Skip to content
LoginRegister
WhatToEat.Today
Ensalada de chonta
Featured recipe

Ensalada de chonta

Palm heart salad

Iquitos restaurants and the riverside cafés of the Peruvian Amazon serve ensalada de chonta as a cool counterpoint to grilled fish and juanes: long, pale ribbons of fresh palm heart, crisp and faintly sweet, tossed with tomato, avocado, red onion and lots of lime. At Belén market you can watch sellers shave the chonta into curls with a big knife. Outside the Amazon, fresh palm heart is hard to find, but good jarred hearts of palm cut into thin strips work well, and the salad becomes a ten-minute job. It's crunchy, juicy and sharp, perfect with rice and beans or any fried snack. Where most people go wrong is adding the avocado and salt early, so the salad turns soupy and grey; dress it at the last moment. Chef's tip: slice the palm hearts lengthwise on a mandoline or with a peeler for thin, curling ribbons that look like the Iquitos original.

Read more 0 views

What to eat today?

Around the world

Today's trip: Paraguayan

A new country every day, from every cuisine on the site.

Paraguayan

Cocido quemado

Burnt sugar mate drink 14 minMore from Paraguayan (27) →

This week's collection

Kid-friendly dinners537 recipes · a new collection every Monday

New this week

See all new →

Latest recipes

Tortas de aceite sevillanasCrisp olive-oil flatbreads with anise

Castilleja de la Cuesta, just west of Seville, has made these hand-pressed tortas for well over a century, and across Andalusia they are dunked into morning coffee or eaten as an afternoon snack. The dough is little more than flour, olive oil infused with anise and sesame, and a pinch of yeast, rolled until you can almost see through it and baked with a crust of sugar. Chef's tip: roll each torta directly on the baking paper you will bake it on; the dough is too thin to lift without tearing.

45 minSpanishBakingVegan
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tortas de almaPumpkin and almond pastries

In the province of Teruel, especially around Calamocha and the Jiloca valley, tortas de alma are made at the end of autumn when the pumpkins come in: crisp, flaky olive-oil pastry folded over "alma", a sweet filling of pumpkin cooked down with sugar, almond and cinnamon. They are eaten with coffee at the village festivals and given away by the dozen at All Saints and Christmas. Recipes vary from house to house; this one keeps to the simple, widely made version. A common mistake is a runny filling, which leaks and burns on the tray; cook it until it is thick enough to hold a clean line. Chef's tip: make the filling a day ahead and chill it; cold alma is far easier to spoon onto the pastry.

100 minSpanishBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tortas de VianaSponge roll with egg-yolk cream

In the pastry shops along Viana do Castelo's old streets, tortas are sold rolled and sliced, a feather-light sponge wrapped around a glossy egg-yolk cream. They turn up on festival weekends in August, when the town fills for the Romaria d'Agonia, and as an afternoon treat with coffee the rest of the year. The sponge contains only eggs, sugar and a little flour, so it bends without cracking if you roll it warm. Chef's tip: roll the sponge in sugared paper straight from the oven and let it cool in that shape, then unroll and fill.

55 minPortugueseBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

TorresmoPork crackling

Every boteco in Minas Gerais keeps a tray of torresmo by the counter: chunks of pork belly with the skin on, fried so slowly the fat melts out, then blasted in hot fat until the skin bursts into crackling bubbles. Done right, each piece has a shatteringly crisp, blistered top, a layer of soft fat and a strip of juicy meat. Mineiros eat it as a snack with lime and with feijão tropeiro, tutu or couve at lunch. The classic error is frying wet skin in very hot fat at once, which gives hard, glassy skin and dangerous spitting; dry it well and fry it twice. Use a deep, heavy pot, never fill it more than a third with fat, and keep children away from it. Chef's tip: after the first slow fry, let the pieces cool completely, even overnight in the fridge; the drier the skin, the bigger the puff.

110 minBrazilianSnacks & StartersGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

XerotiganaFried dough spirals in honey

At a Cretan wedding or baptism, the women of the family spend the day before rolling dough so thin you can read through it, winding the strips into roses in hot oil and stacking the crisp spirals on huge platters. Xerotigana shatter at the first bite and then turn sticky with honey, walnuts, sesame and cinnamon. Many village versions add a little raki to the dough for extra crispness; this one uses orange juice and a splash of lemon instead, so it is alcohol-free. Common mistake: rolling the strips too thick, which gives chewy, greasy spirals instead of glassy ones. Chef's tip: use a pasta machine down to the second-thinnest setting, and keep the strips you are not frying under a damp tea towel.

100 minGreekDesserts
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Torito de cacahuatePeanut drink

Torito is the party drink of the port of Veracruz and the Sotavento, poured at weddings, saints' days and the Tlacotalpan Candelaria fair: a thick, cold, milkshake-like blend of peanuts, condensed and evaporated milk and cinnamon. The traditional version is spiked with aguardiente, the local cane spirit. This recipe is the alcohol-free version, so children can drink it too; adults who want the original add a measure of cane spirit to each glass. It contains peanuts, so check for allergies. Chef's tip: toast the peanuts until just golden before blending; raw ones taste flat and beany.

