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Sousboontjies
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Sousboontjies

Sweet-sour bean salad

On the Cape farm table, cold dishes made a day ahead were a blessing in the heat of a Swartland summer, and sousboontjies is one of the oldest. Speckled sugar beans are simmered with onion in a sauce of vinegar and sugar until the liquid turns thick and glossy around them, then chilled overnight so the flavour soaks right in. The beans stay creamy inside with a tangy, sweet coating, and the dish sits beside cold meats, quiche and potato salad at Christmas, or with bread and cheese for a light lunch. Taking the pot off too early is the mistake that makes them taste of raw vinegar; let it bubble until the sharpness mellows. Chef's tip: mash a spoonful of the beans into the sauce near the end and it thickens naturally, giving that classic clingy texture.

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Golab (home-distilled rosewater)

Every May the valleys around Kashan and Qamsar fill with pickers gathering Damask roses at dawn for golabgiri, the rose-water festival, when copper stills bubble in village courtyards. Golab is the backbone of Persian sweets, sharbat and rice, and a small batch can be made at home with a stockpot, an upturned lid and a bowl of ice. You need fragrant roses that have never been sprayed: florist roses are not safe to use in food. A common mistake is boiling hard, which cooks the petals and gives a grassy, dull water; the pot should only simmer. Chef's tip: pick the roses early in the morning, when their scent is strongest, and distil the same day.

80 minPersianBasicsVeganGluten free
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Mousse de cupuaçu

Cupuaçu, a cousin of cacao with a velvety white pulp, smells of pineapple, banana and chocolate at once and is one of the great flavours of Pará. Belém's ice-cream parlours and lunch restaurants turn it into this light, sharp-sweet mousse, and home cooks make it the night before a birthday or Sunday lunch because it is just whipped and chilled. Condensed milk and cream soften the fruit's sourness; a spoon of cupuaçu syrup on top adds colour and bite. Outside Brazil, buy frozen unsweetened cupuaçu pulp from Brazilian or Latin shops. Many cooks blend the cream with everything else, which leaves the mousse runny; whip it separately and fold it in. Chef's tip: thaw the pulp in the fridge rather than in hot water, so it keeps its perfume, and chill the mousse for at least 4 hours.

20 minBrazilianDessertsGluten free
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25 minPersianFish
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Mahi sobour stuffed with herbs and tamarind

Each spring the shad (sobour) swims up the Karun and Arvand rivers, and in Ahvaz and Khorramshahr the season is marked by whole fish split open, packed with a sour paste of herbs, garlic and tamarind and cooked over coals or in a hot oven. The rich, oily flesh is a perfect match for the sharp filling. Shad is very bony, so most home cooks outside Khuzestan use sea bass, sea bream or mackerel, which take the same filling beautifully. A common mistake is overfilling the fish so it bursts open and the stuffing burns; pack it firmly but leave a finger's width at the edges. Chef's tip: cut three shallow slashes in each side and rub a little filling into them, so the sourness reaches the whole fish.

55 minPersianFishGluten free
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20 minPersianBasicsGluten free
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On the first day of the Persian new year, from Rasht to Tehran, the classic lunch is sabzi polo, a green herb rice, with fish, and on the Caspian side that fish is often golden hot-smoked white fish (mahi doodi). Fresh herbs stand for spring and the fish for life, so the plate is full of meaning as well as flavour. Most cooks buy the smoked fish ready made and simply warm it with a little garlic and saffron butter, which is what this recipe does; the rice is steamed with dill, parsley, coriander and chives until it forms a crisp tahdig. Hot-smoked fish is already cooked; heat it until piping hot, at least 70 °C in the middle. A common mistake is warming the fish dry in a hot oven, which makes it tough and salty; wrap it with a splash of water so it steams. Chef's tip: soak the smoked fish in warm water for 10 minutes first to draw out some of the salt.

90 minPersianFishGluten free
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Sachertorte

This dense, dark chocolate torte is Vienna's most famous cake, eaten in coffee houses all over the city with a cup of Melange and, always, a cloud of unsweetened whipped cream on the side. The sponge is made with melted chocolate and whisked egg whites, so it is fine-crumbed and slightly dry by design; a thin layer of sharp apricot jam runs through the middle and over the top, under a shiny, snappy chocolate glaze. A common mistake is pouring the glaze too hot or too cold; too hot and it runs off thin, too cold and it sets dull and lumpy. It is a cake for birthdays and Sunday visits, and it keeps well for days. Chef's tip: bake it the day before and let it rest overnight wrapped; it cuts far more neatly and the crumb softens.

