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KaguyjyWhite corn pudding

On the night of 23–24 June, Paraguayans celebrate San Juan with bonfires, games like walking over hot coals and the 'paso de fuego', and a table of traditional foods, and kaguyjy (also mazamorra) is one of them. It is a soft, creamy pudding of cracked white corn (locro) simmered slowly in water and then milk with sugar or honey, sometimes with orange peel. It is eaten warm or cold. It is gluten free. Chef's tip: soak the corn overnight and cook it until each kernel is tender before adding the milk, or it never turns creamy.

130 min

Paraguayan Desserts

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MutzenmandelnQuark fritters in sugar

In Cologne and the rest of the Rhineland, bakeries pile their counters with Mutzenmandeln from Weiberfastnacht to Shrove Tuesday, and families fry them at home for carnival parties. A quick, soft dough of quark, egg, sugar and flour is rolled out, cut with a small almond-shaped cutter and fried until puffed and golden, then tossed in sugar while still warm. The common mistake is oil that is too hot, which leaves them raw and doughy in the middle. Chef's tip: a few drops of bitter almond extract or a little lemon zest gives them the classic bakery flavour.

40 min

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KerbelsuppeChervil soup

In Germany, Maundy Thursday is called Gründonnerstag, 'green Thursday', and many families eat something green that day for health in the coming year: spinach with eggs, herb soup or this creamy chervil soup. Chervil is one of the first herbs of spring, with a delicate taste of aniseed and parsley, and the soup is simply potato, shallot and vegetable stock blended with a big bunch of fresh chervil and finished with cream. It is ready in half an hour and gluten free. Chef's tip: add the chervil only at the very end and blend straight away, because heat quickly dulls its colour and flavour.

30 min

German Soups

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NonnenfürzleSugared choux puffs

Nonnenfürzle, the cheeky 'nuns' puffs', are a Swabian Fasnet treat, fried in kitchens from Rottweil to Stuttgart in the days before Lent when butter, eggs and fat had to be used up. A choux-style dough is cooked in the pan, beaten with eggs and dropped by the spoonful into hot fat, where the little balls puff up and turn themselves over. Dusted with cinnamon sugar, they are crisp outside and hollow and custardy inside. The common mistake is adding the eggs while the dough is still hot, which scrambles them and stops the puffs rising. Chef's tip: dip the spoon in the hot oil before each scoop so the dough slides off cleanly.

45 min

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Rybí polévkaCarp soup

In Czechia the Christmas Eve supper begins with rybí polévka, a soup made from the trimmings of the Christmas carp, which is often bought live at street stalls in the days before; here you simply ask the fishmonger for prepared carp trimmings and a fillet. The bones and trimmings make a clear stock that is simmered with carrot, celeriac and parsley root, then filled with flakes of carp and served with croutons fried in butter. Many families add the carp roe. Chef's tip: strain the stock carefully through muslin, as carp has many fine bones.

105 min

Czech Soups

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ApfelkrautApple syrup

In the Rhineland, apples from the autumn harvest are pressed and boiled for hours in copper cauldrons into Apfelkraut, a dark, glossy, sweet-sour syrup that is spread on Schwarzbrot with butter and quark, and that families bring to the Erntedank harvest thanksgiving in October. It needs no added sugar at all: the apples' own sugar and pectin concentrate until the juice is as thick as treacle and tastes like baked apple and caramel. Eat it on rye bread, with potato pancakes (Reibekuchen) or in a sauce for Sauerbraten. Chef's tip: use a mix of sweet and tart apples; the tart ones give the tang and the pectin that makes it set.

450 min

German Chutneys & Dips

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KirmeskuchenPlum streusel yeast cake

When the Kirmes, the yearly fair for a village church's patron saint, comes to the Rhineland and Hesse, families bake enormous trays of Kirmeskuchen to share with the relatives who come home for the fun-fair, the dancing and the procession. This version is the most loved: a soft, buttery yeast dough covered edge to edge with tightly packed plum halves and a thick, crumbly streusel. Cut it into squares and serve it with whipped cream and coffee in the afternoon. Chef's tip: stand the plum halves upright, cut side up and overlapping like roof tiles, so the juice stays in the fruit instead of soaking the dough.

