What to eat today?

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Kofta bi tahiniKofta and potatoes in tahini sauce

Kofta bi tahini is a family tray-bake from Jerusalem, Nazareth and the West Bank, the kind of dinner that goes into the oven on a weeknight and comes out bubbling and golden: parsley-flecked lamb and beef kofta fingers, sliced potatoes and onions, all covered in a tangy, garlicky tahini sauce. Rice with vermicelli and a chopped salad go alongside. Common mistake: making the tahini sauce too thick; it should pour like single cream, as it thickens a lot in the oven. Chef's tip: brown the kofta and potatoes before they meet the sauce; it keeps the kofta firm and stops the potatoes turning soggy.

80 min

Palestinian Meat

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Kokoras krasatosChicken in red wine with pasta

Sunday in a Peloponnese village often meant a rooster from the yard, braised for hours in the local Nemea red with tomato, cinnamon, cloves and allspice until the sauce turned deep, glossy and fragrant. It goes over thick spaghetti or hilopites with plenty of grated cheese. This dish contains red wine; for an alcohol-free version use the same amount of red grape juice with 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar. A supermarket chicken works well, cooked for less time. Common mistake: skipping the browning — the dark crust on the skin flavours the whole sauce. Chef's tip: let the wine bubble hard for 2 minutes before the tomato goes in, so its raw edge cooks off.

110 min

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KolompehDate and walnut pastries

Kolompeh is the pride of Kerman, a flat, round pastry stamped with a pattern on top and filled with date paste spiced with cardamom, cinnamon and a little fennel seed. Kermanis bake it for Nowruz and for guests, and it keeps well enough to travel, which is why tins of it go home with every visitor. The pastry is short and tender with a hint of sweetness. A common mistake is making the date filling too wet, which seeps through the pastry; it should be a stiff paste you can roll into a ball. Chef's tip: warm the dates for a few seconds before mashing, and they turn into a smooth paste in moments.

70 min

Persian Baking

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Koloocheh FumanWalnut-filled cookies

On the road from Rasht up to the hill village of Masuleh, the little town of Fuman is lined with bakeries selling koloocheh: thick round cookies, crisp outside and cake-like inside, filled with ground walnut, sugar and cardamom and stamped with a pattern on top. Travellers buy them by the box for tea, and they are a favourite gift at Nowruz. A common mistake is overworking the dough, which makes them tough rather than tender and crumbly. Chef's tip: chill the filled discs for 15 minutes before stamping and baking, so the pattern stays sharp and the walnut filling does not burst through.

65 min

Persian Baking

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KontosouvliRoast marinated pork chunks

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

145 min

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Koofteh TabriziGiant stuffed meatballs in tomato broth

Koofteh Tabrizi is the pride of Tabriz in Iranian Azerbaijan, a meatball so big that one feeds a person, made for guests and for cold winter evenings in the north-west. Lamb or beef mince is kneaded with rice, yellow split peas and lots of herbs, then wrapped around a hidden heart of hard-boiled egg, prunes, walnuts and barberries and simmered in a tomato-saffron broth. At the table the broth is ladled over bread first, then the koofteh is cut open. A common mistake is under-kneading: the mixture must be worked until sticky, or the ball splits in the pot. Chef's tip: lower the meatballs into broth that is barely trembling, not boiling, and don't touch them for the first 20 minutes while they firm up.

150 min

Persian Meat

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KopanistiPeppery whipped cheese spread

On Mykonos and its neighbouring islands, cheesemakers once worked soft cheese by hand for weeks until it ripened into kopanisti, sharp, salty and peppery enough to prickle the tongue. On the island it is spread on barley rusks with a drizzle of oil as a meze with drinks before dinner. This home version beats feta with a little soft cheese, chilli and pepper, then leaves it in the fridge for two days to mellow and sharpen. Feta is traditionally made with animal rennet; choose a vegetarian feta if you need to. Common mistake: blending it to a smooth purée; it should stay a little rough. Chef's tip: cover the surface with a thin layer of olive oil while it rests, so it doesn't dry out or pick up fridge flavours.

10 min

Greek Chutneys & Dips

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KotopitaChicken and leek pie

Epirus is Greece's pie country, and kotopita is the one served at Sunday lunch and family celebrations in Ioannina, cut into deep golden squares. Chicken is poached until tender, shredded and folded into a filling of soft leeks, peppers, eggs and two cheeses, then baked between layers of buttered filo. A salad is all you need alongside. Common mistake: adding the eggs to hot filling, which scrambles them — cool it first. Chef's tip: cook the poaching stock down by half and stir a few spoons into the filling; it keeps the chicken moist without making the pastry wet.

