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Sopa de nopalesCactus paddle soup

In Mexico City, Puebla and the towns of central Mexico, sopa de nopales is cooked at home during Lent and on any warm day when tender cactus paddles are cheap in the market. Diced nopales simmer in a light tomato and chilli broth with onion and coriander, giving a soup that is tangy, fresh and a little green-tasting, like green beans crossed with okra. It is very light, with about 3 g of protein per bowl; add a can of pinto beans or crumble fresh cheese on top for more. The most common mistake is putting raw nopales straight into the soup, which turns it slimy: boil them separately first and rinse them. Chef's tip: add a few tomatillo husks or a pinch of bicarbonate to the boiling water for the nopales; it helps set the slime so it rinses away.

35 min

Mexican 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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Quelites guisadosSautéed wild greens

Quelites is the Nahuatl-rooted word for the edible wild greens of central Mexico, such as quintoniles (amaranth), verdolagas (purslane) and huauzontle, and in the markets of Mexico City, Puebla and Tlaxcala they are sold by the bunch in the rainy season and cooked this way for everyday lunches. The greens are blanched, then sautéed with onion, garlic, tomato and serrano chilli until soft and savoury, and piled into hot corn tortillas with salsa and, if you like, crumbled fresh cheese. Without cheese it is vegan, with about 6 g of protein per portion including two tortillas. The common mistake is leaving the greens wet: they steam and turn watery instead of frying. Spinach, chard or amaranth leaves work if you can't find quelites. Chef's tip: cut the serrano in half lengthways and fry it with the onion; it flavours the oil gently and you can lift it out if it's too hot.

25 min

Mexican Vegetarian

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Duraznos en almíbar (Mexican peaches in piloncillo syrup)

Across Mexico, from the orchards of Zacatecas and Puebla to every abuela's pantry, duraznos en almíbar are how the summer peach crop is kept, and a bowl of them chilled from the fridge is a classic Sunday dessert. Peeled peach halves are poached in a syrup of piloncillo, the cone-shaped raw cane sugar, with cinnamon and cloves, so they turn tender and glossy and soak up a warm, molasses-like sweetness. Serve them cold in their syrup, on their own, or with a spoon of crema or thick yoghurt. Nothing needs setting and no egg is involved: the fruit simply poaches in the sugar syrup, which thickens lightly as it cools. Chef's tip: choose ripe but firm peaches and poach them gently; the common mistake is boiling the syrup hard, which turns the halves ragged and stringy.

160 min

Mexican Desserts

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ChileatoleCorn and green chilli soup

Chileatole is a thick, savoury atole made in Puebla and Tlaxcala during the rainy-season corn harvest from July to September, sold steaming from big pots at markets in the evening and made at home when fresh corn is everywhere. Fresh corn kernels and pieces of cob simmer in a broth thickened with masa harina and tinted green with blended chilli and epazote. It is comforting and corny, with a gentle heat, and about 6 g of protein per bowl from the corn and masa. The most common mistake is adding the masa dry, which makes lumps: always dissolve it in cold water first. Chef's tip: simmer the stripped cobs in the water before you start, for a sweeter, deeper corn broth.

45 min

Mexican Soups

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Raspados (Mexican shaved ice with fruit syrups)

In Guadalajara and the towns of Sinaloa, raspados are sold from carts and little shops from noon until late on hot days: a paper cup of finely shaved ice soaked in bright homemade syrups like tamarind, mango, strawberry and deep-red hibiscus, sometimes with fresh fruit and a squeeze of lime. They are the cheapest way to cool down, and children and adults line up alike. They are naturally egg-free and plant-based: there is nothing to set or bind, just fruit and sugar cooked into syrups thick enough to cling to the ice. The hibiscus is tart and floral, the mango sweet and thick, and the two side by side make a striking cup. Make the syrups and cool them quickly over iced water. Chef's tip: shave the ice as fine as you can and pour the syrup slowly; the common mistake is using coarse crushed ice, which lets the syrup run straight to the bottom.

20 min

Mexican Desserts

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Caldo xóchitlChicken, rice and chickpea broth

Caldo xóchitl, named after the Nahuatl word for flower, is the restorative chicken soup of Mexico City's fondas and markets, eaten at lunch on cool days, after a late night or when someone is unwell. A clear broth with chicken, rice, chickpeas, courgette and carrot is served with a spread of chopped onion, coriander, serrano chilli, avocado and lime so everyone builds their own bowl. A portion gives about 24 g of protein, from the chicken and chickpeas, for around 360 kcal. The common mistake is boiling it hard, which clouds the broth and toughens the chicken; keep it at a lazy simmer and skim the foam. The chicken must reach 74 °C in the thickest part and the meat should pull easily from the bone. Chef's tip: cook the rice in the broth only for the last 18 minutes and serve straight away; left to sit, it drinks up the broth and turns soft.