120 minAustrianBaking
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Linzer Torte

Linz, the Danube city in Upper Austria, has baked this tart for centuries, and it still fills bakery windows there all year, with extra demand in Advent. It is closer to a soft, crumbly nut biscuit than a pastry: ground hazelnuts, butter, cinnamon and cloves are pressed into the tin, filled with tart redcurrant jam and topped with a lattice. Serve a thin slice with coffee or tea. A common mistake is eating it on the day it is baked; it is much better after two or three days, when the jam soaks into the crumb. Chef's tip: chill the lattice strips on a tray before lifting them on, and they will not tear.

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Real pumpernickel comes from Westphalia, where bakers in towns like Soest once left loaves in the cooling bread oven overnight, and it is still sliced paper-thin for breakfast with butter, quark and radishes or with a sharp cheese. There is no colouring and no molasses here: the near-black colour and the malty sweetness come only from cracked rye cooked for many hours in steam at a low heat. The crumb is moist, dense and slightly sticky, and the loaf keeps for over a week wrapped in cloth. A common mistake is slicing it on the day it comes out of the tin; it needs a full day to settle or it tears into gummy crumbs. Chef's tip: wrap the tin tightly in two layers of foil and stand it in a roasting tray of hot water, because a dry loaf turns hard instead of dark and sweet.

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Sweet-sour pickled pumpkin

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60 minGermanSidesVeganGluten free
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EisbeinCured pork knuckle

Eisbein is old Berlin pub food, the cured pork knuckle served in Kneipen across the city with a mound of yellow pease pudding (Erbspüree) and sauerkraut, and it is especially popular in the cold months. Unlike the Bavarian roast Haxe, this pork knuckle is pickled in brine by the butcher and then simmered slowly, so the meat turns pink, tender and gently salty and the rind stays soft. Order a cured ("gepökelt") knuckle from a German or Polish butcher. Chef's tip: soak the knuckle in cold water for a few hours first if your butcher's cure is strong; taste a little of the simmering water after 30 minutes and change it if it is very salty.

180 minGermanMeatGluten free
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Macarons parisiensChocolate ganache macarons

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90 minFrenchBakingGluten free
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Empanadas cordobesas

Sweet and salty is the whole point here. Córdoba's empanadas hold a filling of beef, onion, a little potato, raisins and olives, and the moment they come out of the fryer they get a sprinkle of sugar that melts into the crackly crust. They turn up at birthday parties, school fundraisers and the patriotic holidays of 25 May and 9 July, often next to a bowl of locro. If the sugar on top sounds odd, try one: the contrast with the cumin and paprika is the local hallmark. The error that ruins them is frying in oil that isn't hot enough, which leaves them pale and greasy; keep it at 175 °C. Chef's tip: dust with sugar within seconds of draining, while the surface is still glistening, or it won't stick.

90 minArgentinianSnacks & Starters
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Empanadas de pescado

Along the coast of Santa Fe, especially during Lent and Holy Week, fishmongers' stalls and riverside kiosks sell fried empanadas filled with sábalo or surubí. The fish is poached, flaked and folded through soft onion and sweet pepper, then sealed in a thin oil-based dough and fried until blistered and crisp. Squeeze lemon over them and eat them warm, with a green salad or just a paper napkin. Any firm white fish works: hake, cod or a farmed catfish. The mistake people make most is skipping the bone check; river fish such as sábalo hide fine bones, so run your fingers through every flake. Chef's tip: keep the filling quite dry and cold before you fill the discs; extra liquid turns to steam in the hot oil and bursts the seams.

90 minArgentinianSnacks & Starters
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Empanadas mendocinas

Mendoza's empanadas are all about juice. The filling uses roughly as much onion as beef, cooked only briefly so it stays sweet and wet, then gets folded with hard-boiled egg and a whole green olive in every pastry; the dough is a tender one made with beef fat. They come out of wood ovens across the province for Sundays, family gatherings and the grape harvest, and are eaten by hand, leaning forward, with a tomato and onion salad on the side. The classic error is filling the dough while the meat is still warm: the fat melts, the pastry turns soggy and the seal splits in the oven. Cool the filling completely, ideally overnight. Chef's tip: cut the beef into small cubes with a knife instead of buying mince; it stays juicier and gives the bite a Mendoza cook expects.

90 minArgentinianSnacks & Starters
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Licuado de bananaBanana milk shake

Order a licuado in any Argentine café or bar and you will get a tall glass of fruit blended with milk (con leche) or water (con agua), and banana with milk is the one nearly everyone grows up on. It is breakfast for teenagers in a hurry, a merienda with tostados, and the drink parents in Buenos Aires make when the fruit bowl has spotty bananas. It should be thick, cold and smooth, with a light froth, sweet mainly from ripe fruit. Using under-ripe bananas is the mistake: they taste chalky and need lots of sugar, so wait for brown freckles. Chef's tip: slice and freeze the bananas the night before and you can skip the ice; the shake comes out colder and thicker without being watered down.

