What to eat today?

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AligotCheesy garlic mashed potato

High on the Aubrac plateau, where Aveyron, Cantal and Lozère meet, aligot was once the meal monks gave to pilgrims on the road to Santiago. Today it is beaten in huge copper pans at village fêtes and buron farm restaurants around Laguiole, then lifted high on a wooden spoon in long, glossy ribbons before it is served beside sausages or, for a vegetarian table, a big green salad and roasted mushrooms. It is a mash of floury potato, butter, cream and garlic, worked with young tomme fraîche until it stretches like mozzarella. Tomme fraîche is made with animal rennet; a mix of vegetarian mozzarella and a vegetarian mild cheddar gives a similar stretch. Chef's tip: keep beating in a figure of eight once the cheese goes in; the stretch only comes with steady work.

50 min

French Sides

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Doces finos do AlgarveMarzipan fruits with egg-yolk cream

Tiny pears, oranges, strawberries and even fish, all made of almond paste and painted by hand: these are the sweets Algarve families order for Christmas, Easter and weddings, and that every January market in Loulé shows off. Inside each one sits a spoonful of doce de ovos, the sunny yolk cream found all over Portuguese convent baking. The almond paste here is cooked in syrup, which makes it smooth and easy to model. Chef's tip: dust your hands and the work surface with icing sugar, never flour, or the shapes go chalky.

115 min

Portuguese Desserts

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KrautkrapfenBraised sauerkraut dough rolls

Krautkrapfen come from the Allgäu and the Swabian Alb, where farm cooks rolled noodle dough paper-thin, spread it with sauerkraut and fried onion, rolled it up like a strudel and sliced it into snails. The slices are packed upright in a buttered pan, fried until the bottoms crisp, then half-covered in stock and braised until the dough is tender. They are a Friday or winter supper with a green salad. A common mistake is pouring in too much stock: it should come only a third of the way up, or the crisp base turns soggy. Chef's tip: let the dough rest a full 30 minutes; relaxed dough rolls out thin without shrinking back.

80 min

German Vegetarian

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AllioliGarlic and olive oil sauce

True Catalan allioli is just garlic, salt and oil, all ('garlic') i oli ('and oil'), worked slowly in a mortar until it becomes a stiff, pale emulsion with a fierce bite. Families serve it with grilled lamb, rice dishes, boiled potatoes and snails, and making it by hand is a small point of pride. It takes patience and steady arms, but no egg is needed. Chef's tip: if it splits, start a new paste with one crushed clove and a few drops of water, then work the broken sauce back in a spoonful at a time.

20 min

Spanish Chutneys & Dips

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Almejas á mariñeiraClams in garlic and white wine

Carril, a fishing village on the Arousa estuary, is famous across Spain for its clams, and Galician bars serve them á mariñeira in small clay dishes with bread for the sauce. They are cooked with onion, garlic and a little paprika, and the sauce is lightly thickened with flour and loosened with white wine. This recipe contains alcohol (white wine); for an alcohol-free version, use fish stock with a squeeze of lemon. Throw away any clams with cracked shells, and any open ones that don't close when tapped, before cooking. A common mistake is overcooking: clams toughen once they open, so take them off the heat as soon as most are open. Chef's tip: soak the clams in salted water in the fridge for an hour so they spit out their sand.

30 min

Mexican Snacks & Starters

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Almejas chocolatasBaked clams with garlic cheese

Loreto, on the Gulf of California side of Baja, is famous for its almejas chocolatas: large clams named for their glossy brown shells, sold by local divers and cooked at seafood stands along the bay. One popular way is to open them, top the meat with butter, garlic, chilli and melting cheese, and bake them until bubbling. Chocolate clams are rarely found elsewhere, so use the largest hard-shell clams you can buy, such as quahogs or cherrystones. Serve them hot as a starter with lime and cold drinks. Chef's tip: chop the clam meat before returning it to the shell, so every bite gets butter and cheese instead of one chewy mouthful.

60 min

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Almogrote gomeroGoat cheese and red pepper spread

On La Gomera, the small, steep island west of Tenerife, almogrote is the sharp, punchy paste you find spread on toast in every bar in San Sebastián and Valle Gran Rey, often with a glass of the island's wine. It was a thrifty way to use up hard, aged goat's cheese: grated, pounded with garlic, hot red pepper and a little tomato, and bound with olive oil. The result is salty, spicy and pungent. Traditional Gomeran cheese is made with animal rennet; use a vegetarian aged goat's or hard cheese if that matters to you. Chef's tip: grate the cheese very finely first, so it pounds smooth instead of staying gritty.