80 min

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OsterlammEaster lamb sponge cake

In Germany and Austria an Osterlamm, a light sponge baked in a two-piece lamb-shaped mould, stands on the Easter breakfast table, dusted with icing sugar with a ribbon and bell around its neck and sometimes a little flag. In Catholic regions it is taken to church on Holy Saturday to be blessed with the Easter basket. The cake is a buttery, lemony sponge, firm enough to keep its shape. You need a lamb cake mould, sold in kitchen shops before Easter. Chef's tip: grease the mould with soft butter and dust it with breadcrumbs or flour into every crevice, or the lamb's head stays in the tin.

65 min

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MartinshörnchenMarzipan crescent pastries

On 11 November children in Lower Saxony, Saxony and much of Germany walk through the dark streets with paper lanterns, singing songs for St Martin, the soldier who cut his cloak in half to share it with a beggar. Bakeries sell Martinshörnchen, sweet crescent-shaped yeast pastries, and many families break them in half to share, as St Martin did. This version is filled with soft marzipan and ground almonds and finished with a thin lemon glaze. Chef's tip: roll each wedge from the wide end with a gentle tug so you get at least three turns of dough, which gives the crescents their shape.

60 min

Paraguayan Breads & Parathas

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QuittengeleeQuince jelly

Quinces are too hard and sour to eat raw, so in Germany they are turned into Quittengelee, one of the jewel-coloured jars set out with the pumpkins and sheaves of wheat for Erntedank, the October harvest thanksgiving. The fruit is simmered whole in pieces, the juice drips through a cloth overnight, and then it is boiled with sugar until it sets into a clear jelly the colour of rosé, with a perfume like pear, honey and roses. Eat it on bread rolls, with cheese, or melted as a glaze for apple tart. Chef's tip: quince skin and cores are full of natural pectin, so cook them in with the flesh rather than peeling.

180 min

German Chutneys & Dips

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Chipa so'oCheese bread with spiced beef

In Paraguay, families bake chipa in the clay tatakua ovens on Holy Wednesday so there is food for Thursday and Good Friday, when cooking stops. Chipa so'o ('chipa with meat') is a cassava-starch and cheese bread wrapped around a little filling of minced beef cooked with onion and egg, then baked until crisp outside and chewy within. It is naturally gluten free. Chef's tip: knead the dough until it no longer cracks at the edges when pressed; dry dough splits around the filling.

90 min

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Kapr na černoCarp in dark sweet-sour sauce

Before fried breaded carp took over the Czech Christmas Eve table, families in Bohemia served kapr na černo, 'black carp': fish simmered in a dark, glossy, sweet-sour sauce of root vegetables, gingerbread, prunes, nuts and dark beer. It is rich and spiced, closer to a medieval feast dish than to the modern menu, and served with bread dumplings or potatoes. This version uses a non-alcoholic dark malt drink so the sauce is alcohol-free; adults may use dark beer. Chef's tip: grate the gingerbread finely, so it melts into a smooth sauce rather than leaving soggy crumbs.

105 min

Czech Fish

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Velikonoční nádivkaBread, egg and smoked pork bake

Velikonoční nádivka ('Easter stuffing', also called hlavička) is a Czech and Moravian Easter dish, baked on Holy Saturday or Easter Sunday. Cubes of bread rolls are soaked in milk and eggs, then mixed with smoked pork and a big handful of young nettles, spinach or spring herbs, and baked until golden and puffy. It's eaten warm or cold, sliced, often beside roast lamb or chicken. For a vegetarian version, leave out the smoked pork and add 250 g fried mushrooms. Chef's tip: pick nettles wearing gloves and blanch them for 30 seconds, which takes away the sting.

