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Yakeyake
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Yakeyake

Steamed grated cassava

Yakeyake comes from the Volta Region, where grated cassava is pressed dry, broken into crumbs and steamed until it turns into a light, slightly chewy grain that looks like coarse couscous. It is pleasantly neutral, a little sweet, and in Ewe homes it is often eaten with fried fish and a hot tomato and pepper sauce; for a meat-free plate, serve it with that same pepper sauce, sliced avocado and fried ripe plantain. Fresh cassava must be cooked thoroughly and never eaten raw. Chef's tip: squeeze the grated cassava in a cloth until no more liquid comes out; wet cassava is the common mistake and steams into a gummy paste instead of separate crumbs.

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Mel i matóCurd cheese with honey and walnuts

On the road up to Montserrat, farm women once sat at stalls selling fresh mató, a soft, mild, unsalted curd cheese, and the dessert of mató drizzled with honey became a fixture of Catalan restaurants. It is as simple as dessert gets, and best with the freshest cheese. Shop-bought mató and some ricottas are set with animal rennet; this home version is set with lemon juice instead, so it is vegetarian. If you buy cheese, check the label for a vegetarian or microbial rennet. Chef's tip: heat the milk gently and stop at 90 °C; boiling makes the curds tough and grainy.

30 minSpanishDessertsGluten free
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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 minGermanMeat
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Salsa criollaTomato, onion and pepper relish

Chimichurri gets the fame, but at a Sunday asado anywhere from Buenos Aires to Salta the other bowl on the table is salsa criolla: tomato, onion and red and green pepper cut into small, even dice, dressed with vinegar, oil, oregano and salt, and left to sit until the juices pool. It is spooned over steak, chorizo and provoleta, piled into choripán, and eaten with grilled vegetables, and it brings freshness and acid to rich, smoky food. Expect crunch, a clean sour note and a mild sweetness from the peppers. Chopping it all in a food processor is the mistake: it turns watery and pulpy, so take the time to dice by hand. Some cooks use only red onion, others add spring onion or a pinch of chilli; adjust to taste. Chef's tip: dress the onion with the vinegar and salt first for 10 minutes before adding the rest; it softens the raw bite without losing the crunch.

15 minArgentinianChutneys & DipsVeganGluten free
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MohnnudelnPotato noodles with poppy seeds

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

60 minAustrianDesserts
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Mexillóns en escabechePickled mussels

Galicia's estuaries are lined with the wooden rafts (bateas) where mussels grow on ropes, and the region's canneries have long sold them in escabeche: steamed, shelled and kept in a warm-spiced marinade of oil, vinegar and paprika. Made at home, they're a tapa for an aperitif with crisps and cold drinks, and they keep for several days. Throw away any mussels with cracked shells, and any open ones that don't close when tapped, before cooking. A common mistake is pouring the marinade over cold mussels straight from the fridge: mix while both are warm so the flavours soak in, then chill. Chef's tip: they taste best after a full day in the fridge.

40 minSpanishFishGluten free
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Pesque de quinuaCreamy quinoa with cheese

Up on the Altiplano around Lake Titicaca, where quinoa grows at almost 4,000 metres, pesque is everyday food: quinoa cooked until it collapses, then beaten with milk, a knob of butter and crumbled fresh cheese until it looks like a loose, savoury risotto. Puno families eat it for a warming lunch or supper, often with a glass of milk poured over or a fried egg on top, and in the cold dry air it is exactly what the body wants. It is soft, nutty and mildly salty. The step people skip is rinsing the quinoa, and the natural saponins then leave a soapy, bitter edge; rub it under running water until the foam stops. Serve with a tomato salad or a spoon of uchucuta for some heat. Andean fresh cheese is usually set with animal rennet, so choose a vegetarian fresh cheese if needed. Chef's tip: cook the quinoa in a little more water than usual and leave it a few minutes longer than for a salad, so it turns creamy and the grains burst.

