Featured recipe

Merkén

Smoked chilli seasoning

Merkén comes from the Mapuche kitchens of Araucanía: cacho de cabra chillies are dried, smoked over a wood fire, then ground with toasted coriander seed and salt into a brick-red powder that is smoky, warm and lightly hot. In Temuco and across the south it is shaken over potatoes, eggs, sopaipillas, grilled fish and soups. Outside Chile, use dried smoked red chillies, or plain dried red chillies plus smoked paprika. The mistake to avoid is scorching the chillies in the pan: if they blacken, the whole jar is bitter. Chef's tip: grind it a little coarse, as it is sold in Temuco's market, so the coriander seeds stay noticeable.

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Migas extremeñasFried breadcrumbs with chorizo

Migas were the breakfast of Extremaduran shepherds, made from the hard bread they carried, and they are still what families cook on a rainy winter day or at a village fiesta, often in a huge pan stirred with a long spoon. The bread is cut tiny, dampened and left overnight, then fried slowly in garlicky oil with panceta and chorizo until loose, golden and crunchy at the edges. They are served with grapes or melon on the side, and sometimes a fried egg. This contains pork (panceta and chorizo). Chef's tip: keep turning the crumbs with a spatula the whole time; this constant movement is what makes them loose.

55 min

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Milho fritoFried cornmeal cubes with kale

Order espetada in any Madeiran restaurant and a basket of these golden cubes comes with it: polenta-style cornmeal cooked with shredded kale and garlic, set in a tray, then cut and fried until crunchy outside and soft and creamy within. They are also cooked at home on Sundays alongside grilled fish. Chef's tip: make the cornmeal the day before, as a well-chilled block cuts cleanly and doesn't fall apart in the oil.

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Mingau de tapiocaTapioca and coconut porridge

Before the buses fill up, mingau sellers set out tall aluminium pots on Salvador's street corners and ladle out tapioca porridge into plastic cups for workers on the way in. It is thick, spoon-coating and gently sweet, made with granulated tapioca or small pearls cooked in milk and coconut milk with cinnamon and clove, and finished with a dusting of cinnamon. At home it is a quick breakfast, a soothing supper for children and the classic thing to give someone who is unwell. Many vendors also sell mingau de milho and de puba from neighbouring pots. Where people go wrong is adding the tapioca to boiling milk without soaking it first; it clumps and stays chalky in the middle. Chef's tip: take the pan off the heat while it still looks a little loose, because the tapioca keeps drinking up liquid and the porridge sets thicker within minutes.

25 min

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MırraBitter cardamom coffee

In the courtyard houses of Mardin and the guest rooms of Şanlıurfa, mırra is poured from a long-spouted pot into tiny handleless cups, just a mouthful each, as a sign of welcome. It is made by boiling dark-roasted coffee for a long time until it becomes thick, bitter and concentrated, then boiling it again and again. Tradition says you never put the cup down empty unless you mean to marry the host's family, so hand it back with a small shake. It is never sweetened: serve it with dates or a sweet. Common mistake: using finely ground Turkish coffee; it turns muddy, so use medium-ground dark roast. Chef's tip: the second boil is where the flavour comes from, so don't rush it.

65 min

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MixiotesChilli lamb steamed in parchment

Mixiotes belong to the high plains of Hidalgo and Tlaxcala, where they are a Sunday and fiesta dish sold from steaming pots at weekly markets. Chunks of lamb (or chicken) are soaked in a dark, aromatic paste of guajillo and ancho chillies with garlic, cumin and cloves, wrapped in parcels and steamed until the meat collapses into its own rich red juices. The traditional wrapper is mixiote, the thin skin peeled from maguey leaves, which is now protected and hard to buy, so this recipe uses baking parchment tied with string. The lamb marinates in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight. Open the parcels at the table and serve with corn tortillas, salsa verde and avocado. Chef's tip: twist and tie the parcels tightly so no steam gets in; a sealed parcel keeps the sauce thick and concentrated.

420 min

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MoghrabiehPearl couscous with chicken and chickpeas

Despite its name, which nods to North Africa, moghrabieh is thoroughly Lebanese: big, chewy pearls of hand-rolled semolina cooked with chicken, baby onions and chickpeas in a broth scented with caraway and cinnamon. Families in Beirut and the mountains make it for Sunday lunch and especially on Christmas Eve in some villages. The pearls are served in a mound with the chicken and onions on top and a jug of broth to moisten each plate. Common mistake: boiling the pearls in the broth from the start; they turn gluey, so parboil them in water first. Chef's tip: toss the drained pearls in a little butter and caraway before mixing them with the onions — they stay separate and glossy.

