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250 recipes

Mâncare de mazăreStewed green peas

In Romanian homes from Bucharest to the villages of Moldavia, mâncare de mazăre is a weekday lunch all year and a mainstay of the Orthodox fasting days, when the table is meat-free; it is eaten with mămăligă (polenta) or bread and a pickle or two. Peas simmer gently with soft onion and carrot in a light tomato sauce, and a handful of dill goes in at the end. A portion gives about 14 g of protein from the peas, so it isn't a high-protein dish on its own; serve it with polenta and a chunk of bread, or a fried egg on top if you eat eggs. The most common mistake is boiling the peas for too long, which turns them khaki and mushy. Chef's tip: thicken the sauce with a teaspoon of flour fried in the oil before the tomato goes in, as Romanian cooks do, or leave it out to keep the dish gluten free.

40 minRomanianVegetarianVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

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 minAustrianBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

SaleuriCheese pastry sticks

Set out on a platter at Romanian name-day parties, christenings and New Year's Eve, saleuri are the salty sticks people nibble with a glass of something before the sarmale arrive. The pastry is short and flaky from cold butter and sour cream, with grated cheese worked through it and more cheese, caraway and sesame pressed on top. Older village recipes were often made with lard; this version uses butter. They are best the day they are baked but keep crisp in a tin for three or four days, and they go well with a bowl of olives or a cold beer. The top is brushed with beaten egg; milk works instead if you want them egg-free on the outside. Chef's tip: cut the strips with a pizza wheel and leave them lying where they are on the tray, rather than lifting each one, so they stay straight; warm, overworked dough is the usual mistake, and it bakes up tough instead of flaky.

45 minRomanianBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Lenja pitaGrated apple pie

The name means 'lazy pie', and that is the point: unlike the paper-thin pies of Serbia and Bosnia, lenja pita needs no stretching of filo, just two sheets of soft short pastry and a thick layer of grated apple with cinnamon. Home cooks in Belgrade and Sarajevo make a tray of it on autumn weekends, for name days and slava visits, and cut it into squares dusted with icing sugar to serve with Turkish-style coffee. The pastry is tender and crumbly, the apple soft, sweet and sharp. Putting the grated apple straight onto the pastry is the error to avoid: it floods the base, so squeeze it and cook it down first. Chef's tip: mix sour and sweet apples and leave the skins on a few of them for more flavour.

75 minBalkanBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

SomunDimpled flatbread

During Ramadan in Sarajevo, queues form outside the Baščaršija bakeries in the last hour before iftar, everyone waiting for somun still warm from the oven. It is a round, pale flatbread about three fingers thick, with a crust so thin it barely crackles and a soft, airy middle, and a criss-cross grid pressed into the top. All year it is split and stuffed with ćevapi and onions at the grill houses; for a meat-free plate, fill it with kajmak, roasted peppers and ajvar or grilled vegetables. Somun should stay pale: leave it in the oven until it is brown and the crust turns hard, which is the commonest mistake. Chef's tip: wrap the loaves in a clean tea towel the moment they come out; the trapped steam softens the crust to that typical pillowy finish.

140 minBalkanBreads & ParathasVegan
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Mucenici moldoveneștiHoney and walnut sweet breads

On 9 March, the feast of the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste, households in Romanian Moldavia bake forty of these little figure-eight breads, take some to church and give the rest to neighbours; the day also marks the start of the farming year. The shape is read as a stylised human figure, or as the number eight. They come out soft and golden, then are brushed while hot with honey syrup and rolled in chopped walnuts, so they turn sticky and fragrant. Serve them with tea or a glass of milk. Some cooks add a few drops of rum essence to the syrup; vanilla does the job here. Glazing them once they have cooled is a common slip: the syrup only soaks in properly while the breads are hot. Chef's tip: twist each rope loosely before shaping the eight, so the bread has ridges to catch the walnuts.

147 minRomanianBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Kärntner ReindlingCinnamon raisin yeast cake

Carinthia's Easter loaf takes its name from the Reindl, the round, deep pan it is baked in, and in southern Austria no Easter basket goes to church without one. Inside the golden yeast crust is a spiral of butter, cinnamon sugar and plump raisins, so every slice shows a dark swirl. Locals eat it two ways: sweet with coffee on Easter morning, or alongside the savoury Easter platter with horseradish. Many bakers soak the raisins in rum overnight; warm water or tea works just as well and keeps it alcohol-free. A dry, crumbly Reindling usually means too much flour went in during kneading, so keep the dough soft and only lightly floured. Chef's tip: butter the pan well and dust it with sugar, which caramelises into a thin crunchy shell.