5 minArgentinianDrinksGluten free
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Empanadas tucumanas

Tucumán takes its empanadas so seriously that the town of Famaillá holds a national empanada festival every September, and judges count the pleats. The local style is small and juicy, filled with beef cut by hand with a knife (never minced), lots of white onion and spring onion, cumin, paprika and hard-boiled egg, and the dough is made with beef fat. They are baked very hot, traditionally in a clay oven, until blistered, and eaten standing up at peñas, football matches or family lunches, a drop of lemon squeezed in. The beef filling must reach 71 °C; it cooks first in the pan and again in the oven. A dry filling is the mistake to avoid: cook the onion slowly and let the filling cool so the fat sets, which turns to juice in the oven. Chef's tip: chill the filling overnight if you can; cold filling is easier to spoon and the empanadas come out juicier.

105 minArgentinianSnacks & Starters
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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 minFrenchBaking
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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 minFrenchBaking
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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 minFrenchSnacks & 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 minColombianSoupsGluten free
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Cuajada con melaoCurd cheese with panela syrup

Simplicity is the charm of this Andean dessert: a slab of fresh, milky cuajada, barely salted, with a dark syrup of panela poured over it, still warm. Highland fondas between Bogotá and Boyacá serve it after a lunch of ajiaco or sancocho, and the contrast of cool, squeaky curd with molasses-deep, spiced syrup is the point. Cuajada is set with rennet, traditionally animal; buy a vegetarian curd or fresh ricotta-style cheese, or make cuajada at home with microbial rennet. Panela is unrefined cane sugar; dark muscovado is the closest swap. The mistake is boiling the syrup too long: it turns to toffee as soon as it meets the cold cheese. Take it off when it coats a spoon thinly. Chef's tip: a strip of lime zest in the syrup cuts the sweetness beautifully.

20 minColombianDessertsGluten free
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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 minItalianVegetarianVeganGluten free
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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 minColombianBreads & ParathasVeganGluten free
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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 minColombianDessertsGluten free
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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 minItalianFast 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 minMoroccanBasicsVeganGluten free
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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 minMoroccanSoups
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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 minMoroccanCurriesVeganGluten free
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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 minMoroccanSidesVeganGluten free
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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 minColombianDessertsGluten free
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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 minMoroccanChutneys & DipsGluten free
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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 minColombianFast Food
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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 minColombianMeatGluten free
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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 minMoroccanDrinksGluten free
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Quesadillas de huitlacocheCorn mushroom quesadillas

Huitlacoche is a fungus that swells the kernels of rain-soaked corn into silvery-black, inky lobes, and in central Mexico it is a delicacy prized for its deep, mushroomy, slightly smoky taste. In the rainy months, the quesadilla stalls of Mexico City and Coyoacán fry it with onion, chilli and epazote and fold it into fresh masa turnovers; in the capital you ask for cheese separately. Fresh huitlacoche turns up at Mexican grocers from July to October, and tinned or frozen works the rest of the year. Chef's tip: cook it until the black juices have mostly evaporated; a wet filling makes the masa soggy and grey.

40 minMexicanSnacks & StartersGluten free
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Quesillo con miel de cañaFresh cheese with cane syrup

In the Tafí del Valle hills above San Miguel de Tucumán, quesillo is made by stretching hot curd into long, thin, elastic sheets and folding them into flat rounds; along the road up from the city, stalls sell it beside jars of miel de caña, the dark syrup boiled from the juice of Tucumán's sugarcane. Put the two together and you have the province's simplest dessert: mild, milky, slightly squeaky cheese with a pour of syrup that tastes of molasses and caramel, plus walnuts for crunch. It is eaten after lunch or as a merienda with mate. Drowning the cheese is the usual misstep; the syrup is intense, so pour a ribbon, not a puddle. Real quesillo is hard to find abroad: fresh mozzarella, Oaxaca cheese or another fresh stretched-curd cheese is closest, and light cane syrup or a 2:1 mix of golden syrup and black treacle stands in for miel de caña. Most of these cheeses use animal rennet; choose a vegetarian one if needed. Chef's tip: warm the syrup slightly so it runs into the folds of the cheese.

10 minArgentinianDessertsGluten free
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Puca picantePork and potato peanut stew

Puca means red in Quechua, and Ayacucho's puca picante is as red as a stew gets, thanks to ají panca and a little beetroot. Cubes of pork and potato simmer in a sauce thickened with ground toasted peanuts until creamy, nutty and mildly hot; it is served at Ayacucho's Sunday lunches and during Semana Santa with white rice, a fried pork chunk on top and a sharp salsa criolla. A frequent error is too much beetroot, which makes it earthy and sweet; you only need enough for the colour. Chef's tip: toast the peanuts in a dry pan before grinding them, and the sauce tastes twice as deep.

