What to eat today?

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SohanSaffron pistachio brittle

Pilgrims leaving the shrine city of Qom carry home round tins of sohan, and boxes of it are passed around at Nowruz visits all over Iran. It is a buttery, snapping brittle flavoured with saffron, cardamom and rosewater, built on sprouted wheat flour, which gives a gentle malty sweetness, and studded with slivered pistachios and almonds. Each disc shatters and then melts. Chef's tip: have every nut and flavouring measured beside the stove before you start; the last stage moves fast and the sugar won't wait.

50 min

Persian Desserts

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Soldaditos de PavíaBattered salt cod fingers

Madrid's old taverns near Puerta del Sol have fried these golden fingers of salt cod for well over a century, and they are still eaten standing at the bar with a small glass of something cold. Legend says the orange-red strip of pepper recalls the uniforms of soldiers in a Pavía regiment. The cod is soaked for two days to remove the salt, then fried until hot through, so it is fully cooked. Chef's tip: use cold sparkling water in the batter for a lighter, crunchier coat.

40 min

Spanish Fish

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Sole normandeSole with mussels in cider cream

Sole normande was born in the fish restaurants of the Normandy coast, from Dieppe to Honfleur, where the catch, the local cream and cider met on one plate; Paris chefs later made it a grand-restaurant classic. Folded sole fillets are gently poached in cider and fish stock, then served under a silky, ivory cream sauce made from the poaching liquid and mussel juices, with mussels, pink prawns and button mushrooms around them. It is delicate and rich, best with plain boiled potatoes or rice to soak up the sauce. It uses dry cider or white wine; the notes give an alcohol-free option. Chef's tip: plaice or lemon sole fillets work perfectly well and cost far less than Dover sole.

55 min

French Fish

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ZarangolloCourgette and onion with egg

Ask for a tapa in almost any bar in Murcia city and zarangollo will be on the counter in a clay dish, scooped onto bread or eaten with a fork. It comes from the huerta, the irrigated market gardens around the city, where courgettes pile up all summer: they are sliced thin with onion, stewed gently in olive oil until sweet and almost jammy, and then bound with beaten egg. Some families add a little potato, but courgette and onion are the heart of it. Chef's tip: slice the courgettes into thin half-moons so they melt quickly and evenly.

30 min

Spanish Vegetarian

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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 min

Greek Desserts

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Sopa de beldroegasPurslane and potato soup

Purslane grows wild between the rows of Alentejo vegetable gardens in summer, and country cooks pick it for this lemony, slightly peppery soup: potatoes and purslane simmered with garlic and olive oil, then finished with eggs poached in the broth and slices of fresh goat's cheese that soften in the heat. It is served over bread, as so many Alentejo soups are. The fresh cheese is usually made with animal rennet; choose a soft goat's cheese or ricotta made with vegetarian rennet if you need to. If you can't find purslane, watercress or spinach make a fair stand-in. Chef's tip: add the cheese only in the last minute, so it warms and softens but doesn't melt away.

50 min

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Sopa de caçãoDogfish soup with bread

Far from the sea, the Alentejo still has a fish soup it calls its own: firm dogfish simmered in a broth heavy with garlic and fresh coriander, thickened slightly with flour and sharpened with vinegar, then poured over bread. Families make it on Fridays and in Lent, and some village restaurants serve it every week. Dogfish and other small sharks are overfished in many waters; buy it only from a certified source, or use monkfish, a firm and sustainable white fish. A common mistake is boiling the fish hard, which makes it stringy; let it poach gently. Chef's tip: add the vinegar only at the very end, off the heat, so its sharpness stays fresh.

45 min

Portuguese Fish

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Sopa de capelettiMeat pasta in chicken broth

Winter nights in Bento Gonçalves, Caxias do Sul and the wine valleys of the Serra Gaúcha call for sopa de capeletti, the Italian immigrants' soup that is still served at the start of every big Sunday lunch at galeterias and family tables. Small hats of fresh egg pasta, filled with chicken, Parmesan and nutmeg, are cooked in a clear, golden, deeply savoury chicken broth and finished with more grated cheese. It is light but nourishing, and the broth should taste concentrated enough to stand on its own. The trap people fall into is boiling the broth hard, which turns it cloudy and greasy; keep it at a lazy simmer. You can freeze the shaped capeletti on a floured tray and cook them from frozen. Chef's tip: roll the dough until you can just see the shadow of your hand through it; thick capeletti turn stodgy in the soup.

160 min

Brazilian Soups

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Sopa de castanhasChestnut and bean soup

Before potatoes reached the high plateaus of Trás-os-Montes, chestnuts were the staple, and in villages around Bragança and Vinhais this thick soup is still made in November, when the magusto festivals roast the new crop. Farm versions are cooked with a piece of cured pork; this one is meat-free, built on dried or cooked chestnuts, white beans, onion and a little rice, finished with olive oil. It is sweet, nutty and filling enough for supper. Chef's tip: mash a third of the chestnuts into the broth to thicken it and leave the rest in pieces.