15 minMexicanDrinksGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

VollkornbrotSeeded whole-rye loaf

Vollkornbrot is the dense, seedy tin loaf of northern Germany, from Hamburg to Bremen, sliced thin and eaten for breakfast or packed for work in a lunchbox with cheese, cucumber or a smear of quark. It is almost all whole rye: cracked grains, rye meal and a mix of sunflower seeds, linseed and sesame, all soaked overnight so the bread stays moist for a week. There is no shaping and no kneading, which makes it easier than it looks. A common mistake is cutting it warm, which leaves the knife and the slices gummy. Chef's tip: let the loaf cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn it out and wrap it in a tea towel overnight; the crust softens slightly and the crumb sets evenly.

680 minGermanBreads & ParathasVegan
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Torrejas de acelgaSwiss chard fritters

When a bunch of acelga (Swiss chard) is the cheapest thing at the verdulería, Buenos Aires home cooks turn it into torrejas: thin fritters of chopped chard bound with egg, a little flour, garlic and grated cheese, fried in shallow oil until the edges lace up and crisp. They are weekday food, eaten hot from the pan with a squeeze of lemon and a salad, or cold the next day in a sandwich, and children who won't touch greens tend to eat them. Inside they stay tender and green, outside nutty and golden. Wet chard is what ruins them: water left in the leaves makes the batter thin and the fritters spit and fall apart, so wring the blanched chard really dry. Grated hard cheese is often made with animal rennet; pick a vegetarian hard cheese if needed. Chef's tip: fry one small torreja first to check the seasoning and thickness, then adjust with a spoon of flour or a splash of milk.

30 minArgentinianSnacks & Starters
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Xerém de conquilhasCornmeal with clams and chouriço

Xerém is coarse-ground maize cooked to a soft, spoonable porridge, an old poor man's food of the eastern Algarve that tasted of whatever the sea or the pig gave that day. Around Tavira and Olhão it is cooked with conquilhas, the little wedge clams raked from the sand bars of the Ria Formosa, so the cornmeal soaks up their salty juices. This contains pork (chouriço and streaky bacon); leave them out for a purely seafood version. Chef's tip: stir the cornmeal into the clam water off the heat, then put it back on, to avoid lumps.

65 minPortugueseFish
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tarte aux pralines rosesPink praline tart

Lyon's pralines are almonds coated in hard, shocking-pink sugar, and the city's bakeries melt them with cream into a sticky, vivid filling for this tart, sold by the slice in every pâtisserie from Bellecour to the Croix-Rousse. It is very sweet and nutty, with a crunch from the almonds, and is eaten in small slices with coffee. Look for pink pralines coloured with plant-based colourings; some are coloured with carmine (E120), which comes from insects. Chef's tip: crush the pralines roughly in a bag with a rolling pin, leaving some pieces the size of a lentil for crunch.

80 minFrenchBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tortillitas de camaronesShrimp and chickpea-flour fritters

Around the Bay of Cádiz, especially in San Fernando and Sanlúcar de Barrameda, tortillitas de camarones are fried to order in bars and eaten with fingers: thin, lacy fritters of chickpea flour, spring onion and parsley studded with tiny whole shrimp. The local camarones are eaten shell and all; outside the bay, small raw peeled prawns, roughly chopped, work well. The batter must be as thin as single cream, so it spreads into a crisp lace in the oil. Chef's tip: keep the batter in the fridge until the last moment; cold batter hitting hot oil gives the most delicate lace.

35 minSpanishFish
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tortitas de Santa ClaraShortbread with pumpkin seed cream

The nuns of the Santa Clara convent in Puebla are credited with this biscuit, and the city's Calle de los Dulces still sells it in boxes stacked beside camotes and jamoncillos. It is a crumbly, lightly sweet shortbread round, covered with a thick, pale cream made from ground pumpkin seeds, sugar and milk, which sets to a soft fudge-like layer. They are eaten with coffee in the afternoon and taken home as a gift from Puebla. Chef's tip: grind the peeled pumpkin seeds as fine as you can before cooking; any coarse bits make the topping gritty.

75 minMexicanBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tortitas mendocinasFlaky round breakfast breads

Every panadería in Mendoza fills a tray with tortitas in the early morning, and they go out in paper bags to be eaten warm with mate, split and spread with butter, quince paste or a slice of cheese. They are flat, round, slightly salty breads, soft and layered in the middle and crisp at the edges, with the fork marks that give them away. The traditional fat is beef lard (grasa), which makes them very short; here butter or vegetable shortening takes its place to keep them vegetarian, and both give a good flaky result. The mistake to avoid is rolling them thin like crackers: they should be a generous centimetre thick, or they bake hard and dry. Chef's tip: fold the dough in three twice before the final roll, like a quick puff pastry; those folds give tortitas their layers.

75 minArgentinianBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tortitas negrasBrown sugar-topped buns

Black cakes, the name means, though only their tops are dark: tortitas negras are flat, round, flaky buns covered with a thick crust of dark brown sugar that melts in the oven and sets crunchy and toffee-like. They are among the cheapest and most popular facturas in Buenos Aires bakeries, eaten from a paper bag at breakfast or as a merienda with mate, and everyone fights over the sugary edges. The dough is a lightly laminated yeast dough, between bread and puff pastry. Bakeries often use lard or margarine; this version uses butter and stays vegetarian. Being stingy with the sugar is the classic misstep: a thin layer just melts into the dough and disappears, so pile it on thickly and press it down. Chef's tip: brush the rounds with water, not egg, before adding the sugar; the water melts the sugar into a crisp, crackling shell.

