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EinspännerBlack coffee with whipped cream

The Einspänner is named after the one-horse carriages of old Vienna: coachmen waiting outside in winter supposedly liked their coffee under a lid of cream that kept it hot and stopped it slopping. Today it is served in a handled glass at classic coffee houses, a strong black mocha (a double espresso or Großer Brauner without milk) topped with a thick layer of cold, lightly sweetened whipped cream and a pinch of icing sugar. You do not stir it: you sip the hot, bitter coffee through the cold, sweet cream, so each mouthful is two temperatures and two textures. It is an afternoon or late-morning coffee, often with a slice of Sachertorte. The common mistake is runny cream that sinks and turns the drink into a milky latte; whip it until it just holds a peak and spoon it on gently so it floats. It is ready when the cream stands at least 2 cm above the coffee and slowly sinks at the edges. It is strong: a double shot of caffeine in one glass. Chef's tip: pour the coffee in first and wait ten seconds before adding the cream, so the crema settles and helps support the cap.

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Wiener MelangeCoffee with milk and foam

In Vienna you never simply order 'a coffee'; you order by name, and the Melange is the one most Viennese ask for. It arrives in a large cup on a small silver tray with a glass of water and often a tiny chocolate, and you may sit over it for an hour with the newspapers at Café Prückel or Hawelka, mid-morning or after lunch. Traditionally it is a mild, longer espresso (a Verlängerter) with roughly equal hot milk and a soft cap of milk foam; it is gentler than a cappuccino and the foam is looser and creamier. Expect a round, nutty, slightly sweet cup with little bitterness. The common mistake is overheating the milk: once it passes about 70 °C it smells cooked and loses its sweetness and the foam turns big-bubbled and dry. Stop when the jug is too hot to hold for more than a second or two. It is ready when the foam sits in a smooth, glossy dome about a finger thick and the coffee shows as a brown ring at the edge. One cup has about the caffeine of a single espresso. Chef's tip: always serve the glass of water alongside, as Vienna does; it is drunk first to clear the palate.

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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.

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Pira caldoCreamy fish soup with cheese

Along the Paraguay River from Asunción to Concepción, pira caldo is the fishermen's soup, said to restore strength after a long night: chunks of firm river fish poached in a broth of onion, peppers and tomato fried in fat, then made creamy with milk and melted fresh cheese. Surubí or other catfish is traditional; any firm white fish such as hake or pollock works. The mistake most people make is boiling the soup after the milk and cheese go in, which splits it. Chef's tip: fry the vegetables until they are very soft and sweet before adding the water; that is where the flavour comes from.

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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.

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AushNoodle soup with beans and yogurt

Aush is the bowl Afghan mothers make when someone in the house has a cold or the first snow falls on Kabul, a thick, tangy soup of hand-cut noodles, kidney beans and chickpeas, enriched with garlicky yogurt and finished with a spoonful of spiced minced meat and a heavy dusting of dried mint. The broth is slightly sour, creamy and warming with chilli, and the noodles are soft and a little slippery. It is a meal in itself, eaten with nothing more than naan and pickles. For a vegetarian version, leave out the meat sauce and add a handful of cooked mung beans. Noodles dropped into a soup that has gone off the boil stick together into a clump, so keep it bubbling as you add them a few at a time. Chef's tip: stir the yogurt in only after the pan is off the heat, so it turns the broth creamy without splitting.

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Kandahari pomegranate juice

Kandahar's pomegranates, heavy fruits with dark ruby seeds and soft pips, are the pride of southern Afghanistan, and in October and November juice stalls in the city's bazaars press them to order in big iron hand presses. The juice is deep red, sweet with a clean sour finish and a faint tannic grip, drunk on its own in a tall glass, often with a pinch of salt. At home you can get almost the same thing with a citrus press or a blender. The bitterness that ruins many homemade glasses comes from crushing the white pith and hard pips, so blend the seeds only for a few seconds, or press the halves gently. Chef's tip: roll each whole pomegranate firmly on the worktop before cutting it, which bursts many of the seeds inside and makes juicing faster.