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MohnnudelnPotato noodles with poppy seeds

The Waldviertel, the cool, forested uplands of Lower Austria, is poppy country: in July its fields bloom white, pink and violet, and the grey poppy seed grown there has a protected name. Mohnnudeln are its favourite sweet dish, served as a main meal on meatless days or as dessert. Soft potato dough is rolled into little tapered noodles, boiled, then tossed in foaming butter with a generous amount of freshly ground poppy seed and icing sugar, so they taste nutty, buttery and gently sweet. A common mistake is using whole or stale poppy seeds; whole seeds give no flavour and old ground ones taste bitter. Chef's tip: grind the poppy seed yourself in a spice grinder just before using, in short bursts so it doesn't turn to paste.

60 min

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Mojarra fritaFried whole tilapia

On the beaches of Bocagrande and in the open-air kitchens of La Boquilla outside Cartagena, the lunch plate is a whole mojarra (tilapia) fried until its fins crackle, served with coconut rice, smashed green plantain patacones and a tomato and onion salad with lime. The skin goes shatteringly crisp, the flesh stays sweet and moist, and you eat it with your fingers, pulling meat off the bone. Scoring the sides lets the heat and seasoning reach the thick part near the spine. The mistake to avoid is putting a wet fish into the oil, which spits dangerously and leaves the skin soggy: pat it very dry and dust it lightly. Chef's tip: fry one fish at a time in plenty of oil and don't move it for the first 4 minutes, so the skin sets before you turn it. Serve with arroz con coco for the full Caribbean plate.

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Mojica de pintadoCatfish and cassava stew

Thick, golden and soothing, mojica is the stew Cuiabá cooks with pintado, the big spotted catfish of the Pantanal rivers. Cassava simmers in a tomato and onion broth until it starts to break and thicken it, then cubes of firm fish poach gently on top, and the whole pot is finished with cheiro-verde and a squeeze of lime. It is eaten at family lunches and riverside restaurants in Mato Grosso, with white rice and a hot pepper sauce, and is known as a cure for a tired body. Outside Brazil, use catfish, monkfish or thick cod loin. People often stir the fish into the pot like a curry, which breaks it into shreds; lay it on top and let it steam. Cassava must always be cooked right through. Chef's tip: mash a few pieces of the cooked cassava against the side of the pot before adding the fish; it thickens the broth without any flour.

65 min

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Mojo verdeGreen coriander and garlic sauce

Green mojo is the cooler partner to red mojo picón on every Canarian table, the sauce that goes with grilled fish at harbour restaurants in Puerto de Mogán and La Restinga, with papas arrugadas, and with fried goat cheese. Fresh coriander and green pepper are pounded with garlic and cumin, then sharpened with vinegar and loosened with olive oil into a bright, grassy sauce. Some islands use parsley instead of coriander. It keeps for three or four days in the fridge. Chef's tip: add the oil slowly while you stir, so the sauce emulsifies into a thick, creamy green rather than splitting into herbs floating in oil.

15 min

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Mole negro con polloChicken in black mole

Of Oaxaca's seven moles, mole negro is the one brought out for weddings, christenings and the Day of the Dead, when families cook it in huge clay pots and send guests home with containers of it. Its near-black colour comes from chillies toasted very dark and from seeds and tortilla charred on purpose, balanced by fried plantain, raisins, sesame and a little Mexican chocolate, so the sauce tastes smoky, bittersweet and deeply savoury rather than sweet. The true base is the Oaxacan chilhuacle negro, which is hard to find outside the region; this version uses a practical mix of pasilla, mulato, ancho and guajillo, which gets very close. Serve it over the poached chicken with white rice and warm corn tortillas. Oaxacan cooks often fry the sauce in pork lard; vegetable oil works just as well and keeps the dish pork-free. Chef's tip: make the sauce a day ahead; like most moles it rounds out and deepens overnight in the fridge.