80 min

Mexican Soups

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Caldo de piedraFish and tomato stone soup

Caldo de piedra comes from San Felipe Usila in the Chinantla of northern Oaxaca, where Chinantec men cook it by the river: fish, tomato, chilli and epazote go into a gourd bowl of water and red-hot river stones are dropped in to bring it to a fierce boil in seconds. It is eaten as a celebration and every year at a festival in the village. Heating stones at home is dangerous (wet or porous stones can crack or burst), so this version brings a heavy pot to a hard boil first and cooks the fish just as briefly. A portion gives about 38 g of protein, from the fish and prawns, for roughly 260 kcal. The common mistake is letting the fish boil on: it is done in 3–4 minutes, when it turns opaque and flakes, and after that it falls apart. Chef's tip: blend the tomato, onion and chilli raw; the broth tastes fresh and sharp, closer to the riverside original than a cooked sauce.

40 min

Mexican Fish

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Pescado empapeladoFish baked in paper parcel

Along the Gulf coast of Veracruz, pescado empapelado is a weekday lunch and a Lenten Friday favourite: a fillet of snapper or other white fish is sealed in paper or foil with tomato, onion, peppers, olives, capers and herbs, then baked so it steams in its own juices. Each person opens their own fragrant parcel at the table. A portion gives about 32 g of protein, from the fish, for around 250 kcal. The common mistake is a loose parcel: if the edges aren't crimped tightly the steam escapes and the fish bakes dry, so fold and pinch the edges all the way round. The fish is done when it is opaque and flakes easily at the thickest point (63 °C). Chef's tip: slice the vegetables thinly and lay them under the fish as well as on top; they cook in the same 15 minutes and keep the fillet off the hot paper.

30 min

Mexican Fish

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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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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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Pescado al mojo de ajoGarlic butter fried fish

Along the Gulf coast, from the port of Veracruz to the beach restaurants of Boca del Río, pescado al mojo de ajo is the everyday fish order: firm white fillets fried and spooned over with a butter-and-oil sauce full of slowly golden garlic, a squeeze of lime and a little chile. It is served at lunchtime with white rice, a green salad and warm tortillas to mop the plate. The mistake that ruins it is rushing the garlic over a high heat: it should turn pale gold slowly, because burnt garlic is bitter and cannot be saved. Chef's tip: cook the garlic first and keep it aside, then fry the fish in the same flavoured fat, so the slices stay sweet and crisp instead of scorching while the fish cooks.

25 min

Mexican Fish

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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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Huevos al albañil (bricklayer's eggs)

Huevos al albañil, 'bricklayer's eggs', come from the fondas and food stalls of central Mexico that feed builders a filling breakfast before the sun gets hot: scrambled eggs cooked gently and then bathed in a spicy salsa of charred tomato and serrano chile. They are eaten with warm corn tortillas and refried beans, and they make an equally good quick dinner. The mistake is cooking the eggs fully before they meet the salsa; they keep cooking in it and end up dry and rubbery. Chef's tip: char the tomatoes and chiles until properly blackened in spots, which gives the salsa its smoky depth.

20 min

Mexican Breakfast & Brunch

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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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CoricosCornmeal cinnamon ring cookies

Coricos come from Sonora in Mexico's northwest, where maize has always been ground for more than tortillas. They are rings of sweet corn dough flavoured with cinnamon, baked until golden: firm and a little crunchy on the outside, with the slightly gritty, toasty taste of corn inside. Families make them by the dozen for coffee in the afternoon and for visitors, and Sonoran panaderías sell them in plastic bags by the counter. They are traditionally made with lard; this recipe uses butter (vegetable shortening works too), so they are vegetarian. A little wheat flour keeps the rings from cracking. Chef's tip: if the ropes split when you join them into rings, the dough is too dry; work in milk a teaspoon at a time until it bends without breaking.

43 min

Mexican Baking

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Moroccan bachkoutouOrange and sesame dunking biscuits

Moroccan grandmothers bake bachkoutou by the trayful and keep them in big tins for the afternoon glass of sweet mint tea, and neighbourhood ovens in Fes and Casablanca bake them for families who bring their dough. These are dry, crunchy little biscuits, not rich at all, made with eggs, sugar and oil rather than butter, with orange zest and a coating of toasted sesame; they are meant to be dunked until they soften slightly. Shapes vary from town to town: fingers, rings and rope twists are all common, and some cooks add aniseed. Too much flour is the easy mistake: the dough should stay soft and slightly sticky, or the biscuits bake heavy and hard rather than crisp and light. Chef's tip: once they are cold, put them back in a warm, switched-off oven for 20 minutes; that extra drying is what makes them keep their snap for weeks.

