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Bánh khúc

Cudweed sticky rice dumplings

Long before sunrise, vendors walk Hanoi's Old Quarter with steaming baskets, calling out for xôi xéo and bánh khúc. These are soft green dumplings coloured and scented with rau khúc, a grassy, herbal cudweed, wrapped around mung bean paste and peppery pork belly, then rolled in sticky rice grains and steamed until the grains turn glossy. They are eaten hot from a scrap of banana leaf with a pinch of sesame salt, often on a cold winter morning. Look for frozen or dried cudweed at Vietnamese grocers. Chef's tip: keep the green dough thin but even; thick dough cracks and lets the filling escape.

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Znoud el sitCream-filled filo fingers

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

70 min

Lebanese Desserts

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Travesseiros de SintraAlmond cream puff pastries

Travesseiro means pillow, and these long, sugar-dusted pastries from Sintra look just like one, plump with a soft almond cream. They were first sold at a café in the town in the mid-twentieth century and are now the second pastry, after queijadas, that every visitor carries home. Eat them warm, when the pastry shatters and the filling is still loose. Using shop-bought all-butter puff pastry makes them a fair home project. Chef's tip: cook the almond cream until it is thick enough to hold a trail from the spoon, then chill it; warm filling melts the butter in the pastry and stops it puffing.

55 min

Portuguese Baking

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TomatokeftedesTomato and mint fritters

The volcanic soil of Santorini grows tiny, intensely sweet tomatoes on almost no water, and every taverna on the caldera serves them as tomatokeftedes: chopped tomato, onion, mint and oregano bound with just enough flour to hold, then fried until the outside is lacy and crisp and the inside is soft and juicy. They are eaten hot as a meze, often next to Santorini fava and a cold glass of water or lemonade. Common mistake: letting the batter sit, which draws out tomato juice and makes it runny; mix it right before frying. Chef's tip: squeeze the chopped tomatoes in a sieve first and keep the juice for a soup; drier tomatoes give crisper fritters.

40 min

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TurmusBrined lupini beans

Strolling the Beirut Corniche or a Sunday market in Amman, you will pass carts selling turmus: plump golden lupini beans kept in salted water, scooped into paper cones and eaten by nicking the skin with your teeth and popping out the bean. They are also a fixture on mezze tables and a fasting snack for Lent. Dried lupins are naturally very bitter and must be soaked for days to wash those compounds out; never eat them while they still taste bitter, and if you are allergic to peanuts, check with a doctor first as lupin allergy is linked. A jar of ready-debittered lupini, drained and seasoned, is a quick shortcut. The common mistake is salting the beans before they are fully sweet, which seals the bitterness in. Chef's tip: finish with lemon, cumin and a little chilli just before serving; the salty brine keeps them, the dressing makes them moreish.

90 min

Lebanese Snacks & Starters

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Versunkener ApfelkuchenSunken apple sponge

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

70 min

German Baking

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Tortas de VianaSponge roll with egg-yolk cream

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

55 min

Portuguese Baking

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YouvarlakiaRice meatballs in egg-lemon broth

Youvarlakia is the soup Greek mothers, from Tripoli in the Arcadian hills to the Athens suburbs, make for a cold night or anyone feeling under the weather. Little meatballs of beef, rice, onion and herbs poach in a light broth until tender, and the broth is thickened at the end with whisked egg and lemon into a pale, silky avgolemono. It's a meal in a bowl, with bread and feta. Common mistake: boiling the soup after the egg goes in, which curdles it — take the pot off the heat first. Chef's tip: roll the meatballs with wet hands and drop them into simmering, not boiling, broth so they hold together.

70 min

Greek Soups

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Vieiras á galegaBaked scallops with onion and crumbs

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

55 min

Spanish Fish

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Tripas à moda do PortoTripe and butter bean stew

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

220 min

Portuguese Meat

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Viennese GugelhupfLemon and raisin ring cake

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

90 min

Austrian Baking

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Trucha a la navarraTrout with cured ham

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

25 min

Spanish Fish

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Trucha fritaFried trout with potatoes and rice

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

30 min

Peruvian Fish

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Truchas de batataSweet potato and almond pastries

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

90 min

Spanish Desserts

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TruffadeFried potatoes with Cantal cheese

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

45 min

French Sides

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Viennese KaisersemmelCrisp star-topped rolls

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

170 min

Austrian Breads & Parathas

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Tsai tou vounouMountain tea with honey and lemon

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

10 min

Greek Drinks

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TomaticánTomato, corn and egg stew

Mendoza's irrigated orchards and fincas drown in tomatoes in February, and tomaticán is the old Cuyo answer to the glut: a quick pan stew of onion, chopped ripe tomato and fresh sweetcorn, seasoned with oregano and a little ají, with beaten egg stirred through at the end until it sets in soft curds. It is a farmhouse lunch and a cheap supper, eaten with crusty bread to mop the juice, and some cooks add diced potato to stretch it. The flavour is bright and sweet-sour, the texture loose and juicy. People often add the egg to a pan full of liquid and end up with egg soup; cook the tomatoes down until the juices are jammy first. Bread for dipping is traditional, so pick a gluten-free loaf if you need it. Chef's tip: stir the egg in off the heat and let the pan's heat set it; you want soft, creamy ribbons, not a dry scramble.