75 min

Czech Meat

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HrudkaEgg and milk cheese

Hrudka (also called sirok or egg cheese) is made in eastern Slovakia and among Rusyn and Slovak families abroad for Easter. Eggs and milk are stirred over a low heat until they separate into soft curds, then the curds are tied tightly in a cloth into a ball and hung to drain overnight. The pale-yellow, mild, slightly sweet 'cheese' is taken to church in the Easter basket on Holy Saturday and sliced at Easter breakfast with ham, bread and horseradish. It needs no rennet, so it is naturally vegetarian. Chef's tip: keep the heat low and stir constantly; high heat makes rubbery curds.

40 min

Czech Vegetarian

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OsterpinzeEaster anise brioche

Osterpinze is the Easter bread of Styria, Carinthia and the area around Trieste, a soft, golden brioche dome with three deep cuts on top for the Holy Trinity, so that it opens into a crown as it bakes. The dough is rich with egg yolks and butter and flavoured with anise and lemon; old recipes add a splash of white wine, left out here. It is blessed in the Easter basket on Holy Saturday and eaten on Easter morning with ham, horseradish and eggs, or with butter and jam. Chef's tip: make the three cuts with scissors just before baking, deep enough to reach halfway down, so the crown opens wide.

75 min

Austrian Baking

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AllerheiligenstriezelBraided sweet loaf

In Bavaria and Austria, godparents give their godchildren an Allerheiligenstriezel on All Saints' Day, 1 November: a large braided loaf of sweet yeast dough, brushed with egg and scattered with almonds or pearl sugar. The braid is said to recall the old custom of cutting a plait of hair in mourning, and the size of the loaf once showed how generous the godparent was. It is lightly sweet, with lemon and vanilla, and is eaten sliced with butter or jam. Some recipes add rum-soaked raisins; these are soaked in warm water instead. Chef's tip: braid four strands for an impressive, high loaf.

85 min

Austrian Baking

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OblátkyChristmas wafers with honey

In Slovakia the Christmas Eve supper (Štedrá večera) opens with oblátky: large, paper-thin wafers stamped with a nativity pattern. The head of the household marks each person's forehead with a cross of honey, and everyone eats a wafer spread with honey, often with a sliver of garlic for health, before the cabbage soup. Families buy them from the church or bake them on a patterned wafer iron; this recipe also gives a pan method for thin, crisp wafers. Chef's tip: the batter must be thin like single cream, as a thicker batter gives a soft pancake instead of a wafer.

60 min

Czech Desserts

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Včelí úlkyNo-bake beehive biscuits

Včelí úlky ('little beehives') are a classic of the Czech Christmas cookie plate (cukroví), which families build up through Advent with a dozen or more kinds. They need no oven: crushed biscuits, ground walnuts, cocoa and butter are pressed into beehive moulds, filled with a smooth egg-yolk cream and sealed with a disc of biscuit. Traditionally a little rum is added to the dough; this version uses milk, and adults may add 1 tbsp rum. The cream is cooked to 71 °C so the yolks are safe, though anyone pregnant or vulnerable may prefer pasteurised yolks. Chef's tip: chill the filled hives before unmoulding, or they collapse.

70 min

Czech Desserts

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SpringerleAnise biscuits

Springerle are among the oldest Christmas biscuits of Swabia and Baden in south-west Germany, made in Advent with carved wooden moulds and boards handed down in families, which print scenes of angels, animals and flowers onto the dough. The dough is only eggs, sugar and flour with aniseed underneath. The pressed biscuits are left to dry overnight, so that in the oven the picture stays sharp on top while a little 'foot' rises underneath. They are hard when fresh and soften in a tin after a week. Chef's tip: dust the mould with flour and tap out the excess every time, or the dough sticks and the picture blurs.

