Skip to content
Recipes

All recipes

Vegetarian, or something you can't eat? Set your diet once and we'll hide recipes that don't fit.

Pejerrey arrebozadoBattered fish fillets with onion salsa

Pejerrey arrebozado is a Lima classic from the cevicherías and home kitchens of the coast, eaten at lunch on a plate with white rice, a heap of sharp salsa criolla and sometimes boiled potato. The pejerrey, a small silverside, is opened into butterflied fillets, dipped in a light egg-and-flour batter and fried golden. Outside Peru, use small fillets of whiting, sole, haddock or tilapia. The batter here uses sparkling water, not beer, so it is alcohol free. The common mistake is frying in oil that isn't hot enough: the batter drinks the oil and turns greasy, so test with a drop of batter first. Chef's tip: make the salsa criolla first and let the onion sit in lime for ten minutes; it softens its bite and turns a pretty pink.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Chicharrón de pescadoCrisp fried fish chunks

Up and down the Peruvian coast, from Chorrillos in Lima to the beaches of Piura, chicharrón de pescado is the crunchy plate ordered alongside ceviche at a long seafood lunch: bite-size chunks of firm white fish marinated briefly in garlic and lime, dusted in flour and fried, then served with fried cassava, salsa criolla and tartar or rocoto sauce. Using frozen peeled cassava keeps it to half an hour. The common mistake is leaving the fish in the lime too long: after about ten minutes the acid starts to 'cook' the outside and the coating slips off. Chef's tip: toss the floured pieces in a sieve to shake off every bit of loose flour; a thin coat fries crisp, a thick one turns pasty.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Algerian mkhabezIced almond and lemon diamonds

No Algerian wedding tray, and few Eid tables in Algiers or Constantine, is complete without mkhabez: soft, chewy diamonds of ground almond and lemon zest under a smooth white icing, each topped with a sugar flower or a silver ball and set in its own paper case. Making them is a social affair, with sisters and aunts icing and decorating hundreds the week before a celebration. The almond base is flourless and dairy free, sweet and lemony, and the icing sets to a thin shell; serve them with mint tea or strong coffee. Overbaking is the mistake to avoid: the diamonds should come out pale and soft, or they go dry and crumbly under the icing. Chef's tip: ice them when completely cold, and get the icing so thick it only just flows; runny icing slides off the sides and never sets glossy.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tallarines rojosSpaghetti in red sauce with chicken

Tallarines rojos is the Sunday-lunch and weeknight pasta of homes all over Peru, from Lima to Arequipa: spaghetti in a sweet, deep-red sauce of blended tomato, onion and garlic with a little ají panca and oregano, often with pieces of chicken cooked right in it. Children love it, and it is served with a sprinkle of grated cheese and sometimes a spoon of huancaína on the side. The usual mistake is cooking the sauce too briefly, so it tastes of raw onion; let the blended tomato fry until it darkens and the oil shows at the edges. Chef's tip: a bay leaf and a spoon of ají panca paste give the sauce its Peruvian character; paprika will do if you can't find the paste.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tcharek el arianeAlmond crescents with orange blossom

On the last nights of Ramadan, kitchens across Algiers and Constantine fill up with trays of tcharek el ariane, the 'naked' tcharek: crescents of thin, buttery dough wrapped around almond paste with cinnamon and orange-blossom water. Unlike their sugar-coated cousins they are left bare, so the fine dough with its pinched, lace-like pattern shows. Families give them to neighbours on Eid morning and set them out at weddings with mint tea and coffee. The dough is traditionally made with smen (aged butter); plain melted butter works well. Overbaking is the common slip, because they turn hard and dry; they should stay pale with only golden tips. Chef's tip: keep the dough under a damp cloth while you shape, as it dries in minutes and then cracks along the curve.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Pan chutaAniseed round bread

The small town of Oropesa, half an hour from Cusco, calls itself Peru's bread capital, and its wood-fired bakeries are famous for chuta: big, flat, round loaves as wide as a dinner plate, glossy on top, with a faint sweetness and the warmth of aniseed. Travellers on the road to Puno and Bolivia stop to buy them by the bagful, and families bring them home for All Saints' Day and for sharing with hot coca tea or coffee, fresh cheese and butter. The bakeries traditionally use lard; this version uses vegetable shortening and butter, so it is vegetarian. The make-or-break moment is the proof: chuta is large and flat, and if it goes in under-risen it bakes dense and splits at the rim. Chef's tip: toast the aniseed for a minute in a dry pan and crush it lightly before adding, for a rounder, sweeter perfume.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