60 min

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Sopa de espárragos triguerosWild asparagus and bread soup

In March and April people across Extremadura walk the field margins and olive groves picking thin, bitter wild asparagus, and much of the haul goes into this soup. The spears are fried with garlic and smoky pimentón de la Vera, simmered with water, thickened with thin slices of stale bread, and an egg is poached in the pot for each person. It is a country supper for chilly spring evenings. Thin green asparagus from the shops works well. Chef's tip: take the pan off the heat before adding the paprika, so it doesn't scorch.

45 min

Spanish Soups

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Sopa de feijão verdeGreen bean and potato soup

From June to September, Minho kitchen gardens are heavy with runner and flat beans, and this soup is what most families make with them, served as the first course of an ordinary weekday lunch. A smooth base of potato, onion and carrot is puréed, then the beans, cut into thin diagonal slivers, are simmered in it until just tender. It is thick, mild and comforting, finished with a thread of olive oil. A common mistake is adding the green beans with the potatoes; they turn grey and soft, so add them only for the last few minutes. Chef's tip: slice the beans very thinly on a slant, as Minho cooks do, so they cook evenly and every spoonful gets some.

50 min

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Sopa de grão com espinafresChickpea and spinach soup

This is everyday food in the villages of the Beira interior, where chickpeas are a winter store-cupboard standby and a big pot of soup starts most lunches and suppers. Part of the chickpeas are blended with potato and onion for a creamy base, the rest left whole, and fresh spinach is stirred in at the end. It is filling, cheap and ready in under an hour. A common mistake is boiling the spinach in the soup for too long; add it at the end and cook it only until it wilts. Chef's tip: add the spinach only at the last minute, as long cooking turns it grey and bitter.

50 min

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Sopa de limaLime and chicken soup

Sopa de lima is the soup Mérida is proud of: a clear, golden chicken broth lightly spiced with oregano, allspice and clove, sharpened with a sofrito of tomato and green pepper and perfumed by the lima, a fragrant, mild Yucatán citrus. Restaurants around the main square serve it at lunch with a heap of crisp fried tortilla strips that soften as you eat. Lima is almost impossible to buy elsewhere, so this version uses ordinary lime plus a little orange or grapefruit juice to mimic its floral, less sour taste. Serve with extra lime slices and a fiery habanero salsa on the side. Chef's tip: fry the tortilla strips just before serving and add them at the table, so they still crunch.

95 min

Mexican Soups

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Sopa de panLayered bread soup

This is not a thin soup but a 'dry' one, baked in layers in a deep dish, and in San Cristóbal de las Casas it belongs to fiestas, weddings and the meatless days of Holy Week. Toasted bread is stacked with fried ripe plantain, green beans, carrot, potato, boiled egg and a tomato sauce, then soaked with a saffron and thyme broth until the bread swells into something like a savoury bread pudding. It is served in deep plates with a spoon. Families in the highlands use chicken stock; a good vegetable stock keeps it vegetarian. Chef's tip: dry the bread hard in the oven first; fresh bread dissolves into mush when the broth goes in.

75 min

Mexican Soups

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Sopa de tomate à alentejanaTomato soup with poached eggs

In the Alentejo, high summer means tomatoes ripening faster than anyone can eat them, and this is what farm families do with the glut: a thick, oily stew-soup of tomato, onion and green pepper, with eggs poached right in the pot and the whole thing spooned over slices of stale country bread. It is a supper dish, eaten in deep plates on hot evenings, often with grapes or melon afterwards. Many households slip in chouriço; this version keeps it vegetarian. A common mistake is using watery salad tomatoes; you need very ripe, deep-red ones for a soup that tastes of anything. Chef's tip: cook the onion slowly until truly sweet before the tomatoes go in; that sweetness carries the whole dish.

60 min

German Breakfast & Brunch

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Sopa seca chinchanaSpaghetti in basil chicken broth

Despite the name, there is no soup in a bowl: sopa seca is spaghetti cooked like a risotto in a well-seasoned chicken broth with basil, ají panca and tomato until every drop is absorbed and the noodles turn reddish-green and fragrant. In Chincha and Ica it always arrives on the same plate as carapulcra, the two together forming the famous festive 'matrimonio', with a chicken thigh on top. Expect soft, very savoury pasta with a mild warmth from the chilli. Where it goes wrong is pouring in all the broth at once, which leaves the pasta swimming and mushy; add it in stages, as for risotto. Chef's tip: blend the basil with a little oil and stir it in only in the last minutes, so it stays green instead of turning brown.

60 min

Peruvian Pasta & Noodles

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Sopa tarascaBean and tomato soup

Named after the Tarascan (Purépecha) people of Michoacán, sopa tarasca is the soup served in the restaurants around the plazas of Pátzcuaro and Morelia, especially on cool highland evenings. It is a smooth, brick-red purée of beans, tomato and ancho chilli, poured over crisp tortilla strips and finished with cream, fresh cheese and fried chilli rings. Some versions use chicken stock; this one uses vegetable stock and loses nothing. Fresh cheese may be made with animal rennet, so use a vegetarian one if needed. Chef's tip: fry the blended soup base in hot oil before adding the stock; it cooks out the raw tomato taste and deepens the colour.