80 min

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Marzipankartoffeln (German marzipan potatoes)

In Germany the run-up to Christmas is when these appear, piled in paper bags at the markets and in bowls on the Advent table; Lübeck, the city most famous for marzipan, makes them by the tonne. They are simply small balls of marzipan dusted in cocoa until they look like freshly dug new potatoes, sometimes with a few pricked 'eyes'. The inside is soft, sweet and fragrant with almond and a hint of rosewater; the cocoa coat is bitter and dry, which keeps the sweetness in check. Serve them with coffee, tuck them into a cookie tin or wrap them as small gifts. Shop marzipan sometimes contains egg white, so this one is made from scratch: a sugar syrup cooked to the soft-ball stage binds the ground almonds into a smooth, pliable paste, doing the job egg white does in some commercial pastes, and the result is naturally egg-free. Chef's tip: the common mistake is kneading the warm paste too long, which squeezes oil out of the almonds and makes it greasy; knead only until it comes together, then let it cool.

30 min

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Karpfen blauCarp poached in vinegar stock

In Franconia and Bavaria, Christmas Eve supper is often carp, and the old way is 'blau': the fish is poached in a sharp vinegar stock that turns its natural skin slime a striking slate blue. It is served with melted butter, freshly grated horseradish and boiled potatoes, and many families keep a carp scale in their wallet for good luck in the year ahead. Buy carp already killed and gutted by the fishmonger, and ask for it unscaled and handled as little as possible, or the blue colour won't appear. Chef's tip: never rinse or wipe the carp skin, because the slime is what turns blue.

60 min

German Fish

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Turrón de maníPeanut nougat

On an Argentine Christmas Eve, after midnight toasts, the 'mesa dulce' appears with pan dulce, garrapiñadas and turrón de maní: a chewy white nougat of honey, sugar, whipped egg white and roasted peanuts, often set between two sheets of rice paper. Families make it in the days before Nochebuena. The egg white is cooked by the hot syrup. It is gluten free if you use gluten-free wafer paper or none. Chef's tip: work fast once the syrup is in, as the nougat stiffens as it cools and gets hard to spread.

60 min

Argentinian Desserts

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Quinotos en almíbar (Argentine kumquats in syrup)

In Buenos Aires and the river provinces of the Litoral, kumquat trees ripen in the middle of winter, between June and August, and the fruit goes straight into jars of syrup. Grandmothers' pantries held quinotos for the whole year, brought out for birthdays and long Sunday lunches. Each little fruit turns glossy orange and translucent, with a soft, bittersweet skin and a sharp, juicy centre. Spoon them over vanilla ice cream, serve them with a slice of fresh cheese in the style of postre vigilante, or eat them straight from the jar. Many bar menus offer them steeped in spirits; this version keeps only the syrup. Naturally egg-free, the quinotos rely on sugar syrup to preserve them, while pectin from the peel gives the syrup a light, jammy body. Chef's tip: blanch the fruit three times from cold water; the common mistake is skipping this, which leaves the skins tough and bitter.

120 min

Argentinian Desserts

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Helado de dulce de leche (Buenos Aires dulce de leche ice cream)

Dulce de leche is the flavour Buenos Aires heladerías are judged by, and on a summer night the queues at neighbourhood ice-cream shops stretch out onto the pavement well after dinner. Locals order it plain, with a ripple of extra dulce de leche (dulce de leche granizado adds chocolate flakes), often by the kilo to take home. It is dense, chewy and deeply caramel. This home version is egg-free with no custard: a little cornflour cooked into the milk thickens it the way yolks would, and the dulce de leche itself is milk and sugar cooked down, its sugar and milk solids keeping crystals tiny so it stays smooth and scoopable. Churn it, or still-freeze and stir it every 45 minutes. Chef's tip: chill the extra dulce de leche before rippling it in; the common mistake is folding in a warm one, which melts into the ice cream instead of leaving ribbons.