88 minArgentinianBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tortos de maízCorn cakes with fried eggs

In the cider houses of Asturias, tortos arrive as a starter: small discs of corn dough fried until crisp outside and soft within, usually piled with something rich on top. Inland farms once ate them in place of bread, since maize grew far better than wheat in the damp valleys. This meat-free version tops each torto with a fried egg and blistered green peppers, with a little crumbled cabrales for those who want it; cabrales is usually made with animal rennet, so use a vegetarian blue cheese if that matters to you. Chef's tip: knead the dough with hot water and let it rest; cold water gives a crumbly dough that cracks in the pan.

50 minSpanishVegetarianGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Versunkener ApfelkuchenSunken apple sponge

Versunkener Apfelkuchen, the sunken apple cake, is the quickest cake in the German home repertoire, made on autumn weekends when the first Boskoop and Elstar apples come in from the orchards of the Altes Land near Hamburg and Lake Constance. Peeled apple halves are scored like a fan and pressed into a rich lemon sponge, which rises up around them as it bakes until they seem to sink in. Children love it still warm with whipped cream. A common mistake is cutting the scores too deep, so the apples fall apart; cut about two-thirds of the way through. Chef's tip: brush the apples with apricot jam the moment the cake comes out of the oven; it gives a shiny bakery glaze and keeps them from drying.

70 minGermanBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

VanillekipferlVanilla almond crescents

No Austrian Christmas cookie tin is complete without Vanillekipferl, the pale little crescents that melt on the tongue; Viennese grandmothers bake them by the hundred in early December, and they are just as loved over the border in Bavaria. The dough is short and rich with butter and ground almonds, and the crescents are rolled in vanilla sugar while still warm so it sticks. The common mistake is overbaking: they should stay pale with only the tips turning golden, or they lose their tender, sandy texture. Chef's tip: chill the dough well and shape it with cool hands; warm dough cracks and the crescents spread in the oven.

42 minAustrianBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Trenza de AlmudévarNut and raisin braided bread

Almudévar, a small town between Zaragoza and Huesca, gave its name to a braid that is now sold all over Aragon and given as a present at Christmas: a golden plaited loaf, layered with chopped nuts and liqueur-soaked raisins and brushed with syrup until it shines. The town's bakeries use a laminated, puff-like dough that takes a day; this home version uses a buttery brioche rolled around the filling and cut and braided so the layers show. The raisins are traditionally soaked in rum or brandy; use warm orange juice for an alcohol-free loaf. A common mistake is braiding too tightly, which squeezes out the filling and stops the dough rising. Chef's tip: chill the filled roll for 15 minutes before cutting it lengthways; the butter firms and the cut is much cleaner.

85 minSpanishBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Trigona PanoramatosCustard-filled filo cones in syrup

Up in Panorama, the hillside suburb above Thessaloniki, pastry shops fill crisp filo triangles to order, and people carry boxes of them down to the city for Sunday visits and name days. Each cone is baked until it shatters, dunked for a second in lemony syrup, then piped full of a cold, light custard cream. The contrast is the point: brittle, buttery shell against soft, barely sweet filling, best within a couple of hours. Common mistake: filling the cones while the syrup is still warm, which melts the cream and turns the pastry limp. Chef's tip: roll each cone around a cone-shaped metal mould or a twist of foil so it keeps a wide, open mouth for piping.

90 minGreekDesserts
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Verdinas con mariscoGreen beans with prawns and clams

Verdinas are small, pale-green dried beans grown around Llanes in eastern Asturias, prized for their thin skins and buttery texture; seaside restaurants there pair them with whatever shellfish came in that morning. It is a newer dish than fabada, lighter and greener, often eaten in summer on the terraces above the harbour. If you can't find verdinas, French flageolet beans are the nearest match. Chef's tip: make a quick stock from the prawn shells and heads; it gives the beans far more flavour than plain water.

120 minSpanishFishGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tarte au sucre lilloiseBrioche sugar tart

In Lille and across the Nord, a sugar tart is not pastry at all but a flat round of soft brioche dough, dimpled and covered with brown cassonade sugar, butter and a little egg and cream, which bakes into a sticky, caramelised top over a fluffy base. Families buy it from the boulangerie for Sunday breakfast and goûter, or bake one when guests come for coffee. The Nord's own beet sugar, vergeoise, gives it a deep, almost molasses flavour; soft dark brown sugar is the closest swap. Chef's tip: press deep dimples into the risen dough with your fingertips before adding the topping; the sugar and cream collect in them and bake into little pools of caramel.

55 minFrenchBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Znoud el sitCream-filled filo fingers

Lebanese sweet shops in Tripoli and Saida fry trays of znoud el sit every evening during Ramadan, and families queue for them after iftar. Filo is rolled around a thick, set milk cream (a home version of ashta), baked or fried until shatteringly crisp, then dipped in cold syrup and dusted with ground pistachios. The contrast of crackling pastry and cool, fragrant cream is the whole point, so eat them within an hour or two of filling. Common mistake: filling with warm cream; it leaks and makes the pastry soggy, so chill it until firm. Chef's tip: brush with clarified butter rather than whole butter — it browns evenly without burning and keeps the rolls crisp longer.