30 min

Argentinian Vegetarian

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Torta holandesaChilled biscuit and ganache tart

Despite the name, the 'Dutch tart' is a Brazilian invention, created in a confeitaria in Campinas, São Paulo state, in the 1990s and now sold in bakeries and churrascarias all over the country. A crunchy biscuit base holds a tall layer of light vanilla buttercream, sealed with dark chocolate ganache, and the sides are fenced with chocolate-dipped biscuits stood on their edges. Served cold, it is rich, creamy and crunchy at once, cut in thin slices with coffee. Some versions set the cream with gelatin; this one gets its body from butter and whipped cream only. Warm ganache poured straight on is the commonest mistake, since it melts the cream underneath into streaks. Chef's tip: let the ganache cool until it is just pourable and barely warm to a fingertip, about 30 °C, before pouring it over the chilled tart.

50 min

Brazilian Desserts

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Türk kahvesiTurkish coffee

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

7 min

Turkish Drinks

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Zeytoon parvardehOlives with walnuts and pomegranate

Rudbar, in the olive valleys of southern Gilan, is famous for zeytoon parvardeh, 'nurtured olives': plump green olives tossed in a thick paste of ground walnuts, sour pomegranate molasses, garlic, fresh mint and golpar, then left to mellow for a day or two. Gilanis serve them as a starter or a side with rice and fish, and every visitor to the north brings jars home. The common mistake is using pitted olives in brine straight from the jar without rinsing, which makes the dressing salty and harsh. Chef's tip: rinse the olives and leave them to soak in fresh water for 30 minutes first; they drink up the marinade much better.

20 min

Persian Snacks & Starters

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Ulster potato farlsGriddled potato bread

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

30 min

British Breads & Parathas

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Tourte de blettesSweet Swiss chard pie

Visitors to Vieux-Nice are often surprised to find a pie of green chard leaves sold as a dessert, by the slice, in the old-town bakeries. The sweet tourte de blettes mixes chard with raisins, pine nuts, apple and a little cheese inside a sugared pastry, and Niçois families set it out on Christmas Eve as one of the thirteen desserts. The raisins are traditionally plumped in rum or marc; warm orange juice is used here, so it is alcohol-free. Parmesan is made with animal rennet, so pick a vegetarian hard cheese if you need to. Chef's tip: use only the green leaves; the white ribs make the filling watery, but keep them for a gratin.

100 min

French Baking

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VincisgrassiBaked lasagne with meat ragù

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

270 min

Italian Pasta & Noodles

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TsigareliGreens braised with tomato and paprika

Corfiots gather wild chicory, sow-thistle, fennel tops and young chard from the olive groves in winter and spring and stew them into tsigareli, a peppery, oily braise that sits on the table with bread, feta and a fried egg or two. The Venetian-era love of hot red pepper shows: it should warm the back of your throat. Common mistake: drowning the greens in water — they make their own juice, so add only a splash. Chef's tip: shop-bought mixes of spinach, chard, rocket and dill work well; add the tender leaves last so they keep some colour.

50 min

Greek Vegetarian

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TsigariastoFried and braised lamb

Tsigariasto comes from the verb 'to sizzle', and in the mountain villages of Crete it is the everyday way to cook lamb or kid: the pieces are browned hard in good olive oil, then left to stew slowly, covered, in nothing more than their own juices with salt and pepper. The result is meltingly tender meat in a small amount of rich, golden sauce, served with chips fried in olive oil, a horiatiki salad and bread. Common mistake: adding too much water, which turns it into a boiled stew; add only a splash at a time when the pan looks dry. Chef's tip: keep the lid on tight and the flame very low; the meat should murmur, not bubble.

135 min

Greek Meat

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TsourekiBraided Easter brioche

On Holy Thursday Greek homes braid tsoureki, the shining Easter loaf that is broken on Sunday after the midnight service and eaten for breakfast all week with coffee. It pulls apart in long, feathery strands and smells of mahlab (cherry-stone spice), mastic resin and orange. Common mistake: adding extra flour to a sticky dough; it is meant to be soft, and the long knead and cold rest make it manageable. Chef's tip: grind mastic with a pinch of sugar in a cold mortar; on its own it gums up into sticky lumps.

80 min

Greek Baking

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Tocino de cieloEgg-yolk and syrup custard

Tocino de cielo means 'bacon from heaven', but there is no pork in it at all: the name refers only to its rich, deep-yellow colour. The story told in Jerez de la Frontera is that the sherry bodegas used egg whites to clarify their wine and gave the leftover yolks to the convents, whose nuns turned them into this. It is denser and silkier than flan, with no milk, and a small square goes a long way after Sunday lunch. Chef's tip: strain the yolk mixture twice and skim off every bubble; that is what gives the glassy, pore-free finish.

60 min

Spanish Desserts

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