Featured recipe

Bsissa

Roasted barley flour with olive oil

A tin of bsissa sits in many Tunisian kitchen cupboards, from Tunis flats to farmhouses in the south: a finely ground flour of roasted barley, roasted chickpeas and spices such as coriander, fennel and aniseed. In the morning a few spoonfuls are worked with olive oil and something sweet into a nutty, crumbly paste, or stirred with water into a thick drink, and it keeps you going until lunch. Travellers and pilgrims once carried it for the road. Roasting your own flour takes 15 minutes and makes a jar that lasts weeks. Sugar and dates keep it vegan; some families use honey. Chef's tip: roast the flours separately over a low heat and stir constantly; the moment they smell like toasted biscuits and turn light tan, tip them out of the pan.

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Poulaki are the paper-thin golden sugar coins sold by weight in Isfahan's sweet shops, meant to be held between the teeth while you sip strong black tea. The name comes from 'poul', the old word for coin, and Isfahanis serve them with tea to guests at any hour, flavoured with saffron, cardamom or sesame. Only sugar, a little vinegar and spice are needed, but timing matters. A common mistake is pouring the drops too big: they should spread no wider than 4 cm or they stay chewy in the middle. Chef's tip: work on a cold, lightly oiled marble or steel tray, which sets the coins in seconds and keeps them glassy.

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Before potatoes reached the high plateaus of Trás-os-Montes, chestnuts were the staple, and in villages around Bragança and Vinhais this thick soup is still made in November, when the magusto festivals roast the new crop. Farm versions are cooked with a piece of cured pork; this one is meat-free, built on dried or cooked chestnuts, white beans, onion and a little rice, finished with olive oil. It is sweet, nutty and filling enough for supper. Chef's tip: mash a third of the chestnuts into the broth to thicken it and leave the rest in pieces.

60 min

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Argentine Easter Sunday breakfast centres on the rosca de Pascua, a ring of soft, orange-scented brioche-like dough laid with stripes of pastry cream, candied cherries and pearl sugar, with whole boiled eggs pressed into the dough as a symbol of new life. Bakeries in every barrio stack them in the window from Holy Thursday, and families share it with coffee or mate after the Easter egg hunt. The crumb is fluffy and pale yellow, and the custard bakes into soft, golden ridges. Because the eggs bake for 30 minutes on top of their boiling, they are fully cooked; many people keep them for decoration and peel them later. The mistake to avoid is piping the pastry cream too thick, which slides off as the ring rises; thin lines give neat ridges. Chef's tip: cook the custard until it is very thick and chill it before piping, and brush the ring with egg before (not after) the cream goes on.

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Sopa de caçãoDogfish soup with bread

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Farm kitchens in the Cantal and the Aveyron uplands bake pounti as a way to use the garden's chard and a few prunes from the cupboard: a soft savoury loaf, green-flecked and studded with dark sweet fruit, served warm with a salad for supper or cold in slices for a picnic. It is traditionally made with bacon or ham; this version leaves the meat out and adds a little smoked paprika for the same savoury edge. Chef's tip: wring the blanched chard really dry, or the loaf will be soggy in the middle.

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BarmbrackTea-soaked fruit loaf

Barmbrack is the speckled fruit loaf eaten in Ireland at Halloween, when a ring wrapped in baking paper is baked inside, and whoever finds it is said to marry within the year. This is the quick tea brack version made all over Connacht and Munster, with the dried fruit soaked overnight in strong tea so the loaf is dark, moist and fragrant with mixed spice. Serve sliced and buttered with a cup of tea. Chef's tip: soak the fruit for a full night; short soaking gives dry, chewy fruit.

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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

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Sopa de beldroegasPurslane and potato soup

Purslane grows wild between the rows of Alentejo vegetable gardens in summer, and country cooks pick it for this lemony, slightly peppery soup: potatoes and purslane simmered with garlic and olive oil, then finished with eggs poached in the broth and slices of fresh goat's cheese that soften in the heat. It is served over bread, as so many Alentejo soups are. The fresh cheese is usually made with animal rennet; choose a soft goat's cheese or ricotta made with vegetarian rennet if you need to. If you can't find purslane, watercress or spinach make a fair stand-in. Chef's tip: add the cheese only in the last minute, so it warms and softens but doesn't melt away.