140 min

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Kotopoulo lemonatoLemon roast chicken and potatoes

Kotopoulo lemonato is the roast that fills Greek apartment blocks with the smell of lemon and oregano on Sunday mornings: chicken pieces and potato wedges baked in a single tin with plenty of lemon juice, olive oil, garlic and a little mustard, until the potatoes soak up the juices and catch at the edges. Serve with a cabbage-carrot salad and feta. Common mistake: crowding the tin so everything steams; use a big roasting tin and a single layer. Chef's tip: add a splash of hot water halfway; it dissolves the browned bits into a sauce that the potatoes drink up.

90 min

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Kotopoulo me bamiesChicken and okra stew

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

100 min

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Kotopoulo me hilopitesChicken with egg pasta squares

Across the Thessalian plain, from Larissa to Trikala, Sunday lunch is often a chicken braised in tomato with a cinnamon stick, its sauce stretched with broth so the little hilopites pasta squares can cook right in the pot. The pasta soaks up the sauce until thick and almost risotto-like, and a fistful of grated cheese goes on at the table. Use homemade hilopites or a good shop-bought pack. Common mistake: adding the pasta to too little liquid — it absorbs a lot, so have hot water ready. Chef's tip: brown the chicken skin well, then finish the dish in the oven if you like a crispy top.

85 min

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KougelhopfYeasted ring cake with raisins

Walk into any bakery in Colmar, Ribeauvillé or Strasbourg on a Sunday morning and the kougelhopf sits in the window, tall and fluted, wearing a snowfall of icing sugar and a crown of whole almonds. Alsatian families buy or bake one for weekend breakfast with coffee, and slices that go stale are toasted the next day. The crumb sits halfway between brioche and cake: soft, buttery and only lightly sweet, studded with plump raisins. Many bakers soak the raisins in kirsch (cherry brandy); this recipe uses warm black tea, which plumps them just as well without alcohol. You need a kougelhopf or bundt tin of about 22 cm. Chef's tip: chill the buttered tin for 10 minutes and press the almonds into the grooves before the dough goes in, so they stay put and toast as the cake bakes.

85 min

French Baking

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KoulourakiaButter cookie twists

Easter Saturday morning in Greece smells of koulourakia: buttery cookie dough rolled into ropes, twisted into braids, coils and S-shapes, glazed with egg and baked to a deep shine. Children help shape them, and the tins last through Easter week for dunking in coffee or milk. The texture is crisp outside and tender within, with orange zest and vanilla. Common mistake: rolling the ropes too thick; anything wider than a pencil turns cakey rather than crisp. Chef's tip: chill the dough for 20 minutes before rolling and the twists keep their sharp edges in the oven.

65 min

Greek Baking

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Kouneli stifadoRabbit stew with shallots and wine

Rabbit is a favourite winter Sunday dish in Crete and across the Greek countryside, and stifado is the way most cooks prepare it: jointed rabbit simmered slowly with a mountain of small whole onions in a glossy, sweet-sour sauce of tomato, red wine and vinegar, scented with cinnamon, allspice and bay. The sauce reduces until the onions are soft and jammy, and it is served with fried potatoes or rice and bread to wipe the plate. This recipe uses red wine; for an alcohol-free version use red grape juice with an extra spoon of vinegar. Common mistake: stirring once the onions go in, which breaks them up; shake the pot instead. Chef's tip: peel the shallots more easily by soaking them in boiling water for 5 minutes first.

140 min

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KourabiedesAlmond butter cookies

Snow-white kourabiedes are piled into pyramids at Greek Christmas, New Year and christenings, and in Macedonia they are handed out at weddings, so guests leave with sugar on their clothes. The crumb is short and sandy from well-whipped butter and toasted almonds, with a whisper of rose or orange-blossom water. Common mistake: dusting with icing sugar while the cookies are still hot, which melts into a paste instead of a soft coat. Chef's tip: beat the butter for a full 10 minutes until almost white; the air you whip in is what makes them melt in the mouth.

55 min

Greek Baking

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KreatotourtaLamb, cheese and mint pie

In Chania and the villages of western Crete, kreatotourta is baked on Easter Saturday so it is ready for the Sunday feast: a tall pie of tender lamb pieces layered with soft fresh cheese and mint, sealed in a crisp olive-oil pastry. It is cut into wedges and eaten warm or at room temperature, and leftovers vanish over the following days. The traditional cheeses are fresh mizithra and some graviera. Common mistake: putting raw lamb in the pie, which leaves the pastry burnt before the meat is tender; simmer the lamb first. Chef's tip: save a ladle of the lamb's cooking liquid and pour it through the steam hole halfway through baking so the filling stays juicy.