70 minLebaneseDesserts
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tamar hindiTamarind drink

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

15 minSyrianDrinksVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Türk kahvesiTurkish coffee

A cup of Türk kahvesi is how Turks welcome guests, end a long meal and, in the old custom, test a suitor: the prospective bride makes his cup and may slip salt into it. Powder-fine coffee is brewed slowly with cold water and sugar to taste in a small long-handled pot (cezve), until a thick foam rises, then poured unfiltered so the grounds settle in the cup. Serve with a glass of water first and a piece of lokum. Order it sade (plain), orta (medium) or şekerli (sweet) and add the sugar before brewing, never after. The usual mistake is letting it boil, which collapses the foam and makes it bitter. Chef's tip: use cold water and a low heat; the slower it rises, the thicker the foam.

7 minTurkishDrinksVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Zereshk polo ba morghBarberry rice with braised chicken

Zereshk polo ba morgh is the rice Iranians cook for guests, weddings and Friday lunches, and its tart red barberries come mostly from the orchards around Birjand in South Khorasan, where the berries are dried on rooftops in autumn. Fluffy steamed basmati is crowned with saffron rice and barberries fried briefly in butter with a little sugar, and served beside chicken braised slowly with onion, tomato and saffron until it is falling off the bone. A common mistake is frying the barberries for more than a minute or two; they burn fast and turn bitter. Chef's tip: sort the barberries on a white plate and remove any tiny stems or grit before soaking.

90 minPersianChickenGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tapenade provençaleBlack olive and caper spread

The name gives the game away: tapeno is the Provençal word for capers, and a Marseille chef is said to have first pounded them with black olives in the 1880s. Across Provence, from the markets of Nyons to the cafés of Aix, tapenade comes out with the apéritif before a long summer dinner, spread thickly on toasted baguette. The classic recipe adds a few anchovy fillets; this version leaves them out and leans on extra capers and lemon for the salty, savoury edge, so it is vegan. Chef's tip: buy olives with stones and pit them yourself; ready-pitted black olives are often the dyed, bland kind and give a flat, inky spread.

15 minFrenchChutneys & DipsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tapao de pescadoFish and green plantain stew

Quibdó's riverside kitchens and the villages along the Atrato and Baudó rivers make tapao, which simply means 'covered': fish and chunks of green plantain cooked in a little water and a refrito of onion, tomato and herbs, with the pot sealed under a plantain leaf and a lid so it all cooks in its own steam. There's no coconut, unlike the Pacific's encocados, so it tastes clean and brothy, of fish and herbs, with the plantain soaking up the juices and thickening them slightly. It's a weekday dish, often made with bocachico or other river fish, and eaten from deep plates with a spoon and fingers. Adding the fish with the plantain from the start is a common slip; the plantain needs a head start or the fish falls apart before the plantain is tender. Chef's tip: if you can find bocachico or another river fish, use it; otherwise sea bream or tilapia steaks with the bone in give the broth the best flavour.

55 minColombianFishGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tripas à moda do PortoTripe and butter bean stew

People from Porto are still nicknamed tripeiros, tripe-eaters, after the city's story of giving its best meat to the fleet that sailed for Ceuta in 1415 and keeping only the offal. Tripas is the dish of that legend and is served in the city's tascas, especially on Thursdays and during the São João festival. This contains pork (bacon, chouriço and optional pig's trotter). Tripe, chicken and cured meats simmer slowly with white beans, carrot and cumin into a sticky, rich stew poured over white rice. Chef's tip: buy cleaned, part-cooked honeycomb tripe and still simmer it until it is completely soft.

220 minPortugueseMeatGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Zeytinyağlı barbunyaBorlotti beans in olive oil

In Istanbul meyhanes and lokanta counters, the zeytinyağlı dishes are the cold olive-oil vegetables served at room temperature, and barbunya is one of the summer favourites when fresh borlotti appear in their speckled pink pods. The beans are braised slowly with onion, carrot, tomato and a little sugar until creamy, then left to cool in their glossy sauce and finished with parsley and lemon. Serve with crusty bread as a meze or a light lunch. Chef's tip: add the salt only once the beans are tender; salting at the start keeps the skins tough.

75 minTurkishVegetarianVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Trucha a la navarraTrout with cured ham

The trout streams of the Navarrese Pyrenees, the Irati above Burguete and the Bidasoa among them, gave this dish to the whole of Spain, and it is still the summer lunch in the mountain inns where anglers stay. The fish is opened, a slice of cured ham laid inside, then floured and fried in olive oil so the ham's salt seasons the flesh. This contains pork (serrano ham). Serve it with boiled potatoes or a green salad. Chef's tip: cook in two pans or two batches rather than crowding one, so the skin crisps instead of steaming.

