layered with hard-boiled egg, carrot and red pepper, rolled into a fat sausage, poached and pressed. Rotiserías in the Buenos Aires suburbs sell it by the slice, and each round shows a mosaic of colours. Served cold with Russian salad and a sharp chimichurri, it is tender and savoury. Because the outside of the meat ends up rolled inside, cook it to a core temperature of 71 °C, as for minced meat. The usual mistake is slicing it warm: it falls apart, so press it under a weight in the fridge overnight. If you can't find matambre, ask the butcher for a thin flank steak butterflied to 1 cm. Chef's tip: lay the meat with the grain running along the roll, so each slice cuts across the fibres and stays tender.

180 min

Argentinian Meat

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Matambre a la pizzaFlank steak with tomato and mozzarella

Weekend asados around Buenos Aires usually end with a show-off dish from the grill, and matambre a la pizza is the one that makes children cheer: a whole sheet of matambre (the thin flank cut that sits under the skin) cooked slowly until tender, flipped, then spread with tomato sauce, oregano and mozzarella and left on the grill until the cheese bubbles. Parrillas in the suburbs sell it cut into squares. Many cooks first simmer the meat in milk, which keeps the lean cut juicy and soft; that is the method here, finished under a hot grill or in the oven if you have no barbecue. Matambre is eaten well done and tender rather than pink. The usual mistake is grilling it straight away like a steak, which leaves it leathery: slow cooking first is what makes it tender. Chef's tip: score the membrane on the fatty side in a criss-cross before cooking, so the sheet stays flat instead of curling up when it hits the heat.

120 min

Argentinian Meat

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MatafanThick potato pancake

The name is said to come from 'mate faim', 'kills hunger', and that is what this thick pancake did for farmers in the Savoie and Bauges mountains, who ate it for breakfast before a day in the fields or the high pastures. Every valley makes it differently; this version is a golden cake of grated potato, egg and a little milk, cooked slowly in butter and finished with Beaufort, served cut into wedges with a green salad or a fried egg. Beaufort is made with animal rennet; a vegetarian mountain-style cheese works too, or leave it out and serve the matafan with jam for a sweet version. Chef's tip: squeeze the grated potato really hard in a tea towel; the drier it is, the crisper the crust.

40 min

French Breakfast & Brunch

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Mecklenburger RippenbratenApple and prune stuffed pork belly

Mecklenburger Rippenbraten is the Christmas and Sunday roast of Mecklenburg on the Baltic coast, a flat piece of pork belly spread with apple and prunes, rolled, tied and roasted until the skin crackles. The fruit melts into the meat and turns the pan juices into a sweet, dark gravy, served with red cabbage and boiled potatoes. The prunes are sometimes soaked in rum; here they are soaked in apple juice, so the dish is alcohol-free. Chef's tip: dry the scored skin uncovered in the fridge overnight; dry skin is what puffs into crackling.

180 min

German Meat

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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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Mtabbal shamandarBeetroot and tahini dip

Beirut's modern mezze bars made mtabbal shamandar a fixture next to hummus and moutabal: roasted beetroot blended with tahini, garlic, lemon and a little yoghurt into a magenta dip that is earthy, nutty and bright. It is quick to make and keeps well, so it is good for a weekend spread with warm flatbread, crisp cucumbers and radishes. Common mistake: boiling the beetroot, which waters it down; roasting in foil concentrates the sweetness. Chef's tip: add the lemon a little at a time and taste — beetroot varies a lot in sweetness, and the dip should taste lively, not sugary. Use plant yoghurt to make it vegan.

70 min

Lebanese Chutneys & Dips

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MasteloClay-pot Easter lamb with dill

Sifnos is an island of potters, and its Easter dish is named after the deep clay pot it is cooked in: lamb or kid laid on a bed of vine prunings, splashed with red wine, scattered with dill and sealed in the baker's oven overnight. The meat steams in the wine and its own juices until it falls from the bone, smelling of dill and woodsmoke, and is served on Easter Sunday with potatoes and bread. This recipe uses red wine; for an alcohol-free version use red grape juice with 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar. Common mistake: opening the pot to check, which lets the steam escape and dries the lamb. Chef's tip: if you can't get vine twigs, a few thick slices of onion or a small rack under the meat stops it sitting in the liquid.