50 min

Mexican Soups

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Kuru patlıcan dolmasıRice-stuffed dried aubergines

Strings of hollowed, sun-dried aubergines and peppers hang in every Gaziantep market, and in winter they are revived in hot water and stuffed with rice, mince, tomato and pepper paste. Simmered with a sour drizzle of pomegranate molasses and lemon, they become tender, slightly chewy parcels with a deep, almost smoky flavour that fresh vegetables can't match. Serve warm with yoghurt. Look for dried aubergines in Turkish and Middle Eastern shops. Common mistake: overfilling them; the rice swells and splits the delicate skins. Chef's tip: blanch them only until pliable, not soft, so they hold their shape through the long simmer.

95 min

Turkish Meat

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Sopes mallorquinesCabbage broth with brown bread

Sopes are a winter ritual in Mallorca, simmered in a wide clay greixonera and eaten for breakfast by country people and for Sunday lunch by everyone else. Cabbage, chard, cauliflower, artichoke and mushrooms cook in a garlicky, paprika-tinted broth, which is then poured over wafer-thin slices of dry brown bread until it soaks it all up into a spoonable mass, more stew than soup. Pork ribs often go in; this version is all vegetables. Serve with pickled chillies and black olives on the side. Chef's tip: buy the bread sliced for sopes at a bakery or slice a hard loaf on a mandolin, as thin bread is the whole texture of the dish.

70 min

Spanish Soups

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PlinsenBuckwheat pancakes with quark

Plinsen come from Lusatia, the Sorbian-speaking borderland of Brandenburg and Saxony, where buckwheat once grew in the sandy soil. They are thin, soft pancakes, slightly thicker than a crêpe, made with buckwheat or a mix of buckwheat and wheat, and they are eaten for breakfast or as a sweet supper with sweetened quark, apple sauce or, in July, wild blueberries from the Lusatian pine woods. The buckwheat gives a nutty, earthy edge. A common mistake is cooking them in a too-cool pan, which makes them pale and rubbery; the butter should sizzle as the batter hits it. Chef's tip: rest the batter for 30 minutes so the buckwheat swells and the pancakes don't tear.

30 min

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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 min

Greek Drinks

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Sorrentinos de calabazaSquash and ricotta pasta parcels

Mar del Plata claims the sorrentino, a big round stuffed pasta about the size of a jam-jar lid that Italian-Argentine cooks made their own in the mid-20th century; despite the name, you won't find it in Sorrento. Every fresh-pasta shop in Buenos Aires province sells them by the dozen on Sunday mornings, and the squash version, with roasted calabaza, ricotta and nutmeg, is the most loved. The filling is sweet and soft, the pasta thin but sturdy, and the sauce is either brown butter with sage or a plain tomato filetto. The classic mistake is boiled squash: it carries too much water, the filling weeps and the parcels burst in the pot, so the squash is roasted until dry and caramelised. Grated hard cheese is usually made with animal rennet; choose a vegetarian hard cheese if needed. Chef's tip: chill the filling until firm before you shape it; a cold, stiff filling is far easier to seal without air pockets.

100 min

Argentinian Pasta & Noodles

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Sosis bandariSpicy sausage and tomato sandwich

Sosis bandari, 'port-style sausage', began in the Gulf ports of Bushehr and Bandar Abbas and is now the late-night snack of sandwich shops all over Iran, from Tehran to Shiraz. Sliced beef or chicken frankfurter-style sausages (Iranian sausages are never pork) are fried with lots of onion, potato, tomato paste and chilli until sticky and hot, then stuffed into a soft baguette with pickles and tomato. It is spicy, greasy in the best way and ready in minutes. A common mistake is crowding the pan; the onion steams instead of browning, so use your widest pan. Chef's tip: a pinch of curry powder and a squeeze of lemon at the end is how the bandari shops give it their southern kick.

28 min

Persian Fast Food

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SoumadaAlmond syrup drink

On Crete and several Aegean islands, a glass of cloudy-white soumada is offered to guests at weddings and on hot summer afternoons. It begins as a thick almond syrup kept in the fridge, which is stirred into iced water to make a cool, gently sweet drink that tastes of marzipan and orange blossom. Some islanders add a few bitter almonds for an edge; they are not safe to eat in quantity, so this version uses a drop of almond extract instead. Common mistake: boiling the syrup hard after the almond milk goes in, which makes it cloudy and grainy rather than smooth. Chef's tip: squeeze the almond pulp in a muslin bag with real force; the last drops are the richest.

45 min

Greek Drinks

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Soupe de poissons with rouilleFish soup with rouille

Not to be confused with bouillabaisse, where whole pieces of fish are served, soupe de poissons is the smooth, rust-coloured soup made all along the coast from Marseille to Sète from small rockfish too bony to eat any other way. The fish are fried with fennel, tomato, garlic and saffron, simmered and then pressed through a food mill, giving a velvety soup tasting deeply of the sea. In harbourside restaurants it arrives with a tray of toasted croutons, a pot of fiery garlic rouille and grated cheese, and everyone builds their own bowl. This rouille is thickened with potato and bread, with no raw egg. Chef's tip: press the cooked fish hard through the mill or sieve; the flavour is in the pulp, not just the liquid.