25 minSpanishFish
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Trucha fritaFried trout with potatoes and rice

Rainbow trout farmed in the cold, clear water of Lake Titicaca is what you eat in Puno, at lakeside restaurants and on the floating islands: a whole fish, dusted in flour and fried until the skin crackles, with boiled Andean potatoes, rice, a simple salad and lime. The flesh is pink-white, sweet and moist; nothing else is needed. Ask your fishmonger to gut and scale the trout. The most common mistake is moving the fish too early, which tears the skin; leave it until it releases from the pan by itself. Chef's tip: slash the thick part of each side twice before flouring, so the fish cooks evenly and the skin crisps right up to the head.

30 minPeruvianFishGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Ternasco de Aragón asadoRoast young lamb with potatoes

Ternasco is the young, milk-and-grass-fed lamb of Aragon, and roasting it in a wood oven with potatoes is how families in Zaragoza, Huesca and Teruel celebrate Sunday lunches, christenings and Christmas Day. The meat is pale, tender and mild, and the potatoes underneath cook in its juices with garlic, wine and herbs until golden and soft. This uses white wine; swap it for water with a squeeze of lemon if you prefer no alcohol. A common mistake is roasting too hot: young lamb dries out quickly, so keep the oven moderate and baste often. Chef's tip: ask your butcher to cut a shoulder or a leg of young lamb into large pieces through the bone; more surfaces brown, and it cooks evenly.

120 minSpanishMeatGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Truchas de batataSweet potato and almond pastries

Despite the name, there is no trout in these: truchas are crisp half-moon pastries that Tenerife and Gran Canaria fry by the hundred in the week before Christmas, and they are what neighbours bring each other on Christmas Eve. The filling is mashed sweet potato with ground almonds, sugar, lemon zest, cinnamon and anise, wrapped in a thin olive-oil dough. Some families add a spoon of anise liqueur or sweet wine to the dough; this version uses neither and is vegan. Chef's tip: let the filling cool completely and keep it thick, or the steam softens the dough and it bursts in the oil.

90 minSpanishDessertsVegan
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Testi kebabıLamb and vegetable clay-jug stew

In the cave restaurants of Göreme and Avanos, testi kebabı arrives as a sealed clay jug, glowing from the oven, which the waiter cracks open at the table with a sharp tap of a knife. Inside is beef or lamb stewed with tomatoes, peppers, garlic and onion until tender in its own rich juices. A lidded casserole works perfectly at home, and you can still seal the lid with dough for the drama. Serve with plain rice pilaf. Common mistake: adding a lot of water; the vegetables give off plenty and the sealed pot should braise, not boil. Chef's tip: brown the meat in two batches first for a deeper, savoury sauce.

175 minTurkishMeat
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Teltower RübchenGlazed baby turnips

Teltower Rübchen are tiny, finger-length turnips grown in the sandy fields of Teltow, just south of Berlin, and harvested in spring and again in autumn. They were once a delicacy at the Prussian court, and Berliners still serve them glazed in butter and caramel as a side for roasts, goose or simply with boiled potatoes. They taste sweeter and more peppery than big turnips, with a hint of radish. Outside Brandenburg, use small white turnips or the base of young navets. A common mistake is peeling them thickly; just scrape off the thin skin. Chef's tip: let the sugar turn pale amber before adding the turnips, so the glaze has a real caramel flavour.

35 minGermanSidesGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tex-Mex migasEggs scrambled with tortilla strips

Texas migas is the Austin diner breakfast for using up stale corn tortillas: strips are fried crisp, then tossed with onion, jalapeño and tomato and scrambled with eggs and melting cheese, served with refried beans and warm flour tortillas. It is a quite different dish from the bread-crumb migas of Spain. Chef's tip: add the eggs while the tortilla strips are still crisp, so some stay crunchy and some soften.

25 minAmericanBreakfast & BrunchGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

TruffadeFried potatoes with Cantal cheese

Truffade is cattle-herders' food from the volcanic mountains of the Cantal, cooked in a big pan over the fire in the stone burons where Salers cows spend the summer. Potato slices are fried until tender and lightly golden, then folded with thin slices of young tomme fraîche du Cantal until the cheese melts into strings, and the whole thing is eaten with a green salad, nothing else. Herders used lard; this version uses butter and oil, so it is vegetarian. Tomme du Cantal is made with animal rennet; a young vegetarian cheese that melts well, such as a mild Lancashire-style or vegetarian mozzarella, also works. Chef's tip: slice the potatoes as thin as a coin so they cook through before they burn.

45 minFrenchSidesGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Técula méculaAlmond and egg-yolk tart

Olivenza, on the border with Portugal and Portuguese until 1801, kept a taste for the convent sweets of its neighbour, and técula mécula is the town's pride: a dense, golden tart of ground almonds, sugar syrup and egg yolks, sold whole or by the slice in its pastry shops and carried home as a gift. Its playful name is said to come from a Latin phrase meaning with you and with me, as if it were made to share. The traditional pastry uses pork lard; this version uses butter and is vegetarian. Chef's tip: a thin slice is plenty, as it is very rich; serve it with coffee.

85 minSpanishBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Thimpu de carachiPoached fish with potatoes

Around the shores of Lake Titicaca, thimpu is weekday food and Lent food alike: carachi, a small native lake fish, laid over potatoes and chuño (freeze-dried Andean potato) and gently poached, then drenched at the table with a hot sauce of onion fried with ají. The fish is soft and delicate, the chuño earthy and pleasantly chewy, and the sauce brings colour and fire. Outside Puno, small whole trout, tilapia or perch, or thick trout fillets, work well. Chuño needs an overnight soak (plan for it) and is sold in Andean and Latin shops; swap in extra waxy potatoes if you can't find it. The trap here is boiling the fish hard so it falls apart; keep the water at a bare shiver. Chef's tip: make the sauce while the fish poaches and spoon it on boiling hot, so it sizzles over the plate.