230 min

Greek Meat

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Mast-o musirYoghurt with wild shallots

Every kebab house in Tehran puts a little bowl of mast-o musir on the table beside the chelow, and at home it sits next to Friday lunch the same way. Musir is a wild mountain shallot from the Zagros, sold dried in slices; once soaked it is mild, garlicky and faintly sweet, and it gives thick yogurt a sharp bite. The one mistake to avoid is skipping the long soak, which leaves the shallots tough and bitter. If you cannot find musir, see the swap in the steps. Chef's tip: make it a few hours ahead; the shallot flavour deepens as it sits in the fridge.

15 min

Persian Chutneys & Dips

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Massa sovadaSweet lemon bread

Sovar means to knead hard, and Azorean women once kneaded this rich bread dough for an hour by hand before Easter and the Holy Spirit feasts of early summer, when loaves are blessed and shared with the whole parish. The crumb is soft, golden and feathery, with a tight, dark shiny crust. Slices are eaten plain with coffee, toasted with butter, or used to soak up the juices of alcatra on Terceira. A common mistake is baking before the loaf has doubled, which gives a dense, cakey crumb. Chef's tip: give it a slow, full rise, which is what gives the bread its fine, cotton-soft crumb.

80 min

Portuguese Baking

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Esponjado de curubaBanana passionfruit mousse

Grandmothers' kitchens and old cafés of Bogotá and Boyacá have kept the esponjado alive: a pale, airy, sweet-sour mousse made with curuba, the long, soft-skinned banana passionfruit of the cold Andes, set with gelatin and sweetened with condensed milk. It is served chilled in glasses after Sunday lunch, light and tangy, perfumed like passionfruit but softer. Because it contains gelatin, it is not vegetarian; for a vegetarian version, set it with 2 tsp agar powder boiled for 2 minutes in the curuba juice. Older recipes fold in raw whipped egg whites; this one uses whipped cream instead, so there is no raw egg. The common problem is folding cream into gelatin that's too warm or too set: it should be cool and just thickening, like unbeaten egg white. Chef's tip: frozen curuba pulp is sold in Latin shops; if you can't find it, use passionfruit pulp with a squeeze of lime. Allow at least 4 hours for it to set.

30 min

Colombian Desserts

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Matesha mesla (sweet tomato jam)

Fassi cooks reduce ripe tomatoes with honey and cinnamon until they turn into a glossy, brick-red jam that is sweet, faintly tart and perfumed with orange-flower water. It is set out among the small salads at weddings and family feasts, spooned beside a lamb or vegetable tagine, or simply scooped up with warm khobz at teatime. The texture should be thick enough to hold a ridge when you drag a spoon through it, with a scattering of toasted sesame and fried almonds on top. Kept in a clean jar in the fridge it lasts a week and only gets better. Chef's tip: grate the tomatoes on the coarse side of a box grater and throw away the skins; you get a smooth jam without the bother of blanching and peeling.

75 min

Moroccan Chutneys & Dips

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Lamproie à la bordelaise (with eel)Eel and leek red wine stew

In the Gironde, the spring run of lampreys up the Garonne and Dordogne is celebrated in Sainte-Terre and the villages of the Entre-deux-Mers, where the fish is stewed slowly in red wine with masses of leeks. Lamprey is rare, seasonal and protected in many places, so this is a practical version made with eel (or firm monkfish), which gives the same rich, dark, glossy stew; traditionally the sauce is thickened with the lamprey's own blood, and here a little roux and a square of dark chocolate do that job. It tastes deep and winey, with sweet melting leeks. The dish uses red wine; the ingredient note gives an alcohol-free version. Serve with garlic croutons or boiled potatoes. Chef's tip: ask the fishmonger to skin and cut the eel, and keep it cold until the moment it goes into the sauce.