35 minPeruvianVegetarianGluten free
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Mojarra fritaFried whole tilapia

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

50 minColombianFishGluten free
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Mojica de pintadoCatfish and cassava stew

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

65 minBrazilianFishGluten free
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Mejillones a la provenzalMussels with garlic and parsley

On the Atlantic coast around Puerto Madryn and the Golfo Nuevo, mussels from cold Patagonian waters are farmed and gathered in quantity, and seafood places along the rambla steam them a la provenzal, which in Argentina means lots of garlic and parsley. A splash of dry white wine goes into the pot; the alcohol mostly cooks off, but you can swap it for fish stock with a little lemon for an alcohol-free pot that tastes just as good. Serve with bread or chips to mop up the briny juices. Cooking mussels too long is the usual slip: they shrink and turn rubbery, so lift the lid as soon as most have opened. Before cooking, throw away any mussel with a broken shell or one that stays open when tapped; after cooking, discard any that stay shut. Chef's tip: keep the garlic in gently warm oil until it just smells sweet; brown garlic turns bitter and dominates the mussels.

25 minArgentinianFishGluten free
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Salsa golfMayonnaise and ketchup sauce

Mar del Plata's golf club gave its name to this sauce in the 1920s, so the story goes, and Argentines have been mixing mayonnaise and ketchup ever since. It is the pink sauce of the 1970s cocktail party and the seaside: spooned into half avocados (palta a la golf), over hearts of palm, onto a cold hard-boiled egg, beside fries or into a prawn cocktail, and every family has its own ratio. A drop of lemon and a dash of mustard lift it from a simple mix to something tangy and creamy. Too much ketchup is the misstep that turns it sweet and orange; it should be a soft salmon pink. Use shop-bought mayonnaise, which is made with pasteurised egg; if you make your own, use pasteurised eggs. Check the labels of the mayonnaise, ketchup and mustard if you need it gluten free. Chef's tip: let it sit in the fridge for 15 minutes before serving; the flavours blend and it thickens slightly.

5 minArgentinianChutneys & DipsGluten free
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Mojo verdeGreen coriander and garlic sauce

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

15 minSpanishChutneys & DipsVeganGluten free
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Porra antequeranaThick chilled tomato and bread soup

In Antequera, north of Málaga, porra comes to the table so thick that a spoon stands up in it, and bars in the old town serve it from May until the first autumn rains as a starter or a light supper. It is a cousin of salmorejo, but with green pepper and more garlic, and the town tops it with chopped egg and a thread of oil. Locally the garnish also includes tuna and cured ham; this version keeps it vegetarian with egg and diced pepper. A common mistake is thinning it with water to make it go further: porra should be spooned, never sipped. Chef's tip: use only the reddest, softest tomatoes of the summer, because a pale tomato makes a pink, flat-tasting porra however much oil you add.

20 minSpanishSoups
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PorrusaldaLeek, potato and carrot soup

In Basque kitchens from Bilbao to Tolosa, porrusalda (literally 'leek broth') is what families cook in the quiet days after Christmas, when everyone wants something plain and warming. Leeks are the star, simmered with potatoes and carrots until the broth turns pale gold and slightly thick. Many households flake in desalted salt cod at the end; this version keeps it vegetarian with water or vegetable stock, so it is also vegan. A common mistake is slicing the potatoes neatly: snap them into rough chunks instead, so they release starch and give the broth body. Chef's tip: cook the leeks slowly in the oil before any liquid goes in, until they smell sweet, because that is where the flavour comes from.

60 minSpanishSoupsVeganGluten free
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PestiñosAnise fritters in honey

When Holy Week and Christmas come round, convent turnstiles and village kitchens from Cádiz to Granada fill trays with pestiños: little folded parcels of dough flavoured with sesame, anise and orange, fried until crisp and blistered and then dipped in honey. The dough traditionally takes a splash of white wine, which makes it bubble and crunch; orange juice works too, and is the alcohol-free option in the list. A common mistake is frying them in oil that is too hot, which browns the outside before the folds of dough cook through and crisp. Chef's tip: roll the dough really thin; thick pestiños stay doughy in the middle and soak up oil.

70 minSpanishDesserts
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Mole negro con polloChicken in black mole

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

210 minMexicanChicken
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Posta mirandesaGrilled veal steak

The Mirandesa is a dark, long-horned breed raised on the plateau around Miranda do Douro, and a posta is a slab of its veal or young beef, cut about 4 cm thick and grilled over oak embers with nothing but coarse salt. Restaurants in Miranda and Bragança serve it sliced on a board with a simple sauce of olive oil, garlic and vinegar, plus potatoes and salad. It is all about the meat, so ask the butcher for a thick, well-marbled piece. Chef's tip: salt the steak only just before it goes on the grill, with coarse salt, and turn it only once.