50 min

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RoscónGuava-filled sweet bread ring

Every Bogotá bakery has a tray of roscones by the counter: soft, enriched bread rings glazed and sprinkled with sugar, hiding a seam of melted guava paste inside. They are eaten at onces, the afternoon coffee break, or for breakfast with hot chocolate, and they are a favourite thing to bring when visiting. The dough is a gently sweet milk-and-butter bread, close to a brioche but lighter. Chunks of guava paste that are too big are what normally goes wrong: they melt, burst the seam and burn on the tray, so cut it into thin batons and seal the dough firmly around them. Plan about 2 hours, most of it rising time. Look for guava paste (bocadillo or goiabada) in Latin shops; quince paste works in a pinch. Chef's tip: brush with the egg wash twice, once before the second rise and once before baking, for a deep, shiny crust that holds the sugar.

145 min

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PowidltascherlPlum butter potato dough pockets

Powidl, a thick, dark plum butter cooked for hours without added sugar, came to Vienna from Bohemia, and these little pockets are one of its best uses. In Austrian homes they are a sweet lunch in late summer, when the new season's plums arrive, or a pudding after a bowl of soup. A tender potato dough is cut into squares, folded around a spoonful of spiced powidl, simmered, then tossed in golden butter crumbs and dusted with icing sugar. A common mistake is overworking the dough, which makes it tough and sticky; mix the potato and flour only until it comes together. Chef's tip: rice the potatoes while hot and spread them out to steam dry, so you need less flour and the dough stays light.

75 min

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Sancocho canarioSalt fish with potatoes and mojo

Sancocho is the Canary Islands' Good Friday dish and a Sunday favourite in Gran Canaria, where whole families sit down to a platter of desalted cherne (wreckfish), boiled potatoes and sweet potatoes, red mojo poured over the top and a ball of pella de gofio on the side. Salted cherne is soaked for a day or two in the fridge to draw out the salt, then poached gently. If you cannot find cherne, salt cod or fresh hake works well. Chef's tip: before cooking, poach a small flake in boiling water for a minute and taste it; it should be pleasantly seasoned, like well-salted fresh fish, and if it is still briny, soak a few hours more.

60 min

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Pozol de cacaoCold corn and cacao drink

In the heat of Villahermosa and the Chiapas lowlands, farmers carry a ball of corn dough in a banana leaf and mix it with water in a jícara (a gourd bowl) at midday: that is pozol, a cold, thick, filling drink that has been made since Maya times. The cacao version is the favourite, sold from big clay pots at market stalls with ice, sometimes slightly fermented so it turns pleasantly sour. This home version uses masa harina and cocoa nibs, so it is ready in minutes; leave it to ferment if you want the tang. Chef's tip: stir it every time before pouring, as the corn settles to the bottom fast.

23 min

Mexican Drinks

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Pozole blancoPork and hominy soup

Before any chilli goes in, this is what pozole tastes like: the white version eaten across Jalisco and in Guadalajara's pozolerías, especially on Independence night and at family gatherings. It is a pork dish, made with pork shoulder and a pig's trotter that gives the clear broth a silky body, simmered with big, chewy kernels of hominy until everything is tender. All the colour and fire are added at the table, where each person piles on shredded cabbage, radish, onion, crumbled oregano, ground dried chilli and a good squeeze of lime. Tostadas spread with crema are the usual side. Chef's tip: cook the meat a day ahead and chill the broth; the fat sets on top and lifts off in one sheet, leaving the broth beautifully clean.