15 min

Spanish Chutneys & Dips

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AlmojábanasGlazed choux rings

In Aragonese bakeries, almojábanas are the rings stacked by the till at Easter and for local fiestas: rings of choux-like dough that puff up hollow and airy in the oven and are then brushed with a white sugar glaze that cracks as you bite. The name comes from Arabic, and versions are found from Teruel to the Ribagorza, some flavoured with lemon and others with anise. They are best the day they are made, with a coffee or a glass of cold milk. A common mistake is opening the oven early: choux collapses if the steam escapes before the shells have set. Chef's tip: beat the eggs in one at a time and stop when the paste falls from the spoon in a thick, glossy V; you may not need the last egg.

55 min

Spanish Baking

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Colombian almojábanasCheese bread rolls

Few Bogotá breakfasts beat a warm almojábana torn open next to a cup of hot chocolate. Bakeries across Cundinamarca and Boyacá, and especially roadside stops near Chía and Sopó, bake these pale, puffy rolls from fresh cuajada and fine corn meal, so they are springy, moist and salty-sweet inside with a thin, lightly browned crust. They are gluten free by nature. Cuajada is curd set with rennet, usually animal-derived; use vegetarian curd or ricotta drained very well. Too much corn meal is the mistake most people make: the almojábanas come out dry and heavy. The dough should feel soft and slightly tacky. Chef's tip: they are best within an hour of baking; reheat leftovers briefly in a hot oven, never the microwave, which makes them rubbery.

45 min

Colombian Baking

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Dom RodrigosEgg-thread and almond sweets

Walk past any pastelaria in Lagos or Portimão and you will see little twists of bright foil piled in the window: each one hides a nest of golden egg threads bound with an almond and yolk cream, scented with cinnamon. They are eaten after Sunday lunch with a bica, bought by the half dozen to take home, and set out at Algarve weddings and christenings. The work is in the egg threads, drizzled into boiling syrup, but once you have the rhythm it goes quickly. Chef's tip: sieve the yolks twice, because any trace of white or the chalaza blocks the funnel and makes the threads break.

90 min

Portuguese Desserts

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FideuàSeafood noodle paella

Gandia, on the coast south of Valencia, claims fideuà as its own and holds a contest for it every summer: a paella pan of short, thin noodles toasted in oil and cooked in a deep seafood stock with monkfish, squid and prawns until the liquid has gone and the tips of the noodles curl upwards. It is served straight from the pan with a bowl of allioli to stir in. A common mistake is stirring once the stock is in; the noodles release starch and turn sticky instead of separate and slightly crisp. Use a well-flavoured fish stock, as it is the backbone of the dish. Chef's tip: finish the pan for a few minutes under a hot grill, the trick that makes the noodles stand up like little hooks.

55 min

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AmbrosiaSweet milk and egg curds

Found in glass jars at farm-shop counters in Minas Gerais and on the dessert tables of gaúcho family lunches, ambrosia is an old Portuguese-rooted sweet that turns milk, eggs and sugar into soft, golden curds bathed in a caramel-coloured syrup. The eggs are poured into the sweet milk and then left to set and simmer for an hour with clove and cinnamon, so the curds form large and tender rather than scrambled. Cold from the fridge it is creamy, eggy and fragrant, rather like a rustic crème caramel broken into pieces. Serve small bowls with a slice of fresh cheese or nothing at all. Where most people go wrong is stirring as soon as the eggs go in; that breaks the curd into grainy crumbs, so wait until it has set before moving it gently. Chef's tip: a squeeze of lemon juice into the milk before the eggs helps the curds form quickly and keeps them in large, tender clouds.

90 min

Brazilian Desserts

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Amêijoas à Bulhão PatoClams with garlic and coriander

A Lisbon seafood beer hall wouldn't be one without a steaming bowl of these on every other table, with bread for the juices that pool in the bottom. The dish is named after the nineteenth-century poet Raimundo Bulhão Pato, a keen cook and hunter who is said to have loved it. It is only clams, olive oil, a lot of garlic, fresh coriander and lemon, so the shellfish must be lively and well cleaned. Many cooks add a splash of white wine, which contains alcohol; water or a little extra lemon juice works fine. Chef's tip: add the coriander at the very end, off the heat, so it stays bright and fragrant.