75 minPeruvianCurriesGluten free
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Queso asado con mojoGriddled goat's cheese with red sauce

Thick slabs of semi-cured goat's cheese, seared on a hot griddle until golden outside and soft within, then splashed with red mojo: it is the starter that opens lunch at country restaurants across Fuerteventura and Gran Canaria, the islands of Majorero and Flor de Guía cheeses. Some places serve it with palm honey instead, for a sweet-salty version. Traditional Canarian cheeses use animal rennet; choose a vegetarian semi-cured goat's cheese if that matters to you. Eat it with bread while it is still soft. Chef's tip: use a firm, semi-cured cheese at least 1.5 cm thick, as fresh cheese melts flat and runs off the pan.

16 minSpanishSnacks & StartersGluten free
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Queso heladoCinnamon coconut milk ice

Despite the name, there's no cheese in it: queso helado is Arequipa's old-fashioned frozen milk dessert, cut into thick rounds that look like a slice of fresh cheese and dusted with ground cinnamon. Vendors in white aprons sell it around the Plaza de Armas and at the Yanahuara viewpoint, traditionally churned in a metal pail spun over ice and salt, and every Arequipeño has a favourite stall. It is creamy, mildly milky and fragrant with cinnamon, clove and grated coconut, less rich than ice cream and slightly icy in a pleasant way. Many recipes thicken it with egg yolks; this one uses evaporated and condensed milk with a little cornflour so it stays egg free. The common error is freezing it untouched, which gives one hard block of ice: stir it every 45 minutes for the first few hours. Allow at least 4 hours of freezing on top of the cooking time, or make it a day ahead. Chef's tip: freeze it in a loaf tin lined with cling film, then lift it out and slice it into rounds for that true street look.

35 minPeruvianDessertsGluten free
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Queso manchego en aceiteSheep's cheese preserved in olive oil

Manchego farmhouses have long stored cheese under olive oil so it would keep through the hot months; the oil seals it, softens the rind and deepens the flavour. In bars across Toledo and Ciudad Real a saucer of these oil-darkened wedges arrives with bread as soon as you sit down. PDO manchego is made with animal rennet; if you eat vegetarian, choose a ewe's-milk cheese made with vegetable or microbial rennet. Chef's tip: use a cheese aged at least three months; young cheese goes soft and greasy in the oil.

15 minSpanishSnacks & StartersGluten free
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QuimbolitosSteamed sweet cheese and raisin cakes

Southern Nariño shares the quimbolito with neighbouring Ecuador. In Pasto these small sweet cakes are steamed in achira leaves and eaten at the mid-afternoon onces with a cup of hot chocolate or coffee. The batter is a rich mix of butter, sugar, eggs, wheat and corn flours and fresh cheese, dotted with raisins; steaming makes it light and moist, closer to a sponge pudding than a cake, and the leaf adds a mild green scent. Some cooks add a splash of anise liqueur; this version uses vanilla and keeps it alcohol-free. Fresh cheese is often set with animal rennet, so pick a vegetarian (microbial-rennet) one if needed. Achira leaves are rare outside the Andes: banana-leaf pieces or squares of baking paper work. Overfilling is what usually goes wrong, as the batter rises and bursts the parcel, so fill each leaf only halfway. Chef's tip: keep the water at a steady simmer, never a rolling boil, so the cakes rise evenly and stay dry.

65 minColombianDesserts
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Quinua con manzanaQuinoa and apple drink

Morning market stalls and street carts from Lima to Huancayo ladle quinua con manzana into glasses alongside emoliente and maca, and many people drink it as breakfast on its own, with a bread roll or a sandwich beside it. Quinoa and chunks of apple are simmered with cinnamon and cloves until the grains burst and the liquid thickens, then sweetened and served warm or cold. Some stalls blend it smooth; others leave the grains and soft apple pieces to spoon up. It is mild, fruity and filling, and children usually like it. The mistake that ruins it is skipping the rinse: quinoa's natural coating, saponin, makes the drink bitter and soapy, so rub it under running water until the foam stops. Chef's tip: add a few drops of lime at the end; it lifts the apple and keeps the drink from tasting flat.

40 minPeruvianDrinksVeganGluten free
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RobiolsCurd cheese or jam half-moon pastries

Robiols belong to Easter week in Mallorca, when grandmothers and grandchildren shape them by the trayful alongside crespells and panades. They are soft, crumbly half-moons of pastry with a frilled edge, filled with brossat (a fresh curd cheese like ricotta), cabell d'àngel pumpkin jam or apricot jam, and showered with sugar. Traditional dough uses pork lard; this vegetarian version uses butter and olive oil. Ricotta can be made with or without animal rennet, so check the label if that matters. Chef's tip: keep the dough cool and handle it as little as possible, because a short, tender crumb is what makes a robiol.