100 min

French Soups

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South Dakota chislicFried lamb cubes

Chislic is the official nosh of South Dakota, brought to the prairie by Germans from Russia and served at taverns and county fairs around Freeman and Sioux Falls. Bite-size cubes of lamb or mutton are deep-fried or grilled on skewers, tossed in garlic salt and eaten with cocktail sticks, with saltine crackers and hot sauce on the side. Chef's tip: cut the cubes all the same size, about 2 cm, so they cook evenly in the short time in the oil.

25 min

American Meat

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Soutzoukakia SmyrneikaCumin meatballs in tomato sauce

Refugee families from Smyrna brought these long, cumin-heavy meatballs to Thessaloniki and Kalamaria in the 1920s, and they're still a weekday favourite in northern Greek homes. The mince is mixed with soaked bread, garlic and plenty of cumin, shaped into fat little logs, browned and then simmered in a cinnamon-tinged tomato sauce until tender. Serve over rice pilaf or with chips and a spoon of yoghurt. Many cooks add a splash of red wine to the sauce; this version uses red wine vinegar instead, so it's alcohol-free. Common mistake: squeezing the bread dry — it should stay damp, which keeps the meatballs juicy. Chef's tip: chill the shaped soutzoukakia for 20 minutes so they hold their shape in the pan.

70 min

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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 min

German Breads & Parathas

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Spaghetti all'assassinaCharred spicy spaghetti

Spaghetti all'assassina was born in a Bari restaurant in the late 1960s and has become the city's cult late-night pasta. The raw spaghetti go straight into a hot iron pan with garlic, chilli and tomato, and are cooked like a risotto, a ladle of tomato broth at a time, until some strands blacken and turn crunchy while others stay chewy. It is smoky, sweet and properly hot, and Baresi argue about how burnt it should be. Chef's tip: use a wide iron or steel frying pan, never non-stick; you want the pasta to stick a little and scorch.

35 min

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Spaghetti alla chitarra con le pallottineSpaghetti with tiny meatballs

In Teramo, in northern Abruzzo, Sunday lunch and village festivals often start with chitarra pasta and pallottine, meatballs no bigger than a chickpea. The pasta is cut on a chitarra, a wooden frame strung with wires, which gives square-edged strands with a rough surface that grips the sauce. The tiny beef meatballs are simmered right in a light tomato sauce, so every forkful has a few. Serve with grated pecorino and nothing else; this is a dish of patience rather than complication. Chef's tip: roll the meatballs with damp hands on a tray; at this size you'll make well over a hundred, so put the radio on.

120 min

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SpetzofaiSausage and pepper stew

Spetzofai is the dish shepherds in the Pelion mountains near Volos cooked over the fire: spicy village pork sausages sliced and stewed with long green and red peppers in a thick tomato sauce. Now it's on every tsipouro-bar menu in Volos, served sizzling in a clay dish with bread and feta. Use coarse pork sausages with leek or orange peel if you can find them. Common mistake: cooking the peppers to mush — they should be soft but still hold their shape. Chef's tip: brown the sausage slices hard first; the fat they leave flavours the peppers.

55 min

Austrian Breakfast & Brunch

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Spotted dogRaisin soda bread

Spotted dog, or 'spotted dick' and 'railway cake' in parts of Leinster, is white soda bread with a handful of raisins and a little sugar, the sweet loaf Irish grandmothers bake for the afternoon tea or Sunday visitors. It is soft, slightly cakey and best warm, split and buttered. Chef's tip: toss the dried fruit in the flour first so it stays spread through the loaf instead of sinking.

50 min

Irish Breads & Parathas

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Spreewälder GurkenDill-fermented gherkins

In the Spreewald, the forest and canal country south-east of Berlin, cucumbers have been fermented in barrels of dill brine for centuries, and in late summer the riverbanks are lined with stalls selling them by the jar. These salt-fermented gherkins are sour, garlicky and crunchy, eaten as a snack, alongside sandwiches or with jacket potatoes and quark. No vinegar is used: lactic fermentation does the souring. The most common mistake is letting cucumbers poke above the brine, where mould can start. Chef's tip: choose small, firm, freshly picked cucumbers and add a few vine or oak leaves; their tannins keep the gherkins crisp.

30 min

German Sides

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SpundekäsWhipped quark and cream cheese dip

In Mainz and the wine villages of Rhine-Hesse, Spundekäs is what lands on the table at a wine festival or in a Straußwirtschaft, the pop-up taverns winemakers open in their courtyards in late summer. It is a light, airy whip of quark and cream cheese, sharpened with onion, garlic and plenty of sweet paprika, and it is scooped up with soft pretzels or Laugenbrezel. The name comes from the cone-shaped wooden 'Spund' it was once pressed into. A common mistake is using watery quark straight from the tub, which makes a runny dip; drain it first. Chef's tip: make it a couple of hours ahead so the onion softens into the cheese, then dust with fresh paprika just before serving.

