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21 recipes

Postre MassiniCustard sponge with burnt sugar top

Montevideo's birthday cake of choice since the early twentieth century, the Massini is two thin layers of sponge sandwiching a thick filling of whipped cream folded with egg-yolk custard, crowned with a thin glassy crust of torched yolk and sugar. Bakeries across Uruguay sell it on Sundays. Traditional versions sometimes add a sweet fortified wine to the custard; this one is alcohol-free. The custard is cooked to a safe 71 °C. The common mistake is assembling with warm custard, which melts the cream into a puddle. Chef's tip: if you don't have a blowtorch, put the sugared top under a very hot grill for a minute and watch it closely.

80 min

Paraguayan Baking

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Cocido quemadoBurnt sugar mate drink

Cocido is how Paraguay starts the day: in Asunción, in the villages of Guairá and Itapúa, and in school kitchens, a pot of burnt yerba is brewed and poured into cups with chipa, the cheesy cassava bread, or with a hard galleta. The old way is to drop a glowing piece of charcoal into a pot with yerba and sugar and stir until the sugar burns. On a home stove you caramelise them together in a dry pan instead, which is safer and gives the same smoky, toffee-like taste. The drink is clear amber-brown, with roasted, slightly bitter mate notes over burnt-sugar sweetness; with milk added it becomes cocido con leche, creamy and coffee-coloured. Yerba mate contains caffeine, so treat it like a cup of coffee. The common mistake is letting the sugar go black: it turns acrid and bitter. Pull it off the heat when the caramel is deep amber and the yerba smells toasted, not burnt. It is ready when the liquid is a clear dark amber and tastes of toffee and smoke. Chef's tip: the water will spit fiercely when it hits the hot caramel, so pour it in from the side, at arm's length.

14 min

Paraguayan Drinks

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Bissy tea (kola nut tea)

Kola trees came to Jamaica with enslaved West Africans, and the nut, called bissy on the island, has stayed in country medicine ever since. Older people in St Mary, St Elizabeth and the hills of Clarendon still keep a dried bissy in the kitchen and grate some into boiling water when the stomach is upset or after eating something that disagreed with them,. Parched in a dry pan first, the grated nut gives a reddish-brown tea that smells faintly of cocoa and tastes bitter and astringent, softened by plenty of sugar. The common mistake is boiling raw, ungrated nut and expecting much flavour: whole pieces give little. Grate it finely, parch it until it darkens and smells like toasted cocoa, then boil. It is ready when the tea is a deep reddish-brown and coats the tongue with bitterness. Kola nut is very high in caffeine, as strong as a big mug of coffee or more, so drink one cup, not late in the day, and keep it away from children, pregnant people and anyone sensitive to caffeine or with heart trouble. Chef's tip: strain it through a fine cloth; the grated nut leaves a gritty sediment that a sieve lets through.

20 min

Jamaican Drinks

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Cerasee teaBitter melon vine tea

Cerasee grows wild on fences and roadsides all over Jamaica, a thin vine with lacy leaves, yellow flowers and small warty orange fruit. It is the best known of the island's bush teas: generations of Jamaican children were given a cup at the end of the summer holidays, before going back to school, as a wash-out, and adults still drink it now and then as a cleansing and cooling tonic, or for the skin. The tea is pale green-gold and seriously bitter, with a grassy, slightly vegetal taste; some add sugar or lime. The common mistake is boiling the vine hard for a long time, which makes the tea far harsher than it needs to be. Pour boiling water over it and let it steep instead, and leave out any ripe fruit and seeds. It is ready when the water is light green-gold and smells green and herbal. Do not drink it if you are pregnant, breastfeeding or trying to conceive, do not give it to young children, and check with a doctor if you have diabetes or take medication, as it may lower blood sugar. Chef's tip: dried cerasee from Caribbean shops works well; use a little less.

15 min

Jamaican Drinks

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TereréIced yerba mate

In Asunción the hottest part of the day stops for tereré: a horn or cup packed with yerba mate, topped up again and again with ice water infused with crushed herbs, and passed round the group through a metal straw. It was recognised by UNESCO as part of Paraguay's cultural heritage, and the herbs (yuyos) change with the season and the drinker's mood. Yerba mate contains caffeine, so it isn't one for small children. The common mistake is pouring water straight into loose yerba, which then clogs the straw; tilt the yerba to one side first. Chef's tip: for tereré ruso, swap the water for cold orange or grapefruit juice.