65 minSpanishBaking
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Rougail saucissesSmoked sausages in spicy tomato sauce

On Réunion Island, rougail saucisses is the everyday favourite cooked in a big cast-iron pot for family lunches, beach picnics and Sunday gatherings, and it is a pork dish built on smoked pork sausages. The sausages are blanched, browned, then simmered in a thick sauce of onions, ripe tomatoes, garlic, ginger, turmeric and fresh chilli until everything turns rich and slightly smoky. It is always served Creole-style with white rice and grains (red beans stewed with garlic and thyme) and, for those who like heat, a spoonful of fresh tomato-chilli rougail on the side. Chef's tip: blanch the sausages first; it removes excess salt and fat so the sauce tastes clean and bright.

85 minFrenchMeatSpicy
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RadiSalted spiral-cut radish

In Bavaria a Radi is a single big white radish, cut into one long spiral or paper-thin slices and salted until it 'weeps', then eaten with your fingers in the beer garden between bites of pretzel. Stalls at Munich's Viktualienmarkt sell the long white roots from spring to autumn, and old regulars carry a special spiral cutter. It is crisp, peppery and cooling, the opposite of everything rich on the table. A common mistake is eating it straight away: the salt needs ten minutes to draw out the bitter juice and soften the bite. Chef's tip: pick a heavy, firm radish with a smooth skin; a light one is often woody and hollow inside.

15 minGermanSnacks & StartersVeganGluten free
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RosinenstutenRaisin milk loaf

Rosinenstuten is the soft, slightly sweet raisin loaf that Westphalian and Rhineland families buy for Sunday breakfast and for christenings, where a giant one was once the traditional gift. It is baked in a long tin, sliced thick and spread with good butter, sometimes with a layer of cheese on top, which sounds odd and works beautifully. The crumb is fine and fluffy and the crust soft and shiny. A common mistake is adding dry raisins straight to the dough; they burn on the crust and steal moisture. Chef's tip: soak the raisins in hot water for 15 minutes, pat them dry and knead them in only at the very end, gently, so the dough stays light.

190 minGermanBaking
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Psari plakiFish baked with tomatoes and onions

Psari plaki is how Greek island families cook the day's catch for a crowd: the fish laid on a bed of soft onions, garlic, tomatoes and parsley, drizzled with olive oil and baked until the sauce turns jammy. It is a traditional Friday and Palm Sunday dish, eaten with bread, horta and plenty of lemon. Use cod, hake, sea bream or grouper. Common mistake: putting the fish in with raw vegetables, which leaves them crunchy and watery when the fish is done; cook the base first. Chef's tip: squeeze lemon over the fish and let it sit while the base bakes; it firms the flesh and seasons it to the bone.

70 minGreekFishGluten free
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Rajas con cremaPoblano strips in cream

Rajas means strips, and in Puebla they mean poblano chillies, the dark green pepper the state is named after, charred, peeled and sliced, then simmered with onion, sweetcorn and cream. Poblanos are mild with a grassy, gently smoky bite, so the dish is rich rather than fiery. It turns up on Puebla tables as a side for rice, as a taco filling at fondas, or in a tamal for breakfast. Some cooks melt in Chihuahua or Oaxaca cheese, which may be made with animal rennet; use a vegetarian melting cheese if needed. Chef's tip: sweat the peeled chillies in a covered bowl for 10 minutes; the steam lifts the skins off cleanly without rinsing away the smoky flavour.

35 minMexicanSidesGluten free
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PrinzregententorteSeven-layer chocolate buttercream torte

Prinzregententorte was created in Munich for Prince Regent Luitpold, who ruled Bavaria from 1886, and it is still the cake Munich cafés and families bring out for name days and big birthdays. Seven very thin sponge layers, one for each of the old Bavarian districts, are stacked with chocolate buttercream, brushed with apricot jam and sealed under a shiny dark chocolate glaze. The slices show neat stripes and taste rich but not heavy. A common mistake is baking the sponge as one thick cake and slicing it; it is far easier and neater to spread each layer thinly on a tin base and bake it for a few minutes. Chef's tip: trace a 26 cm circle on seven sheets of baking paper before you start, then bake two layers at once on separate trays.

150 minGermanBaking
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Rojões à minhotaMarinated fried pork with potatoes

Rojões are the centrepiece of a Minho winter feast, traditionally cooked in the weeks after the family pig was killed and still served in Braga and Ponte de Lima restaurants with arroz de sarrabulho alongside. This contains pork (pork shoulder and lard). Chunks of pork shoulder spend a night in white wine, garlic, paprika and bay, then cook slowly in their own fat until the outsides are crusty and the insides tender. The dish uses wine; an alcohol-free option is given in the ingredient list. A common mistake is crowding the pan, so the pork stews in its juices instead of browning in its own fat. Chef's tip: dry the pork well after marinating, or it will stew rather than brown.