30 minPortugueseMeatGluten free
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Salzburger NockerlSweet soufflé peaks

Salzburger Nockerl is the dessert Salzburg serves to visitors after a concert or a walk through the old town: three golden, sugar-dusted peaks said to stand for the hills around the city. Under the airy egg-white soufflé is a layer of tart lingonberries or redcurrants, warmed with vanilla milk in the baking dish. It is meant to be shared from the dish and eaten the moment it leaves the oven, before it sinks. This version uses cornflour instead of wheat flour, so it is gluten free. A common mistake is over-folding the yolks into the whites; streaks are fine, and too much stirring makes it collapse. Chef's tip: keep the oven door shut until the end; the peaks are ready when they are golden outside but still creamy inside.

28 minAustrianDessertsGluten free
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PatascaHominy and tripe soup

Through the highlands of Ayacucho, Huancavelica and Apurímac, patasca (also called mondongo) is the soup for cold mornings, carnivals and the day after a fiesta: plump white mote, dried maize kernels that burst open like flowers after long boiling, in a clear, rich broth with honeycomb tripe and beef shin, perfumed with mint and oregano. It is filling and gentle, and gets its fire at the table from a spoon of rocoto sauce. Plan ahead: the maize needs an overnight soak and several hours of simmering. Buy tripe cleaned and blanched from a butcher or Latin or halal shop; it must be simmered until soft and fully cooked. The typical mistake is salting the mote early, which keeps the kernels hard. Chef's tip: cook the maize and the tripe in separate pots, then combine; each needs a different time and the broth stays cleaner.

240 minPeruvianSoupsGluten free
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Postre de guanábanaSoursop cream dessert

Soursop has a perfume all its own, somewhere between pineapple, banana and citrus, with a creamy white flesh, and Colombians turn it into this no-bake fridge dessert for birthdays, Sunday lunches and Christmas tables. Soursop pulp is blended with condensed milk and lime, then folded through whipped cream and chilled until it sets into a light, mousse-like cream that is sweet, tangy and fragrant. It is served in glasses or one big dish, sometimes with crumbled biscuits on top; leave them out to keep it gluten free. Frozen soursop pulp is sold in Latin American shops and is easier than fresh fruit. If you start from a whole fruit, the error people make is blending the seeds, which are inedible and add bitterness; pick every one out by hand. Plan for at least 4 hours of chilling. Chef's tip: keep back a few spoonfuls of pulp and swirl them over the top just before serving for a sharper finish.

20 minColombianDessertsGluten free
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Mollejas a la parrillaGrilled sweetbreads

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

65 minArgentinianMeatGluten free
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SamanuSprouted wheat pudding

Samanu is one of the seven 's' items on the Nowruz haft-sin table, standing for strength and abundance, and in many neighbourhoods of Tehran and Shiraz women still gather to stir the great pot through the night, singing and taking turns. It is made from nothing but sprouted wheat juice and flour, cooked very slowly for many hours until the natural malt sugars caramelise into a thick, toffee-brown, gently sweet pudding. This home version uses a smaller batch, but it still takes days of sprouting and a long, patient simmer. The common mistake is turning the heat up to rush it, which scorches the base and makes the samanu bitter. Chef's tip: drop a few clean walnut halves into the pot near the end; tradition says whoever finds one in their bowl will have a lucky year.

720 minPersianDessertsVegan
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Molletes de AntequeraSoft flat breakfast rolls

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

42 minSpanishBreads & ParathasVegan
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Adobo arequipeñoMarinated slow-cooked pork

On Sunday mornings in Arequipa, families head to picanterías in Cayma and Yanahuara for a steaming bowl of adobo, chunks of pork that have marinated overnight in chicha de jora (fermented maize beer), ají panca, garlic and cumin, then cooked slowly in a clay pot with thick wedges of red onion. The sauce is dark red, tangy and garlicky rather than hot, and you mop it up with pan de tres puntas, the city's triangular bread; a mug of anise tea follows. Chicha de jora contains alcohol; for an alcohol-free adobo, use the vinegar and water swap in the ingredient list, which gives the same sour edge. Boiling it hard is the classic error, as it toughens the pork; it should barely tremble under the lid. Chef's tip: marinate the pork the evening before, always in the fridge, and cook it the next morning in its marinade.