110 min

French Fish

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KakaviaMixed fish and potato soup

Kakavia takes its name from the three-legged pot fishermen in the Cyclades set on the beach, filling it with the small, bony fish they couldn't sell, seawater, onions, potatoes and a generous pour of olive oil. Today island tavernas and families make it with a mix of firm white fish, and serve the broth first with lemon, then the fish and potatoes on a platter. It is clean, golden and comforting, best with crusty bread. Common mistake: stirring once the fish goes in, which breaks it into shreds; shake the pot instead. Chef's tip: simmer the heads and bones first for the broth, then poach the fillets in it briefly so they stay in whole pieces.

80 min

Greek Soups

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Perro calienteLoaded hot dog with pineapple sauce

Bogotá's hot-dog stands near the universities and in the Zona Rosa take the frankfurter and keep going: melted cheese, a sticky pineapple sauce, salsa rosada, mustard, a mound of crushed potato crisps and, on top, a couple of boiled quail eggs on a toothpick. It's sweet, salty, creamy and crunchy in every bite, and it is very much a hold-it-over-the-napkin snack. Kids are usually the first in line. Adding the crisps too early is the classic mistake; they go soft under the sauces, so they are the very last thing on. Chef's tip: make the quick pineapple sauce while the eggs boil; fresh pineapple cooked down with a little sugar tastes much brighter than bottled.

25 min

Colombian Fast Food

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French dip sandwich

Two downtown Los Angeles delis founded in 1908 still argue about who first dunked a roll into the roasting pan juices, but either way the French dip is LA's own sandwich: thin slices of roast beef piled into a crusty French roll that is dipped in a rich, savoury beef jus, eaten with hot mustard at the counter. Chef's tip: make the jus from the roasting pan; the browned bits stuck to the tin are where the flavour lives.

110 min

American Meat

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Frito pastusoFried pork with potatoes and mote

In Pasto and the high Nariño towns close to Ecuador, frito pastuso is a weekend plate found at market counters and family lunches: chunks of pork leg simmered with garlic and cumin until the water evaporates, then fried in their own fat until browned and crisp at the edges, served with small boiled yellow potatoes, mote (white hominy), toasted corn and a smooth ají de maní, the region's peanut and chilli sauce. The pork is salty and crusty, the potatoes soft, and the peanut sauce brings a gentle heat. Contains peanuts. The mistake people make is cutting the pork too small, so it dries out before it browns; keep the chunks generous, about 4 cm. Chef's tip: marinate the pork overnight in the fridge; the garlic and cumin get right into the meat and the fried edges caramelise better.

90 min

Colombian Meat

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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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KontosouvliRoast marinated pork chunks

On Easter Sunday and at village saints'-day fairs across Epirus, a long spit of fat pork chunks threaded with onion and peppers turns for hours over embers, and slices are handed out with bread and salad. This oven version gives the same smoky-edged, juicy pork shoulder: chunks marinated overnight in the fridge with lemon, garlic, oregano and paprika, then threaded on skewers and roasted low before a fierce finish. Serve with pitta, tzatziki and roast potatoes. Common mistake: using lean pork loin, which dries out — shoulder or neck with its fat is essential. Chef's tip: sit the skewers across a deep tin so the fat drips away and the meat browns all round.

145 min

Greek Meat

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MasghatiRosewater and saffron starch sweet

Masghati takes its name from Muscat, from where traders brought the recipe to the port towns of the Persian Gulf, and today Lar and Shiraz are famous for it. It is a clear, firm, jelly-like sweet of starch, sugar and rosewater, tinted gold with saffron and studded with pistachios, made for Nowruz guests and for gifts. It sets enough to cut into neat diamonds but stays tender. A common mistake is not cooking the starch long enough: it must turn from milky to clear, or the masghati tastes floury and weeps. Chef's tip: stir with a flat wooden spatula and scrape the bottom constantly, because the paste catches suddenly in the last few minutes.