295 min

Argentinian Desserts

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Feldsalat mit warmem KartoffeldressingLamb's lettuce with warm potato dressing

In Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria, Feldsalat (lamb's lettuce, also called Ackersalat or Nüsslisalat) is the winter salad, eaten from October to March as a starter or beside Spätzle and egg dishes. The small, tender rosettes are dressed in a warm, creamy Swabian dressing made from a boiled potato mashed with stock, mustard, vinegar and oil, which coats the leaves without weighing them down. Traditional versions use meat stock and bacon; this one uses vegetable stock and crisp fried onions, so it is vegan. It gives about 3 g of protein a portion, so it is a side; add toasted pumpkin seeds for more. The most common mistake is not washing the leaves well: grit hides deep inside the rosettes, so wash in two or three changes of water. Chef's tip: dress the leaves only at the table; the warm dressing wilts them within minutes.

30 min

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Aachener Printen (Aachen spiced gingerbread slabs)

The bakeries of Aachen have made Printen for centuries, and from late autumn through Christmas the city's shop windows fill with these narrow brown slabs. Unlike soft German Lebkuchen they are firm and snappy, sweetened with dark sugar-beet syrup and studded with little crunchy bits of rock sugar, and they carry a big blend of spices: cinnamon, aniseed, coriander, cloves, cardamom and allspice. The dough rests overnight to develop flavour, then is raised with potash, which gives the dense, crisp texture. Dunk them in coffee or tea, or serve with baked apples. Printen never contained egg: the thick beet syrup is both sweetener and binder, gluing the flour into a stiff dough that sets hard in the oven. Chef's tip: let the syrup cool to lukewarm before mixing in the flour; the common mistake is adding it hot, which starts cooking the flour and gives a tough, rubbery dough.

1465 min

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Hutzelbrot (Swabian dried-pear Christmas loaf)

In Swabia and Franconia, Hutzelbrot is baked in early December and sliced through Advent and Christmas, traditionally on St Thomas's Day, 21 December. Hutzeln are dried pears, and they are the heart of the loaf: soaked overnight and simmered, then mixed with figs, prunes, raisins, hazelnuts, walnuts and candied peel, bound with only enough spiced yeast dough to hold everything together. The result is dark, moist and dense, closer to fruit than to bread, fragrant with cinnamon, aniseed and cloves. Slice it thin and eat it plain, spread with butter or a nut butter, with coffee or a hot fruit tea. The loaf is naturally egg-free: the yeast dough, made with the sweet pear soaking water, is the glue, and the sticky fruit holds it moist for weeks. Chef's tip: wrap the cooled loaves tightly and leave them for 3–4 days before slicing; the common mistake is cutting it on day one, when it crumbles and the flavours have not settled.

900 min

German Breakfast & Brunch

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HirsebreiMillet porridge

Hirsebrei is one of the oldest dishes in German cooking, the millet porridge of fairy tales, and it is still made in homes across the country as a warm breakfast or a sweet supper for children on cold evenings. Golden millet is rinsed, then simmered in milk until creamy and soft, and served with stewed apple, berries and a dusting of cinnamon. A bowl gives about 12 g of protein from the milk and millet; stir in a spoon of quark or top with chopped almonds if you want more. The usual mistake is skipping the rinse: unrinsed millet tastes bitter and soapy, so rinse it in hot water until the water runs clear. Chef's tip: toast the rinsed millet in the dry pan for a minute before adding milk; it brings out a lovely nutty flavour.

30 min

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Grüner BohnensalatGreen bean salad

In German kitchens from Swabia to Westphalia, green bean salad comes out in high summer when beans are cheap and plentiful, as a side to fried eggs, potato salad or grilled food, and it travels well to picnics. The beans are cooked until just tender, then dressed warm with vinegar, oil, onion and Bohnenkraut (summer savory), the peppery herb Germans always pair with beans. Many cooks add bacon; this version is vegan. A portion gives about 3 g of protein, so it is a side; add a handful of white beans to make it more filling. The most common mistake is undercooking the beans so they squeak: German bean salad is meant to be tender, not crisp, so cook until a bean bends without snapping. Chef's tip: dress the beans while they are still warm and let them sit for 30 minutes; they absorb the vinegar and taste far better than freshly dressed.