170 minPeruvianCurriesGluten free
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MolotesFried potato and chorizo masa turnovers

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

75 minMexicanSnacks & Starters
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MeghliSpiced rice pudding

When a baby is born in Lebanon, the family cooks a big pot of meghli and hands out bowls to every visitor who comes to congratulate them; it also appears at Christmas in Christian homes. Ground rice is simmered with sugar and warm spices — caraway, cinnamon and anise — until it sets into a smooth, cocoa-brown pudding with no milk or eggs at all. Each bowl is topped with desiccated coconut and a generous pile of soaked walnuts, almonds, pistachios and pine nuts. Common mistake: walking away from the pot; ground rice catches and lumps fast, so it needs steady stirring. Chef's tip: soak the nuts in cold water overnight and peel the almonds; they turn plump and crisp, which is the hallmark of a good meghli.

50 minLebaneseDessertsVeganGluten free
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Postre de natasMilk skin dessert

Postre de natas comes from colonial Santa Fe de Bogotá, when farm milk was boiled every day and the thick skins (natas) that formed on top were saved rather than wasted. Today it is a dessert for Christmas and family gatherings: soft, creamy ribbons of milk skin in a pale golden, cinnamon-scented custard dotted with raisins, served cold in small bowls. It takes patience rather than skill. Use full-fat, ideally non-homogenised milk, which forms thicker skins. Stirring the milk while the natas form is the common slip: it breaks them up so nothing can be lifted off. Older recipes add a splash of brandy or sherry; this one leaves it out. Chef's tip: lift each skin with a slotted spoon into a bowl and keep going; the more natas you collect, the more texture the dessert has. Chill for at least 4 hours before serving.

120 minColombianDessertsGluten free
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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 minGermanMeat
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Postre vigilanteCheese with quince paste

Ask for dessert in an old Buenos Aires bodegón and the waiter will rattle off flan, budín and, inevitably, vigilante: a thick slab of soft, mild cheese laid beside an equal slab of dulce de membrillo or dulce de batata. The name, "policeman", is said to come from the beat officers who ordered it as a cheap sweet in early twentieth-century cafés; Uruguayans call the same plate Martín Fierro. It is salty against sweet, creamy against firm, and takes five minutes. The traditional cheese is fresh queso cremoso or cuartirolo, or a firmer port salut; a young Havarti or mild Gouda is the best stand-in abroad. Like many soft cheeses, these are often made with animal rennet, so check the label for a vegetarian (microbial-rennet) cheese. The usual error is cutting the slabs thin like a cheese board; vigilante is about generous, equal bricks. Chef's tip: take the cheese out of the fridge 20 minutes ahead; cold cheese tastes of nothing next to the paste.

5 minArgentinianDessertsGluten free
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Potaje de berrosWatercress and bean stew

Watercress grows wild in the irrigation channels and ravines of Tenerife and La Palma, and in the cool months it goes into potaje de berros, a thick, green, cumin-scented stew that islanders eat by the bowlful with a spoon of gofio stirred in. It is a cheap, filling family supper, and a good one to make ahead. Pork ribs or belly often go in for flavour; this version leaves them out and is vegan, relying on garlic, cumin and paprika instead. Chef's tip: cook the watercress for most of the time, not just at the end, so it collapses into the broth and gives the stew its earthy depth.

80 minSpanishSoupsVeganGluten free
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Mona de PascuaEaster brioche with egg

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

70 minSpanishBaking
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MondeghiliFried beef and mortadella meatballs

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

35 minItalianSnacks & Starters
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Macaxeira fritaFried cassava sticks

Northeastern Brazilians call cassava macaxeira, and fried sticks of it come out with carne de sol, with grilled cheese at beach shacks, and in a bowl beside a cold drink at any bar from Natal to Maceió. Boiling first makes the inside soft and floury; frying afterwards gives a thick, blistered crust that stays crunchy far longer than potato chips. They need only coarse salt, though a dip of vinagrete or garlic mayonnaise is common. Buy sweet cassava, cook it fully, and never eat it raw. The frequent mistake is boiling until the cassava falls apart, which makes sticks that break up in the oil; stop as soon as a knife slides in. Chef's tip: let the boiled sticks steam dry and cool completely, even chill them for an hour, before frying; the drier surface is what makes them crackle.

45 minBrazilianSidesVeganGluten free
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ŞambaliSemolina yoghurt cake in syrup

Walk through İzmir's Kemeraltı bazaar and you'll see huge copper trays of şambali, cut into diamonds, each topped with a blanched almond and glistening with syrup. It is a dense, moist semolina cake made with yoghurt, sold by street vendors and old pastry shops, sometimes with a spoon of kaymak on top. Plainer than it looks and dangerously easy to eat. Chef's tip: rest the batter for a few hours, or overnight, so the semolina softens fully; otherwise the cake is gritty.