45 min

Persian Desserts

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Panaché (Moroccan mixed fruit milkshake)

Juice bars from Tangier to Agadir list a 'panaché' on the board, which in Morocco means a thick milkshake blended from whatever mix of fruit is in season, most often banana, apple, avocado and orange, served in a tall glass and sometimes topped with chopped dried fruit and nuts. Avocado is used as a sweet fruit here, and it makes the drink extra creamy. It is a favourite after school, as a quick breakfast or after an afternoon in the medina. Make it just before drinking: the orange juice can make the milk turn slightly grainy and the avocado darkens if it stands, which is the usual mistake. Chef's tip: use a ripe, soft avocado and a banana with brown freckles for natural sweetness, so you need very little sugar.

10 min

Moroccan Drinks

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Carne oreadaAir-dried marinated beef

Before refrigerators, Santander cooks preserved beef by marinating thin sheets of it with panela, salt, garlic and cumin and hanging it in the sun and breeze until the surface dried. Carne oreada is still sold in the markets of Bucaramanga and San Gil, and grilled at home or in asaderos with arepa santandereana, cassava and guacamole. The meat comes out chewy-tender with a sweet, salty, caramelised edge and a concentrated, almost cured beef flavour. Sun-drying isn't safe in most home settings, so this version dries the meat on a rack uncovered in the fridge for 1–2 days, which gives the same firm, dark surface. Grilling it too long is the frequent fault, as the thin meat goes leathery; it needs only a few minutes a side over high heat. Chef's tip: some cooks splash a little beer into the marinade, but orange juice gives a similar tang without alcohol.

35 min

Colombian Meat

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Arepa santandereanaCorn cassava arepa with pork crackling

Bakeries and breakfast counters in Bucaramanga and Socorro sell a different kind of arepa from the soft white rounds of Bogotá: yellow, made with corn and cassava and studded with bits of crunchy pork chicharrón, cooked slowly on a griddle until a thick, chewy crust forms. The traditional dough is ground from cooked dry corn, but precooked yellow maize flour with mashed cassava gets you close at home. It is savoury and a little smoky, and goes with eggs and hot chocolate at breakfast or with carne oreada at lunch. Dough that's too dry is the common fault: it cracks around the edges as it cooks, so knead in water until it feels like soft play dough. Chef's tip: cook the arepas slowly over a medium-low heat; the cassava needs time to turn chewy inside while the outside builds a golden crust.

80 min

Colombian Breads & Parathas

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Kahu sekanjabinLettuce with mint vinegar syrup

On Sizdah Bedar, the thirteenth day of the new year, Iranian families leave the city for parks and riverbanks around Tehran and Isfahan, and the picnic cloth almost always holds a jar of sekanjabin and a head of crisp romaine. The syrup is an ancient one: sugar and vinegar simmered together and steeped with fresh mint, sweet-sour and cooling. You tear off a lettuce leaf, dip it and crunch. The usual mistake is boiling the syrup too long, which turns it into hard toffee once cold. Chef's tip: keep the lettuce in iced water until the moment you serve; the colder and crisper the leaf, the better the contrast with the syrup.

40 min

Persian Snacks & Starters

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Cassata sicilianaRicotta sponge cake

Cassata is the baroque centrepiece of a Palermo Easter: a dome of sponge lined with pale green marzipan, filled with sweetened sheep's ricotta and chocolate, glazed white and crowned with jewel-like candied fruit. Pastry shops around the city fill their windows with it in Holy Week, and families slice it after Easter lunch. It is rich, cool and creamy under the shell of almond paste, and nothing like the layered Indian-style cassata ice cream. The sponge is often brushed with a liqueur syrup; this version uses orange juice instead. It must chill for at least 4 hours, so make it the day before. Chef's tip: drain the ricotta overnight; that is the secret to a filling that holds its shape when cut.