ChaplasHollow puffed Andean bread

Walk through Ayacucho's central market at seven in the morning and you will see women selling stacks of chaplas from cloth-lined baskets, still warm from the wood-fired ovens of the Andes. These round wheat breads puff up like pita in the fierce heat, leaving a hollow pocket inside a thin, soft, lightly floury crust. In Ayacucho and Huancavelica they are eaten with sweet coffee or hot emoliente for breakfast, or split and filled with queso fresco, avocado or a spoonful of rocoto sauce. Highland bakers traditionally work in a little lard; vegetable shortening gives the same tenderness and keeps the bread vegan. A cool baking tray is the reason chaplas stay flat, so preheat it thoroughly. Chef's tip: let the rolled rounds rest before baking and flip them upside down onto the tray, so the smooth, dry side meets the heat first and the pocket opens evenly.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Shiro fitfitInjera in chickpea stew

When last night's shiro and injera are both in the kitchen, Addis Ababa families turn them into shiro fitfit for breakfast: a quick, garlicky shiro sauce is made thin and loose, then torn injera is folded in to soak it up, and the bowl is topped with chopped tomato and green chilli. It is soft, savoury and spicy, eaten with a spoon or a fresh piece of injera on fasting mornings. Many injera contain some wheat, so it isn't gluten free unless the injera is pure teff. The mistake is making the shiro too thick, which coats the injera rather than soaking in; keep it like single cream. Chef's tip: use day-old injera; fresh injera turns to mush, while slightly dry pieces soak up the sauce and keep a bit of chew.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

SiljoFermented broad bean paste

Siljo is a condiment of the Orthodox fasts, made in Gondar and Gojjam and across Amhara especially for Lent and the Hudade season: a thin paste of broad-bean flour cooked with water, mixed with mustard, garlic and ginger and left to ferment until sharp and pungent, then eaten in small amounts with injera and fasting stews to wake them up. It tastes like a cross between hot mustard and sour yogurt. The usual mistake is adding the mustard while the paste is hot, which kills its heat; cool the paste completely first. Ferment in a very clean, covered jar, then keep it in the fridge, and throw it away if you see any mould or it smells rotten rather than pleasantly sour. Not gluten free if your bean flour is milled with wheat. Chef's tip: grind the mustard seeds yourself and soak them in a little cold water for ten minutes; freshly wetted mustard gives siljo its nose-tingling kick.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Dabo firfirBread in berbere sauce

Injera firfir is the famous one, but Addis Ababa cafés and Bole apartment kitchens make dabo firfir when there is yesterday's bread to use up: torn chunks of soft white dabo stirred into a quick sauce of red onion, tomato and berbere enriched with niter kibbeh, the spiced clarified butter. It is a hot, spicy, buttery breakfast, eaten with a spoon and a glass of sweet spiced tea, and children love the softer, less spicy version. On fasting days swap the butter for oil to make it vegan. Contains wheat and dairy. The mistake is drowning the bread so it turns to paste; toss it through the sauce off the heat so the edges stay a little chewy. Chef's tip: toast the torn bread in a dry pan for three minutes first; it drinks up the sauce without falling apart.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

NifroBoiled wheat and chickpeas

When a baby cuts a first tooth, Ethiopian families celebrate with tirs mastecha, and the dish at the centre is nifro: a big pot of whole wheat berries, chickpeas and fava beans boiled with salt and handed round warm in cupped hands or small bowls. It also turns up at funerals, saints' day gatherings and long coffee ceremonies in Gondar and Addis, chewy, nutty and plain in the best way. The common mistake is boiling everything together from dry, so the wheat bursts while the fava stay hard; soak them all overnight and add the wheat later. Fava beans are unsafe for anyone with G6PD deficiency (favism), so leave them out if in doubt. Not gluten free. Chef's tip: once drained, toss the warm nifro in a dry pan for two minutes; it dries the surface and makes the salt and a pinch of berbere cling.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Kik watSpiced split pea stew