10 min

Paraguayan Drinks

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Jamaican Easter bunSpiced Easter loaf

Every Good Friday, Jamaicans from Kingston to London buy or bake a dark, glossy spiced bun to slice and eat with processed cheese, a tradition that grew out of the British hot cross bun. This quick-bread version is moist and dense with dried fruit, molasses and warm spice; it traditionally uses stout, which contains alcohol, so for an alcohol-free bun use the same amount of malt drink. The commonest mistake is slicing the bun warm, when it is still sticky and crumbles; it needs a day to firm and mellow. Chef's tip: brush the hot loaf with a honey or sugar syrup glaze straight from the oven for the shiny top.

90 min

Jamaican Baking

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Jamaican plantain tartsSpiced plantain turnovers

Bakeries across Jamaica sell plantain tarts in the glass case beside gizzada and bulla, each a half-moon of short pastry with a sticky, spiced ripe plantain filling and a pink-red rim from a dab of food colouring in the crimped edge. They are eaten as an afternoon snack with a cold drink or a cup of cocoa tea. People often use plantains that are only half ripe, and the filling never turns jammy; you want skins that are mostly black. The red edge is traditional but optional. Chef's tip: cook the filling until it is thick enough to hold a trail when you drag a spoon through it, or it will leak in the oven.

70 min

Jamaican Baking

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June plum juice

When June plums (ambarella) fall from backyard trees across Jamaica, families blend the sour green-gold fruit into a sharp, refreshing juice with fresh ginger and lime. It is tangy like green apple, with a faintly mango-like perfume, and is drunk ice-cold with Sunday lunch. The big mistake is blending the spiny stone in with the flesh; cut the flesh away first or the juice turns bitter and fibrous. Chef's tip: use slightly underripe, firm plums for the brightest, sharpest flavour.

15 min

Jamaican Drinks

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Jamaican soursop juice

Soursop punch is a Sunday-dinner drink in Jamaica, made when a ripe, soft soursop comes from the market or a yard tree, and it is also sold in bottles at roadside juice stands. The white, custardy pulp tastes of pineapple, banana and strawberry all at once, and blended with milk, nutmeg and vanilla it becomes thick and creamy. The common mistake is blending the black seeds, which taste bitter and should not be eaten; always pick them out by hand. Chef's tip: use a fruit that gives softly all over when pressed, like a ripe avocado.

20 min

Jamaican Drinks

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Fever grass teaLemongrass and ginger tea

In Jamaican country yards a clump of fever grass, the local name for lemongrass, grows by the kitchen door, and a handful steeped in boiling water is the old remedy for colds, aches and restless nights. Brewed with fresh ginger, it is lemony, gently peppery and soothing, and is drunk hot, sweetened with a little brown sugar. The mistake people make is using the stalks whole, which gives a weak tea; bruise and cut them to release the oils. Chef's tip: tie long leaves in a knot before you add them, as country cooks do, so they are easy to lift out.

15 min

Jamaican Drinks

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Jamaican Irish moss drinkSea moss drink

Sold chilled in bottles by roadside vendors and in Kingston juice bars, Jamaican Irish moss is a thick, creamy drink made from dried sea moss boiled down until it releases its natural jelly. Blended with milk, nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla, it tastes like a cool, spiced milkshake and is often drunk as a pick-me-up. The usual mistake is skipping the soak and rinse, which leaves a sandy, fishy taste. Chef's tip: the gel thickens a lot in the fridge, so blend it a little thinner than you want and chill it before judging.

60 min

Jamaican Drinks

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Jamaican bullaMolasses ginger spice cakes

Wrapped in paper at every Jamaican corner shop and school tuck shop, bulla is the cheap, dense little round cake that children take for lunch and grown-ups eat with a slice of cheese or ripe avocado. It is dark with molasses and brown sugar, warm with ginger and nutmeg, and has a slightly chewy crumb rather than a light sponge. This version uses oil, so it is vegan. The common mistake is overworking the dough, which makes bulla tough; mix only until the flour disappears. Chef's tip: leave the baked bulla in a tin overnight; the crumb softens and the spice deepens by the next day.