15 min

German Chutneys & Dips

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SteckerlfischMackerel grilled on a stick

Steckerlfisch, fish on a stick, is the smell of a Munich beer garden on a summer evening and of the Oktoberfest stalls: whole mackerel or lake whitefish threaded lengthways onto long wooden sticks, brushed with spiced oil and turned slowly in front of glowing charcoal. The skin turns crisp and golden and the flesh stays moist; it is eaten with fingers, a pretzel and a wedge of lemon. On a home barbecue the sticks are laid across the grill instead of stood around the fire. Chef's tip: grill over medium, not fierce, heat and be patient; the skin should blister slowly or it sticks and tears.

40 min

German Fish

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Steirische Kernöl-EierspeisScrambled eggs with pumpkin seed oil

Eierspeis is the Austrian word for scrambled eggs, and in Styria they get a final drizzle of the region's dark green pumpkin seed oil. It is a farmhouse breakfast or a late-night snack after a long evening in a Graz wine bar, eaten straight from the small pan it was cooked in with a slice of rye bread. The eggs are soft and creamy in big folds, and the oil adds a toasted, nutty depth that tastes almost like brown butter. A common mistake is stirring too fast on a high heat, which gives small dry crumbs instead of soft curds. Chef's tip: salt the eggs a few minutes before cooking; it helps them set more tenderly.

8 min

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Steirische KürbiscremesuppeCreamy pumpkin soup

When the pumpkin fields of Styria turn orange in October, every inn from Graz to the Slovenian border puts this soup on the board. It is velvety and gently sweet, with a little nutmeg and a dash of vinegar for lift, and comes to the table with a swirl of almost black pumpkin seed oil and a scattering of toasted seeds. Serve it as a starter before a Sunday roast or with crusty bread for supper. A common mistake is boiling the soup hard after the cream goes in, which can split it and dull the colour. Check the stock if you need it gluten free. Chef's tip: toast the seeds dry in a pan until they puff and pop; it takes 3 minutes and doubles the nutty flavour.

40 min

Austrian Soups

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Steirischer KäferbohnensalatRunner bean pumpkin oil salad

In the hills of south-east Styria, fat purple-speckled runner beans called Käferbohnen, 'beetle beans', are dried every autumn and turned into this simple salad. It is a fixture of the Buschenschank, the farm wine taverns where you sit outdoors with a board of bread, cheese and spreads. The beans are soft and creamy, the red onion and cider vinegar sharp, and the dark green pumpkin seed oil gives a deep, toasty, nutty flavour. A common mistake is dressing cold beans straight from the fridge; dress them lukewarm so they soak up the vinegar. Chef's tip: add the pumpkin seed oil last and do not heat it; it turns bitter when warm.

15 min

Austrian Salads

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Steirisches WurzelfleischPork simmered with root vegetables

Wurzelfleisch, 'root meat', is a winter dish from the farms of Styria in south-east Austria, cooked in November and December when pigs were killed and the cellar was full of carrots, celeriac and parsley root. Pork shoulder is simmered in a lightly sour broth, then served in deep plates with thin strips of root vegetables, boiled potatoes and a snowfall of freshly grated horseradish. It is a gentle, clean-tasting dish, quite unlike a roast. Chef's tip: grate the horseradish at the table; it loses its bite within minutes.

130 min

Austrian Meat

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Virado à paulistaBeans, pork chop and sausage plate

Monday in São Paulo means virado à paulista: the city's lunch counters and botequins have served it as the prato do dia at the start of the week for generations. The plate goes back to the bandeirantes' travel food, and today it is a feast of pork: beans cooked down and thickened with cassava flour into a soft tutu, a pork chop, a grilled pork sausage, a crackling of torresmo if you like, a fried egg, garlicky collard greens, rice and fried banana. It is hearty, salty and sweet in turns. A common mistake is serving the pork chop well past done and dry; a whole pork chop is safe at 63 °C with a 3-minute rest, and juicy at that point. Some restaurants bread the banana; frying it plain keeps the plate gluten free. Chef's tip: cook the beans with a little bacon and let them sit for a few minutes after adding the farinha; it keeps thickening as it stands.

75 min

Brazilian Meat

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Strascinati con mollica e peperoni cruschiPasta with breadcrumbs and crisp peppers

Strascinati get their name from the way they are made: a piece of semolina dough is dragged (strascinato) across a wooden board under two or three fingers, so it curls into a wide, ridged shell. In the hill towns of Basilicata they are rolled on Sunday mornings and tossed with the simplest dressing of the poor kitchen, olive oil, garlic, breadcrumbs fried until crunchy and crushed peperoni cruschi, the sweet dried peppers of Senise. The crumbs stand in for cheese, which once was a luxury. Chef's tip: fry the breadcrumbs separately and add them at the table, so they are still crackling when you eat.