60 minPeruvianFishGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Viennese KaisersemmelCrisp star-topped rolls

No Viennese breakfast is complete without a Kaisersemmel: a light, hollow-crusted white roll with a pinwheel of five curved segments on top, split and spread with butter and apricot jam or filled with Leberkäse at a market stand. The crust should shatter and the inside be soft and airy. The star is traditionally knotted by hand, though a stamp works too. A common mistake is skipping the overnight cold dough, which leaves the rolls bland and pale. Chef's tip: prove the shaped rolls upside down, star side down, on a floured cloth, then flip them just before baking; the pattern stays sharp instead of puffing shut.

170 minAustrianBreads & ParathasVegan
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Thüringer KlößePotato dumplings

In Thuringia, Sunday lunch without Klöße hardly counts: big, pale, springy dumplings made from two-thirds raw grated potato and one-third hot cooked potato paste, each hiding a few butter-fried croutons in the middle. They come to the table beside roasts with lots of gravy, red cabbage or a mushroom sauce, and the texture is unique, smooth, slightly chewy and very good at soaking up sauce. A common mistake is letting the water boil once the dumplings are in, which makes them fall apart; they should only just tremble. Chef's tip: work fast once the raw potato is pressed, because it greys as it meets the air.

75 minGermanSides
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Thüringer RostbrätelMarinated grilled pork neck steaks

In Thuringia, a summer garden party or village fair isn't complete without a Rost, the charcoal grill, loaded with Rostbrätel: pork neck steaks that have spent a night in mustard and plenty of sliced onion. The fat in the neck keeps the meat juicy over the coals, and the onions from the marinade are fried and piled on top, with rye bread on the side. Many Thuringian grillers splash beer over the meat while it cooks; this version needs no alcohol. Chef's tip: scrape most of the onion off before grilling, as it burns on the coals; fry it separately instead.

35 minGermanMeatGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Thüringer RostbratwurstGrilled bratwurst in a roll

In Thuringia the long, thin Rostbratwurst is grilled over charcoal at every market, football ground and village fête, and has been since at least the 15th century. It is a raw, finely seasoned pork sausage with marjoram, caraway and garlic, bought from a Thuringian butcher, and the local rules are strict: grilled slowly over glowing coals, served in a roll that is too short for it, with a sharp, coarse mustard and never with ketchup. Here you grill good fresh bratwurst and make a medium-hot mustard to go with it. Vegetarians can grill vegetarian bratwurst the same way. Chef's tip: grill over glowing coals with no flames, rubbing the sausages with a bacon rind or a little oil so they colour evenly and the skin crackles.

35 minGermanMeat
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tavuk soteSautéed chicken with peppers and mushrooms

Tavuk sote is what Turkish home cooks make on a busy weekday: strips of chicken thigh seared hard, then tossed with green and red peppers, mushrooms, onion, tomato and a spoonful of pepper paste until glossy. It cooks in the time the bulgur or rice takes, and lokantas serve it from the steam tray with a side of yoghurt. Thigh meat stays juicy; breast dries out quickly. Common mistake: adding all the chicken at once, which drops the pan temperature and leaves it pale and watery. Chef's tip: finish with a knob of butter and a pinch of dried thyme off the heat for a glossy, aromatic sauce.

30 minTurkishChickenGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tsai tou vounouMountain tea with honey and lemon

Bunches of dried sideritis, the woolly-leaved herb Greeks call mountain tea, hang in village kitchens from Mount Olympus to Taygetos, and a pot is brewed at the first sniffle of winter or after a long walk. The tea is pale gold with a gentle lemony, earthy, slightly floral taste, and it is drunk with honey, a slice of lemon and sometimes a cinnamon stick. Common mistake: brewing it like black tea with boiling water for a minute; it needs a gentle simmer to draw out flavour. Chef's tip: break the dried stems into the pot along with the flowers; the flower heads hold most of the aroma, the stems add body.

10 minGreekDrinksGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tiella bareseBaked rice, potatoes and mussels

Every family in Bari has its own tiella, also called riso, patate e cozze, and it turns up at Sunday lunches and summer gatherings along the Puglian coast. Layers of thinly sliced potato, raw rice, mussels opened on the half shell, onion, tomato, parsley and pecorino are packed into a deep baking dish, then baked with water until the rice has drunk up the sea-salty juices and the top is crisp. It's served warm, as a one-dish meal, followed by a salad. Chef's tip: open the mussels raw with a knife over a bowl and keep every drop of their liquid; it seasons the rice better than any stock.

105 minItalianRice & GrainsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tielle sétoiseSpicy octopus and tomato pie

The fishing port of Sète eats tielles everywhere: from bakeries along the canals, at the market on the Halles square, and on the quays during the summer water-jousting festival. Brought by Italian fishing families from Gaeta, the pie wraps a spicy, slow-cooked filling of octopus, onions and tomato in a soft olive-oil bread dough with a fluted, crimped edge. It is chewy, rich and properly peppery, and just as good cold as warm. Cut it into wedges as a snack or serve it with a green salad for lunch. Chef's tip: cook the filling until it is thick enough to hold a line when you drag a spoon through it, or the base will go soggy.

