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571 recipes

Sopa criollaCreamy beef noodle soup

Sopa criolla is the soup Lima turns to on grey winter evenings, when the garúa mist hangs over the city: a beef broth reddened with ají panca, full of thin noodles and strips of beef, enriched with evaporated milk and finished with a poached egg. It arrives with toasted bread for dunking. The common mistake is boiling the soup after adding the milk; it splits into specks. Lower the heat first and stir it in gently. The beef strips are thin, so they cook through in a few minutes. Chef's tip: crack the eggs straight into the barely simmering soup and leave them alone for three minutes; the whites set into soft ribbons that thicken the broth.

45 min

Peruvian Soups

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Ceviche peruanoLime-cured white fish

Ceviche is Peru's national dish, eaten at lunchtime in the cevicherías of Lima's Surquillo and Chorrillos markets, because the fish must be fresh off the morning boats and cevicherías traditionally close in the afternoon. The classic is raw white fish 'cooked' in lime juice with red onion, chilli and coriander, served with sweet potato and corn. Lime juice does not kill bacteria or parasites, so this version first poaches the fish for a minute until just opaque, then dresses it, which keeps the classic flavour and texture far safer. Even so, it is not for pregnant women, young children or anyone with a weakened immune system. The usual mistake is leaving the fish in the lime for an hour: it turns chalky and the juice goes bitter. Chef's tip: squeeze the limes gently by hand and stop before the pith; over-squeezed limes make bitter leche de tigre.

40 min

Peruvian Fish

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Bife de chorizoGrilled sirloin steak with chimichurri

Bife de chorizo, despite the name, has nothing to do with sausage: it is the thick sirloin (strip loin) steak that every parrilla in Buenos Aires grills, from the steakhouses of Palermo to the roadside grills of the pampas, and it is the Saturday-night order for anyone who wants beef and nothing else. It is cut at least 3 cm thick, seasoned only with coarse salt and grilled over hot embers, then served with chimichurri and a simple tomato and onion salad. The common mistake is cooking it straight from the fridge and turning it constantly; it greys outside and stays raw in the middle. Bring it to room temperature for 30 minutes and turn it only once. Chef's tip: salt the steak with coarse salt only just before it goes on the grill, and cut into it only after a 5-minute rest.

55 min

Argentinian Meat

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Pescado a lo machoFried fish in spicy seafood sauce

Pescado a lo macho is a classic of Lima's seafood restaurants, the dish people order for a long Sunday lunch near the sea in Chorrillos: a fillet of fried white fish smothered in a thick, spicy sauce of ají panca and ají amarillo packed with prawns, squid and mussels. The name boasts that you need to be brave for the chilli, but you can turn it down. The common mistake is overcooking the seafood while the sauce reduces; add it only when the sauce is already thick. Discard mussels that are open and do not close when tapped, and any that stay shut after cooking. Chef's tip: dust the fish in flour seasoned with cumin and fry it last, so it reaches the table crisp under the sauce.

55 min

Peruvian Fish

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Pizza de muzzarellaThick-crust mozzarella pizza

The pizza de muzzarella, or simply muzza, is the pride of Buenos Aires' old pizzerías along Avenida Corrientes, eaten standing at the counter after the theatre, often with a slice of fainá on top. Unlike a Neapolitan pizza it has a thick, soft, bready base baked in a round metal pan, a thin smear of oregano tomato sauce and a deep layer of mozzarella that bubbles and browns, finished with green olives. The common mistake is using fresh mozzarella balls: they release water and the pizza swims. Use firm, low-moisture mozzarella grated or sliced thick. Many mozzarellas use animal rennet; choose a vegetarian one if you prefer. Chef's tip: give the dough a second rise in the oiled pan, so the base bakes airy inside and fried-crisp underneath.