20 min

Brazilian Snacks & Starters

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Amendoim cozidoBoiled peanuts

Steaming paper bags of boiled peanuts are sold in São João squares from Campina Grande to the interior of São Paulo, and families cook pots of them at home when the fresh peanut harvest comes in around June. Boiled in the shell in well-salted water, the peanuts turn soft, juicy and almost bean-like, with a savoury, slightly sweet taste quite different from roasted peanuts. You crack them open with your fingers and slurp the salty water out with the nut. You need raw peanuts in the shell, either fresh (green) or dried; roasted ones never soften. Under-salting is the beginner's slip: the shell blocks a lot of salt, so the water should taste like the sea. Chef's tip: let the peanuts sit in their cooking water for 30 minutes off the heat before draining, so the salt soaks through to the nut.

60 min

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AmygdalopitaAlmond syrup cake

Kefalonia is almond country, and amygdalopita is what islanders bake for the feast of Agios Gerasimos in August and for guests all year round: a moist, flourless-leaning cake of ground almonds, eggs and breadcrumbs, soaked in light lemon syrup until it's dense and fragrant. Serve a small square with coffee or a spoon of thick yoghurt. Common mistake: grinding the almonds too long, so they turn oily and the cake heavy — pulse them until just sandy. Chef's tip: toast half the almonds before grinding for a deeper, nuttier flavour.

65 min

Greek Baking

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AmygdalotaAlmond sweets

Andros is famous for its almonds, and the island's amygdalota are handed round at weddings, baptisms and Easter: little pear-shaped sweets of ground almond and sugar, baked just long enough to set, then splashed with rosewater and buried in icing sugar. They are soft and chewy inside, perfumed and pure white, and they go with a small cup of Greek coffee. Common mistake: baking them until golden, which turns them dry and hard; they should stay pale. Chef's tip: grind the almonds with some of the sugar so they release less oil and the paste stays light.

45 min

Greek Desserts

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Dorada a la salSalt-baked sea bream

Around the salt flats of San Pedro del Pinatar, at the northern tip of the Mar Menor, baking fish under a crust of coarse salt is the obvious way to cook a fresh bream, and lagoon-side restaurants crack the crust open at the table for long summer lunches. The salt hardens into a shell that steams the fish in its own juices, so the flesh is moist and lightly seasoned rather than salty. Serve it with a drizzle of good olive oil, boiled potatoes or allioli. Chef's tip: leave the scales on; they stop the salt from reaching the flesh and make the skin peel away cleanly.

45 min

Persian Snacks & Starters

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Anar ba golparPomegranate seeds with golpar

On Yalda night, the longest night of the year in late December, a bowl of jewel-red pomegranate seeds sits at the centre of the korsi in homes from Tehran to Shiraz, symbolising the dawn and the return of light. Many families sprinkle the seeds with golpar (ground Persian hogweed) and a little salt, which makes the sweet-sour fruit taste brighter and more savoury, almost like a salad. A common mistake is bashing the fruit too hard to free the seeds, which bursts them and leaves a puddle of juice. Chef's tip: seed the pomegranates under a bowl of water; the seeds sink, the white pith floats and the juice doesn't stain the kitchen.

15 min

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AnchiCorn semolina pudding with peaches

Sold in plastic cups from coolers at Salta's Mercado San Miguel and on village plazas at the end of a hot afternoon, anchi is a thin, sweet pudding of fine maize semolina cooked with water, sugar and plenty of lemon. It sets only softly, so it is half eaten and half drunk, cold and refreshing, often with slices of poached peach or a few rehydrated orejones (dried peaches) on top, and sometimes a dusting of cinnamon. There's no milk or egg in it, which is what keeps it light. Too much semolina is the easy error: anchi should pour slowly from the spoon when cold, not slice like polenta, so stick to the ratio and remember it thickens as it cools. Fine maize semolina is the Salta choice; fine wheat semolina works too. Chef's tip: add the lemon juice off the heat at the end; boiled lemon loses its fresh sharpness.

25 min

Argentinian Desserts

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Escudella i carn d'ollaChristmas soup with giant pasta

This contains pork (pork belly and pork mince). On Christmas Day, Catalan families sit down to escudella i carn d'olla, served in two courses: first the broth with giant snail-shaped galets pasta, then the carn d'olla, a platter of the meats, chickpeas and vegetables that made it, including the pilota, a large herby meatball. The pot simmers for hours, and the leftovers become the next day's canelons. Chef's tip: start the meats in cold water and skim patiently as it comes to the boil; it is the only way to a clear, golden broth.