60 min

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VincisgrassiBaked lasagne with meat ragù

Macerata, in the hills of the Marche, claims vincisgrassi as its own, and families still bake a tray for Sunday lunch, Christmas and Carnival. It is richer than the lasagne most people know: thin egg pasta sheets layered with a slow ragù of pork, veal and chicken livers, a nutmeg-scented béchamel and plenty of parmigiano, baked until the top is crusted and golden. Many cooks splash in white wine and a little Marsala; this version uses dry white wine, with an alcohol-free swap in the ingredient list, and the chicken livers are optional if you'd rather leave them out. Serve it in modest squares, followed by a crisp green salad. Chef's tip: make the ragù the day before and assemble cold, so the layers set firmly and slice cleanly.

270 min

Austrian Breads & Parathas

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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 min

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SubmarinoHot milk with chocolate bar

Café tables in Buenos Aires have their own way with hot chocolate: the waiter brings a tall glass of frothy, steaming milk on a saucer with a slim bar of dark chocolate, and you drop the bar in yourself and watch it sink like a submarine. Stirred with a long spoon, it melts into a rich, not-too-sweet drink, and it is the classic order with medialunas on a cold winter afternoon or after school. At home it takes five minutes, and children love the moment of dropping the bar in. The common letdown is milk that is only warm: the chocolate sits in a lump at the bottom. Heat it until it is steaming and just starting to rise, but not boiling. Chef's tip: froth the hot milk with a whisk or milk frother before pouring; the foam on top is part of the café ritual and keeps the drink hot while the chocolate melts.

5 min

Argentinian Drinks

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Suco de acerolaAcerola cherry juice

Backyard acerola bushes are everywhere in Pernambuco, Paraíba and the rest of the Northeast, and the small, glossy red cherries fruit several times a year. Blended with water and a little sugar, they make a vivid orange-red juice, tart and cherry-like with a slightly floral finish, famously one of the richest natural sources of vitamin C. Lanchonetes often mix it with orange juice; at home it is the drink kids are handed when they have a cold. Fresh acerolas spoil within days, so outside Brazil use frozen acerola pulp. Letting it stand is the common mistake, since the vitamin C and colour fade quickly once blended. Chef's tip: blend it just before serving, and add the sugar sparingly, about a tablespoon per two glasses, to keep it light.

10 min

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Suco de cajuCashew apple juice

Everyone in Ceará and Rio Grande do Norte has a cashew tree nearby, and in the season, roughly September to December, the fleshy yellow and red cashew apples hang heavily above the nuts. Their juice is the region's everyday drink: pale, cloudy, sweet-tart and faintly astringent, it leaves a slight dryness in the mouth that people love with fried fish or a plate of baião de dois. Fresh cashew apples rarely travel, so outside Brazil use frozen cashew-apple pulp (polpa de caju) from Brazilian shops. This is the fruit, not the nut, but anyone with a cashew allergy should still avoid it. Over-sweetening to hide the astringency is a common mistake, as the juice turns syrupy. Chef's tip: a few drops of lime and plenty of ice soften the dryness far better than extra sugar.

10 min

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Suco de cupuaçuCupuaçu juice

Cupuaçu is a big, brown, furry-skinned fruit from the cacao family, and in Belém and Manaus its white pulp shows up in ice cream, sweets and above all juice, sold in every lanchonete and at the Ver-o-Peso market. The pulp is thick, creamy and intensely aromatic, with a flavour somewhere between pineapple, banana and chocolate, and very tart, so it is blended with water and sugar into a frothy, almost milkshake-like juice. Look for frozen cupuaçu pulp in Brazilian and Latin shops. Many cafés blend it with milk instead of water; that version is no longer vegan or dairy free. Too little blending is the usual problem, because the fibrous pulp stays stringy. Chef's tip: blend the pulp from frozen, in chunks, with the sugar and a little water first until smooth, then add the rest of the water.

10 min

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Suco de maracujáPassion fruit juice

Brazilian lunch counters, the pratos feitos joints known as PFs, list suco de maracujá on every chalkboard, and many people order it for its famously calming effect after a long morning. Yellow passion fruit is blended briefly with cold water, strained and sweetened, which gives a vivid, perfumed, very tart drink that goes with rice, beans and a grilled steak just as well as with a beach snack. Use wrinkled, heavy fruit for the most juice, or frozen unsweetened pulp from Latin shops. Over-blending is the slip people make: crushed seeds turn the juice gritty and bitter. Chef's tip: blend the pulp with only a little of the water first, in a couple of short pulses, strain, then add the rest of the water and the sugar.

10 min

Turkish Breakfast & Brunch

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Sucuklu yumurtaSpicy sausage with eggs

No Turkish weekend breakfast spread feels complete without a sizzling sahan of sucuklu yumurta carried to the table: slices of garlicky, cumin-spiced beef sucuk fried in their own red fat, with eggs cracked over and cooked just until the whites set. Everyone tears bread and dips it straight into the pan, between bites of cheese, olives and tomato. Sucuk is a cured beef sausage; cook it thoroughly. Common mistake: frying the sucuk on high heat, which burns the spices and makes the slices curl and harden. Chef's tip: add a teaspoon of water to the pan once the sucuk has released its fat; it stops the slices burning and helps cook the egg tops.