195 min

Persian Snacks & Starters

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KremidopitaOnion and cheese pie

Mykonian grandmothers made kremidopita long before the island filled with beach clubs: a pie of slowly softened onions, tangy fresh cheese, eggs and dill between sheets of filo, baked for name days and family Sundays. The onions go sweet and jammy, the cheese keeps it creamy and sharp, and it is eaten warm or cold with a tomato salad. Feta is usually made with animal rennet, so pick a vegetarian feta if you need to. Common mistake: frying the onions hard and fast; they must sweat gently until soft, or the filling turns bitter and crunchy. Chef's tip: cool the onions completely before mixing in the eggs and cheese, so the filling doesn't start to set before baking.

100 min

Greek Snacks & Starters

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Kuku sibzaminiPotato and egg patties

Kuku sibzamini is what Tehran schoolchildren unwrap at lunchtime: little golden patties of grated potato, egg and onion, eaten cold or warm, folded into lavash or sangak with herbs, tomato and a few slices of khiar shoor. They also turn up at picnics in the parks on Friday mornings, because they travel well and taste good at any temperature. Grated raw onion and turmeric give the flavour; a spoon of flour holds them together. The common mistake is leaving the grated potato wet, so the patties spit, soak up oil and fall apart. Chef's tip: squeeze the potato and onion hard in a tea towel; the drier the mix, the crisper the edges.

40 min

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KumisFermented milk drink

Kumis in Colombia is a thick, sweetened fermented milk, nothing like the Central Asian mare's-milk drink of the same name. Bakeries and cafeterias sell it chilled in glasses with a slice of plain sponge cake, the classic kumis con ponqué, and many families still make it at home. It is cool, tangy and creamy, somewhere between drinking yogurt and buttermilk. Use only pasteurised milk, heat it first, and work with very clean equipment: wash jars and spoons in hot soapy water and scald them with boiling water. The milk ferments at room temperature (20–28 °C, out of direct sun) for 12–24 hours, then goes into the fridge; never leave it out longer. Discard any batch with mould, pink or orange patches, or a rotten rather than sour smell. Adding the starter to milk that is still too hot is the common slip, as heat kills the cultures and nothing sets. Chef's tip: add the sugar after fermenting, then chill well before serving.

30 min

Colombian Drinks

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KumruSausage and cheese sesame sandwich

The kumru takes its name from the dove-shaped sesame roll baked in İzmir and is the city's favourite beach snack, especially at the stands of Çeşme. The roll is filled with slices of beef sucuk (spicy Turkish sausage), melting kaşar, tomato and green pepper, then pressed flat in a hot sandwich press until the crust crackles. Eat it with an ayran in the shade. Chef's tip: fry the sucuk slices briefly first so they release their red, spicy fat into the bread before you press it.

20 min

Turkish Meat

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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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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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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

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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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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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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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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

Persian Snacks & Starters

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LahanorizoCabbage and rice stew

Lahanorizo is what Greek grandmothers make on a cold winter Wednesday or Friday when the family is fasting: a cheap white cabbage softened in plenty of olive oil, cooked with rice, tomato and dill until silky and spoonable. It is eaten warm or at room temperature, with feta and bread on non-fasting days, and lemon squeezed over at the table. Common mistake: adding the rice too early; the cabbage needs a head start or the rice turns to porridge before the leaves are tender. Chef's tip: use more olive oil than feels right; ladera dishes are meant to finish glossy, and that is where the flavour lives.

55 min

Greek Vegetarian

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Lahm meshwiGrilled lamb skewers

Every Levantine family barbecue, from mountain picnics above Zahle to Friday gatherings in Amman, has a tray of lahm meshwi: chunks of lamb leg marinated with onion, seven-spice and olive oil, threaded with onion and pepper and grilled over hot charcoal. The skewers go straight onto warm bread to catch the juices, with a heap of parsley, sliced onion and sumac. It is simple food that lives or dies by the marinade and the heat. The common mistake is cutting the lamb too small, so it is grey and dry by the time the outside chars. Chef's tip: grate the onion for the marinade and squeeze in its juice; it tenderises the meat overnight in the fridge.