210 min

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Mollejas a la parrillaGrilled sweetbreads

Order an asado in any Argentine parrilla and the mollejas arrive early, before the big cuts, crusty and golden outside, soft and almost custardy within, with nothing but lemon. They are the thymus glands of young cattle, mild in flavour and rich in texture, and parrilleros treat them as a treat for the guests who hang around the grill. Ask a butcher for veal sweetbreads (heart sweetbreads are the plumpest) and cook them the day you buy them. Grilling them hot and fast is the common mistake: the outside chars while the centre stays raw and rubbery. As offal, they must be cooked right through, to at least 71 °C in the middle. Chef's tip: a brief blanch firms them, makes the membrane easy to peel and means the grill only has to crisp them.

65 min

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Molletes de AntequeraSoft flat breakfast rolls

Ask for breakfast in any café between Málaga and Seville and someone will offer you a mollete: a flat, pale, floury roll from Antequera, split, toasted and spread with olive oil and crushed tomato. Bakers there bake them hot and fast so the crust stays thin and soft and the crumb is open and moist. They freeze well, so it is worth making a batch on a slow weekend morning. A common mistake is baking them until golden; molletes should come out pale and soft, with only a faint blush of colour. Chef's tip: bake them at the very top heat for only about 10 minutes; if they brown, they have gone too long and will be crusty rather than soft.

42 min

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MolotesFried potato and chorizo masa turnovers

Around Puebla's zócalo and in the evening stalls outside its churches, molotes are fried to order: masa turnovers rolled into long spindles with pointed ends, crisp and blistered outside and soft inside. The favourite filling is potato mashed with pork chorizo, though stalls also sell them with tinga, quesillo or huitlacoche. They are eaten hot from a paper plate, split open and spooned with salsa, cream and crumbled cheese, as an evening snack or a light supper. Chef's tip: press the dough between two sheets of plastic cut from a freezer bag, so the thin disc lifts off cleanly and doesn't tear when you fold it.

75 min

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Mona de PascuaEaster brioche with egg

On Easter Monday, families across the Valencian Community head out to the countryside or the beach to "menjar-se la mona": they eat an orange-scented sweet brioche, often with a whole egg baked on top, and children crack the egg on a friend's forehead. The bun is soft and fluffy, glazed and sprinkled with sugar or coloured aniseed sprinkles. Here the eggs are hard-boiled first, so they are cooked through whatever the size of your bun. A common mistake is adding all the flour at once to a sticky dough; it softens as you knead, so hold back the last 50 g until you've kneaded for a few minutes. Chef's tip: make the starter the evening before and the dough on the day; the slow start gives a lighter crumb that stays soft for two days.

70 min

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MondeghiliFried beef and mortadella meatballs

Mondeghili are the thrifty meatballs of Milan, invented to use up the beef left from a pot of bollito misto and now a fixture on the aperitivo counters of the city's bars. The cooked beef is minced with mortadella, a soft pork sausage, then bound with milk-soaked bread, egg, grana and lemon zest, flattened slightly and fried in butter until crisp and brown. They are best warm, with a squeeze of lemon, a spoonful of green sauce or simply a cold drink before dinner. Leftover roast beef or veal works just as well as boiled meat. Chef's tip: flatten each ball a little before frying; they cook through evenly and get more of that crunchy crust.

35 min

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Moqueca de ovosEggs in coconut and tomato sauce

When fish money runs short or it is a meatless Friday, Bahian kitchens make moqueca with eggs instead: the same orange sauce of coconut milk, tomato, peppers, coriander and dendê palm oil, with whole eggs poached right in it until the whites set and the yolks stay soft. It is everyday food in Salvador and the Recôncavo, cooked in a clay pan and carried straight to the table with white rice, farofa de dendê and a spoon of pimenta sauce for those who want heat. The sauce is mellow, slightly sweet from the peppers and rich from the coconut, and the runny yolks thicken it on the plate. The usual mistake is stirring after the eggs go in; they break and turn the sauce cloudy, so cover the pan and leave it alone. Chef's tip: add half the dendê at the start and the rest just before the eggs; heated too long it loses its nutty, floral perfume and only the colour remains.

35 min

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Moraba-ye bahar narenjBitter orange blossom jam

When the bitter orange trees lining Shiraz's streets bloom in April, the whole city smells of blossom, and households gather the fallen petals to make this pale golden jam for the year ahead. It is spooned onto bread with fresh cheese at breakfast, or stirred into tea. The petals are bitter, so they are blanched and soaked several times before they meet the syrup. A common mistake is cutting the soaking short, which leaves the jam harsh. Chef's tip: add the lemon juice only at the end; it keeps the petals bright and stops the syrup from crystallising.