45 min

Argentinian Pizza

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Canelones de verduraSpinach and ricotta crêpe cannelloni

In Argentina, Sunday lunch at the nonna's house in Rosario or Buenos Aires often means canelones, a legacy of Italian immigrants made the Río de la Plata way: thin crêpes instead of pasta tubes, rolled around chard and ricotta, then baked under tomato sauce and béchamel. They are often served on the 29th of the month or for Christmas too. The common mistake is thick crêpes: they turn stodgy. The batter should be as thin as single cream and the pancakes almost see-through. Hard cheeses are usually made with animal rennet; use a vegetarian hard cheese if you prefer. Chef's tip: roll the canelones and chill them for an hour before saucing; they hold their shape better in the oven.

80 min

Argentinian Vegetarian

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Tamales peruanosChicken corn tamales in banana leaf

In Lima, tamales are a Sunday breakfast, bought warm from street vendors calling 'tamaleeeeros' or made at home for Christmas, and eaten with crusty bread and a pile of salsa criolla. Peruvian tamales are larger and softer than Mexican ones, made from corn dough coloured with ají and wrapped in banana leaves, hiding chicken, a black olive, a slice of egg and a peanut. Peanuts are an allergen, so leave them out if needed. The usual mistake is a dry dough: the tamales turn crumbly. Beat in enough warm stock to make a soft paste that just holds its shape. The chicken must reach 74 °C before it goes in. Chef's tip: fat makes the dough tender; beat the oil and dough for a full 5 minutes until light, as Lima cooks do with pork lard.

150 min

Peruvian Chicken

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Arroz tapadoRice dome with beef filling

Arroz tapado means covered rice, and it is the thrifty weekday lunch of Lima homes and school canteens: garlic rice pressed into a bowl, filled with a sweet-savoury beef mince and turned out like a dome. The filling of minced beef with onion, ají panca, raisins, black olives and hard-boiled egg is the same picadillo that goes into papas rellenas. The usual mistake is leaving the filling wet: the dome collapses and the rice turns soggy. Simmer it until the pan is almost dry. Minced beef must reach 71 °C, so cook it until no pink remains. Serve with a spoonful of salsa criolla. Chef's tip: brush the bowl with a little oil and pack the rice firmly with the back of a spoon; a well-pressed dome holds its shape on the plate.

60 min

Peruvian Meat

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Lomo saltadoBeef stir-fry with chips

Lomo saltado was born in the chifas of central Lima, where Chinese cooks met Peruvian ingredients, and today it is the lunch every Peruvian family makes when they want something fast and a little indulgent. Strips of beef are seared in a smoking-hot wok with red onion, tomato and yellow chilli, splashed with soy sauce and vinegar, then tossed with chips and served beside white rice, so you get both starches on one plate. The common mistake is crowding the wok: the beef stews in its juices and turns grey and chewy instead of charring. Cook it in two batches over the highest heat you have. Chef's tip: add the chips at the very last second, or serve them on the side, so they soak up a little sauce but stay crisp.

45 min

Peruvian Meat

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Tarta pascualinaSpinach and egg pie

Tarta pascualina came to Buenos Aires and Montevideo with Ligurian immigrants, and it is still baked for Easter (Pascua, hence the name), though most porteños now buy or make it any weekday for a light supper with a tomato salad. A crisp, olive-oil crust holds chard or spinach bound with ricotta and cheese, with whole eggs baked into hollows so every slice shows a ring of yolk. The usual mistake is not squeezing the greens: the filling floods and the base goes soggy. Wring them in a clean tea towel until no more water drips. Hard cheeses such as Parmesan are usually made with animal rennet; use a vegetarian hard cheese if you prefer. Chef's tip: bake the tart on the lowest shelf on a hot baking sheet so the bottom crust browns as well as the top.

