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Grillázs (Hungarian walnut brittle)

Grillázs belongs to Hungarian celebrations: it is sold at Christmas fairs and on saints' day markets, and at village weddings a towering grillázs castle or basket is often the centrepiece, broken up and shared at the end of the night. Walnuts are traditional, almonds are the fancier choice. The caramel is cooked to a deep amber, so it tastes rich and slightly bitter-sweet and shatters cleanly, with the toasted nuts giving a softer crunch. Serve shards with coffee, crumble it over ice cream, or press warm sheets over an oiled bowl to make a basket for fruit or sweets. It is naturally egg-free: melted, caramelised sugar sets glass-hard as it cools and holds the nuts together, with a few drops of lemon juice to keep it smooth. Chef's tip: warm the walnuts in the oven before they go in; the common mistake is adding cold nuts, which chill the caramel so it seizes and turns grainy before you can spread it.

40 min

Hungarian Desserts

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Szaloncukor (Hungarian Christmas tree candy)

Every Hungarian Christmas tree carries szaloncukor: sweets wrapped in shiny foil and fringed paper, hung from the branches in December and quietly eaten, one by one, by everyone in the house until Epiphany. The classic is soft white fondant, but the centres vary: tart fruit jelly, coconut, marzipan or nut. Here there are two fillings, raspberry jelly and coconut fondant, both coated in dark chocolate, so each bite gives a snap of chocolate and then a tender, melting middle. They are lovely with coffee or as a small gift. These are egg-free with no animal setting agent: the fondant is just sugar syrup cooked to the soft-ball stage and worked until it crystallises into a smooth, white paste, so no egg white is needed, and the jelly is set with agar-agar, which gives clean cubes that hold their shape at room temperature. Chef's tip: let the syrup cool to about 45°C before working it; the common mistake is starting while it is still hot, which grows coarse crystals and a gritty fondant.

180 min

Hungarian Desserts

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Cuban red bean potaje (vegetarian)Red bean and pumpkin stew

Potaje de frijoles colorados is everyday Cuban home cooking, eaten in Havana, Camagüey and Santiago alike as the midday meal over white rice, often with a simple avocado salad. Red kidney beans cook until soft and are thickened with calabaza and potato, then flavoured with a sofrito of onion, pepper, garlic, cumin and oregano. It is usually made with pork or chorizo; this is the vegetarian and vegan version, with smoked paprika and a spoonful of vinegar-pickled pepper brine giving the same savoury depth. A bowl gives about 25 g of protein from the beans. Soak the beans for 12 hours first (not counted below), and boil them hard for 10 minutes before simmering, as raw kidney beans contain a toxin. The most common mistake is salting at the start, which keeps the skins tough. Chef's tip: a teaspoon of sugar in the sofrito is a Cuban touch that rounds out the tomato and beans.

135 min

Cuban Curries

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Dulce de fruta bomba (Cuban green papaya in syrup)

In Cuba, papaya is called fruta bomba, and its green, unripe fruit is cooked into this old-fashioned dulce, a fixture of home cooking all over the island and often made in big batches to keep. Strips of firm green papaya are simmered slowly in a cinnamon and lime-peel syrup until they turn translucent and chewy, with a candied, honeyed flavour. The Cuban way to eat it is with a slice of salty, crumbly white cheese, which balances the sweetness; a cup of strong coffee goes alongside. The dulce is egg-free by tradition, with nothing to bind: the papaya candies in the sugar syrup, and a short soak in water with a little bicarbonate of soda helps the strips stay firm. Chef's tip: rinse the strips well after the soak and simmer them gently; the common mistake is boiling the syrup fast, which hardens the outside of the papaya before the syrup can soak in.

110 min

Cuban Desserts

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Ensalada de berroWatercress salad

In Cuban homes from Havana to Santiago, a plate of peppery watercress with thin rings of onion and a squeeze of lime sits beside the rice, beans and fried plantain at almost every weekday lunch. The dressing is simply lime or sour orange, olive oil and salt, so the cress stays crisp and bright and cuts through richer dishes. It is very light, with about 2 g of protein a portion, so it is purely a side; pair it with black beans and rice for a full meal. The most common mistake is dressing it in advance: watercress wilts in minutes once salted. Chef's tip: keep the thick lower stems out and use only the tender tops and leaves; the salad will be crisp, not stringy.