205 min

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Cari de légumesVegetable curry

On Réunion, the French island in the Indian Ocean, cari is simply lunch: a pot of something gently spiced with onion, garlic, ginger, thyme and the island's turmeric, which locals call safran péi. It arrives at the table with white rice, a bowl of lentils from Cilaos or red beans, and a sharp tomato rougail, and this vegetable version uses chayote (chouchou) from the green Salazie valley, potatoes, carrots and green beans. The heat comes from the chilli in the rougail, not the cari itself, so it suits children too. Chef's tip: let the onions take real colour before the spices go in; that golden base gives a cari its depth.

55 min

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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

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Pozole verde de GuerreroGreen pumpkin-seed pozole

In Chilpancingo and Chilapa, Thursday is jueves pozolero, and families and office crowds fill the pozolerías for this green version. Unlike our vegetarian pozole verde, this is a pork dish with chicken too: pork shoulder and chicken thighs simmer with hominy, then the broth is thickened with a sauce of toasted pumpkin seeds, tomatillos, chilli and epazote, so it turns creamy, nutty and bright green. Bowls go to the table with avocado, crisp pork chicharrón, onion, oregano, lime and tostadas. Epazote can be hard to find: use fresh oregano plus a few coriander stalks instead. Chef's tip: toast the pumpkin seeds only until they puff and start to pop; darker seeds make the broth brown and bitter.

185 min

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CachopoBreaded veal with ham and cheese

Asturias takes cachopo so seriously that Oviedo holds an annual contest for the best one, and some restaurants serve versions big enough to hang off the plate. At home it is a Friday-night or Sunday treat: two thin veal steaks enclosing serrano ham and a good melting cheese, breaded and fried, then cut at the table so the cheese oozes. This contains pork (serrano ham). Serve with chips and roasted green peppers. Chef's tip: chill the assembled cachopo for 20 minutes before frying so the crumb sets and the edges stay sealed.

45 min

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Westfälisches BlindhuhnBean, apple and bacon stew

Blindhuhn, "blind hen", is a late-summer pot from the farms of Westphalia and the Münsterland, made when the garden and orchard give green beans, carrots, apples and pears all at once. It is called blind hen because, as farmers joked, even a blind hen finds a grain in it: the pot holds a bit of everything. White beans, vegetables and fruit cook together with smoked streaky bacon into a sweet-savoury one-pot supper. Leave out the bacon and add a spoon of smoked paprika for a vegetarian pot. Chef's tip: add the apples and pears only for the last 15 minutes so they stay in soft pieces instead of melting away.

90 min

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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 min

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PrasopitaLeek and feta pie

In the villages around Kozani and Kastoria, winter leeks pulled from frozen ground go into this pie, made on Sundays and taken to the fields in slabs wrapped in paper. The leeks are sweated slowly in butter and olive oil until silky and sweet, bound with eggs, feta and a little semolina, then baked between buttery sheets of filo. It is softer and gentler than spinach pie, and just as good cold the next day. Feta and kefalotyri usually use animal rennet; choose vegetarian versions if needed. Common mistake: leaving grit in the leeks — split and wash them under the tap before slicing. Chef's tip: cook the leeks until all their liquid has gone, or the bottom pastry turns soggy.

95 min

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PrasorizoLeek and rice with lemon

Prasorizo is the cheap, comforting pot that northern Greek kitchens turn to through the Lenten weeks and the cold months, when leeks are at their best and meat is off the table. Leeks are stewed in plenty of olive oil until meltingly soft, then rice simmers in the same pot until creamy and loose, finished with dill and a sharp squeeze of lemon. It is eaten warm, never piping hot, with feta (or a vegan alternative) and olives on the side. Common mistake: stirring like risotto, which turns it gluey — stir once or twice and let it bubble. Chef's tip: be generous with the oil; in a ladera dish the olive oil is the sauce.