90 min

Argentinian Vegetarian

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Arroz con mariscosSeafood rice

Arroz con mariscos is the weekend dish of Callao and the beach towns south of Lima, served in cevicherías as the hot partner to a cold ceviche. It is moister than a paella, closer to a risotto, coloured with ají panca and ají amarillo and finished with peas and a little Parmesan-style cheese, as many Lima cooks do. The common mistake is adding all the seafood at the start: the squid turns rubbery and the prawns shrink to nothing. Cook the rice first and add the shellfish only for the final minutes. Discard any mussels that are open before cooking and do not close when tapped, and any that stay shut after cooking. The cheese is often made with animal rennet; use a vegetarian hard cheese if you prefer. Chef's tip: simmer the prawn shells in the stock for 10 minutes; they give the rice its deep seafood taste.

60 min

Peruvian Fish

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Crema volteadaBaked caramel custard

In Lima, crema volteada is the dessert that appears at Sunday lunch in Miraflores and Barranco homes and at every birthday where an aunt is in charge of the sweets. It is firmer and richer than a Spanish flan because it is made with both evaporated and condensed milk, so it slices cleanly and tastes of toffee. The usual mistake is baking it in an oven that is too hot: the custard boils, fills with tiny holes and weeps. Keep the water bath at a bare simmer and take it out while the centre still wobbles slightly. Chef's tip: chill it overnight before turning it out; a cold custard releases in one piece and the caramel has time to melt into a pourable sauce.

80 min

Peruvian Desserts

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Tostado de jamón y quesoPressed ham and cheese sandwich

The tostado is what Buenos Aires orders in a café at merienda or as a light late dinner, and what Uruguayan kids get made at home: thin crustless pan de miga layered with cooked pork ham and mild cheese, buttered outside and pressed until crisp and oozing. The common mistake is too much filling; this sandwich is meant to be thin, so the cheese melts before the bread burns. Chef's tip: if you have no sandwich press, weigh it down in the pan with a second heavy pan so it toasts flat and even.

9 min

Argentinian Fast Food

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GrießbreiSemolina porridge

Grießbrei is the soft, sweet semolina pudding that German and Austrian families from Bavaria to Vienna eat warm as a light supper on cold evenings, especially when children are tired or someone is under the weather. Semolina is rained into hot milk and stirred until thick and velvety, then topped with cinnamon sugar, a knob of butter or stewed fruit. The classic mistake is tipping the semolina in all at once, which makes lumps that never smooth out. Chef's tip: take it off the heat while it still looks a little runny, because it keeps thickening on the plate.

10 min

German Breakfast & Brunch

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GarbaCassava couscous with fried tuna

Garba is the cheap, filling lunch and evening meal of Abidjan's street stalls, the garbadromes, where students and taxi drivers queue for a heap of steamed attiéké (fermented cassava couscous) with chunks of fried tuna, raw onion, tomato and a fierce dose of chilli, all eaten with the fingers. Using ready frozen or packaged attiéké makes it a 15-minute dinner at home. The common mistake is frying the tuna in small batches in barely any oil, so it steams grey instead of browning. Chef's tip: pour a spoon of the hot frying oil over the attiéké before serving, as the garba sellers do; it is what makes it taste right.

15 min

Ivorian Fish

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Pan con butifarraHam roll with onion salsa

Pan con butifarra is Lima's evening sandwich, sold in old-school sangucherías and made at home for a light dinner with coffee: a crusty roll filled with jamón del país, a spiced Peruvian pork ham, under a heap of salsa criolla, red onion sliced thin and soaked in lime with chilli. Outside Peru, use a good cooked pork ham. The common mistake is leaving the onion harsh; give it a quick rinse in salted water before dressing it. Chef's tip: a leaf of lettuce under the ham stops the lime juice soaking straight into the bread.

10 min

Peruvian Meat

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TripleAvocado, tomato and egg sandwich

The triple is the soft, layered sandwich of Lima's cafés and bakeries, eaten at lonche, the Peruvian late-afternoon meal, or as a light supper: three slices of crustless white bread layered with avocado, tomato and sliced hard-boiled egg, all held together with mayonnaise. It looks neat, tastes fresh and is loved by children. Shop-bought mayonnaise is made with pasteurised egg, so it is safe for everyone. The common mistake is letting wet tomato touch the bread, which turns it soggy within minutes. Chef's tip: pat the tomato dry and sit it between the avocado and egg, then press the sandwich under a board for a minute before cutting.