210 minFrenchSnacks & StartersSpicy
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tigelada da BeiraCinnamon milk custard

In Beira Baixa villages such as Oleiros and Proença-a-Nova, tigelada is baked in unglazed clay bowls heated in the wood oven until they are red hot, so the custard puffs up, cracks and browns on top while staying soft and slightly spongy inside. It is sold at festivals and markets across the region and is a common finish to a Sunday lunch. Terracotta dishes work best at home, but small ceramic ovenproof dishes do the job. Chef's tip: heat the empty dishes in the oven first; pouring cold batter into a hot dish is what makes it rise and form its typical crust.

40 minPortugueseDesserts
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tavuk göğsüShredded chicken milk pudding

It surprises everyone the first time, but Istanbul's old muhallebici shops still make this silky milk pudding with chicken breast pounded into fine threads, a recipe from the Ottoman palace kitchens. You cannot taste the chicken; it gives the pudding a stretchy, almost chewy body and a pearly look. Serve it cold with a heavy dusting of cinnamon. This dessert contains meat, so it is not vegetarian. Chef's tip: boil the chicken without salt and rinse the shreds several times in cold water; any savoury taste left behind will show in the finished pudding.

90 minTurkishDessertsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

SupangleChocolate pudding on sponge

Supangle is the chocolate pudding of Turkish pudding shops and school canteens, a favourite of children from Istanbul to Ankara: a thick, dark cocoa custard set in a bowl, traditionally with a piece of sponge cake or biscuit hidden at the bottom to soak up the edges. Served cold with grated chocolate or pistachios on top, it is rich but not heavy. Use proper dark chocolate as well as cocoa for depth. Common mistake: adding the chocolate before the pudding has thickened; it can seize and turn grainy. Chef's tip: whisk the butter in at the very end, off the heat, for a glossy, almost shiny surface.

25 minTurkishDesserts
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Za'atar spice blendThyme, sumac and sesame blend

In Palestinian homes za'atar is both a herb and the blend made from it, kept in a jar beside a bowl of olive oil so torn bread can be dipped in one and then the other at breakfast; children grow up on it, and it goes to school in sandwiches. The blend is mostly dried wild za'atar (or thyme and oregano), tangy with sumac, nutty with toasted sesame and seasoned with salt. Common mistake: grinding it to dust; it should be coarse and slightly flaky. Chef's tip: rub the dried leaves with a few drops of olive oil before mixing; it wakes their aroma and helps the sumac cling.

15 minPalestinianBasicsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Vyssino glykoSour cherry spoon sweet

In the mountain villages of Pelion, above Volos, every pantry holds jars of spoon sweets, and the sour cherry one is the jewel: whole stoned cherries in a thick, ruby syrup, offered to visitors on a tiny plate with a glass of cold water. It also spoons beautifully over Greek yoghurt or vanilla ice cream, and the syrup makes vyssinada, a summer drink. Common mistake: boiling too long, which shrivels the cherries and turns the syrup to toffee — test it on a cold saucer. Chef's tip: macerate the stoned cherries in sugar overnight; they release their juice and stay plump.

70 minGreekDessertsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tamalitos verdesGreen fresh corn tamales

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

90 minPeruvianSnacks & StartersGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Styrian KürbiskernbrotPumpkin seed rye loaf

In Styria, the south-eastern corner of Austria where the hulless Styrian pumpkin is grown for its dark green seeds and oil, every bakery sells a loaf crowded with those seeds. Kürbiskernbrot is a light rye-wheat bread, nutty and slightly sweet, with toasted seeds through the crumb and pressed all over the crust. Locals eat it at a Buschenschank, the farmhouse wine tavern, with Liptauer, cured meats or a drizzle of pumpkin seed oil. A common mistake is adding the seeds raw: toasting them first gives the bread its deep, roasted flavour. Chef's tip: soak half the toasted seeds in hot water while you make the dough, so they stay tender inside the bread and don't pull moisture from the crumb.

230 minAustrianBreads & ParathasVegan
by KrazyBadal 0 views

TintoBlack coffee with panela

Ask for a tinto anywhere in Colombia and you get a small cup of black coffee, never red wine. Street vendors carry it in thermos flasks through the plazas of Manizales, Pereira and Bogotá, and offices, bus stations and farm kitchens in the coffee region brew pots of it all day. It is light, hot and gently sweet, often made by simmering ground coffee with water and a little panela, then straining it through a cloth bag. The usual error is boiling the coffee hard, which makes it harsh and bitter; let it come to the boil only once. Chef's tip: let the grounds settle for a minute off the heat before straining, so the cup stays clear.