10 min

Cuban Salads

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Cuban potaje de garbanzos (vegetarian)Chickpea and pumpkin stew

In Havana and across Cuba, a pot of potaje de garbanzos simmers on the stove for the main meal of the day, and is ladled over white rice with a few slices of fried ripe plantain on the side. Chickpeas cook until creamy with chunks of calabaza (West Indian pumpkin) and potato, then a sofrito of onion, green pepper, garlic and tomato turns the broth thick and orange. Most Cuban cooks add chorizo; this is the vegetarian version, with smoked paprika giving the smoky warmth instead, and it is fully vegan. A bowl gives about 21 g of protein from the chickpeas. Soak the chickpeas for 12 hours first; that time is not counted below. The most common mistake is adding the pumpkin at the start: it dissolves completely, so add it once the chickpeas are nearly tender. Chef's tip: let the potaje rest for half an hour before serving; it thickens and tastes even better the next day.

120 min

Cuban Curries

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Sült gesztenye (Hungarian roasted chestnuts)

From November until the end of winter, the smell of roasting chestnuts drifts along Budapest's boulevards and around Christmas markets in every Hungarian town, where sellers shake them over charcoal and pour them hot into paper cones. Roasting turns the nuts sweet and soft, mealy like a baked potato but with a gentle nutty sweetness and a hint of smoke where the shell has charred. Eat them straight away, peeled with your fingers while they are hot, with a cup of hot tea, hot spiced apple juice or a bag of roasted pumpkin from the next stall. They are naturally egg-free, a single ingredient with nothing to bind: heat turns the chestnut's starch to sugar and softens it. A short soak in water before roasting adds steam inside the shell, so the nuts cook evenly and peel more easily. Chef's tip: cut a deep cross through the shell on the rounded side of every chestnut; the common mistake is skipping or under-cutting it, and then the steam bursts the chestnuts open in the oven.

30 min

Hungarian Desserts

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ParihuelaSpicy seafood soup

Parihuela is the big weekend seafood soup of Callao and the Peruvian coast, eaten at long Sunday lunches in cevicherías and praised as a cure for tiredness and late nights. A deep red broth of ají panca, ají amarillo, tomato and fish stock is loaded with chunks of fish, prawns, squid and mussels. A portion gives about 30 g of protein, from the fish and shellfish, for roughly 300 kcal. Some cooks add chicha de jora or beer; this version has none. The common mistake is adding all the seafood at once: squid and prawns turn rubbery while the fish cooks, so they go in last. Before cooking, discard any mussels that stay open when tapped, and after cooking discard any that stay shut. Chef's tip: fry the chilli pastes in the oil until they darken and smell sweet; that toasted ají is what gives parihuela its depth.

70 min

Peruvian Fish

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Sült tök (Hungarian roasted sweet pumpkin)

When the first cold sets in, Hungarian street vendors and market stalls set up their ovens and sell sült tök: thick wedges of sweet pumpkin roasted until the flesh is soft as jam and the edges are caramelised and almost sticky. It is bought hot and eaten on the spot through autumn and winter, often from the same stands that sell roasted chestnuts, and at home it is a simple afternoon treat for children. The flavour is deep and honeyed with a slightly smoky edge from the browned skin; a dusting of cinnamon sugar is optional. Eat it with a spoon straight from the skin, alongside a cup of hot tea or warm apple juice. It is naturally egg-free and needs no binding at all: the pumpkin's own sugars concentrate and caramelise in the oven's dry heat. Chef's tip: pick a dense, dry, deep-orange pumpkin such as a Hungarian sweet pumpkin, kabocha or butternut; the common mistake is using a watery carving pumpkin, which steams instead of caramelising.

