Skip to content
Recipes

All recipes

Vegetarian, or something you can't eat? Set your diet once and we'll hide recipes that don't fit.

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.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

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.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

BanketstaafAlmond paste puff pastry log

From mid-November, when Sinterklaas arrives by boat, Dutch bakers fill their windows with banketstaven: long logs of buttery puff pastry with a thick seam of soft almond paste inside. They carry on through Christmas, and in many families a banketletter, the same pastry shaped into the first letter of a child's name, is part of the 5 December presents. Sliced thick, it is flaky outside and moist, sweet and marzipan-like inside; serve it with coffee or hot chocolate. Leaving a weak seam is the mistake that lets the almond filling burst out in the oven. Chef's tip: make the almond paste a day ahead and rest it in the fridge: the almonds absorb the egg and it bakes up softer and more fragrant.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

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.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

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.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

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.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

OntbijtkoekSpiced rye breakfast cake

Ontbijtkoek means 'breakfast cake', and in Friesland and Groningen, where the best-loved versions come from, a thick slice spread with butter is still a normal start to the day or a mid-morning snack with coffee. The loaf is dark, sticky and springy, made with rye flour and syrup and scented with the Dutch spice mix koekkruiden: cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg and cardamom. It contains no egg and no butter in the batter, and it gets better after a day or two wrapped up. Baking it too hot is the usual mistake; the outside goes bitter before the middle sets, so bake it low and slow. Chef's tip: wrap the loaf in cling film while it is still slightly warm and leave it overnight; it softens into the classic tacky, chewy crust.

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.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Krentenbollen (Dutch currant buns)

In the Netherlands a krentenbol, buttered and sometimes topped with a slice of Gouda, is packed in schoolbags for the morning break and eaten with milk after school. The buns are soft, slightly sweet and so full of currants and raisins that there is barely room for the bread. This version adds little sugar, letting the dried fruit sweeten it. It contains gluten and milk. Chef's tip: soak the dried fruit in hot water before kneading it in; dry fruit pulls moisture from the dough and burns on the surface.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Beschuit met muisjesRusks with aniseed sprinkles

When a baby is born in the Netherlands, visitors are greeted with beschuit met muisjes: round, crisp rusks spread with butter and covered in sugared aniseed sprinkles, pink for a girl, blue for a boy, or the older white-and-pink or white-and-blue mix. Brothers, sisters and school friends love handing them round, and the sprinkles are also a favourite on bread at breakfast. Aniseed was once thought to help new mothers. It contains gluten and milk. Chef's tip: butter the rusks generously right to the edge, or the sprinkles roll off; that is why the Dutch say to 'press, not scatter'.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

BoterkoekButter cake

Boterkoek sits on the counter of almost every Dutch bakker, from Amsterdam to small towns in Brabant: a round, flat butter cake, scored in a criss-cross on top, glossy with glaze, dense and fudgy in the middle and crisp at the edges. It is cut into small wedges, because it is rich, and eaten with a cup of coffee at elf uur, the eleven o'clock break, or offered to visitors. The dough itself has no egg; only the top is brushed with beaten egg for shine (milk works too, though the colour is paler). Overbaking is the classic mistake: it should come out golden but still soft in the centre, so it sets fudgy, not dry. Chef's tip: use salted butter, or add the pinch of salt; it is what stops boterkoek tasting merely sweet.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

ChaplasHollow puffed Andean bread

Walk through Ayacucho's central market at seven in the morning and you will see women selling stacks of chaplas from cloth-lined baskets, still warm from the wood-fired ovens of the Andes. These round wheat breads puff up like pita in the fierce heat, leaving a hollow pocket inside a thin, soft, lightly floury crust. In Ayacucho and Huancavelica they are eaten with sweet coffee or hot emoliente for breakfast, or split and filled with queso fresco, avocado or a spoonful of rocoto sauce. Highland bakers traditionally work in a little lard; vegetable shortening gives the same tenderness and keeps the bread vegan. A cool baking tray is the reason chaplas stay flat, so preheat it thoroughly. Chef's tip: let the rolled rounds rest before baking and flip them upside down onto the tray, so the smooth, dry side meets the heat first and the pocket opens evenly.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tosti ham-kaas (Dutch ham and cheese toastie)

In the Netherlands the tosti is what children ask for after school, at the swimming-pool café and at Saturday lunch: two thin slices of white bread with ham and young Gouda, pressed in a tosti iron until crisp and golden and the cheese oozes at the edges, then dunked in ketchup. It is ready in ten minutes. It contains gluten (wheat) and milk. Chef's tip: butter the outside of the bread, not the inside, so it browns evenly and doesn't stick.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Pan chutaAniseed round bread