37 min

Lebanese Meat

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LalagiaFried dough twists

Lalagia are the savoury cousins of diples, twisted ropes of olive-oil dough that women in the Mani fry by the hundred in the days before Christmas and on Clean Monday, when they're eaten with olives, cheese or a drizzle of honey. The dough is plain and lightly yeasted, rolled into thin cords, folded and twisted into figures of eight, then fried until crunchy and blond. They keep for weeks in a tin. Common mistake: frying in oil that's too hot, which browns the outside before the centre crisps. Chef's tip: keep the dough cords as thin as a pencil — they puff a lot in the oil.

120 min

Greek Snacks & Starters

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

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

110 min

French Fish

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Langosta estilo Puerto NuevoFried split lobster with tortillas

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

70 min

Mexican Fish

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Lapas grelhadasGrilled limpets with garlic butter

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

20 min

Portuguese Fish

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LavashakSour plum fruit leather

Lavashak is the sour fruit leather Iranian children buy rolled up in plastic from corner shops, and every family has a version dried at home in late summer, when tart plums and apricots are plentiful in Tehran's bazaars. Fruit is cooked down, sieved smooth, spread thin and dried until it peels off as a flexible, glossy sheet, sour enough to make you wince and very moreish. Torn into strips, it is a snack on its own or wrapped around a crisp of rice. Chef's tip: spread the purée evenly thin, about 3 mm; thick patches stay sticky while the edges go brittle.

440 min

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Layali LubnanSemolina pudding with cream and pistachios

Layali Lubnan — 'Lebanese nights' — is the cool, wobbly pudding Beirut families make for Ramadan evenings and summer gatherings, because it is quick and feeds a crowd from one dish. A base of milk thickened with fine semolina and scented with orange blossom is topped with a thick layer of cream, then finished with pistachios, rose petals and a trickle of sugar syrup at the table. It is gentle and milky rather than very sweet; the syrup lets everyone choose. Common mistake: pouring the cream on while the semolina is still hot; it melts in and the layers blur. Chef's tip: whisk the semolina in slowly and keep whisking for the first minute — that is what keeps it perfectly smooth.

30 min

Lebanese Desserts

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Laz böreğiCustard-filled filo pie in syrup

Ask for something sweet in a Rize pastry shop and you are likely to be handed a square of Laz böreği, a crisp filo pie layered with butter and filled with a thick, vanilla-scented milk custard, then drenched in cool syrup as it leaves the oven. It is a wedding and holiday dessert in Laz villages, and an everyday treat with tea in town. The top shatters, the middle is soft and creamy, and the syrup keeps it fresh for a couple of days. Common mistake: pouring hot syrup on a hot pie, which makes the pastry soggy; one of the two must be cool. Chef's tip: cook the custard until it holds a trail for a few seconds, then cover the surface with cling film so no skin forms before you layer it.

90 min

Turkish Desserts

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Levrek buğulamaSteamed sea bass with tomatoes

Buğulama means 'steamed', and in the fish restaurants of Urla and Foça it is how gentle white fish like sea bass are cooked when the cook wants them to taste of themselves: laid over onions, tomatoes and peppers, covered and left to steam in their own juices with a little lemon and bay. The result is soft, moist fish in a light, fragrant broth to mop up with bread. Serve with a green salad and boiled potatoes. Chef's tip: keep the heat low once the lid goes on; the fish should barely tremble, not boil.

40 min

Turkish Fish

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Leber Berliner ArtFried liver with apple and onions

Leber Berliner Art is a dish of old Berlin dining rooms and corner restaurants: thin slices of calf's liver fried in butter and piled with soft, sweet onion rings and golden apple rings, served with creamy mashed potato. The sweet apple and onion balance the rich liver, and the whole plate is on the table in half an hour. For safety the liver here is cooked through, which keeps it tender as long as the slices are thin and the pan is hot. Chef's tip: salt the liver only after frying; salt draws out juices and makes it tough.

30 min

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LeberkäseBaked pork and beef loaf

Despite its name, Bavarian Leberkäse contains neither liver nor cheese: it is a smooth, finely ground loaf of pork and beef baked until it has a dark, crunchy crust. In Munich it is the mid-morning snack, a thick warm slice folded into a crusty roll with sweet mustard and eaten standing at the butcher's counter. Made at home without curing salt, the inside bakes pale grey rather than pink, which is normal. Chef's tip: everything, including the bowl of the food processor, must be ice-cold; if the mix warms above about 12 °C the fat separates and the loaf turns crumbly.

115 min