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MashawaBean soup with meatballs

When winter closes the roads around Mazar-i-Sharif and Kunduz, mashawa is the pot that simmers longest on the bukhari stove: a thick, tangy soup of mung beans, chickpeas and kidney beans, with tiny meatballs poached in it and a spoonful of qurut, salty dried yogurt, stirred through at the end. Dill and dried mint make it smell like a summer garden, and a little chilli warms it up; it is eaten with naan as a full meal, and Kabul families make it too. Bean soups like this stick to the pan and scorch easily once the beans soften, which leaves a bitter taste, so stir from the bottom often. Chef's tip: keep the meatballs no bigger than a hazelnut; they cook quickly and you get one in every spoonful.

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SobatTorn naan in lamb broth

Sobat is guest food in the Pashtun south around Kandahar, made when a sheep has been slaughtered or a large family comes together: lamb on the bone is simmered for hours into a fragrant, golden broth, then poured over pieces of dry naan torn into a wide bowl, with the meat heaped on top. The bread swells and turns soft and juicy while the edges keep some chew, and everyone eats from the same bowl by hand, with raw onion, green chilli and a squeeze of lemon. It is plain, deeply savoury and comforting in the cold Kandahari winter. Fresh, soft bread dissolves into porridge, so use naan that is a day or two old. Chef's tip: skim the broth carefully in the first 10 minutes of simmering, which keeps it clear and clean-tasting.

125 minAfghanSoups
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GrießnockerlsuppeBeef broth with semolina dumplings

Grießnockerlsuppe is the soup that opens a proper Austrian Sunday lunch, from Viennese grandmothers' tables to village inns in Upper Austria: a clear, deeply savoury beef broth with three or four soft, oval semolina dumplings that should be fluffy enough to cut with a spoon. The broth is made from beef shin and bones, simmered slowly with charred onion; broth left over from Tafelspitz works perfectly too. Chef's tip: let the semolina mix rest for 15 minutes before shaping; the grains swell and the dumplings hold together without going heavy.

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Steirische KürbiscremesuppeCreamy pumpkin soup

When the pumpkin fields of Styria turn orange in October, every inn from Graz to the Slovenian border puts this soup on the board. It is velvety and gently sweet, with a little nutmeg and a dash of vinegar for lift, and comes to the table with a swirl of almost black pumpkin seed oil and a scattering of toasted seeds. Serve it as a starter before a Sunday roast or with crusty bread for supper. A common mistake is boiling the soup hard after the cream goes in, which can split it and dull the colour. Check the stock if you need it gluten free. Chef's tip: toast the seeds dry in a pan until they puff and pop; it takes 3 minutes and doubles the nutty flavour.

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So'o yosopyGround beef and rice soup

So'o yosopy, "pounded meat" in Guaraní, is a soup Paraguayans make for anyone who is tired or recovering, and on cold days in Asunción's winter: beef is ground very finely and stirred into cold water so it breaks into soft, delicate threads, then simmered with onion, tomato, pepper and a little rice and oregano. The texture is smooth and the broth light. The mistake is adding the beef to boiling water, which makes it clump into meatballs; mix it into cold water first and stir as it heats. Chef's tip: ask the butcher to mince lean beef twice, or pulse it very fine in a food processor.

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ShorwaLamb and vegetable soup

Shorwa is the everyday soup of Afghan homes from Kabul to Herat, simmered on winter evenings and during Ramadan, when a bowl of it breaks the fast. Lamb on the bone cooks slowly with onion, tomato, chickpeas and a little turmeric and coriander until the broth turns golden, then potatoes and carrots go in for the last half hour. The family tears naan into their bowls and eats it with fresh mint, onion and green chilli on the side. It is a gentle, clear soup rather than a thick stew. The common mistake is boiling it hard, which makes the broth cloudy and the lamb tough; keep it at a lazy simmer. Chef's tip: skim the broth carefully in the first 10 minutes, as soon as the grey foam rises, for a clean golden shorwa.

130 minAfghanSoupsGluten free
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Vegetarian vori voriCornmeal dumpling and vegetable soup

Vori vori is the soup Paraguayan grandmothers make on cold June and July evenings: a golden broth full of bori, small balls of cornmeal and cheese that swell soft as they simmer. The name is a Guaraní take on the Spanish 'bolita' (little ball). It's usually made with hen; this version gets its colour and body from pumpkin, carrot and a sofrito with saffron or turmeric. Chef's tip: shape the balls no bigger than a hazelnut; they double in size and larger ones stay raw inside.

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