90 minPortugueseMeatGluten free
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RubacãoRice with cowpeas and dried beef

Paraíba's cousin of baião de dois, rubacão (also spelt rubação) is cooked for long family lunches in João Pessoa and Campina Grande, and it is a fixture of the São João season in June. Rice and freshly shelled green cowpeas (feijão verde) cook together with dried beef and smoky bacon, then coalho cheese and cream are folded through so the pot turns soft, creamy and stretchy, salty from the meat and sweet from the beans. Serve it on its own with a tomato salad and pepper sauce; it is a meal in one pot. If you use charque or carne seca, it needs soaking overnight in the fridge. The pitfall to avoid is adding the cheese while the pot is on the flame, which turns it rubbery; fold it in off the heat and let the steam soften it. Chef's tip: save the bean cooking water and use it to cook the rice; it gives the dish its earthy colour and flavour.

65 minBrazilianRice & GrainsGluten free
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Romeu e JulietaGuava paste with fresh cheese

Two ingredients, no cooking, and a name every Brazilian knows: Romeo is the dark red goiabada, Juliet the mild white queijo Minas frescal, and they are always eaten together. Mineiros serve it after lunch on a saucer, at the end of a feast in a roadside restaurant, or as a mid-afternoon snack with coffee; the sweet, dense guava and the cool, milky, lightly salty cheese balance each other perfectly. Variations melt the guava into a warm sauce over the cheese, or bake both inside a pastry. Queijo Minas frescal is often made with animal rennet, so pick one labelled vegetarian, or use a young vegetarian farmer's cheese or paneer-style fresh cheese. The usual fault is cutting the guava thicker than the cheese, which buries Juliet; keep both slices the same size. Chef's tip: take the cheese out of the fridge 15 minutes ahead so it tastes of fresh milk rather than cold rubber.

5 minBrazilianDessertsGluten free
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Prego no pãoGarlic steak roll

Lisbon diners order a prego at the end of a long seafood lunch, at football matches and after midnight from a beach-bar hatch: a thin slice of beef, beaten flat, fried hard in garlic and bay and stuffed into a crusty papo-seco roll. The name means 'nail', perhaps for the garlic that is hammered into the meat. Mustard or a dash of piri-piri is all it needs. A common mistake is a thick steak; it must be thin enough to cook in a minute a side or it steams and turns grey. Chef's tip: dip the cut side of the roll in the hot pan juices just before you close it.

20 minPortugueseMeat
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RondónCoconut fish and conch stew

The English-speaking Raizal islanders of San Andrés and Providencia call it rundown, and it is cooked for a crowd on weekends and at beach gatherings: coconut milk boiled down until it 'runs down' and starts to release its oil, with cassava, green plantain, breadfruit or sweet potato, flour dumplings, salted pig tail and, on top, fish and conch steamed in the creamy broth. Pork appears as the salted tail, which seasons the pot. The broth is rich, coconut-sweet and herby with thyme, with a perfume of whole Scotch bonnet that gives aroma rather than fire as long as it doesn't burst. Start the day before: the pig tail needs overnight soaking. A common mistake is stirring once the fish goes in, which breaks it up; layer it and let the steam do the work. Chef's tip: queen conch is protected in much of the Caribbean, so buy only legally sourced frozen conch, or swap in large raw prawns added with the fish.

130 minColombianSoups
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Rancho à minhotaChickpea, meat and macaroni stew

Rancho was the food of farmhands at harvest time around Viana do Castelo: one huge pot of chickpeas, beef, pork, chicken and chouriço, with cabbage, potatoes and short macaroni cooked in the broth to stretch it further. It is now a winter favourite in family restaurants, eaten from deep plates with plenty of the cooking liquid. This contains pork (pork belly and chouriço). Chef's tip: add the pasta only ten minutes before serving and keep the stew loose, as the macaroni soaks up broth fast.

180 minPortugueseMeat
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RanfañoteToasted bread dessert in spiced syrup

Made from leftovers in colonial Lima by Afro-Peruvian cooks, ranfañote is one of the city's oldest sweets and turns up today at criollo food fairs and at old-style dessert stalls in Barrios Altos. Cubes of day-old bread are toasted crisp, then layered with walnuts, coconut, raisins and little cubes of fresh cheese and drenched in a thick chancaca syrup scented with cinnamon, clove and orange peel. The cheese is not a typo: its saltiness cuts the syrup, and the contrast of crunchy bread, chewy fruit and soft cheese is the point. It is eaten warm or at room temperature on its own. The common error is pouring thin syrup over the bread, which drowns it; the syrup should be thick like honey. Queso fresco is generally made with animal rennet, so choose a vegetarian fresh cheese if you need to. Chef's tip: toast the bread in the oven rather than frying it; it stays crisp longer under the syrup and is less greasy.