On Wednesdays, Fridays and the long Lenten fast, Orthodox households from Addis Ababa to Bahir Dar fill the beyaynetu platter with kik wat, the fiery red sibling of the mild yellow kik alicha. Yellow split peas are cooked into a thick sauce built on a mountain of slowly dry-cooked red onions, garlic, ginger and plenty of berbere, so it is earthy, smoky-hot and spoonable on a sheet of injera. The mistake is frying the onions in oil from the start: Ethiopian cooks sweat them in a dry pot until they collapse and turn jammy, and only then add oil and spice, which gives the sauce its body. Chef's tip: bloom the berbere in the oil for a full two minutes with a splash of water so it turns brick-red and loses its raw, dusty edge.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Ethiopian vegetable rice

Rice is a newcomer in a country of injera, but in Addis Ababa it has become a school-lunch and café staple, often served next to a mild alicha or a fasting combination: long-grain rice fried in oil with onion and garlic, coloured with turmeric and cooked with carrot and peas. It is fluffy, mild and golden, which is why children ask for it. The mistake is skipping the rinse: unwashed rice turns sticky and clumps in the pot. Chef's tip: fry the rinsed, drained rice in the oil for two minutes until the grains turn opaque; they stay separate when cooked.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Misir alichaMild red lentil stew

Not everyone at the table in Gondar or Addis wants berbere, so the fasting platter almost always has a gentle yellow wat beside the red one: misir alicha, split red lentils cooked down with dry-sweated onion, garlic, ginger and turmeric until creamy. It is soft, warming and easy on children and anyone who finds misir wat too hot. The common mistake is letting the lentils cook to a thin soup; simmer uncovered at the end until it mounds on a spoon and sits on injera without running. Chef's tip: a sliced green chilli and a pinch of ground ajwain (netch azmud) stirred in at the end lift it without adding much heat.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Ye-difin misir watSpicy brown lentil stew

The everyday misir wat of Addis Ababa's fasting houses is made with split red lentils, but in Tigray and Amhara homes many cooks prefer difin misir, whole brown or green lentils that keep their shape and give a thicker, nubbly stew with a deep, peppery berbere sauce. It is hearty, earthy and properly spicy, the backbone of a Lenten lunch with injera, cabbage and a cold salad. The mistake is adding the lentils to the sauce raw: whole lentils take far longer than the onions can stand, so cook them separately until tender first. Chef's tip: finish with a teaspoon of mitmita or a pinch of ground cardamom (korerima) just before serving for a fragrant top note.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Ethiopian vegetable soup

Every café and school canteen in Addis Ababa has a pot of ye-atakilt shorba on the go: a light, golden soup of potato, carrot and cabbage cooked with onion, garlic, a little ginger and turmeric, eaten with a bread roll for lunch or given to children who don't want berbere. Families make it on fasting days and when someone is feeling poorly. It is mild, soothing and slightly sweet. The mistake is adding the cabbage with the potatoes, which makes it sulphurous and grey; it needs only the last ten minutes. Chef's tip: blend one ladle of the cooked potato and carrot and stir it back in; the soup thickens to café-style body without any flour.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Ye-qey sir selataBeetroot and potato salad

Fasting-day platters at Addis Ababa restaurants and church feasts often carry a bright magenta heap of this cold salad beside the hot wats: boiled beetroot, potato and carrot tossed with lemon juice, thin red onion, green chilli and a little oil. It is sharp, sweet and cooling, a palate-cleanser between spoonfuls of berbere-red lentils. It differs from key sir alicha, the warm beetroot stew, in that everything is boiled whole, cooled and dressed raw. The usual slip is dressing the vegetables while hot, which turns the potatoes pink and mushy; let them cool first. Chef's tip: dress the onion and chilli in the lemon juice and salt ten minutes ahead so they soften and lose their sharp bite.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

BusecaTripe and white bean stew

Buseca arrived in Montevideo with Italian immigrants from Lombardy and became a classic winter dish of Uruguayan bodegones and family kitchens, eaten on cold June and July days. Honeycomb tripe is simmered until tender, then stewed with white beans, pork chorizo, bacon, peppers, tomato and paprika into a thick, warming stew served with crusty bread. Buy tripe that is already cleaned and blanched (dressed). The usual mistake is undercooking the tripe: it needs a full 2 hours, until it's soft enough to cut with a spoon. Slow-cooker option: after step 4, cook on low for 8 hours. Chef's tip: a little grated lemon zest and parsley stirred in at the end lifts the rich, gelatinous sauce.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