60 min

Hungarian Desserts

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Aguadito de polloCoriander chicken rice soup

Aguadito is the soup Lima serves in the small hours: at the end of a wedding, after New Year's Eve and at weekend family lunches, it is ladled out thick and steaming to revive everyone. Rice simmers in chicken broth coloured deep green with blended coriander and warmed with yellow ají amarillo, along with peas, carrot, pepper, sweetcorn and potato. A portion gives about 24 g of protein, from the chicken with a little from the rice and peas, for around 480 kcal. The common mistake is adding the coriander purée too early: cooked for long it turns khaki and loses its fresh taste, so stir it in for the last 10 minutes. The chicken must reach 74 °C at the bone. Chef's tip: blend a handful of spinach with the coriander; it keeps the colour vivid green without changing the flavour.

75 min

Peruvian Soups

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Chilcano de pescadoClear fish broth

In the fishermen's terminals of Chorrillos and Callao, chilcano is what you drink on a Sunday morning after a long night: a clear, gingery broth made from the heads and bones left over from cleaning fish for ceviche, with chunks of fish, red onion, chilli and a squeeze of lime in the bowl. It is light and warming, around 160 kcal a bowl, and still gives about 24 g of protein from the fish fillet and the broth. The common mistake is squeezing the lime into the pot while it boils, which turns it bitter; add it to each bowl at the table. Don't boil the bones for more than 30 minutes either, or the broth turns cloudy and harsh. Chef's tip: ask the fishmonger for heads and frames from mild white fish like sea bass or cod, and leave out oily fish such as mackerel, which makes the broth strong and fishy.

55 min

Peruvian Soups

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Zöldbableves (Hungarian green bean soup)

Zöldbableves is a summer soup from Hungarian home kitchens, made when green beans are cheap at every market: tender beans in a light broth, soured with a little vinegar and thickened with a paprika roux and sour cream, so it is creamy, gently tart and bright red-orange. It is served as the first course of a weekday lunch or as a light supper with bread. The classic mistake is pouring cold sour cream straight into the hot soup, where it splits into flecks; temper it first. Chef's tip: let the roux turn just golden before adding the paprika off the heat, because paprika burns in seconds and turns bitter.

30 min

Hungarian Soups

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Mákos tészta (Hungarian poppy seed pasta)

Mákos tészta surprises people who meet it outside Hungary: hot wide noodles tossed in butter and finely ground poppy seeds with sugar, eaten as a main course, often on a Friday after a bowl of soup. Children across Hungary grow up on it, and grown-ups still order it in school-canteen-style restaurants in Budapest. The trick is grinding the seeds; whole poppy seeds just roll off the pasta, and the most common mistake is using them unground, which gives a gritty dish with little flavour. Chef's tip: a spice or coffee grinder turns poppy seeds into a fragrant, slightly oily powder in 20 seconds; grind them just before cooking.

17 min

Hungarian Pasta & Noodles

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Belgian frangipane tartlets

Look in the glass counter of a Flemish bakery and between the rice tarts and cream puffs sit rows of frangipanetaartjes: small shortcrust cases with a hidden layer of apricot jam, filled with almond frangipane and glazed with a thin, crackly white icing. Belgians pick them up on Saturday mornings or for a birthday at the office and eat them with coffee. They are buttery, nutty and moist, with a sharp fruity note from the jam. Too much jam is the mistake to watch: it bubbles up through the frangipane and glues the tartlets to the tin. Chef's tip: brush the warm tartlets with hot apricot jam first and let it set before the icing goes on; the jam seals the surface so the glaze stays white and shiny.

60 min

Belgian Baking

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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.

30 min

Peruvian Pasta & Noodles

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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.

30 min

Peruvian Fish

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Boniato fritoFried white sweet potato

Boniato, the pale, chestnut-sweet sweet potato of the Caribbean, is fried in rounds all over Cuba as an everyday side for picadillo, eggs or rice and black beans, and in Miami's Little Havana it turns up next to most lunch plates. The slices come out golden and lightly crisp outside, fluffy and floury inside. The common mistake is oil that is too hot with slices that are too thick: the outside burns while the middle stays hard, so keep the slices 5 mm and the heat steady. Ordinary orange sweet potato works too, though it is sweeter and browns faster. Chef's tip: drop the cut slices into cold water as you go, as boniato darkens quickly, then dry them very well before frying.