255 min

Spanish Soups

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Ankara tavasıBraised lamb on orzo pilaf

Ankara's signature dish is a tava, a baking pan, in which tender braised lamb is laid over a pilaf of rice and orzo and finished in the oven so the top grains go crisp and the meat juices soak right through. Old Ankara families serve it for guests and at festival lunches, with a bowl of cacık and pickles. Common mistake: using fully cooked pilaf, which dries out and turns hard in the oven; cook the rice only halfway. Chef's tip: save every spoon of the lamb's braising liquid; it's what flavours and finishes cooking the rice underneath.

150 min

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Dublin lawyerLobster in whiskey cream

Dublin lawyer is an old Dublin restaurant dish, said to be named because lawyers were rich and fond of drink: lobster meat is cooked in butter, flamed with Irish whiskey and finished with cream, then served back in the shell. It is a special-occasion dish for anniversaries and birthdays. This recipe contains alcohol; for an alcohol-free version replace the whiskey with 2 tablespoons of apple juice and a squeeze of lemon. Chef's tip: buy cooked lobster from a fishmonger if you are unsure about preparing a live one, and add it to the sauce only to heat through.

50 min

Irish Fish

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AntikristoSlow-roasted lamb

Antikristo means 'facing each other', and in the Psiloritis mountain villages above Anogeia it describes big pieces of lamb on long skewers set upright round a wood fire, turned now and then for four or five hours until the fat has dripped away and the meat is smoky and crisp. At village feasts and saint's-day fairs it is carved straight from the skewer onto paper with nothing more than salt and a squeeze of lemon. This home version roasts salted lamb shoulder and ribs slowly in the oven, then finishes them hot for crackling edges. Common mistake: adding herbs and marinades; the Cretan way is only coarse salt, so the lamb's own flavour comes through. Chef's tip: salt the meat the night before and leave it uncovered in the fridge so the surface dries and crisps.

255 min

Greek Meat

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PingadoHot milk with coffee

Order 'um pingado' at the balcão of any São Paulo padaria at 7 in the morning and the attendant pours hot milk into a ridged glass tumbler (the copo americano) and 'drips' in a splash of strong coffee, hence the name. It is milkier and gentler than a média (half coffee, half milk), creamy and lightly sweet, usually drunk standing up with a pão na chapa, a toasted buttered roll. At home you need strong filter coffee and milk heated until steaming. Scalding the milk is the frequent mistake, as boiled milk tastes flat and forms a skin. Chef's tip: froth the hot milk for a few seconds with a whisk or by pouring it back and forth between two jugs before adding the coffee, as padaria machines do.

7 min

Brazilian Drinks

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Arroz a bandaRice cooked in fish stock

Along the Alicante coast, from Santa Pola to Dénia, arroz a banda began as a fishermen's meal: the small, bony fish that wouldn't sell were simmered into a deep, rust-coloured stock, rice was cooked in it, and the fish was eaten "a banda", on the side. Today the rice comes first, thin, golden and intensely savoury, with a spoonful of allioli, and the poached fish and potatoes follow. A common mistake is a weak stock; the rice tastes of nothing more than what it cooks in, so use plenty of fish and reduce it well. The allioli here uses pasteurised egg; raw-egg allioli is not for pregnant women, young children or anyone with a weakened immune system. Chef's tip: let the rice catch slightly on the base in the last minute to form socarrat, the toasty crust everyone fights over.

115 min

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Arroz à gregaRice with carrot, peas and raisins

Nothing Greek about it: the name is pure Brazilian whimsy, and every carioca Christmas and New Year's Eve table has a big platter of this colourful rice next to the roast. Long-grain rice is cooked with onion and garlic and then tossed with diced carrot, peas, red pepper, raisins and spring onion, so each spoonful is savoury, a little sweet and full of colour. It also turns up at weekend lunches and as a side with grilled vegetables or bean dishes. Most people overload the pan and steam everything together, which turns the vegetables dull and soft. Cook the rice and the vegetables separately and fold them together at the end. Chef's tip: soak the raisins in a little hot water for 10 minutes; they plump up and don't pull moisture out of the rice.

35 min

Brazilian Sides

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Arroz a la tumbadaSoupy seafood rice

Along the Veracruz coast, from Alvarado to the port itself, fishermen's families make arroz a la tumbada: a loose, soupy red rice cooked in tomato and fish stock and loaded with prawns, squid, clams and mussels. It sits between a paella and a seafood soup, eaten with a spoon at long Sunday lunches in beachside palapas, with lime wedges and hot sauce on the table. Epazote gives it its local scent; parsley with a pinch of oregano will do if you can't find it. Chef's tip: take it off the heat while it still looks too wet; the rice keeps drinking the broth on the way to the table.

