Featured recipe

Girit ezmesi

Feta, walnut and herb spread

Girit ezmesi takes its name from the Cretan Muslims who settled in Alaçatı and Çeşme a century ago, and it is still a fixture of every meze table in those whitewashed streets. Soft white cheese is mashed with olive oil, walnuts, garlic, plenty of herbs and a dusting of hot pepper into a rough, salty spread that begs for warm bread. Feta and beyaz peynir are often made with animal rennet, so choose a vegetarian one if you need to. Chef's tip: mash by hand with a fork rather than blending; it should stay textured, with visible pieces of walnut and herb.

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115 min

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Tarte aux pralines rosesPink praline tart

Lyon's pralines are almonds coated in hard, shocking-pink sugar, and the city's bakeries melt them with cream into a sticky, vivid filling for this tart, sold by the slice in every pâtisserie from Bellecour to the Croix-Rousse. It is very sweet and nutty, with a crunch from the almonds, and is eaten in small slices with coffee. Look for pink pralines coloured with plant-based colourings; some are coloured with carmine (E120), which comes from insects. Chef's tip: crush the pralines roughly in a bag with a rolling pin, leaving some pieces the size of a lentil for crunch.

80 min

French Baking

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Cotoletta alla milaneseBreaded veal cutlet

The Milanese cotoletta is a thick, bone-in veal rib chop, dipped in egg and breadcrumbs and fried slowly in clarified butter until the crust is deep gold and the meat inside is still juicy and faintly pink. It is the standard Sunday and celebration dish in Milan's old trattorie, served with just a lemon wedge and perhaps a rocket and tomato salad or a few roast potatoes. Unlike the thin, beaten schnitzel, the true cotoletta keeps its bone and is only lightly flattened, so it stays tender. Chef's tip: clarify the butter yourself or use ghee; ordinary butter burns at frying heat and leaves bitter black specks on the crumb.

30 min

Italian Meat

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CorundasTriangular corn tamales

Corundas come from the Purépecha people of Michoacán, around Lake Pátzcuaro and Morelia, and they look nothing like a usual tamal: small, plump and triangular or star-shaped, wrapped in the long green leaves of the corn plant rather than dried husks. The masa is soft and fluffy, usually plain or with a little cheese and poblano inside, and corundas are eaten with crema, salsa roja and crumbled cheese, often for breakfast or at fiestas. Traditional dough uses pork lard; we use vegetable shortening or butter. Cheese may be made with animal rennet, so use a vegetarian one if needed. Chef's tip: beat the fat until it is white and fluffy before adding the masa; a spoonful of dough should float in water when it is light enough.

105 min

Mexican Snacks & Starters

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Cortado de lecheCurdled milk in panela syrup

On farms in Antioquia and Santander, when there was more milk than anyone could drink, it became cortado: milk deliberately split with lime juice, then simmered slowly with panela and spices until the curds turn tender and tan and the whey reduces into a thin, molasses-flavoured syrup. It is a country dessert, served warm or cold in small bowls after Sunday lunch, sometimes with a piece of white cheese on the side. The texture is somewhere between a soft ricotta and baked custard, sweet and lightly spiced with cinnamon and clove. Because lime does the curdling, there is no rennet involved. Stirring hard as soon as the lime goes in is the usual mistake; it breaks the curds into grainy specks, so let them form undisturbed and then move the pan gently. Chef's tip: use full-fat milk that is not ultra-heat-treated; UHT milk gives smaller, softer curds.

60 min

Colombian Desserts

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