55 minTurkishBaking
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PambazoDipped roll with potato and chorizo

Pambazos are a Mexico City street classic, sold at night from griddles outside metro stations and at the fondas that open for Lent and village fiestas. A soft, light roll is split, filled with potato fried with pork chorizo, then dipped in a garlicky red guajillo sauce and crisped on the griddle, so the outside turns deep red, slightly crunchy and a little messy. Inside go shredded lettuce, cream and crumbled cheese, with salsa verde for heat. Eat it straight off the griddle with plenty of napkins. Chef's tip: use day-old rolls; fresh, soft bread soaks up too much sauce and falls apart on the griddle.

55 minMexicanFast Food
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Mazorca desgranadaSweetcorn with chicken and cheese

Food trucks and street corners in Bogotá and Medellín sell mazorca desgranada in plastic tubs, late into the evening: sweet corn kernels cut off the cob, fried in butter and layered with shredded chicken, melted cheese, crunchy potato sticks, pineapple sauce and salsa rosada. Some stands add bacon, beef or quail eggs; this version keeps to chicken. It is sweet, salty and gooey, and a hit with teenagers. Using tinned corn without draining it well is a common error: the water dilutes the sauces and the tub gets soggy. Chef's tip: fry the corn until a few kernels brown and pop; that caramelised edge stands up to all the sweet sauces. For a vegetarian tub, skip the chicken and use a cheese made with microbial rennet.

35 minColombianFast FoodGluten free
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MazamorraHominy milk pudding

Long before cake, there was mazamorra: dried white maize, soaked and simmered with water until the kernels burst, then finished with milk, sugar and cinnamon. In colonial Buenos Aires mazamorreras sold it from clay pots on the street, and it still turns up at school and town-hall celebrations every 25 May and on cold evenings in the interior, eaten warm or cold from a bowl. The kernels stay pleasantly chewy in a creamy, gently sweet milk, a bit like rice pudding with more bite. Look for maíz blanco pisado (cracked white hominy) in Latin American shops; dried white pozole corn is the closest substitute. Plan ahead: the corn needs soaking overnight. Adding the milk too early is the main mistake, because the corn will not soften in milk and the pot catches on the bottom, so cook it in water first. Chef's tip: stir in a little of the hot liquid with the sugar before you add the rest of the milk, and serve it with a dusting of cinnamon or a spoonful of honey.

160 minArgentinianDessertsGluten free
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Nan-e tiriPaper-thin rolled bread

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

90 minPersianBreads & ParathasVegan
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Sambousek bi jibnehCheese half-moon pastries

Hot sambousek bi jibneh are the first thing to vanish from a Syrian mezze spread or a Ramadan iftar table, where Damascene and Aleppan cooks fry dozens at a time. A tender olive-oil pastry is folded around white cheese, parsley and nigella seeds, then crimped with a fork or twisted into a rope edge and fried or baked until blistered and golden. Eat them warm, when the cheese is soft and stringy. Common mistake: using a salty cheese straight from the brine — soak akkawi or halloumi for an hour first. Chef's tip: mix a little mozzarella into the filling for that stretchy pull. Akkawi, halloumi and mozzarella are often made with animal rennet; use vegetarian-rennet versions if needed.

65 minSyrianSnacks & Starters
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Pan de CalatravaCaramel bread pudding

Pan de Calatrava is Murcia's thrifty Sunday dessert, a flan thickened with yesterday's bread or leftover sponge and baked over a layer of dark caramel. Murcian grandmothers made it to use up the end of a loaf, and it is still on the menu at family-run restaurants across the region, cut into slices and served cold with the caramel running down. The milk is infused first with lemon peel and cinnamon. Chef's tip: let it chill overnight before turning it out, so it slices cleanly and the caramel turns to syrup.

80 minSpanishDesserts
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Tavuk göğsüShredded chicken milk pudding

It surprises everyone the first time, but Istanbul's old muhallebici shops still make this silky milk pudding with chicken breast pounded into fine threads, a recipe from the Ottoman palace kitchens. You cannot taste the chicken; it gives the pudding a stretchy, almost chewy body and a pearly look. Serve it cold with a heavy dusting of cinnamon. This dessert contains meat, so it is not vegetarian. Chef's tip: boil the chicken without salt and rinse the shreds several times in cold water; any savoury taste left behind will show in the finished pudding.