70 min

Mexican Rice & Grains

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Arroz clavadoCoconut rice with cheese

From Quibdó and the river towns of the Chocó comes a rice dish built on coconut, where cubes of white cheese are pushed into the pot near the end and left to melt into sticky, golden pockets; clavado means nailed in. The coconut milk, ideally pressed from freshly grated coconut, gives the rice a creamy, gently sweet base, and the Pacific herbs of the azotea, the raised kitchen garden, add a sharp green note. It is a weekday lunch at home, eaten with fried plantain, avocado or alongside fried fish for those who eat it. White cheese in Colombia is usually set with animal rennet, so use a vegetarian (microbial-rennet) halloumi or mozzarella-style cheese if needed. Stirring after the cheese goes in is the slip that turns it to mush, so poke the cheese into the rice and then leave the lid on. Chef's tip: culantro (long-leaf coriander) from Asian or Caribbean shops is close to the Chocó herbs; use ordinary coriander stems if not.

40 min

Colombian Rice & Grains

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Arroz con patoDuck and coriander rice

Chiclayo and the northern coast claim arroz con pato as their own, and family lunches and big Sunday gatherings there often centre on a deep pot of it: duck legs browned and simmered in dark beer and a purée of coriander and spinach, then rice cooked in the same green, duck-rich liquid with peas, red pepper and ají amarillo. The rice is moist and loose, the duck tender with crisp edges, and it is served with salsa criolla and, often, papa a la huancaína. The beer contains alcohol, and not all of it cooks off; for an alcohol-free pot use alcohol-free beer or the stock swap in the ingredients. A common mistake is skipping the browning, which leaves flabby skin and a pale, fatty rice; render the duck slowly first and pour off excess fat. Chef's tip: let the cooked rice rest under the lid off the heat for 10 minutes before fluffing.

95 min

Peruvian Rice & Grains

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Arroz de cuxáRice with roselle leaves and shrimp

Green-flecked, sharp and nutty, arroz de cuxá is the signature rice of São Luís, served in Maranhão homes and seafood restaurants with fried fish, torta de camarão or a simple fried egg. The sourness comes from vinagreira, the leaves of the roselle hibiscus, cooked down into a thick cuxá sauce with dried shrimp, toasted sesame and a little cassava flour, then stirred into fluffy white rice. Roselle leaves are sold as gongura in Indian grocers and as sorrel leaves in Caribbean shops; spinach with lime juice is a mild stand-in. The common error is under-cooking the leaves, which leaves them stringy; they should collapse into a dark, soft purée. For a vegetarian version, leave out the shrimp and add a spoonful more sesame. Chef's tip: toast the sesame until it just turns gold and starts to pop, then grind it while warm so it releases its oil into the sauce.

55 min

Brazilian Rice & Grains

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Arroz de lingueirãoRazor clam rice

When the tide drops on the Ria Formosa near Fuzeta, pickers dig razor clams from the mud, and by lunchtime the riverside tascas are serving them in this loose, brothy rice, called malandrinho because it should still ripple in the bowl. Tomato, garlic and a big handful of coriander carry the sweet, briny clam flavour. The recipe uses a little white wine; for an alcohol-free version use the same amount of water with a teaspoon of lemon juice. Chef's tip: add the razor clams for the last 2 minutes only, or they turn rubbery.

60 min

Portuguese Rice & Grains

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Arroz de mariscoSoupy seafood rice

This is not paella. Portuguese arroz de marisco is wet and soupy, eaten with a spoon straight from the pot, and Lisbon families order a big one to share at seafood restaurants on a Sunday, waiting while it is made fresh. The rice simmers in a rich tomato and shellfish broth, then prawns, clams and mussels go in at the end so they stay tender. White wine is traditional and contains alcohol; use more stock instead. A common mistake is letting it stand: the rice keeps drinking the broth, so serve it the moment it is ready. Chef's tip: make the broth from the prawn heads and shells; it is where most of the flavour comes from.

80 min

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Arroz de pato à moda de BragaDuck rice with chouriço

In Braga, duck rice is moister than the crisp-topped versions elsewhere: the rice is cooked in a deep duck broth, layered with shredded meat and slices of chouriço, then given a short spell in a hot oven so the top just colours. It is a festive dish for christenings, weddings and Sunday lunches. This contains pork (chouriço and smoked bacon). Chef's tip: make the broth the day before and chill it, so you can lift off the duck fat and use a spoonful of it to fry the onion.