20 min

Cuban Sides

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CapuchinosYolk sponge cones in spiced syrup

Named for the pointed hoods of Capuchin friars, these little cones of yolk sponge sit in neat rows in Havana dulcerías, glistening with syrup and sold by the half dozen for birthdays and Sunday visits. They're baked in small cone moulds, then dropped into warm syrup scented with lime peel, cinnamon and star anise until heavy and soaked through, so they are moist, eggy and very sweet. The syrup is often spiked with rum or anise liqueur; this one stays alcohol-free. A syrup boiled too thick won't soak in and leaves a sticky crust, so keep it at a light, pourable stage. No cone moulds? Bake them in a mini muffin tin; they just won't have the hood shape. Chef's tip: soak the sponges while they're still warm and the syrup is warm too; both at the same temperature, the syrup goes right to the centre.

75 min

Cuban Baking

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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.

25 min

Peruvian Fish

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SeñoritasCustard slices in puff pastry

Señoritas are a fixture of Cuban bakeries in Havana and Santiago, and of the Cuban-run ventanitas in Miami: two sheets of crisp, flattened puff pastry sandwiching a thick vanilla-and-lemon custard, with a shiny white sugar glaze on top. They are Cuba's cousin of the mille-feuille, eaten mid-morning or after lunch with a tiny cup of sweet café cubano, and they are always in the box for a birthday or a baptism. Adding the custard while it is still warm is where it goes wrong: the pastry goes limp within an hour. Chef's tip: bake the pastry under a second baking tray so it stays flat, thin and evenly crisp, which makes clean cutting far easier.

90 min

Cuban Baking

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Tortilla de plátanoRipe plantain omelette

In Havana and across the Cuban countryside, tortilla de plátano is a home supper made from what is in the kitchen: slices of very ripe plantain fried until caramelised, then set in a thick, golden omelette. The sweet fruit against salty egg is the whole point, and it is served with white rice and black beans or a simple tomato salad. The mistake people make is using a plantain that is still yellow and firm; it stays starchy and dry, so wait until the skin is mostly black and the fruit gives when pressed. Chef's tip: flip the tortilla by sliding it onto a plate, covering with the pan and turning both over together, which keeps it whole.

20 min

Cuban Breakfast & Brunch

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MariquitasGreen plantain chips

Mariquitas are the thin, glassy green-plantain chips that come in paper cones at Cuban cafeterías in Havana and Miami, always with a little bowl of garlicky mojo for dunking. They are a party and weekend snack, but with a mandoline they are ready in twenty minutes on any evening. The most common mistake is using plantains that have started to ripen: yellow ones are sweet and soft and burn before they crisp, so buy them hard and fully green. Take care with the mandoline and use its guard, and never leave hot oil unattended. Chef's tip: cut long, paper-thin slices lengthwise and drop them into the oil one at a time so they don't stick together.

20 min

Cuban Snacks & Starters

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Meggyes piteSour cherry slice

Hungarian grandmothers bake meggyes pite in a big rectangular tin in June, when sour cherries hang from every garden tree, and the rest of the year with jarred ones from the pantry. Two layers of soft, almost cakey pastry made with sour cream hold a tart, juicy cherry layer, and the top disappears under a snowfall of icing sugar. Squares of it turn up at Sunday lunch, in school lunch boxes and on the plate next to an afternoon coffee. Skipping the semolina is the mistake that gives a soggy middle: it soaks up the cherry juice as it bakes. Chef's tip: drain jarred or thawed cherries in a sieve for a good 30 minutes and keep the juice for a drink or a sauce.

90 min

Hungarian Baking

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TopfengolatschenSweet quark puff pastry squares

A Topfengolatsche is what Viennese office workers grab from the bakery on the way in, and what grandparents order with a Melange in a coffee house on a Sunday afternoon. The corners of a puff pastry square are folded over a lemony, vanilla-scented filling of Topfen (Austrian quark) with plump raisins, and the top gets a thin white glaze. It is flaky, light and not too sweet. Raisins are sometimes soaked in rum; warm water or orange juice works just as well, and the recipe below is alcohol-free. Wet quark is the classic problem, because it turns the filling runny and it leaks out in the oven. Chef's tip: hang the quark in a sieve lined with a clean cloth for an hour, or squeeze it, until it is as thick as soft cream cheese.

57 min

Austrian Baking

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