20 min

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GurkensalatCucumber and dill salad

Gurkensalat is on German tables from Bavaria to Berlin all summer, served alongside potato pancakes, egg dishes or the Sunday roast, and it is just as common at a garden barbecue. Cucumber is sliced almost paper-thin, salted briefly, then dressed with a little vinegar, sugar, onion and lots of fresh dill, so it is cool, sharp and soft-crunchy. Some households stir in soured cream; this vinaigrette version is vegan. It is very light, with about 1 g of protein a portion, so it is purely a side. The most common mistake is skipping the salting: unsalted slices weep water into the bowl and dilute the dressing within minutes. Chef's tip: squeeze the salted slices gently in your hands before dressing; they bend like ribbons and take up the dill dressing much better.

15 min

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GrünkernbratlingeGreen spelt patties

Grünkern is spelt picked while still green and dried over beech smoke, a speciality of the Bauland and Odenwald in northern Baden. Simmered and shaped into Bratlinge, it became the vegetarian patty of German wholefood kitchens and school canteens, eaten for a weekday lunch with potato salad or a crisp green salad. They are nutty and slightly smoky, crisp outside and soft within. With the herb quark, one portion of three patties gives about 23 g of protein, from the spelt, eggs, mountain cheese and quark. Hard mountain cheese is often made with animal rennet, so choose one labelled vegetarian if that matters to you. The usual mistake is frying the mixture while it is still warm and loose; it must cool and firm up first, or the patties fall apart in the pan. Chef's tip: use coarsely cracked green spelt rather than whole grains; it soaks up the stock evenly and binds without any extra flour.

50 min

German Vegetarian

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Bratapfel (German baked apples with almond paste)

Across Germany, Bratäpfel are the smell of Advent: on cold December afternoons and evenings tart apples go into the oven filled with marzipan, raisins and nuts, and come out puffed, split and bubbling. The skin wrinkles, the flesh turns to a soft, sweet-sour purée and the almond filling melts into the juices. Serve them hot in their dish with the pan juices spooned over, and a plant-based vanilla sauce or a spoon of cold cream if you are not keeping them vegan. Shop marzipan sometimes contains egg white, so here you make a quick egg-free almond paste from ground almonds, icing sugar and a few drops of water, which holds the filling together just as well. The raisins are soaked in apple juice instead of rum. Chef's tip: choose a firm, sharp baking apple and score a ring around its middle; the common mistake is using a sweet eating apple without scoring, which bursts and collapses before the core is tender.

45 min

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Rote-Bete-SalatBeetroot salad

Rote-Bete-Salat is on the table in German homes through autumn and winter, beside potato pancakes, fried eggs or simply bread and butter. Cooked beetroot is cut into slices or batons and dressed with onion, vinegar, oil and a little caraway or grated horseradish, so it is sweet, earthy and sharp at once. It is vegan, gluten free and keeps for days in the fridge. The most common mistake is serving it straight after dressing: give it at least 10 minutes, or better an hour, so the beetroot soaks up the flavour. Chef's tip: wear gloves or rub your hands with lemon juice afterwards, as beetroot stains everything it touches.

15 min

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HeidesandBrown butter slice-and-bake cookies

The name means 'heath sand', after the pale sandy soil of the Lüneburg Heath in Lower Saxony, and the texture lives up to it: these little rounds crumble the moment you bite. Browning the butter first gives them a nutty, toffee-ish flavour that plain shortbread lacks. German families bake them in Advent alongside Vanillekipferl and cinnamon stars, but they are just as good with afternoon coffee in any season. There is no egg in the dough, only butter, sugar, flour and a splash of milk, and the log is rolled in coarse sugar so every slice has a glittering edge. Chef's tip: let the browned butter set back to a soft, spreadable paste before you cream it; if you beat in butter that is still liquid, the dough turns greasy and the cookies flatten in the oven.

60 min