160 min

Portuguese Rice & Grains

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Arroz de pica no chãoChicken and blood rice

'Pica no chão' means 'pecks the ground', the Minho name for a free-range farmyard hen, and this soupy rice is how it is cooked for a family gathering in Barcelos or Vila Verde. Traditionally the bird's blood is stirred in at the end with vinegar, cabidela style, giving a dark, tangy, velvety sauce; without it you get a lighter but equally good chicken rice. Use a free-range bird or thighs for proper flavour. A common mistake is letting the rice sit before serving; this is a loose, soupy rice and it thickens fast, so bring it to the table at once. Chef's tip: the rice must be served the moment it is ready, still swimming in broth, because it keeps absorbing liquid.

90 min

Portuguese Chicken

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Arroz de sarrabulhoRice with mixed meats and blood

Ponte de Lima, the old market town on the river Lima, is the capital of sarrabulho, and on market Mondays its restaurants serve this dark, soupy rice from enormous pots. This contains pork (pork shoulder, belly and chouriço) and cooked pig's blood. Several meats are simmered together for a rich broth, then shredded and cooked with rice, cumin and blood until it turns deep brown and creamy. It is usually served next to rojões, with lemon to cut the richness. Chef's tip: add the blood at the very end and stir constantly, so it thickens the rice smoothly instead of forming lumps.

150 min

Portuguese Rice & Grains

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Arroz de tamborilMonkfish and tomato rice

Fish restaurants in Aveiro, Figueira da Foz and the fishing town of Praia de Mira serve this rice in the pot it was cooked in, steaming and loose, with chunks of firm monkfish and a broth coloured by tomato and peppers. It is a lunch for the weekend, eaten slowly near the beach. Monkfish holds its shape well, and its head and bones make a fine stock. You can add prawns if you like. Chef's tip: it should be 'malandrinho', loose and soupy, so take it off the heat while the rice is still slightly firm; it carries on softening at the table.

75 min

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Arroz del senyoretPeeled seafood rice

The name means "the little gentleman's rice", after the well-to-do diners at Valencia's beach restaurants in Las Arenas and El Saler who refused to get their hands dirty peeling prawns. So every piece of seafood goes into the pan already peeled and cut to fork size, while the shells are fried into the stock to keep all their flavour. The result is a thin layer of saffron-gold rice dotted with sweet prawn, squid and monkfish, eaten straight from the pan on a summer Sunday. A common mistake is throwing the prawn shells away; they give the stock its depth. Chef's tip: grate the tomato rather than chopping it; the pulp melts into the sofrito and lets it darken quickly.

75 min

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FriesentortePuff pastry torte with plum butter

On the coasts of East and North Frisia, from Norden to the island of Föhr, Friesentorte is what the tea room serves after a windy walk on the dykes, usually with a pot of strong black tea taken with rock sugar and cream. Three crisp rounds of puff pastry are layered with dark plum butter (Pflaumenmus) and a thick band of whipped cream; the top layer is cut into wedges before baking and glazed with sugar, so every slice gets its own shiny lid. Some versions add rum to the plums; this one is alcohol-free. A common mistake is assembling it hours ahead, which turns the pastry soft. Chef's tip: assemble no more than an hour before serving and keep it cold; the contrast of crackly pastry and cream is the whole point.

70 min

German Baking

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Asadillo manchegoRoasted pepper and tomato salad

Late summer in La Mancha brings a glut of fleshy red peppers, and around Ciudad Real and Albacete they are roasted with tomatoes, then torn into strips and dressed with garlic, cumin and the local olive oil. Asadillo is served at room temperature as a starter, beside grilled meat or simply with bread at an evening meal on the patio, and it tastes even better the next day. Chef's tip: let the peppers sweat under a cloth after roasting; the skins then slip off in one piece.

70 min

Spanish Salads

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Finkenwerder ScholleFried plaice with bacon and shrimps

Finkenwerder was a fishing village on an Elbe island, and the way its fishermen cooked plaice is now Hamburg's signature fish dish, eaten from May to autumn when plaice is plump. A whole fish is dusted and fried in butter, then covered with crisp cubes of smoked pork belly bacon and a handful of tiny brown North Sea shrimps warmed in the same pan, and served with parsley potatoes and cucumber salad. The bacon is pork; leave it out and add capers for a pork-free plate. Chef's tip: score the dark skin side lightly twice so the fish stays flat in the pan and cooks evenly to the bone.