180 minAustrianBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

ErdäpfelstrudelSavoury potato strudel

Austrians, especially in the Mühlviertel of Upper Austria and the Waldviertel, make savoury strudels as often as sweet ones, and Erdäpfelstrudel is a farmhouse favourite for a meatless Friday or a cold evening. Thin pastry wraps a filling of potatoes, fried onion, sour cream, marjoram and parsley, baked until crisp and golden and sliced with a green salad or a dill and sour-cream dip. Bought filo makes it easy at home. The mistake to avoid is a wet filling, which turns the pastry soggy underneath. Chef's tip: cool the filling completely before rolling; warm filling makes the layers stick and tear.

90 minAustrianVegetarian
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.

30 minParaguayanSnacks & StartersGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

PetullaFried dough fritters

In Albania and Kosovo, petulla are fried on weekend mornings and for family celebrations: a very soft, wet yeast dough is pulled into rough rounds with oiled hands and dropped into hot oil, where it puffs into golden, airy fritters. They are eaten hot with feta-style cheese, jam, honey or a dusting of sugar, alongside tea or coffee. The common mistake is adding flour until the dough is firm and easy to handle; it should be almost too wet to hold, which is what makes petulla light and hollow. Chef's tip: keep a bowl of oil beside the pan and dip your fingers in it before each fritter, so the sticky dough slides off your hand and stretches thin.

35 minBalkanBreakfast & BrunchVegan
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.

40 minParaguayanDessertsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

ZlevankaBaked cornmeal and buttermilk cake

Zlevanka, from the Slovenian for 'poured', is a farmhouse batter cake from the Prekmurje and Štajerska regions, poured into a tin and baked for breakfast, then cut into squares and eaten with a big cup of milky white coffee. This sweet version is made with cornmeal and buttermilk, which give it a soft, moist, slightly crumbly crumb with a golden crust; some families add fruit on top. The common mistake is overmixing the batter once the flour goes in, which makes it tough; stir only until combined. Chef's tip: soak the cornmeal in the buttermilk for 15 minutes before mixing, so it softens and the cake isn't gritty.

50 minBalkanBaking
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.

35 minParaguayanPasta & Noodles
by KrazyBadal 0 views

TokashMilk bread buns

Tokash are the soft, round milk breads Kazakh families bake for breakfast and for the dastarkhan, the generous tea table set for guests in Almaty and the steppe villages. Traditionally they were baked in a cast-iron kazan or a tandyr; at home a round cake tin gives the same pull-apart loaf. They are eaten with butter, jam, kaymak cream and milky tea. The mistake is too much flour: the dough should stay soft and slightly tacky, or the buns turn dry. Allow about 2 hours with rising. Chef's tip: brush the buns with warm milk as they come out of the oven and cover them with a cloth; the crust softens beautifully.

55 minKazakhBreads & Parathas
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.

45 minParaguayanSidesGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

PasuljWhite bean soup

Pasulj is the beloved bean soup of Serbia, served in Belgrade's old taverns and in army and school canteens, and especially on Thursdays and cold weekends. Usually it is cooked with smoked pork ribs or bacon; this vegetarian version gets its smoky depth from smoked paprika instead, and it is the version cooked on Orthodox fasting days. White beans simmer slowly with onion, carrot, bay and paprika until creamy and thick enough to stand a spoon in. Eat it with bread and pickled peppers. Suitable as part of a balanced diet. About 310 kcal and 40 g carbohydrate per portion. The usual mistake is thickening with too much flour roux; mashing some beans gives the same body and keeps it gluten free. Pressure cooker option: 25 minutes at pressure. Chef's tip: change the water after the first boil, as Serbian cooks do, for a softer, gentler soup.

130 minBalkanSoupsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 1 views

BrudetFisherman's fish stew

Brudet (or brodetto) is the fisherman's stew of the Dalmatian coast and islands, cooked in Split, Hvar and Korčula with whatever the morning's catch brings, and eaten for Friday lunch and summer suppers. Thick fish steaks on the bone stew slowly in olive oil with onion, garlic, tomato and a dash of wine vinegar, and the pot is shaken, never stirred. It is high in protein and suitable as part of a balanced diet; polenta is the classic partner, but grilled courgettes, chard or a small portion of soft polenta keep the carbohydrate down. About 330 kcal and 10 g carbohydrate per portion. The usual mistake is stirring with a spoon, which breaks the fish into shreds. Chef's tip: use at least three kinds of fish, mixing firm and softer ones, for a deeper broth.

60 minBalkanFishGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Mâncare de dovleceiStewed courgettes

In Romanian homes, from Moldova to Oltenia, mâncare de dovlecei is the summer stew made when the garden is full of courgettes, and it fills a pot on fasting days when Orthodox families eat no animal products. Courgettes are cooked down slowly with onion, peppers and tomato until soft and sweet, then finished with a fistful of dill and garlic. Eat it warm or at room temperature with bread or a slice of mămăligă. The usual mistake is adding too much liquid: courgettes release their own water, and a watery pot loses its flavour. Chef's tip: let the onion and pepper soften properly before the courgettes go in; that sweetness is what seasons the whole stew.