10 minColombianDrinksVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Viennese GugelhupfLemon and raisin ring cake

In Vienna the Gugelhupf is the Sunday cake of home bakers, set out on the table for afternoon Jause with coffee, and every family has its own fluted copper or ceramic mould. Unlike the yeasted ring cakes of Alsace and southern Germany, the everyday Viennese one is a Rührgugelhupf, a buttery sponge lifted with whisked egg whites, scented with lemon and studded with plump raisins. It is tender, light and keeps moist for several days under a cake dome. A common mistake is a badly greased mould; every ridge needs butter and flour or the cake tears as it comes out. Chef's tip: soak the raisins in hot water for 15 minutes, dry them and toss them in a spoon of flour so they don't sink.

90 minAustrianBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

TipakayChicken in sweet-sour tamarind sauce

Sweet, tangy and a little sticky, tipakay is the chifa order for people who like their sauce on the fruity side: battered pieces of chicken fried crisp, then dressed in a dark, glossy sauce built on tamarind, panela and soy, with strips of red and green pepper and onion that keep some crunch. It is one of the most popular platters in Lima's family-run chifas, eaten with white rice or chaufa. Its sauce is darker and less candy-sweet than kam lu's, with tamarind's sour depth. The mistake most home cooks make is letting the peppers stew until soft; give them only a minute in the wok so they stay bright. Chef's tip: taste the sauce before thickening and balance it: more lime if it's cloying, a pinch more panela if it's too sour.

45 minPeruvianChicken
by KrazyBadal 0 views

TiraditoSliced fish in ají amarillo sauce

Lima's Japanese-Peruvian cooks turned ceviche on its head with tiradito: instead of cubes soaked in lime, the fish is cut thin like sashimi, laid flat and dressed at the last minute, so it stays silky with only the surface turning white. The sauce here is the classic golden one, ají amarillo blended with lime, garlic and ginger, fruity and medium hot. It is served as a starter in cevicherías and upmarket Miraflores restaurants with boiled sweet potato and corn. Because the fish is eaten almost raw, this version uses sashimi-grade fish frozen at −20 °C for 24 hours first (allow for that), kept cold and eaten the moment it is dressed; it is not for pregnant women, young children or anyone with a weakened immune system. The mistake people make is dressing it ahead: after ten minutes the lime cooks it through and it turns chalky. Chef's tip: chill the plates in the freezer for 10 minutes before you lay out the fish; it keeps the slices firm while you work.

20 minPeruvianFishGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

YuvalamaRice dumplings in yoghurt soup

Families in Gaziantep spend the day before Kurban Bayramı rolling thousands of chickpea-sized dumplings for yuvalama, the festive yoghurt soup served on the first morning of the holiday. Little balls of rice dough and tiny lamb meatballs simmer with chickpeas and chunks of lamb in a tangy yoghurt broth, finished with mint butter. It is rich, soothing and very much a feast dish, so make it with friends. The most common mistake is adding the yoghurt straight to a boiling pot: it curdles. Chef's tip: whisk an egg yolk and a spoon of flour into the yoghurt and stir it constantly as it comes up to a simmer.

165 minTurkishMeat
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Ulster potato farlsGriddled potato bread

Potato bread, often just called fadge or tattie bread, is the soft, flat quarter-round that sits beside soda bread in every Ulster fry from Belfast to Derry. Warm mashed potato is worked with a little flour and butter, rolled into a round, cut into four farls and cooked on a dry griddle. It is thinner than a Scottish tattie scone and is always fried golden before serving. Chef's tip: use only enough flour to stop it sticking; the more potato, the better the farl.

30 minBritishBreads & Parathas
by KrazyBadal 0 views

VyssinadaSour cherry drink

Before fizzy drinks arrived, a tall glass of vyssinada was what you ordered in a Volos or Larissa kafeneio on an August afternoon: sour cherry syrup topped with iced water, sweet and sharp and bright red. Families in Thessaly still make a cordial from the summer cherry crop and keep the bottles in the fridge for weeks. Common mistake: squashing the cherries too hard through the sieve, which clouds the syrup — let the juice drip. Chef's tip: top with sparkling water and a squeeze of lemon for a lighter, livelier glass.

40 minGreekDrinksVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tlacoyos de habaStuffed blue corn cakes

Walk out of almost any Metro station in Mexico City in the morning and you will find a woman on a low stool patting out tlacoyos on a clay comal: thick, oval cakes of blue or white corn masa with a seam of bean or fava purée hidden inside, topped with cactus, salsa and crumbly cheese. They are bought hot, eaten standing up, and are one of the oldest street foods in the valley, older than the city itself. This version is filled with garlicky fava purée (habas) and topped with a quick nopal salad and salsa verde. Leave off the cheese and it is vegan. Chef's tip: keep the purée stiff, like mashed potato; a loose filling bursts through the masa when you flatten it.

70 minMexicanSnacks & StartersGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

TlatlapasBean, fava and pea soup

In the villages of Tlaxcala, tlatlapas is the Lenten and rainy-season soup: dried beans, fava and peas are toasted on a comal, ground to a coarse flour and simmered into a thick, earthy purée seasoned with dried chilli, epazote and strips of cactus. It is a peasant dish with pre-Hispanic roots, cheap, filling and full of protein, eaten with corn tortillas and a squeeze of lime. Using split beans keeps the cooking under an hour. Chef's tip: toast the pulses until golden and nutty, not dark; burnt ones turn the whole pot bitter.

55 minMexicanSoupsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Showing 63 of 7,762 recipes

Show more recipes

Page 480 of 863