40 min

German Fish

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Atum de ceboladaTuna in onion sauce

From Vila Real de Santo António to Tavira, cebolada means a deep pan of onions cooked slowly in olive oil with garlic, bay and tomato, finished with a splash of vinegar, and tuna steaks laid in it to braise. Fishing families made it with the cheaper cuts from the tuna traps; restaurants still serve it on weekday lunch menus with boiled potatoes. Chef's tip: give the onions their full 25 minutes, so they turn sweet and jammy before the tuna goes in.

60 min

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Atún encebolladoTuna stewed with onions

When the almadraba nets bring bluefin tuna ashore in Barbate and Zahara de los Atunes in May and June, households along the Cádiz coast make atún encebollado: chunks of tuna braised in a mountain of onions cooked down until sweet and golden, with bay, pepper and a splash of fino. Any good tuna steak works the rest of the year. This recipe uses wine; the alcohol-free option is in the ingredient note. Chef's tip: the onions take the time, the tuna does not; add it only for the last few minutes, or it turns dry and grey.

65 min

Spanish Breakfast & Brunch

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Duelos y quebrantosScrambled eggs with chorizo and bacon

Cervantes names this dish in the first lines of Don Quixote as the knight's Saturday supper, and in La Mancha it is still a quick, filling plate of soft eggs scrambled into fried chorizo and streaky bacon. It turns up for a late breakfast in roadside inns near Campo de Criptana, or for supper on a busy weeknight with bread and a salad. This contains pork (chorizo and bacon). Chef's tip: take the pan off the heat while the eggs still look slightly wet; they finish cooking on the plate.

17 min

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AuszogneStretched doughnuts

Auszogne are the doughnuts of the Bavarian countryside, fried for Kirchweih, the village church fair in autumn, and for Carnival. Each ball of rich yeast dough is pulled over the knees or the backs of the hands so the middle goes almost see-through while a thick, puffy ring stays round the edge; the centre fries crisp, the rim soft and fluffy. They are eaten warm with icing sugar and a cup of coffee. A common mistake is pulling the dough cold: it tears. Let the stretched rounds rest, and keep the oil at a steady 170 °C so the rims cook through before they brown. Chef's tip: stretch them on lightly buttered fingertips, not floured ones, so the dough slides without sticking.

70 min

German Desserts

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Dulce de alcayotaFig-leaf gourd preserve

Late autumn in San Juan and Mendoza, the huge striped alcayotas (fig-leaf gourds, Cucurbita ficifolia) are left to cure in the sun, then split open for this preserve: the white flesh separates into long strands like angel hair, which cook in syrup until golden, glossy and translucent, with walnuts and a hint of cinnamon and clove. It is spooned onto bread, eaten with fresh cheese, and used to fill empanadas and pastries. Look for alcayota at Latin American grocers (sometimes sold as chilacayote or cidra); spaghetti squash makes a respectable stand-in. Cooking the syrup too hard is the trap: it caramelises and turns the preserve dark and bitter, so keep it at a gentle bubble. For safe storage, jars must be sterilised and sealed hot. Chef's tip: rinse the cooked strands in cold water before they go into the syrup; it washes off the starch and keeps the threads separate and clear.

180 min

Argentinian Chutneys & Dips

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Avena colombianaChilled oat drink

Bakeries all over Colombia keep a fridge of avena in plastic cups, ready to pair with a warm pandebono, buñuelo or almojábana. It is a thick, sweet oat drink cooked in milk with cinnamon and cloves, then blended smooth and chilled until it is creamy and spoonable, somewhere between a milkshake and rice pudding. Children drink it after school, and it is a common mid-morning snack with something baked. Home versions are less sweet and more spiced than shop ones. The thing to watch is texture: if you skip blending or straining, you end up with slimy flecks of oats, so blend thoroughly once it is cooked. It thickens a lot as it chills, so loosen it with cold milk before serving. Chef's tip: toast the oats in the dry pan for 2 minutes first; it gives a nutty, biscuity flavour.