40 minRomanianVegetarianVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Mămăligă cu laptePolenta with milk

In the villages of Romanian Moldavia, mămăligă cu lapte is the simplest country breakfast or supper: a firm mămăligă (cornmeal mush) is turned out, cut into cubes and dropped into bowls of milk, warm in winter and cold from the cellar in summer. The soft, sweet corn soaks up the milk like a homely cereal. The mistake is making the mămăligă too soft; it has to be firm enough to cut with a thread or knife, or it melts away in the milk. Chef's tip: add the cornmeal in a thin rain while whisking, then switch to a wooden spoon once it thickens, and you will never get lumps.

30 minRomanianBreakfast & BrunchGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Socată (elderflower fizz)

In late May and early June, when elder bushes bloom white along every Romanian village lane and riverbank, grandmothers fill big glass jars with water, sugar, lemon slices and elderflower heads and set them on a sunny windowsill or balcony. Three or four days later the jar is fizzing gently and socată, the most beloved summer drink of rural Romania, is bottled and chilled for haymaking days, family lunches and long evenings in the courtyard. It is sweet and floral, like honeyed lemonade with the scent of muscat grapes, with a light natural sparkle. Like all young ferments it makes a trace of alcohol, well under 1% if drunk within a week. The common mistake is washing the flowers or picking them after rain: the pollen and wild yeast that start the fermentation are rinsed away and nothing happens. Pick dry, fully open heads on a sunny morning and just shake off insects. It is ready to strain when fine bubbles rise steadily and it smells floral and slightly tangy. Use only the flowers: elder stems, leaves and unripe berries are toxic. Chef's tip: a few raisins in the jar give the yeast a boost if your flowers are slow.

20 minRomanianDrinksVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Dulceață de nuci verziCandied green walnuts

Around Sânziene in late June, families in Moldavia and Transylvania climb the walnut trees to gather nuts that are still green and soft, before the shell has begun to form. A week of patient work follows: peeling, pricking and soaking in water changed morning and evening until the harsh bitterness leaches out, then slow simmering in a syrup scented with cloves and lemon until the nuts turn glossy black. The finished dulceață is offered the old way, one walnut on a small glass saucer with a teaspoon and a glass of cold water for a visitor, or with coffee on a winter afternoon. Each nut is tender all the way through with a faint crunch at the heart, tasting of caramel, cloves and something resinous and bittersweet. The decisive mistake is picking too late: if a darning needle no longer slides easily through the centre, the shell is hardening and the nuts will stay woody whatever you do. The syrup is done when a drop holds its shape on a cold plate. Chef's tip: wear gloves for every stage, as green walnut juice stains skin brown-black for days.

175 minRomanianDessertsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Ciulama de ciuperciMushrooms in white sauce

Ciulama is a white, velvety sauce stew from Moldova and Muntenia, and the mushroom version is cooked in autumn when wild mushrooms come down from the Carpathians, or any time with cultivated ones. Mushrooms are sautéed with onion, then simmered in a light roux of butter, flour and milk until thick and creamy, and finished with dill and garlic. It is served with a mound of hot mămăligă (cornmeal mash) and sometimes a spoon of sour cream. The usual mistake is adding the milk to a cold, raw roux, which leaves the sauce lumpy and floury. Chef's tip: let the mushrooms brown before the flour goes in; golden mushrooms give a much deeper flavour than pale, steamed ones.

35 minRomanianVegetarian
by KrazyBadal 0 views

LakrorLeek and cheese pie

Lakror comes from the south of Albania, around Korçë, where it was baked in a round copper tray under a saç, a domed iron lid heaped with embers, and eaten for breakfast or carried to the fields. Thin rounds of homemade dough are layered with oil, then filled with leeks, onions and cheese, giving a pie that is crisp at the top and soft inside. At home, a very hot oven stands in for the saç. The common mistake is rolling the dough too thick: each round should be thin enough to see your hand through, or the layers stay doughy. Chef's tip: rest the dough balls for 30 minutes after kneading; relaxed dough rolls out thin without shrinking back.

100 minBalkanBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

GhiveciBaked mixed vegetable stew

Ghiveci is the Romanian answer to a late-summer glut, made in August and September and often bottled for winter, and it is a mainstay on Orthodox fasting days because it contains no animal products. Aubergine, peppers, courgette, green beans, carrots and onion are layered with tomato and herbs and baked slowly until soft and sweet, with a little browned crust on top. Serve warm or cold with bread, or beside beans. Suitable as part of a balanced diet. About 190 kcal and 20 g carbohydrate per portion. The usual mistake is cutting the vegetables all the same size: harder carrots and beans need smaller pieces than courgette and aubergine so everything is tender at once. Chef's tip: bake uncovered for the last 20 minutes so the juices reduce and the top caramelises.

95 minRomanianVegetarianVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

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