11 min

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Suero costeñoTangy fermented cream

Market stalls in Montería, Sincelejo and Valledupar sell suero costeño from big tubs, ladled into bags: a sour, salty, spoonable cream that goes onto bollos, arepas, boiled cassava, fried plantain and mote de queso. Traditionally it comes from raw milk left to sour in the heat. This home version keeps the flavour but uses pasteurised cream and milk with live yogurt as a starter, which is far safer. Plan for 12–24 hours of fermenting plus chilling. Hygiene matters: wash the jar and spoon in hot soapy water and scald them with boiling water, never use raw milk, and keep the jar at room temperature (20–25 °C, out of direct sun) for no more than 24 hours before it goes into the fridge. Throw it out if you see mould, pink or orange patches, or it smells putrid rather than pleasantly sour. Leaving it out too long is the big mistake: it goes bitter and separates. Chef's tip: salt only after fermenting, as salt slows the cultures.

15 min

Colombian Chutneys & Dips

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SujukSpicy sausage and tomato wrap

Late-night sandwich counters in Bourj Hammoud, Beirut's Armenian quarter, fry sujuk on a flat-top until it crackles, toss in tomatoes and wrap the lot in thin bread with toum and pickles. Ready-made sujuk is usually dried and cured; this home version is a fresh, uncured beef sausage mix seasoned with garlic, cumin, sumac and Aleppo pepper and shaped into skinless fingers, so it cooks quickly and safely. It is just as good at breakfast with fried eggs. The common mistake is frying on a high heat from the start, which burns the spices before the meat cooks through. Chef's tip: chill the shaped sausages for 30 minutes first; they hold together and brown better.

60 min

Lebanese Meat

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SumaghiyyehSumac, chard and lamb stew

Sumaghiyyeh is Gaza's festive dish, cooked in big pots for Eid al-Fitr and eaten cold the next days with bread: chunks of lamb and chickpeas in a thick, purple-brown sauce of sumac, chard, tahini, garlic, dill and chilli. It tastes sour, nutty and herby all at once and is served at room temperature, sealed under a film of olive oil. Common mistake: using ground sumac straight into the pot, which leaves it gritty; soak the sumac and use the strained liquid. Chef's tip: make it a day ahead; the sauce sets and the flavours deepen, just as Gazan families serve it.

130 min

Palestinian Meat

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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 min

Turkish Desserts

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Suquet de peixFish and potato stew with picada

Fishermen from Cadaqués, Palamós and the other Costa Brava ports made suquet on board with the fish that would not sell: rockfish, monkfish, hake, a few prawns, simmered with potatoes in a sofrito and thickened at the end with a picada of garlic, almonds, parsley and fried bread. Now it is a weekend lunch in harbour restaurants, served straight from the pan. The potatoes must release their starch so the broth turns into a light, silky sauce. Chef's tip: 'crack' the potatoes rather than slicing them: cut part way, then snap off the pieces; the rough edges give up more starch.

70 min

Spanish Fish

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LabooHot slow-cooked beetroot

On cold Tehran evenings, vendors push carts piled with steaming beetroot through the bazaars and past school gates, and a paper cup of laboo is what people reach for when the first snow falls. Whole beets are simmered for well over an hour with a little sugar until the cooking water reduces to a glossy, almost purple syrup that clings to every slice. You eat it hot, cut into chunks and spooned with the syrup, sometimes with a pinch of salt to wake up the sweetness. The common mistake is peeling or cutting the beets before cooking, which bleeds out the colour and leaves them pale and watery. Chef's tip: choose beets of the same size so they finish together, and keep the skins on until the very end.

95 min

Persian Snacks & Starters

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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 min

Austrian Breads & Parathas

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Surubí a la parrillaGrilled catfish steaks

The surubí, a big spotted catfish of the Paraná, has firm, almost meaty white flesh with no fine bones, which is why riverside parrillas in Corrientes, Goya and Esquina cut it into thick steaks and throw it on the grill like beef. A short soak in lemon, garlic and oil, plenty of salt, and live coals are all it asks. Serve with boiled cassava or potatoes, salsa criolla and a cold lemonade. Outside Argentina, buy thick steaks of another firm catfish, or of monkfish or swordfish. The usual mistake is trying to flip the fish too soon: it tears and sticks until a crust has formed and it lets go of the grate by itself. Chef's tip: oil the fish rather than the grill, and rub the hot bars with half a lemon just before the steaks go on.

37 min

Argentinian Fish

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LabskausCorned beef, potato and beetroot hash

Labskaus is the pink, rough-textured hash that ships' cooks made from salted beef and potatoes, and it is still on the menu in harbour pubs from Hamburg to Bremen, often as a hearty lunch after a cold walk along the Elbe. Salt beef is fried with onion, then pounded into mashed potato with pickled beetroot and a splash of its juice, so the whole plate turns magenta. A fried egg goes on top, with gherkins and, for those who like it, a rolled pickled herring on the side. Chef's tip: keep back some of the beetroot liquid and add it at the end, a spoon at a time; it is the sharpness that stops the hash tasting heavy.