15 min

Peruvian Snacks & Starters

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Revuelto de zapallitosCourgettes scrambled with egg and cheese

Revuelto de zapallitos is a weeknight dinner in Buenos Aires homes and all over Argentina in summer, when the little round courgettes called zapallitos are cheap: diced courgette and onion cooked down in oil, scrambled with eggs and finished with grated cheese. It is eaten with bread or as a side to a salad. Grated hard cheese like reggianito or Parmesan is usually made with animal rennet, so use a vegetarian hard cheese for a vegetarian dinner. The common mistake is adding the eggs before the courgettes have given up their water, which turns the scramble wet and grey. Chef's tip: salt the courgettes as they go in, so they release their juice early and it cooks away.

15 min

Argentinian Vegetarian

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PflaumenmusOven-baked plum butter

When the late damson plums (Zwetschgen) ripen in September, German kitchens fill trays with them for Pflaumenmus, and jars of it stand on the decorated altar at Erntedank, the harvest thanksgiving in early October. Unlike jam, it uses little sugar and no pectin: the halved plums are baked slowly, uncovered, until they collapse and darken into a thick, almost black spread that tastes of plums and spice rather than sugar. Spread it on rye bread with butter, fill Dampfnudeln with it or stir a spoonful into quark. Chef's tip: bake it in the widest roasting tin you have, because the more surface, the faster the water steams off.

330 min

German Chutneys & Dips

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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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MartinsgansRoast goose with red cabbage

On 11 November, St Martin's Day, children in Germany and Austria walk in lantern processions, and families and restaurants serve the Martinsgans: a goose roasted slowly with apples, onion and mugwort or marjoram until the skin is crisp and the meat tender, with red cabbage, potato dumplings and a rich gravy. Legend says the geese's cackling gave away St Martin when he hid to avoid being made bishop. Goose gives off a lot of fat; save it for roast potatoes. Chef's tip: prick the skin all over (not the meat) and roast on a rack so the fat drains and the skin crisps.

270 min

German Meat

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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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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

German Baking

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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

German 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

German Desserts

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FliederbeersuppeElderberry soup with dumplings

In northern Germany, from Hamburg to Schleswig-Holstein, the elder bushes hang heavy with black berries in late summer, and a bowl of hot Fliederbeersuppe is a harvest-time comfort around Erntedank, said to keep colds away for the winter. The dark purple soup is sweet and tart, with pieces of apple and little fluffy semolina dumplings (Grießklößchen) floating on top. It is eaten as a first course or a light supper, hot in autumn and sometimes cold in summer. Important: elderberries must be fully ripe, stripped from every stem and always cooked, as raw berries, stems and leaves can make you sick. Chef's tip: strip the berries with a fork straight into a bowl; it is quick and leaves the green stems behind.

60 min

German 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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Sopa teólogaTurkey broth with bread and cheese

Sopa teóloga ('the theologian's soup') goes back to colonial convents in Lima and Arequipa, where it was cooked for feast days, and it is still served at Holy Week and family celebrations. A rich turkey (or chicken) broth is thickened with soaked bread, milk and fresh cheese, with yellow potatoes and shreds of turkey, and finished with a little ají amarillo and chopped huacatay or parsley. It is thick, comforting and filling. Chef's tip: blend part of the soaked bread with broth before adding it, which gives the soup its creamy body without lumps.

115 min

Peruvian Soups

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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

Paraguayan Breads & Parathas

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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

German Baking

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Lengua a la vinagretaBeef tongue with vinaigrette

Argentina's Nochebuena is a hot summer night, so the table is full of cold dishes, and lengua a la vinagreta is one of the classics: beef tongue simmered until tender, peeled, sliced and covered with a sharp vinaigrette of parsley, garlic, red pepper, onion and chopped hard-boiled egg. It is made a day ahead and served chilled with vitel toné and Russian salad. Chef's tip: peel the tongue while it is still hot, as the skin comes away easily then and clings once it cools.