40 min

Jamaican Baking

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ChajáSponge, peach and cream cake

Chajá was created in 1927 at a bakery in Paysandú, a city on the Uruguay River, and named after a local bird whose feathers look as fluffy as its crumbly meringue coat. Today it's Uruguay's birthday and celebration cake: layers of light sponge soaked in peach syrup, filled with whipped cream, peaches and dulce de leche, then covered in crushed meringue. It's sweet, soft and crunchy at once, best on the day it's assembled. Chef's tip: soak the sponge but not too much; it should feel moist, not wet, or the layers slide.

90 min

Paraguayan Baking

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GizzadaCoconut tarts

Gizzada (also called 'pinch-me-round') is a little Jamaican tart with a crisp, crimped crust and a chewy filling of grated coconut cooked with brown sugar, nutmeg and ginger. It's sold in bakeries and roadside stalls across Jamaica; the name is thought to come from the Portuguese 'queijada', brought by Portuguese Jewish settlers. Eat it with a cup of tea or as an afternoon treat. Chef's tip: cook the coconut filling until it's sticky and almost dry, with no syrup pooling in the pan. A wet filling soaks into the pastry and the crust goes soft instead of crisp.

60 min

Jamaican Baking

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Jamaican carrot juice

Jamaican carrot juice isn't a thin health drink but a creamy, sweet treat, blended fresh in homes and sold cold in bottles at markets and juice stands across the island, especially on Sundays and at Christmas. Grated carrots are blended with water and strained, then sweetened with condensed milk and spiced with nutmeg, vanilla and a squeeze of lime. Chef's tip: add a squeeze of lime and a little fresh ginger. The sharpness cuts through the sweetness and stops the drink tasting flat, the way Jamaican cooks make it.

10 min

Jamaican Drinks

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Sorrel drinkHibiscus drink

Sorrel is the drink of a Jamaican Christmas: in December the markets fill with the red flowers (the calyces of a hibiscus), and every home brews a big batch to share. They're steeped with lots of fresh ginger, pimento and cloves, then sweetened, giving a deep ruby drink that's tart, spicy and refreshing over ice. Many families add a splash of white or dark rum for the adults. Chef's tip: be generous with the ginger and let it steep overnight. A long, cool steep pulls out the colour and a fiery ginger bite without the bitterness of over-boiling.

30 min

Jamaican Drinks

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TotoCoconut cake

Toto is an old-time Jamaican country cake, the kind baked in a 'dutchie' over coals in rural St Mary and St Ann and sold in squares at bakeries and school tuck shops. It's dense and moist rather than light, packed with grated coconut, darkened with brown sugar and fragrant with nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla. Lovely with a cup of tea, still slightly warm. Chef's tip: use fresh grated coconut if you can, or soak desiccated coconut in the warm coconut milk for 15 minutes first. Dry coconut steals moisture from the batter and leaves the cake crumbly instead of chewy.

60 min

Jamaican Baking

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Lebanese date cake

A soft, moist cake made without eggs: self-raising flour and brown sugar are rubbed with butter, then mixed with milk and sour cream and studded with chopped dates, raisins and pistachios, with a warm hint of nutmeg and vanilla. Lovely with tea or served warm with cream.

70 minMiddle Eastern Baking

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Arabian date pinwheels

Crumbly, buttery biscuit dough is rolled out, spread with a soft date filling flavoured with cinnamon and lemon, rolled into logs, sliced and baked into pretty pinwheels. They make a big batch of 50 and keep well in an airtight tin. Serve with tea, or with ice cream as a dessert.

60 minMiddle Eastern Baking

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Ma'amoulDate and walnut butter pastries

Ma'amoul are delicate shortbread-like pastries made for Eid and Easter across the Middle East. A soft, rose-scented butter dough is wrapped around a filling of dates, walnuts, almonds and pistachios cooked with cinnamon, marked with a fork, baked pale and dusted with icing sugar. Makes 35; they keep well in a tin.

80 minMiddle Eastern Baking

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Semolina cake

A moist eggless cake made with semolina, coconut and yogurt, baked with slivered almonds on the bottom and top and moistened with orange juice. Serve with coconut ice cream or custard sauce.

45 minMiddle Eastern Baking

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