50 min

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Cardo con almendrasCardoon in almond sauce

On Christmas Eve in Aragon and neighbouring Navarre, a dish of cardoon is as certain as turrón: the long, pale stalks are boiled until tender and served in a velvety sauce of ground almonds, garlic and the cooking water, often as the first course before fish or lamb. The flavour is like artichoke, gentle and slightly bitter, softened by the nutty sauce. It contains no animal products. A common mistake is leaving cut cardoon in the air; it blackens within minutes, so drop each piece into lemon water as you go. Ready-cleaned jars of cardoon are sold in Spain and work well if you skip the first two steps. Chef's tip: whisk a spoonful of flour into the cooking water; it keeps the stalks white and gives you a ready-thickened broth for the sauce.

95 min

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CachorrinhoCheese and sausage pressed sandwich

This is Porto's late-night snack, born in the bars around the Praça dos Poveiros in the 1960s and still eaten standing at the counter after a football match. A thin sausage goes into a slim roll with cheese, the whole thing is toasted flat in a press until it shatters, then cut into bite-sized pieces and doused in a hot, tangy sauce. This contains pork (pork frankfurters). Chef's tip: brush the outside of the bread with butter before pressing, so it goes evenly golden and crisp.

25 min

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CalentadoFried leftover rice and beans

Calentado literally means reheated, and that is the whole idea: the rice and beans left from yesterday's lunch are fried together in a hot pan with hogao until they catch and crisp at the edges. In Antioquia it is the breakfast of champions, topped with a runny fried egg and served with a corn arepa, a slice of white cheese and hot chocolate, and city cafés across Colombia now put it on weekend menus. This version is meat-free, using beans cooked without pork. Leftover rice needs care: it must have been cooled within an hour or two of cooking and kept in the fridge no more than a day, and it should be reheated until piping hot all through. Stirring constantly is what turns it to mush, so press it into the pan and let a crust form before turning. Chef's tip: add a few spoonfuls of the bean broth; it binds the rice and helps the crispy bits form.

20 min

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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

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EiernockerlSoft dumplings with scrambled eggs

Eiernockerl is what Viennese grandmothers cook when the larder is nearly bare: a loose flour batter is scraped in little nubs into boiling water, then tossed in foaming butter and set with beaten eggs. In Vienna it turns up on weekday lunch tables and in old-fashioned Beisln, usually with a green salad in a sharp vinegar dressing on the side. The nockerl should be soft and slightly chewy, the egg just set and glossy, with lots of chives. A common mistake is cooking the eggs until dry and grainy; take the pan off the heat while they still look a little wet. Chef's tip: let the batter rest for 10 minutes before you cut it into the water, so the flour swells and the nockerl hold their shape.

25 min

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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

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EierscheckeThree-layer quark custard cake

Eierschecke is Dresden's café cake, cut in squares from a big tray in every Saxon bakery: a thin yeasted base, a thick layer of vanilla quark, and on top the 'Schecke', a wobbly, golden egg-and-butter custard that bakes into a soft, almost soufflé-like crust. It is eaten on Sunday afternoons with strong filter coffee, and Saxons argue about whether raisins belong in the quark. A common mistake is pouring the custard on too thickly or baking too hot, so it puffs and cracks; bake it low and slow. Chef's tip: the cake cuts neatly only when completely cold, so make it the day before.

105 min

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Eingelegte Rote BetePickled beetroot

In Hamburg, Bremen and across Schleswig-Holstein a jar of pickled beetroot sits on the table whenever there is Labskaus, herring or a cold meat platter, and many households still make their own each autumn when the beets come in from the fields. Earthy cooked beetroot is sliced and steeped in sweet-sour vinegar with onion, cloves and a little horseradish, turning gently spiced and jewel red. The mistake people often make is peeling or trimming beets before boiling, which lets the colour and flavour bleed into the water. Chef's tip: wear gloves and use a plastic board when slicing, and slice evenly at about 5 mm so every piece pickles at the same rate.