70 min

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Moraba-ye haveejCarrot jam with cardamom and almonds

Moraba-ye havij is the bright orange jam on Iranian breakfast tables, spread on warm barbari or sangak with butter or a slice of white cheese, especially in winter when carrots are at their sweetest. Thin shreds of carrot are candied in a light syrup with cardamom and orange peel, then finished with rosewater and slivered almonds, so every spoonful is chewy, glossy and fragrant. It is made in every region, and families argue over how thick the syrup should be. Chef's tip: cut the carrots into fine matchsticks rather than grating them; grated carrot turns to mush and clouds the syrup.

60 min

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Morgh-e torshChicken with walnuts and sour plums

Morgh-e torsh is everyday Sunday cooking in Rasht and the villages of Gilan, where gardens overflow with herbs and the cooking leans sour rather than sweet. Chicken pieces are browned, then braised with a mountain of chopped coriander, parsley, mint and garlic chives, ground walnuts and sour plums, finished with verjuice or lemon until the sauce turns a deep olive green. It is eaten with kateh, the simple Caspian rice. A common mistake is adding the herbs raw to the pot; fry them first until dark and fragrant, or the sauce tastes grassy. Chef's tip: a beaten egg stirred in at the very end is how many Gilani grandmothers thicken and enrich the sauce.

80 min

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Morrones con huevo a la parrillaGrilled peppers with egg and cheese

While the meat rests on the cooler side of the parrilla, many asadores put halved red peppers cut side up over the coals, let them soften and char, then crack an egg into each one with a piece of cheese and a pinch of oregano. The pepper becomes a little dish: sweet, smoky and juicy, with a just-set egg and molten cheese in the middle. It is one of the classic starters at an Argentine asado, eaten with bread before the steak arrives, and it makes a good vegetarian main for anyone who skips the meat. The mistake is cracking the egg into a raw pepper: the egg overcooks before the pepper softens, so grill the shells first. Cook until the white is completely set. Queso cremoso or mozzarella is usually made with animal rennet; pick a vegetarian one if needed. Chef's tip: cover the peppers with a foil tent or a lid once the egg goes in; the trapped heat sets the top of the egg without burning the base.

30 min

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Mousse de maracujáPassion fruit mousse

Three ingredients, a blender and a fridge: Brazilian home cooks from Recife to Curitiba lean on mousse de maracujá for Sunday lunch dessert because it takes ten minutes and nobody ever refuses it. The acid in passion-fruit juice thickens condensed milk and cream almost instantly, so it sets into a light, tangy, pale yellow mousse without gelatin, topped with the glossy black seeds and pulp. Sharp and sweet at once, it is perfect after a feijoada or a barbecue. Buy wrinkly, heavy passion fruit, which are the ripest and juiciest; frozen unsweetened pulp works too. The trap is diluting the juice: any added water stops the mousse setting, so use pure strained juice. Chef's tip: keep back the pulp of one fruit, warm it for a minute with a spoonful of sugar, and pour it over the mousse just before serving for shine.

17 min

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MsabbahaWhole chickpeas in tahini sauce

Hummus shops in Jerusalem's Old City and in Nablus open before dawn, and alongside the smooth hummus they ladle out msabbaha: whole, just-cooked chickpeas bathed in a loose, garlicky tahini and lemon sauce, still warm. It is a working breakfast, eaten with raw onion wedges, green chilli and plenty of bread, and it is just as popular in south Lebanon. The texture is the point, soft chickpeas in a creamy pool rather than a purée. The common mistake is making the tahini sauce too thick; it should pour like double cream so it seeps around every chickpea. Chef's tip: crush a handful of the hot chickpeas into the sauce before you spoon it over; it makes the msabbaha richer and creamier.

90 min

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Mtabbal shamandarBeetroot and tahini dip

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

70 min

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Muéganos de HuamantlaFried dough in piloncillo syrup

Huamantla, in Tlaxcala, is known for its August fair, when the streets are carpeted with coloured sawdust and flowers, and for muéganos: little cubes of fried dough glued together with dark piloncillo syrup into a sticky cluster, often pressed onto a round wafer. Visitors buy them in stacks from sweet shops around the main square. The dough is crisp and light, the syrup spiced with cinnamon and clove. Chef's tip: cut the dough into small, even cubes so they all fry golden at the same time.