90 minTurkishDessertsGluten free
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Tavuk soteSautéed chicken with peppers and mushrooms

Tavuk sote is what Turkish home cooks make on a busy weekday: strips of chicken thigh seared hard, then tossed with green and red peppers, mushrooms, onion, tomato and a spoonful of pepper paste until glossy. It cooks in the time the bulgur or rice takes, and lokantas serve it from the steam tray with a side of yoghurt. Thigh meat stays juicy; breast dries out quickly. Common mistake: adding all the chicken at once, which drops the pan temperature and leaves it pale and watery. Chef's tip: finish with a knob of butter and a pinch of dried thyme off the heat for a glossy, aromatic sauce.

30 minTurkishChickenGluten free
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SamfainaOnion, aubergine, courgette and pepper stew

Samfaina is what Catalan kitchens do with a market bag full of late-summer vegetables: they go into the pan in order, each one softening before the next, until they melt into a sweet, glossy stew. It is eaten on its own with bread, spooned beside grilled fish or a fried egg, or used as a sauce for chicken or salt cod. It tastes better the next day. Chef's tip: cut everything to the same 1.5 cm dice, so it all cooks evenly and the finished dish has a soft, even texture.

85 minSpanishVegetarianVeganGluten free
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Nan-e taftoonThin tandoor flatbread

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

125 minPersianBreads & ParathasVegan
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Petits farcis niçoisStuffed vegetables with rice and herbs

From June to September the traiteurs around the cours Saleya market in Nice sell trays of petits farcis: round courgettes, tomatoes and onions hollowed out, refilled and baked until wrinkled and caramelised at the edges. Niçois families often use up leftover daube in the stuffing; this meatless version, common on Fridays and at summer picnics, uses rice, herbs, the vegetables' own flesh and Parmesan. Parmesan is made with animal rennet, so use a vegetarian hard cheese if that matters to you. They are as good at room temperature the next day as hot from the oven. Chef's tip: choose vegetables of a similar size, so they all finish cooking at the same moment.

90 minFrenchVegetarian
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Petits pâtés de PézenasSweet spiced lamb pies

Pézenas, the old Languedoc town of Molière, is famous for these little pies shaped like cotton reels, sold warm from its bakeries all winter and especially around Christmas. Local legend links them to the Indian cooks of Lord Clive, who stayed nearby in 1768, which would explain the unexpected sweet-savoury filling of minced lamb, brown sugar and lemon zest. They have a crisp, sturdy hot-water crust and a juicy, gently sweet centre with a hint of spice. Eat them warm as a starter, with a green salad, or as a mid-morning snack the way Piscénois do. Chef's tip: shape the pastry while it is still warm and supple; once it cools it cracks instead of folding.

90 minFrenchSnacks & Starters
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Potée auvergnatePork, cabbage and sausage pot

High in the Massif Central, potée auvergnate is what farmhouses put on the stove when the first frosts arrive: a pork dish of salt pork belly and smoked pork sausage simmered slowly with savoy cabbage, carrots, turnips and potatoes. The broth comes out clear, smoky and gently salty, and the vegetables soak up all that pork flavour while keeping their shape. In the Cantal it is served in two rounds, the broth poured over slices of toasted country bread first, then the meat and vegetables on a big platter with strong mustard and gherkins. Chef's tip: soak the salt pork first and taste the broth before you add any salt; between the belly and the sausage it rarely needs more.

180 minFrenchMeat
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Potée lorraineSmoked pork and white bean pot

In Lorraine farmhouses around Nancy and the Vosges foothills, the potée simmered on the stove through winter and fed the household after a cold morning outside. It is a pork dish through and through: smoked pork shoulder, smoked belly and a garlic sausage gently poached with a whole green cabbage, carrots, turnips, leeks and white beans until the broth is smoky and the vegetables melt. The broth is ladled out first, sometimes over toasted bread, and the meat and vegetables follow with mustard and gherkins. Chef's tip: blanch the cabbage for five minutes before adding it to the pot, which takes away its sulphurous edge and keeps the broth sweet.

180 minFrenchMeat
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Moqueca de ovosEggs in coconut and tomato sauce

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

35 minBrazilianVegetarianGluten free
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Moraba-ye bahar narenjBitter orange blossom jam

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

70 minPersianBasicsVeganGluten free
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Moraba-ye haveejCarrot jam with cardamom and almonds

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

60 minPersianBasicsVeganGluten free
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