38 min

Moroccan 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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Papas a la mexicanaPotatoes with tomato and chile

Papas a la mexicana carry the colours of the flag, red tomato, white onion and green chile, and they are cooked in kitchens all over Mexico as a taco filling, a breakfast side or a cheap supper with beans and tortillas. The potatoes are fried until golden at the edges, then folded with a quick sofrito so they soak up the fresh, spicy juices. The usual mistake is adding the tomato before the potatoes are cooked through, which leaves them hard in the middle and stewing rather than frying. Chef's tip: parboil the diced potatoes for 4 minutes first; they fry to a crisp edge in half the time.

28 min

Mexican Vegetarian

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Pay de quesoCreamy cheesecake

Mexican cafés, school bake sales and Sunday family lunches all have a pay de queso, the country's own take on cheesecake. Cream cheese, condensed milk and evaporated milk are whizzed in a blender with eggs and vanilla, poured onto a crust of crushed plain tea biscuits and baked into a dense, creamy slice with a caramel note from the condensed milk. Serve it chilled with coffee, or with strawberries or a spoon of cajeta on top for a party. The usual mistake is blending at full speed for too long, which whips in air and makes the top rise and crack. Chef's tip: blend on low just until smooth, then tap the filled tin on the worktop a few times to bring big bubbles to the surface.

90 min

Mexican Baking

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CampechanasFlaky sweet pastries with sugar top

Campechanas take their name from the port of Campeche, but now they shatter all over the coffee tables of Mexico City and Veracruz: oval, paper-thin layers of dough with a glossy, caramelised sugar crust that cracks as you bite. Mexicans buy them in the evening from the panadería, along with conchas, to dunk in café de olla or hot chocolate. They are traditionally made with lard; this version uses vegetable shortening, which gives the same light flakiness and keeps them vegan. Butter also works but browns faster. The trap is a timid oven: below full heat the sugar stays grainy and white instead of turning to glass. Chef's tip: press the sugar firmly into the top before baking so it melts into an even shiny layer.

180 min

Mexican Baking

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HojarascasCinnamon sugar crumble cookies

At weddings, quinceañeras and Christmas gatherings in Nuevo León and Coahuila, someone always brings a platter of hojarascas, the name meaning 'fallen leaves' because they crumble as lightly as dry leaves underfoot. The cookies are short and sandy, spiced with cinnamon, and rolled while warm in more cinnamon sugar so they look frosted. Monterrey families serve them with café de olla or hot champurrado. They are traditionally made with lard; this version uses vegetable shortening, which gives the same tender crumb and makes them vegan, or you can use butter for a richer taste. Overworking the dough once the flour is in is the classic mistake, because it develops gluten and makes them tough. Chef's tip: steep a cinnamon stick in the water first and use that tea to bind the dough, which doubles the spice flavour without bitterness.

40 min

Mexican Baking

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Caldo de queso sonorense (Sonoran cheese soup)

In Hermosillo and across Sonora, caldo de queso is the soup cooked on cool desert evenings: a light tomato broth with potato and strips of roasted green Anaheim chile, poured over cubes of fresh cheese that soften into chewy, milky pieces in the bowl. It is eaten with flour tortillas, Sonora's own, and a squeeze of lime. The common mistake is boiling the cheese in the pot, where it melts into strings and sticks to the bottom; add it at the end, off the boil. Queso fresco and Oaxaca cheese are often made with animal rennet, so look for a vegetarian queso fresco, or use paneer, which keeps its shape the same way. Chef's tip: blister the chiles in a dry pan until black, then sweat them in a bowl under a plate for 5 minutes and the skins slip off.

30 min

Mexican Soups

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Tortitas de calabacita (courgette and cheese fritters)

Tortitas de calabacita are a Lenten and everyday favourite in Mexican homes from Puebla to Jalisco: grated courgette, crumbled cheese and egg fried into soft little cakes, then served with a warm, thin tomato salsa spooned over, plus rice and beans. They make a meatless Friday dinner that children happily eat. The mistake is crowding the pan, which drops the oil temperature and leaves the fritters greasy and pale; fry in batches. The fresh cheeses often used are made with animal rennet, so choose a vegetarian queso fresco or a vegetarian mild Cheddar. Chef's tip: let the batter rest 2 minutes after adding the flour so it thickens and holds together in the pan.

27 min

Mexican Vegetarian

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