60 min

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MuhlamaCornmeal, butter and melted cheese

Up in the yayla summer pastures above Trabzon and Rize, breakfast often arrives as one blackened pan set in the middle of the table, with everyone tearing bread and dragging it through. Muhlama is butter, coarse cornmeal and a young stringy cheese stirred together until the cheese melts into long, glossy threads and a pool of golden butter rises to the top. Eat it straight from the pan with cornbread or crusty bread, black tea and a plate of tomatoes and cucumbers. Common mistake: adding the cheese before the cornmeal has toasted in the butter, which leaves a raw, gritty taste and stops the oil separating. The Black Sea cheese (Trabzon or Kolot) and kaşar are usually made with animal rennet; a vegetarian mozzarella-style cheese works well. Chef's tip: don't stir once the cheese has gone in until it has fully melted, then stir in one direction only; that is what gives the long, elastic strands.

20 min

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MurtuğaButter-toasted flour with egg

A Van breakfast is famously huge, with herb cheese, honey, kaymak and olives, and in winter it often includes a pan of murtuğa: flour slowly toasted in plenty of butter until golden, then scrambled together with eggs into rich, crumbly nuggets. It's a dish from cold mountain homes where a filling breakfast had to last until evening, eaten hot with bread or on its own with tea. Common mistake: rushing the flour on a high heat so it scorches before it cooks through; keep it low and keep stirring. Chef's tip: beat the eggs with a splash of water before adding them; they spread through the flour more evenly and stay softer.

20 min

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MushabbakFried batter spirals in syrup

Glass counters in the souks of Nablus and Damascus are stacked with mushabbak, crisp latticed spirals of fried batter dunked in syrup until they glisten. They are bought by the bag for Christian and Muslim feast days, for Ramadan evenings and for no reason at all, and are best eaten within hours while the shells still crack. A lightly fermented batter piped into hot oil gives the hollow, crunchy rings. The mistake to avoid is oil that is not hot enough: the batter soaks up fat and the spirals turn heavy and limp. Chef's tip: the syrup must be cold and the mushabbak hot; dip, count to three and lift, and they stay crisp for hours.

105 min

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Mute santandereanoHominy and tripe soup

Bucaramanga's Mercado Central and the Sunday family tables of Santander serve mute, a big, thick soup that takes most of a day: hominy corn, honeycomb beef tripe and pork ribs, plus red beans, potatoes, pumpkin, cabbage and a handful of short pasta, all simmered until thick, rich and savoury. It is filling enough to be lunch on its own, eaten with avocado, ají and a piece of arepa. The tripe must be bought cleaned and bleached from the butcher and then simmered for two hours until tender; undercooked tripe is the most common complaint, as it stays chewy and tastes strong. This version uses cooked or tinned hominy and beans to save the overnight soaking. Chef's tip: rub the tripe with lime and salt and rinse it twice before cooking; it removes any farmyard smell and keeps the broth clean-tasting.

240 min

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MutzbratenMarjoram roast pork shoulder

Mutzbraten is the fairground roast of eastern Thuringia, from Schmölln and the Altenburg area, where big chunks of pork shoulder are rubbed with salt, pepper and lots of marjoram, threaded on skewers and hung in an iron cage over a birch-wood fire. It is sold sliced with sauerkraut and a slice of rye bread at markets and village festivals. At home a lidded kettle barbecue with birch or other mild wood chips gives a close result; an oven version is in the steps. Chef's tip: marinate overnight, as the marjoram needs time to work its way into the meat.

170 min

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NabatSaffron rock sugar crystals

Golden saffron nabat on a stick is the souvenir pilgrims bring back from Mashhad, and across Iran a stick of it is stirred into hot tea for an upset stomach, after a fright or simply instead of a sugar cube. The crystals grow slowly on cotton strings in a saturated syrup over two or three days, and making it at home is a pleasant, slow kitchen project. A common mistake is moving or knocking the jar: every jolt sets off fine sugar grit instead of big crystals. Chef's tip: roll the wet strings in a little sugar and let them dry before hanging them; the seed crystals give the new ones something to grow on.