75 min

German Sides

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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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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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Prego no pãoGarlic steak roll

Lisbon diners order a prego at the end of a long seafood lunch, at football matches and after midnight from a beach-bar hatch: a thin slice of beef, beaten flat, fried hard in garlic and bay and stuffed into a crusty papo-seco roll. The name means 'nail', perhaps for the garlic that is hammered into the meat. Mustard or a dash of piri-piri is all it needs. A common mistake is a thick steak; it must be thin enough to cook in a minute a side or it steams and turns grey. Chef's tip: dip the cut side of the roll in the hot pan juices just before you close it.

20 min

Portuguese Meat

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PrinzregententorteSeven-layer chocolate buttercream torte

Prinzregententorte was created in Munich for Prince Regent Luitpold, who ruled Bavaria from 1886, and it is still the cake Munich cafés and families bring out for name days and big birthdays. Seven very thin sponge layers, one for each of the old Bavarian districts, are stacked with chocolate buttercream, brushed with apricot jam and sealed under a shiny dark chocolate glaze. The slices show neat stripes and taste rich but not heavy. A common mistake is baking the sponge as one thick cake and slicing it; it is far easier and neater to spread each layer thinly on a tin base and bake it for a few minutes. Chef's tip: trace a 26 cm circle on seven sheets of baking paper before you start, then bake two layers at once on separate trays.

150 min

German Baking

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Saure KuttelnTripe in tangy vinegar sauce

Saure Kutteln is old-fashioned Swabian comfort food, still served at Stuttgart's Wasen fairs, in country inns around Reutlingen and Tübingen and by butchers who make it every Thursday. Thin strips of beef tripe are simmered in a dark roux sauce sharpened with vinegar, bay and juniper, and eaten with crisp fried potatoes. Buy tripe that the butcher has already cleaned and blanched. Some cooks add red wine; this version uses only vinegar and stock. Chef's tip: brown the roux slowly until it smells of toasted nuts, because it gives the sauce its colour and depth.

120 min

German Meat

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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 min

Persian Desserts

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EliopsomoOlive bread

Around Kalamata, where the almond-shaped black olives ripen in groves running down to the Messinian gulf, bakers make eliopsomo for the long fasting weeks of Lent, when bread, olives and oil are lunch. The dough is rich with olive oil and folded with a generous handful of chopped Kalamata olives, soft-fried onion and dried oregano, then baked into a crusty round with a soft, purple-flecked crumb. Slice it with tomatoes and cucumber or dip into soups. Common mistake: adding wet, brined olives straight from the jar — drain and pat them dry, or the dough turns sticky and grey. Chef's tip: fold the olives in after the first rise so they don't break up while kneading.

70 min

Greek Breads & Parathas

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BarraquitoLayered coffee with condensed milk

Order a barraquito in any café in Santa Cruz de Tenerife or La Laguna and it comes in a small glass showing neat stripes: sweet condensed milk at the bottom, then espresso, then foamed milk, perfumed with lemon peel and cinnamon. The bar classic adds a measure of a vanilla-citrus Spanish liqueur between the layers, which makes it contain alcohol; this recipe leaves it optional, and without it the drink is often called a zaperoco or barraquito sin licor. Chef's tip: pour each layer slowly over the back of a spoon, so the layers sit on top of each other instead of mixing.

10 min

Spanish Drinks

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Rote GrützeRed berry pudding

Rote Grütze is the summer dessert of Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein and Lower Saxony, made when the gardens are full of redcurrants, raspberries and sour cherries. The fruit is cooked briefly, thickened with a little cornflour and chilled until it sets to a glossy, spoonable jelly, tart and deep red, with whole berries still in it. Northerners pour cold vanilla sauce or plain cream over it; with a plant-based vanilla sauce it is fully vegan. A common mistake is boiling all the berries: add the soft raspberries last, off the heat, so they keep their shape. Chef's tip: frozen mixed berries work beautifully out of season, and their juice gives an even deeper colour.

