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Garides saganaki
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Garides saganaki

Prawns with tomato and feta

Order garides saganaki at a seaside taverna on Mykonos or Syros and it arrives bubbling in the small two-handled pan it is named after: whole prawns in a quick sauce of tomato, garlic, chilli and oregano, scattered with feta that softens into the sauce. You eat it with bread for mopping, as a shared starter or a main with rice. Many tavernas add a splash of ouzo; this version leaves it out, so it is alcohol-free. Common mistake: cooking the prawns in the sauce for too long, which makes them tough; they need only a few minutes. Chef's tip: simmer the prawn heads and shells in a little water for 10 minutes and use that stock in the sauce for a deeper sea flavour.

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Basanti pulaoSweet saffron rice

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Barszcz czerwony (Christmas Eve beetroot broth)Clear beetroot soup

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PandebonoCassava starch cheese bread

Pandebono is the warm cheese bread of the Valle del Cauca, the region around Cali, eaten for breakfast or as an afternoon snack (onces) with hot chocolate or a coffee. It looks like Brazilian pão de queijo but tastes different: the dough is cassava starch and a little precooked cornmeal kneaded with lots of crumbly fresh cheese, with no milk or cooking, so the rings bake up with a slightly crisp skin and a soft, stretchy, tangy middle. Chef's tip: shape them into rings or balls and bake them straight away; the dough dries out if it sits.

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PandesalSoft bread rolls

Pandesal is the bread of the Filipino morning: small, soft, slightly sweet rolls with a fine breadcrumb coating, bought hot at dawn in brown paper bags from the neighbourhood panaderia (bakery) and eaten before school or work. They are torn open and filled with butter, cheese or peanut butter, or dunked straight into a cup of coffee, and at night the leftovers are toasted. Despite the name ('salt bread'), they are gently sweet, with a pillowy crumb and a thin crust. Home-made ones are best eaten within hours of baking. Chef's tip: the classic shape comes from rolling the dough into a log, coating it in crumbs and cutting slices, which bake into those familiar oval rolls with cut sides up.

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