40 minPeruvianDesserts
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RanginakWalnut-stuffed dates with butter flour

Ranginak is the date sweet of the south, made in Shiraz, Bushehr and Kerman in late summer when the new dates arrive and served in squares with bitter tea, and also at mourning gatherings and Ramadan iftar. Soft dates are stuffed with walnuts, packed into a dish and covered with flour slowly toasted in butter until it smells of biscuits, then dusted with cinnamon and pistachio. A common mistake is toasting the flour on too high a heat: it scorches before it turns nutty, so stir it patiently over a low flame. Chef's tip: use soft, moist dates such as Kabkab or Medjool; dry dates go hard once the butter sets.

45 minPersianDesserts
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Poulet vallée d'AugeChicken in cider and cream sauce

The Pays d'Auge, the green orchard country around Lisieux and Pont-l'Évêque, puts its three great products into one pan here: apples, cider and thick Normandy cream. Chicken pieces are browned in butter, flamed with a splash of Calvados if you like, braised in dry cider with mushrooms and finished with crème fraîche, so the sauce is tangy, gently sweet and pale gold. It is a Sunday lunch dish, served with rice or steamed potatoes and wedges of apple caramelised in butter. The recipe uses cider and optional Calvados; alcohol-free swaps are in the ingredient notes. Chef's tip: choose a dry cider, because a sweet one makes the sauce cloying once it reduces.

70 minFrenchChickenGluten free
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PrasorizoLeek and rice with lemon

Prasorizo is the cheap, comforting pot that northern Greek kitchens turn to through the Lenten weeks and the cold months, when leeks are at their best and meat is off the table. Leeks are stewed in plenty of olive oil until meltingly soft, then rice simmers in the same pot until creamy and loose, finished with dill and a sharp squeeze of lemon. It is eaten warm, never piping hot, with feta (or a vegan alternative) and olives on the side. Common mistake: stirring like risotto, which turns it gluey — stir once or twice and let it bubble. Chef's tip: be generous with the oil; in a ladera dish the olive oil is the sauce.

50 minGreekVegetarianVeganGluten free
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RashoofLentil and cracked wheat yoghurt soup

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

65 minJordanianSoups
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RaspaoShaved ice with blackberry syrup

On a hot Barranquilla afternoon, the raspao cart is the fastest way to cool down. The vendor scrapes a block of ice with a metal plane, packs the snow into a cup and floods it with bright syrups: kola, tamarind, lime, blackberry. Many add a ribbon of condensed milk on top, but this version stays vegan and lets the fruit carry it. Children love it, and it is a fun one to make at home with a blender and a jug of syrup. The usual misstep is pouring warm syrup over the ice, which melts it to slush in seconds, so chill the syrup completely first. Make the syrup a day ahead if you like; it keeps a week in the fridge. Chef's tip: freeze water in a shallow tray, then blitz the slab in pieces with a few pulses for fluffier, snow-like ice than ice cubes give.

20 minColombianDessertsVeganGluten free
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Ropa vieja canariaChickpea, beef and chicken fry-up

The 'old clothes' of the name are the leftover meats from Sunday's puchero, shredded and fried the next day with chickpeas, potatoes, peppers and tomato; it is a different dish from the Cuban ropa vieja, and on the islands it is Monday lunch and a fixture of bar menus in Las Palmas. Some versions include pork; this one uses beef and chicken, poached from scratch if you have no leftovers. A splash of white wine is common; it is optional and the dish is complete without it. Chef's tip: fry the chickpeas until a few catch and crisp, because those browned bits make the dish.

100 minSpanishMeatGluten free
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Rosca de PascuaEaster ring bread

Argentine Easter Sunday breakfast centres on the rosca de Pascua, a ring of soft, orange-scented brioche-like dough laid with stripes of pastry cream, candied cherries and pearl sugar, with whole boiled eggs pressed into the dough as a symbol of new life. Bakeries in every barrio stack them in the window from Holy Thursday, and families share it with coffee or mate after the Easter egg hunt. The crumb is fluffy and pale yellow, and the custard bakes into soft, golden ridges. Because the eggs bake for 30 minutes on top of their boiling, they are fully cooked; many people keep them for decoration and peel them later. The mistake to avoid is piping the pastry cream too thick, which slides off as the ring rises; thin lines give neat ridges. Chef's tip: cook the custard until it is very thick and chill it before piping, and brush the ring with egg before (not after) the cream goes on.