25 min

Colombian Drinks

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Dulce de batataSweet potato paste

Deep orange and firm enough to slice, dulce de batata is the sweet potato paste Argentines eat with cheese, bake into pastelitos and pasta frola, and pack into school lunch boxes; the classic commercial block often hides a ribbon of chocolate in the centre. Making it at home takes patience at the stove, but the result tastes of real roasted sweet potato and vanilla. Traditional recipes simply cook the purée down for a long time; some factory versions set it with gelatin. This one uses a little agar, a seaweed-based setting agent, so it is reliably firm and stays vegan. Choose pale-fleshed sweet potato (batata) if you can, which gives the classic colour and dense texture; orange-fleshed ones work but set softer. The usual problem is too little cooking, which gives a paste that weeps; it is ready when a spoon drawn through it leaves a clean line. Chef's tip: cover your hand with a tea towel while you stir, because the thick paste spits like lava.

120 min

Argentinian Desserts

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Axoa de veauMinced veal and pepper stew

Axoa (say 'ash-o-a') comes from Espelette, the Basque village whose house fronts are hung with strings of drying red peppers every autumn, and it is still the dish of the October pepper fair and of market-day lunches in Cambo and Bayonne. Veal shoulder is cut into small dice, then stewed with onions, mild green peppers and a good spoonful of ground Espelette pepper, which brings warmth and a fruity, smoky perfume rather than real fire. The result is soft, juicy and brick-red at the edges, best spooned over boiled potatoes or with crusty bread. Chef's tip: stir most of the Espelette pepper in at the end of cooking; long simmering dulls its fragrance.

70 min

French Meat

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Ayran aşıChilled yoghurt and wheat soup

When the summer heat hits the eastern plateau around Erzurum, Erzincan and Sivas, families switch from hot soups to ayran aşı, a cold soup of thinned yoghurt with cooked whole wheat, chickpeas and handfuls of mint, dill and purslane or cucumber. It's ladled from a big bowl at lunch with flatbread, and it's as refreshing as a drink but filling as a meal. Common mistake: adding the grains while still hot, which makes the yoghurt split and turn sour-tasting; cool them completely first. Chef's tip: make it a few hours before serving and chill; the wheat soaks up the yoghurt and the herbs perfume the whole bowl.

60 min

Turkish Soups

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Ayva tatlısıPoached quince with clotted cream

In autumn the market stalls of Ankara and Kayseri are piled with knobbly yellow quinces, and the best-loved thing to make with them is ayva tatlısı: halves poached slowly in syrup with their own seeds and a few cloves until they turn translucent and a deep garnet colour. Each half is filled with thick kaymak or clotted cream and topped with pistachio. Common mistake: rushing it on a high heat; the red colour only comes with long, gentle cooking. Chef's tip: tie the cores and seeds in a little muslin bag and cook them with the fruit; their natural pectin and tannins give the syrup body and that ruby glow.

95 min

Turkish Desserts

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Ayvalık tostuSausage, cheese and pickle toastie

Ayvalık, the olive-oil town on the north Aegean, turned the humble cheese toastie into a feast: a long, soft loaf split and stuffed with kaşar, beef sucuk, beef salami, tomatoes and pickles, pressed hot, then opened up again to be piled with ketchup, mayonnaise and Russian salad. It is eaten for breakfast or as a late snack after a swim. This one has beef sausage and salami, so check the label if you avoid pork. Chef's tip: press it twice, once with the cheese and meats, then again after opening it to add the cold toppings, so the bread stays crisp.

25 min

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Azevias de grãoSweet chickpea fried pastries

Come December, Alentejo kitchens fill with the smell of these: thin, crisp pastries folded around a sweet chickpea paste flavoured with orange and cinnamon, fried until blistered and rolled in cinnamon sugar. Families make them by the hundred and share them with neighbours over Christmas. Many recipes add a splash of aguardente, a grape spirit containing alcohol, to the dough for crispness; it is optional here, and orange juice alone works. This version contains no egg or dairy. A common mistake is rolling the dough too thick; it should be thin enough to see light through, so it bubbles and crisps. Chef's tip: make the filling the day before; cold, firm filling is far easier to wrap.

90 min

Portuguese Desserts

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Fırın kebabıSlow-roasted lamb on bread

Konya's fırın kebabı comes from the city's old tandır ovens, where whole sides of lamb hung for hours until the meat collapsed and the fat crisped. Served on a sheet of thin pide with the cooking juices soaked in, a raw onion on the side and a jug of ayran, it is a Sunday treat and a wedding dish. A low home oven and a tightly covered tray give the same soft, juicy result. Common mistake: uncovering it too soon; the lamb needs steamy, sealed heat for hours before it gets its final browning. Chef's tip: rest the cooked lamb on the bread, not on a board; the bread drinks up every drop of juice.

255 min