20 min

German Desserts

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Carbonade valdostanaBeef stewed in red wine

High in the Alps of the Aosta Valley, carbonade was once made from beef preserved in salt over the winter; today mountain restaurants make it with fresh stewing beef and serve it in winter to skiers coming down from the slopes. Thin pieces of beef are browned, then simmered slowly with masses of onions, a whole bottle of red wine and cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg until the sauce turns dark, sweet and spicy and the meat falls apart. It is always spooned over soft polenta, ideally made with a little fontina stirred through. The dish uses red wine; for an alcohol-free version see the ingredient note. Chef's tip: slice the onions thin and give them the full time; they melt into the sauce and thicken it without any flour.

170 min

Italian Meat

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Carbonada en zapalloBeef stew in a pumpkin

Of all the dishes served for the 25 May and 9 July national holidays, carbonada criolla is the most theatrical when it arrives inside a whole roasted pumpkin, the lid lifted at the table to let out a cloud of steam. The stew comes from the Spanish-colonial interior and is beloved across Buenos Aires Province: cubes of beef braised with onion, tomato and pepper, then joined by corn, sweet potato, squash and dried peaches (or pears) that melt into a sweet-savoury sauce. Pieces of the pumpkin wall are scooped out with each serving. Beef stew cubes are cooked until tender, well past any pinkness. Overcooking the pumpkin is the common trap: it collapses when you pour in the stew, so roast it only until a knife meets slight resistance. Chef's tip: soak the dried peaches in a little hot water and add both the fruit and the soaking liquid; it gives the sauce its rounded sweetness without extra sugar.

150 min

Argentinian Curries

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Sarde in saorSweet-sour marinated sardines

Sarde in saor began as food for Venetian sailors, since the vinegar kept the fish for days, and it is still the dish of the Festa del Redentore in July, when families eat it on boats under the fireworks. Floured, fried sardines are layered with onions stewed slowly in oil and vinegar, plump raisins and toasted pine nuts, then left to marinate in the fridge for a day so the flavours soften and mingle. The result is sweet, sharp and rich all at once. Serve it cool as a starter or in the cicchetti bars' way, on slices of grilled polenta. Chef's tip: make it at least a day ahead; eaten the same day the vinegar is harsh, but after 24 hours it mellows beautifully.

70 min

Italian Fish

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EmolienteBarley and flaxseed herbal drink

Before dawn, all over Peru, emolienteros set up their carts with a row of steaming kettles and jars of herbs, and commuters stop for a glass of emoliente on the way to work. It's a hot infusion of toasted barley, flaxseed and herbs, with lime juice and sugar added to order, and it is drunk for comfort and digestion, especially in Lima's damp winter. The flaxseed gives it a slippery, soothing body; the barley a toasty, almost coffee-like note. Street versions use horsetail, alfalfa, boldo and other herbs; this home version keeps it simple, with horsetail as an option (leave it out if you are pregnant or have kidney problems). The usual error is boiling the flax too long, which makes the drink gloopy; add it for the last 10 minutes only. Serve very hot in glasses, with pan con queso or a sandwich. Barley contains gluten. Chef's tip: toast the barley yourself until it is deep brown; it's what gives emoliente its colour and its roasted flavour.

40 min

Peruvian Drinks

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Empadão goianoChicken, pork and cheese pie

In Goiás, the empadão goiano is the pride of padarias and lanchonetes, and families bake it for festas and Sundays in individual clay dishes or one deep tin. Under a short, crumbly lard pastry sits a juicy filling of shredded chicken, cubes of pork loin and pork sausage in a tomato sauce, with slices of fresh cheese, boiled egg and guariroba, a bitter palm heart from the cerrado. It is savoury, rich and slightly bitter, best eaten warm with a tomato salad. Guariroba is sold in jars in Brazilian shops; ordinary palm hearts work but are milder. The pitfall is a filling that is too wet, which makes a soggy base; it should be thick and juicy, not soupy. The chicken must reach 74 °C and the pork 71 °C before it goes into the pie. Chef's tip: chill the pastry-lined dish for 15 minutes before filling so the lard firms up and the pastry stays short.