HmissGrilled pepper and tomato salad

Hmiss is an everyday cooked salad from Algiers, Oran and Constantine, made in summer when peppers are cheap, and it is set out with bread at the start of Ramadan iftars and family lunches. Green and red peppers and tomatoes are grilled until charred, peeled, chopped and then cooked briefly with garlic, cumin and plenty of olive oil, so it is smoky, soft and gently spicy. Serve it with bread, beside eggs, or with grilled fish. Suitable as part of a balanced diet. About 120 kcal and 10 g carbohydrate per portion. The usual mistake is chopping it to a purée in a blender: hmiss should keep some texture, so chop by hand. Chef's tip: grill a mild green chilli alongside the peppers for gentle heat without overpowering the sweetness.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Ka'i ladrilloPeanut molasses bricks

Ka'i ladrillo — 'monkey brick' in Guaraní — is the sweet sold by vendors on Asunción buses and at country fiestas: roasted peanuts bound in boiled cane molasses and set in brick-shaped blocks, crunchy and dark with a slightly smoky toffee taste. It contains peanuts, so keep it away from anyone with a peanut allergy. The common mistake is taking the syrup off too soon, so the bricks stay sticky and never set. Chef's tip: test the syrup by dropping a little into cold water; it is ready when it sets into a brittle thread that snaps.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Capeletis a la CarusoStuffed pasta in cream sauce

Capeletis a la Caruso were created in a Montevideo restaurant in the 1950s and named after the great tenor, and they are still a Sunday lunch favourite in Uruguayan homes: little stuffed pasta hats in a rich sauce of cream, cooked ham (pork), mushrooms and onion, finished with grated cheese. Buy good fresh capeletis or tortellini; the sauce is what you make. The usual mistake is boiling the cream sauce hard, which makes it oily and grainy. Chef's tip: cook the mushrooms in a dry hot pan first until they squeak and brown, before any butter goes in, for a deeper taste.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

LampreadoCassava starch cheese fritters

Paraguayan grandmothers fry lampreado on Sunday evenings to eat with a mug of cocido, the toasted yerba mate drink: small pan-fried cakes of cassava starch, egg, milk and grated cheese with a little onion, crisp at the edges and stretchy inside. Some families also make it with leftover meat, but this version is all cheese. Queso Paraguay is set with animal rennet; a vegetarian Parmesan-style cheese plus mozzarella works well. The trap is a batter that is too thick, which gives heavy, gluey cakes. Chef's tip: the batter should drop slowly off a spoon like thick pancake batter; add milk a spoonful at a time until it does.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Mandi'o chyryryFried cassava with onion and egg

Mandi'o chyryry means 'fried cassava' in Guaraní, and it is what rural Paraguayan families make from yesterday's boiled mandi'o: chunks crushed and fried in a big pan with onion until crisp in places, then scrambled with eggs. It comes out for breakfast with cocido or for a quick supper, and costs next to nothing. Use sweet cassava, the kind sold in supermarkets. The mistake is stirring constantly, which turns it to mush; let the cassava sit and brown. Chef's tip: the best chyryry starts with cold, day-old boiled cassava, which fries crisper than freshly boiled.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Pisco sour

Lima drinks its pisco sour as the aperitif before a long ceviche lunch, and celebrates it every year on the first Saturday of February; the recipe took shape in the city's bars in the 1920s. It is for adults only and stronger than its pillowy look suggests. Underneath a thick white foam you get sharp Peruvian lime, a clean sweetness and the floral, grapey warmth of quebranta pisco, with the bitters adding a spicy smell to every sip. The texture should be silky, almost creamy, never thin. The classic mistake is squeezing the limes too hard or too early: the oil from the pith turns the drink bitter within half an hour. Halve the limes, press each half gently by hand just before mixing and stop when the juice slows. The egg white is raw, so use pasteurised egg white for anyone pregnant, for babies, older people or anyone unwell, or swap in 30 ml aquafaba. It is ready when the foam stands about 1 cm high and is firm enough to hold the drops of bitters on its surface. Sip one slowly and drink responsibly. Chef's tip: shake once without ice first to whip the egg white, then again with ice; the foam will be twice as thick.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Showing 24 of 306 recipes

Show more recipes

Page 1 of 13