40 min

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Nan-e barbariThick grooved flatbread

Barbari is Tehran and Tabriz's breakfast bread: a long, thick oval with deep lengthwise grooves, its top glazed golden-brown and scattered with sesame and nigella. Bakeries sell it hot from early morning, and it goes home to be torn and eaten with feta, walnuts, herbs, butter and jam or a glass of sweet tea. Its secret is the roomal, a quick paste of flour, baking soda and water brushed on before baking, which gives the shiny, crackly crust. The usual mistake is pressing the grooves too shallow, so they puff out in the oven and the bread loses its shape. Chef's tip: press your fingertips right down to the work surface when making the grooves, and don't worry if it looks too flat; it rises in the oven.

175 min

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Nan-e berenjiRice-flour cookies

Kermanshah in western Iran is famous for its nan-e berenji, and in the weeks before Nowruz bakeries there pack them by the boxful for guests who come visiting through the holiday. Made with rice flour, they are pale, crumbly and melt on the tongue, scented with cardamom and rosewater and sprinkled with a few poppy seeds. Many families make the dough a day ahead. The common mistake is letting them colour in the oven; they should come out white with only the faintest gold underneath. Chef's tip: rest the dough in the fridge for at least an hour so the rice flour hydrates; otherwise the cookies crack and spread.

120 min

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Nan-e gerdooyiWalnut cookies

In the run-up to Nowruz, when Tabriz, Tehran and Qazvin families are spring-cleaning and baking for the round of holiday visits, nan-e gerdooyi are among the first cookies to go into the tin. They are made with chopped walnuts held together by egg yolks and sugar, no flour at all, so they bake crisp at the edge and soft and chewy in the middle. A common mistake is grinding the walnuts to a paste; they should be chopped into small pieces so the cookies have texture and don't turn oily. Chef's tip: leave a good gap between them on the tray; they spread to about twice their size.

30 min

Persian Baking

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Nan-e komajSweet date-filled bread

In Khorasan and Kerman, nan-e komaj is the bread of guests and holidays: thick, soft, golden with turmeric, scented with cumin and layered with a ribbon of date paste and cinnamon. In villages around Mashhad it is baked in big rounds for Nowruz and religious feasts and cut into wedges with tea. It is sweet but not cake-like, sitting somewhere between bread and pastry. A common mistake is spreading the date paste right to the edge, which lets it leak and burn on the tray. Chef's tip: soften the dates with a spoon of hot water and a little butter before spreading; stiff date paste tears the dough.

195 min

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Nan-e nokhodchiChickpea flour cookies

No Nowruz tea tray in Tehran or Qazvin looks complete without a pile of tiny four-leafed nan-e nokhodchi, each topped with a sliver of pistachio. They are made from flour of roasted chickpeas, so they taste nutty and slightly savoury under the sugar, and they dissolve almost instantly on the tongue. Bakers make them by the thousand in March, but they are simple at home with a small clover cutter. The common mistake is using raw gram flour, which tastes beany and bitter; the flour must be from roasted chickpeas, or toasted first. Chef's tip: knead the dough longer than you think, 8–10 minutes, until it turns smooth and pale; that is what gives the melting texture.

118 min

Persian Baking

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Nan-e panjerehFried rosette pastries

Nan-e panjereh, 'window bread', is the most delicate pastry on a Nowruz table, and in Tehran and Isfahan it is usually made at home with a flower-shaped iron passed down through the family. A thin batter of egg, milk and flour flavoured with rosewater clings to the hot iron, then drops off into the oil as a crisp, lacy rosette that shatters at the first bite. The usual mistake is dipping the iron too deep; the batter must come only to the top edge, or the rosette won't release. Chef's tip: dip the iron back into the hot oil for 30 seconds before every rosette so the batter sets the moment it touches the metal.

70 min

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Nan-e sangakPebble-baked whole-wheat flatbread

Sangak means 'little stone': at bakeries in Tehran the dough is stretched onto a sloping bed of hot river pebbles inside a domed oven, and customers queue at dawn to carry home metre-long sheets folded over their arms, picking off the stones still stuck to the bread. It is a dimpled, chewy whole-wheat flatbread with a slight sourness and a toasted, blistered crust, eaten with cheese and herbs for breakfast or alongside kebabs. At home a tray of clean pebbles or a baking steel does the job. The common mistake is a stiff dough; sangak dough is very soft, almost a thick batter, which is what gives it its holes. Chef's tip: wet your hands well when stretching the dough onto the stones so it slides into a thin sheet without tearing.