135 min

Brazilian Baking

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Empadinha de palmitoHeart of palm pies

Rio's padarias and lanchonetes stack trays of empadinhas on their counters, and the heart-of-palm one is the meat-free favourite: a short, buttery crust that melts in the mouth around a creamy, savoury filling of palmito, tomato and olives. They are snack food eaten standing at the counter with a guaraná, party food passed round at birthdays, and something to pack for the beach. The pastry is very rich and almost crumbles at a touch, so press it into tins rather than rolling it. Buy palm hearts from cultivated pupunha or açaí palms rather than wild juçara. Many bakers make the filling too runny, and it boils over and soaks the crust; it should be thick enough to hold a spoon upright. Chef's tip: chill the lined tins for 15 minutes before filling, so the pastry keeps its shape and bakes crisp.

75 min

Brazilian Snacks & Starters

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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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Zapallo en almíbarCandied squash

Across the Argentine countryside, when the autumn squash harvest piles up, cooks turn some of it into zapallo en almíbar: cubes of firm orange squash soaked briefly in slaked lime (cal) and then simmered in syrup until they are crisp-skinned outside and tender, almost translucent inside. Farm stalls in Córdoba and Santiago del Estero sell it in jars, and it is eaten as dessert with a slice of cheese, the same idea as postre vigilante. This home version skips the lime and uses a short sugar cure instead, which still keeps the pieces whole. It is vegan as written; serve it with vegan cheese or toasted walnuts to keep it that way. The mistake to avoid is stirring: the squash breaks into purée, so shake the pan instead. Chef's tip: use a dense, dry squash such as Crown Prince or butternut neck, and cook the syrup slowly; if it boils hard the outside candies before the centre softens.

90 min

Argentinian Desserts

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Empanadas de añejoFried corn potato and cheese empanadas

Pasto cafés and street stalls fry empanadas de añejo all morning, and the name gives away the secret: añejo means aged, and the corn dough is left to sour slightly before shaping. That gentle fermentation gives a light, crackly shell with a faint tang that sets them apart from the empanadas of the rest of Colombia. The filling here is the meat-free version Nariño cooks also make, potato stewed with spring onion and achiote and mixed with fresh cheese, and they go to the table with a peanut ají and a coffee. Plan for 24 hours of fermenting. Queso fresco is usually set with animal rennet, so use a vegetarian (microbial-rennet) cheese if needed. Thick dough is the misstep that makes them heavy and greasy; press it thin enough to see light through. Chef's tip: ferment in a cool spot (no warmer than 22 °C), covered, for no more than 24 hours, then chill the dough until you shape it.

110 min

Colombian Snacks & Starters

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Empanadas de calabazaSweet pumpkin turnovers

When the cold fronts reach Monterrey in November, panaderías start stacking trays of empanadas de calabaza next to the conchas, and families bake them at home for Day of the Dead and Christmas. A tender, lightly sweet pastry is folded around a thick purée of pumpkin cooked with piloncillo, cinnamon and anise, so each half-moon tastes like a spiced pumpkin pie you can hold. They are eaten with café de olla or a glass of milk. Chef's tip: cook the filling until a spoon leaves a trail across the pan; watery pumpkin turns the pastry soggy.

100 min

Mexican Baking

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Empanadas de pipiánFried corn potato-peanut empanadas

Popayán, the white colonial city of the Cauca, is proud of its tiny empanadas de pipián, fried by the dozen at market stalls and around the Holy Week processions. The filling, pipián, is a stew of small potatoes coloured with achiote and enriched with ground roasted peanuts, so each bite is crisp corn shell, then soft, nutty, savoury potato. They always come with ají de maní, a loose peanut and chilli sauce spooned into the open end. Many households add chopped hard-boiled egg to the pipián; this version leaves it out and is fully vegan. A wet filling is the classic error, as it steams inside and bursts the dough in the oil, so cook the pipián until thick and let it cool before filling. Chef's tip: shape the empanadas on a sheet of plastic cut from a freezer bag; the thin corn dough lifts off cleanly and seals without cracking.

90 min

Colombian Snacks & Starters

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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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