180 min

Italian Baking

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Brioche col tuppoTopknot brioche

On summer mornings in Catania, breakfast is a glass of granita, almond, coffee, lemon or black mulberry, with a warm brioscia col tuppo beside it. The brioche is a soft, sweet, orange-scented bun with a little ball of dough on top, the tuppo, named after the bun women once wore their hair in. You tear off the tuppo first, dip it in the granita, then work through the rest. Bakeries in eastern Sicily sometimes enrich the dough with lard; this version uses butter. Chef's tip: give the dough a long, slow rise; it is what makes the crumb so light and stringy. Serve it with granita al limone.

200 min

Italian Baking

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Liverpool scouseBeef and lamb stew

Scouse is so central to Liverpool that its people are named after it; the thick stew of meat, potatoes and onions was carried from the Baltic by sailors and cooked for dockers' families, and city restaurants still celebrate Global Scouse Day each February. Some of the potatoes cook down into the gravy, making it thick and hearty. Serve it with pickled red cabbage or beetroot and crusty bread. Chef's tip: cut half the potatoes small so they collapse and thicken the stew, and leave the rest in chunks.

170 min

British Meat

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Busiate al pesto trapanesePasta with tomato almond pesto

Trapani, on Sicily's far western tip, makes its pesto with what grows nearby: ripe tomatoes, Sicilian almonds, garlic and basil, pounded raw with olive oil and a little pecorino. The story goes that Genoese sailors brought their basil pesto to the port and the Trapanesi made it their own. It is tossed with busiate, long corkscrews of durum-wheat pasta once twisted around a stalk of dried grass, and eaten all summer, often at room temperature. It tastes fresh, nutty and bright. Chef's tip: peel the tomatoes; the skins turn chewy in a raw sauce.

25 min

Italian Pasta & Noodles

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SfincioneThick Sicilian pizza

Sfincione is Palermo's own pizza: a tall, airy slab baked in a tray, its soft crumb soaked with a sweet sauce of slow-cooked onions and tomato, dotted with caciocavallo and covered in oregano-scented toasted breadcrumbs. Street sellers cruise the city in three-wheeled vans calling 'sfinciuni!' through loudspeakers, and families bake it at home for Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve. The traditional topping includes anchovies; this version leaves them out and keeps all the onion sweetness. Chef's tip: the dough should be wet and bubbly, about 2 cm deep in the tray; it is closer to focaccia than to a thin pizza.

150 min

Italian Pizza

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Victoria sponge

Named after Queen Victoria, who took a slice with her afternoon tea, the Victoria sandwich is the cake of English village fetes, Women's Institute competitions and every birthday tea in the shires. It is two light butter sponges joined with raspberry jam and buttercream, finished with a dusting of caster sugar. Chef's tip: weigh the eggs in their shells and use the same weight of butter, sugar and flour; that is the classic way to get a perfect crumb.

45 min

British Baking

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Cachama fritaFried river fish

Roadside restaurants on the way from Bogotá down to Villavicencio and Restrepo sell cachama by the hundred at weekends: a farmed river fish of the Orinoco basin (the same family as pacu), opened out like a book, seasoned with garlic, cumin and lime and fried until the edges turn to crisp, salty lace. Its flesh is firm, fatty and sweet, and the rib bones, fried crisp, are half the pleasure. It comes with boiled cassava, ripe plantain tajadas and a little tomato salad. Outside Colombia, look for frozen whole pacu or cachama in Latin or Asian shops; otherwise use pompano or a large sea bream. A soggy, greasy fish usually means the oil wasn't hot enough; keep it at 180 °C and fry one at a time. Chef's tip: score the thick side of the fillet in a fine crosshatch down to the bones; the fine intramuscular bones fry crisp and the heat reaches the thickest part.

50 min

Colombian Fish

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