195 min

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Nan-e taftoonThin tandoor flatbread

Taftoon is the everyday bread of many Iranian towns, from Qazvin to Kerman: thin, soft and slightly bubbly, slapped onto the hot clay wall of a tanoor and peeled off a minute later, then piled on the sofreh at lunch to wrap herbs and cheese or to scoop up stews. It is softer and thinner than barbari but less papery than lavash. A heavy pan or upturned wok on the hob gives very good results at home. The common mistake is rolling it unevenly; thin patches burn while thick ones stay doughy. Chef's tip: stack the breads in a tea towel as they come off the heat; the trapped steam keeps them soft and foldable.

125 min

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Nan-e tiriPaper-thin rolled bread

In the Zagros mountains of Lorestan and among the Bakhtiari nomads, women roll out nan-e tiri with a long, thin rod (the tir) until the dough is almost see-through, then flip it onto a domed iron saj over a wood fire. It cooks in seconds and is stacked high, and because it dries so thin it keeps for weeks and is softened with a sprinkle of water before eating. It needs only flour, water and salt. The usual mistake is resting the dough too little; it fights back and shrinks when rolled. Chef's tip: wind the dough around a long thin rolling pin as you roll and unroll it, as the Lori bakers do; it stretches the dough evenly without tearing.

90 min

Persian Breads & Parathas

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Nan-e YazdiCardamom and rosewater cupcakes

Nan-e Yazdi, often called Yazdi cakes, are the small domed cupcakes every Iranian bakery sells for breakfast and afternoon tea, first made in Yazd and now loved in Tehran and far beyond. The crumb is soft and a little dense, perfumed with cardamom and rosewater, and the tops are scattered with pistachio or sesame before baking. Children eat them dunked in milk. A common mistake is overbeating after the flour goes in, which makes the cakes tough and peaked; fold just until smooth. Chef's tip: rest the batter in the fridge for an hour before baking for a taller, crackled dome.

37 min

Persian Baking

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Navajas á pranchaGriddled razor clams

Razor clams are pulled from the sandy beds of the Galician rías, and in the seafood bars of Vigo and A Coruña they arrive straight from the griddle, opened up and glistening with garlic oil. They take two minutes to cook and are eaten with the fingers. Live razor clams twitch or pull in when touched: throw away any with cracked or broken shells, or that don't react at all. A common mistake is leaving them on the heat after they open, which turns the meat rubbery. Chef's tip: lay them all hinge side down in the same direction so they open evenly and the juices stay in the shells.

20 min

Spanish Fish

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Nebraska runzasBeef and cabbage bread pockets

Runzas came to Nebraska with Volga German settlers, who called them bierocks, and today they are the state's fast food, packed for Cornhusker football games and long drives across the plains. A soft, slightly sweet bread dough is wrapped around a peppery filling of beef mince, onion and cabbage and baked into a rectangular pocket. Chef's tip: let the filling cool and drain it in a sieve before filling; hot, wet filling makes the dough soggy and tear.

70 min

American Meat

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New Mexico biscochitosAnise cinnamon cookies

Biscochitos are New Mexico's official state cookie, baked by the thousand at Christmas, weddings and baptisms in Hispanic homes from Las Cruces to Taos. They are crumbly, short and scented with anise seed, cut into stars or fleurs-de-lis and dipped in cinnamon sugar. Grandmothers use lard, which gives the classic texture; this version uses butter so it stays vegetarian. Traditional recipes add a splash of brandy; here orange juice is used instead. Chef's tip: lightly crush the anise seeds to release the flavour.

37 min

American Baking

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NicuatoleCorn and cinnamon pudding

Nicuatole is a Zapotec sweet sold in little squares from glass cases at Oaxacan markets and at village fiestas, often with a bright pink top coloured with cochineal. It is made from corn masa cooked with water, sugar and cinnamon until it thickens enough to set when cool, a cousin of atole you can cut with a knife. The texture is soft, slightly bouncy and cool, and it is eaten as an afternoon treat. We give a coconut-milk option and use beetroot juice or a natural red food colouring instead of cochineal (which comes from insects) for the red layer. Chef's tip: cook it until the spoon leaves a clear path across the pan base for a full second; undercooked nicuatole never sets.

40 min

Mexican Desserts

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