210 min

Argentinian Meat

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Pajagua mascadaBeef and cassava patties

Pajagua mascada is a Paraguayan street-food classic that appears on every table for the San Juan festival on 24 June, when bonfires burn and the night is full of games and traditional food. Minced beef is mixed with mashed cassava, onion, garlic and a little egg and flour, shaped into flat patties and fried until crisp. The name comes from Guaraní and refers to the 'chewing' of old Paraguayan cooks, who made it from leftover meat. Chef's tip: dry the boiled cassava well and remove its woody core, which keeps the patties light and crunchy.

60 min

Paraguayan Meat

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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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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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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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HeringssalatPickled herring and beetroot salad

When the carnival ends in the Rhineland and northern Germany, Ash Wednesday brings the Heringsessen, a herring meal shared in pubs and homes to mark the start of the Lenten fast. This rosy salad mixes diced pickled herring with beetroot, apple, gherkin and boiled potato in a creamy yogurt-mayonnaise dressing, and is served with rye bread. Use pickled herring bought ready-made in jars from the chiller, which has been commercially cured, and keep the salad in the fridge. Pickled and cured fish is not cooked, so it is not for pregnant women, young children or anyone with a weakened immune system; for a safer version use hot-smoked mackerel or cooked fish. The common mistake is dressing the salad while the potatoes are hot, which turns it mushy. Chef's tip: make it the day before; the flavours deepen overnight.

55 min

German Salads

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SchwenkbratenMarinated grilled pork neck steaks

Schwenkbraten is the pride of the Saarland, where every village fair, football club party and summer Kirmes has a Schwenker: a round grill hung from a tripod and swung gently over a beech-wood fire. The meat is pork neck steaks marinated overnight with heaps of onion, garlic, marjoram and paprika, and they come off juicy, smoky and slightly charred. Locals often add beer to the marinade, but this recipe leaves it out, so no alcohol is involved. Serve with bread rolls, potato salad and mustard. Chef's tip: pork neck has fine marbling, so it stays moist; do not swap it for lean pork loin, which dries out on the grill.

35 min

German Meat

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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

German Baking

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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

German 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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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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Mont let saung (Burmese sago in coconut milk and jaggery)

During Thingyan, the Burmese water festival that ends the old year in mid-April, stalls across Myanmar hand out free food and cold drinks as a way of making merit, and mont let saung is one of the best loved. Chewy, glassy sago pearls (or short white rice-flour threads in some towns) sit on crushed ice, soaked in dark jaggery syrup and lightly salted coconut milk, with toasted sesame on top. It is cool, sweet and gently smoky from the jaggery, exactly what you want after a day of being splashed with water. Serve it in glasses or bowls as soon as it is assembled. Chef's tip: a pinch of salt in the coconut milk is what makes the jaggery taste rounder, so don't skip it.

45 min

Burmese 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

German Baking

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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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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 Baking

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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

German Baking

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Hin gyoLight clear gourd soup

In Myanmar, no curry lunch or dinner, in Yangon or a village in the Shan hills, is complete without a bowl of hin gyo: a mild, clear 'sweet soup' sipped between mouthfuls of rich, oily curry to refresh the palate. This one uses bottle gourd, simmered with onion, garlic and plenty of black pepper. Homes often season it with dried shrimp or fish sauce; this vegetarian version gets its savoury depth from fried garlic and a little soy sauce instead. It is very light, with about 2 g of protein per bowl. The common mistake is overcooking the gourd until it collapses; take it off when it is translucent but still holds its shape. Chef's tip: crush the peppercorns coarsely just before adding them, because the pepper is the soul of this soup.

25 min

Burmese Soups

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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

German Salads

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