210 minArgentinianBaking
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RoscónGuava-filled sweet bread ring

Every Bogotá bakery has a tray of roscones by the counter: soft, enriched bread rings glazed and sprinkled with sugar, hiding a seam of melted guava paste inside. They are eaten at onces, the afternoon coffee break, or for breakfast with hot chocolate, and they are a favourite thing to bring when visiting. The dough is a gently sweet milk-and-butter bread, close to a brioche but lighter. Chunks of guava paste that are too big are what normally goes wrong: they melt, burst the seam and burn on the tray, so cut it into thin batons and seal the dough firmly around them. Plan about 2 hours, most of it rising time. Look for guava paste (bocadillo or goiabada) in Latin shops; quince paste works in a pinch. Chef's tip: brush with the egg wash twice, once before the second rise and once before baking, for a deep, shiny crust that holds the sugar.

145 minColombianBaking
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PrasopitaLeek and feta pie

In the villages around Kozani and Kastoria, winter leeks pulled from frozen ground go into this pie, made on Sundays and taken to the fields in slabs wrapped in paper. The leeks are sweated slowly in butter and olive oil until silky and sweet, bound with eggs, feta and a little semolina, then baked between buttery sheets of filo. It is softer and gentler than spinach pie, and just as good cold the next day. Feta and kefalotyri usually use animal rennet; choose vegetarian versions if needed. Common mistake: leaving grit in the leeks — split and wash them under the tap before slicing. Chef's tip: cook the leeks until all their liquid has gone, or the bottom pastry turns soggy.

95 minGreekSnacks & Starters
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RaxoMarinated pork loin cubes

Order a ración of raxo in a tavern in Santiago or A Coruña and it comes sizzling on a metal plate: little cubes of pork loin marinated with garlic, paprika and oregano, fried until browned, with chips and sometimes Padrón peppers alongside. This contains pork. Unlike zorza, which is chopped like chorizo filling, raxo keeps its meat in neat cubes and is gentler on the paprika. Marinate the pork in the fridge, covered. A common mistake is crowding the pan, which stews the meat instead of browning it, so fry in two batches. Chef's tip: let the cubes sit for a minute without stirring when they first hit the pan, so they form a golden crust.

50 minSpanishMeatGluten free
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Camu camuCamu camu berry juice

Camu camu are small purple-red berries that grow on bushes along the flooded riverbanks of the Peruvian Amazon, and in Iquitos and Pucallpa they are sold as frozen pulp and blended into a sharp, pink refresco at juice bars and lunch places. The flavour is intensely sour, more than lime, with a faint cherry note, and the berries are famous for containing far more vitamin C than oranges. It is the drink people order with a heavy plate of tacacho or rice. Never boil camu camu or make the juice hours ahead: heat and air quickly fade its colour and much of the vitamin C, so blend it cold and drink it soon. Frozen pulp or freeze-dried powder from health-food and Latin shops are the forms you'll find abroad. Chef's tip: start with half the pulp and add more to taste; it's strong enough that a little goes a long way.

10 minPeruvianDrinksVeganGluten free
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Pozole verde de GuerreroGreen pumpkin-seed pozole

In Chilpancingo and Chilapa, Thursday is jueves pozolero, and families and office crowds fill the pozolerías for this green version. Unlike our vegetarian pozole verde, this is a pork dish with chicken too: pork shoulder and chicken thighs simmer with hominy, then the broth is thickened with a sauce of toasted pumpkin seeds, tomatillos, chilli and epazote, so it turns creamy, nutty and bright green. Bowls go to the table with avocado, crisp pork chicharrón, onion, oregano, lime and tostadas. Epazote can be hard to find: use fresh oregano plus a few coriander stalks instead. Chef's tip: toast the pumpkin seeds only until they puff and start to pop; darker seeds make the broth brown and bitter.

185 minMexicanSoupsGluten free
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Relleno de cerdoStuffed pork shoulder with plantain

In Guerrero's Tierra Caliente, around Ciudad Altamirano, relleno de cerdo is the centrepiece of weddings and saints' days: a whole pig is stuffed with fruit, vegetables and its own chopped meat, rubbed with chilli and roasted for hours, then served in tortas or tacos. This home version is a pork dish for an ordinary oven, using a boned pork shoulder rubbed with a guajillo adobo and rolled around a stuffing of ripe plantain, potato, carrot, olives, raisins and almonds, so you get the same sweet, salty and spicy mix. Slice it thickly with its juices, warm tortillas, rice and pickled jalapeños. Chef's tip: ask the butcher to butterfly the shoulder evenly to about 3 cm thick; an even slab rolls neatly and cooks at the same rate all through.

300 minMexicanMeatGluten free
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