60 min

German Meat

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Lacón con grelosCured pork shoulder with turnip tops

Lacón con grelos is the great dish of Entroido, the Galician carnival, when restaurants in Lugo and A Coruña serve platters of it to tables of friends. This contains pork (cured pork shoulder and chorizo). The lacón is soaked, then simmered with chorizo, and turnip tops and potatoes are cooked in the same rich broth. It's served with olive oil and a sprinkle of paprika. A common mistake is skipping the soaking, which leaves the meat far too salty to eat. Chef's tip: save the cooking liquid, as it makes the base for a caldo the next day.

170 min

Spanish Meat

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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 min

Austrian Baking

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Vieiras á galegaBaked scallops with onion and crumbs

In the Rías Baixas, scallops come into season in winter, and at Christmas many Galician families start dinner with a tray of them baked in their shells. Each one sits under a sweet onion sofrito with paprika, topped with breadcrumbs and baked until golden. Some cooks add cured ham or white wine; this version keeps it simple. Throw away any scallops with cracked shells, and any open ones that don't close when tapped. A common mistake is baking them too long, which makes them rubbery; they need only 8–10 minutes. Chef's tip: ask the fishmonger to open and clean them, and keep the deep half of each shell for baking.

55 min

Spanish Fish

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LadeniaTomato and onion olive-oil flatbread

On tiny Kimolos, a short boat ride from Milos, ladenia was the bread women baked in the village oven on bread-making day, pressing dough into a tray, covering it with tomato and onion and soaking it in olive oil. It is soft and airy inside with a crisp, oily base, a little like a focaccia, and is eaten warm or cold, cut into squares, with olives and cheese. Common mistake: piling on wet tomato, which sinks the dough; slice it thin and salt it first. Chef's tip: use your fingertips to press deep dimples into the risen dough so the oil and tomato juices pool and soak in.

55 min

Greek Breads & Parathas

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Tabakh rohoLamb and summer vegetable stew

Tabakh roho means 'it cooks itself', and this Damascus summer stew does just that: chunks of lamb, aubergine, courgette, potatoes, peppers and tomatoes are layered in a pot with garlic and dried mint and left to simmer quietly until everything is soft and the juices have mingled. Home cooks make it in July and August when the vegetables are cheapest, and it is eaten with rice or bread. Common mistake: stirring it — the layers should stay intact so each vegetable keeps its shape. Chef's tip: put the potatoes at the bottom where the heat is strongest and the tomatoes on top so their juices baste everything below.

115 min

Syrian Meat

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Tacos de canastaSteamed basket tacos

From about nine in the morning, bicycles with a wicker basket strapped behind the seat roll into Mexico City offices and street corners, and the cry of 'tacos de canasta' goes up. Inside the basket, wrapped in cloth and plastic, a hundred small tacos have steamed in their own heat for hours, so the tortillas turn soft, glossy and slightly sticky with chilli-red oil. They are cheap, sold by the handful, and eaten with green salsa from a jar on the bike. The usual fillings are potato, refried beans, adobo and chicharrón prensado (pressed pork rind); this recipe makes the two vegetarian ones and leaves out the pork. Chef's tip: an insulated cool box lined with a tea towel does the same job as the basket and keeps them hot for two hours.

75 min

Mexican Snacks & Starters

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LaganaSesame flatbread

Lagana appears in Greek bakeries for a single day, Kathara Deftera (Clean Monday), when families head outdoors to fly kites and spread out a Lenten picnic of taramosalata, olives, pickles and halva. It is a long, oval, dimpled flatbread, chewy inside with a crust covered in toasted sesame, and since it is eaten on a fasting day it has no eggs, milk or butter. Common mistake: baking it on a cold tray, which gives a pale, bready base. Chef's tip: press deep dimples with oiled fingertips just before baking so the loaf stays flat instead of puffing up like a pitta.

45 min

Greek Breads & Parathas

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TafelspitzSimmered beef with apple horseradish

Tafelspitz is Vienna's grand Sunday lunch, the dish the old Beisl taverns and the city's famous beef restaurants built their names on. A whole piece of beef top rump is barely simmered with root vegetables for hours, then served in three acts: first the clear golden broth, then the sliced beef with crisp roast potatoes, sharp Apfelkren (grated apple and horseradish) and a cool chive sauce. Keep any leftover broth for Grießnockerlsuppe or Frittatensuppe. Chef's tip: never let the pot bubble; a slow tremble keeps the meat juicy and the broth clear.

210 min

Austrian Meat

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Lahanodolmades avgolemonoStuffed cabbage in egg-lemon sauce

When the first frosts hit Macedonia and the cabbages in the market grow huge and sweet, families in Thessaloniki and Serres spend a Saturday rolling lahanodolmades for the week ahead. Blanched leaves wrap a filling of minced pork and beef with rice, onion and dill; they simmer slowly in a covered pot and the broth is thickened with egg and lemon into a pale, silky sauce. Eat them hot with bread and a dollop of yoghurt. Common mistake: boiling the sauce after adding the eggs, which scrambles it — keep it below a simmer. Chef's tip: line the pot with torn outer leaves so the rolls never stick or scorch.

120 min