The small town of Oropesa, half an hour from Cusco, calls itself Peru's bread capital, and its wood-fired bakeries are famous for chuta: big, flat, round loaves as wide as a dinner plate, glossy on top, with a faint sweetness and the warmth of aniseed. Travellers on the road to Puno and Bolivia stop to buy them by the bagful, and families bring them home for All Saints' Day and for sharing with hot coca tea or coffee, fresh cheese and butter. The bakeries traditionally use lard; this version uses vegetable shortening and butter, so it is vegetarian. The make-or-break moment is the proof: chuta is large and flat, and if it goes in under-risen it bakes dense and splits at the rim. Chef's tip: toast the aniseed for a minute in a dry pan and crush it lightly before adding, for a rounder, sweeter perfume.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

RookworstSmoked pork sausage

Rookworst, the horseshoe-shaped smoked pork sausage of the Netherlands, is sliced into thick warm coins for borrel boards in winter and served on cocktail sticks at Friday drinks and football nights, always with a pot of strong yellow mustard. It is also the sausage laid on top of stamppot. Rookworst is sold ready-cooked, so it only needs heating through gently. The common mistake is boiling it, which splits the skin and lets the juices escape. Chef's tip: warm it in water that is just steaming, then serve it within minutes so the slices stay juicy.

22 minDutchMeatGluten free
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.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

EierbalFried egg in curry ragout

The eierbal is a snack-bar legend from the Dutch provinces of Gelderland and Overijssel, found in the wall of hot snacks at many cafetarias and at borrels: half a hard-boiled egg wrapped in a thick curry ragout, breaded and fried into a golden ball the size of a fist. This vegetarian version makes the ragout with vegetable stock and milk. It is rich, so one per person with mustard is plenty. The classic mistake is wrapping eggs in ragout that is still warm; it must be chilled firm or it will not hold. Chef's tip: bread the balls twice, egg and crumbs then egg and crumbs again, so they do not split in the oil.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

OssenworstSpiced beef sausage

Ossenworst is Amsterdam's own borrel sausage, made since the seventeenth century from lean beef spiced with cloves, nutmeg, mace and white pepper, and sliced thin at cafés in the Jordaan with mustard, pickled onions and gherkins. The traditional sausage is raw and lightly cured, so it is best bought from a specialist Amsterdam butcher, and like all raw meat it is not for pregnant women, young children or anyone with a weakened immune system. This home version keeps the same spicing but is gently poached until the centre reaches 71 °C, then chilled and sliced, which makes it safe for everyone. A common mistake is boiling it hard, which makes it dry and crumbly. Chef's tip: keep the water at about 80 °C, never bubbling, and check the core with a thermometer.

80 minDutchMeatGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Kaasblokjes met mosterdCheese cubes with mustard

Friday afternoon in a Dutch brown café, or a birthday circle in a living room in Utrecht, means a borrel, and the first thing on the table is a plate of cheese cubes on cocktail sticks. Belegen or oude Gouda, aged until it is firm and nutty with little salt crystals, is cut into neat cubes and served with a pot of coarse mustard and a shake of celery salt. Traditional Gouda is made with animal rennet, so pick a vegetarian aged Gouda-style cheese if needed. A common mistake is serving the cheese fridge-cold, which hides its flavour. Chef's tip: cut it half an hour before guests arrive and let it come to room temperature, covered.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

BamischijfFried noodle disc

The bamischijf is pure Dutch snack-bar culture: Indonesian-style bami goreng, fried noodles with pork, leek and celery, set firm with a little ragout, cut into discs, breaded and deep-fried. It came out of the Indo-Dutch kitchen into the cafetarias of Rotterdam and The Hague, and it is eaten at borrels with sweet chilli or peanut sauce. Here the pork mince is cooked to 71 °C before it goes in. For a vegetarian version, leave out the pork and add more cabbage, carrot and mushrooms. A common mistake is skipping the chilling, which makes the discs fall apart in the oil. Chef's tip: press the noodle mix hard into the tin with a second tin on top before chilling.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

VlammetjesSpicy mini spring rolls

Vlammetjes, little flames, are the fiery mini spring rolls of the Dutch borrel, served by the dozen in bars from Amsterdam to Groningen with a bowl of sweet chilli sauce. The filling is beef mince cooked with onion, garlic, sambal and sweet soy until dry and spicy, then rolled tightly in spring roll pastry and fried until blistered and crisp. Make the heat to your own taste. A common mistake is rolling a wet filling, which splits the wrappers and spits in the oil. Chef's tip: cook the mince until the pan is dry and it starts to crackle, then cool it completely before rolling.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

KaasstengelsCheese pastry twists

Kaasstengels come out of ovens all over the Netherlands for birthday parties, New Year's Eve and the Friday borrel, piled in glasses so guests can grab one with a drink. Strips of puff pastry are brushed with egg, coated in grated aged cheese and twisted, then baked until crisp, flaky and golden. They are one of the easiest party snacks there is, made with ready-rolled pastry. Most aged cheese is made with animal rennet, so choose a vegetarian one if needed. The common mistake is underbaking, which leaves them pale and soft in the middle. Chef's tip: chill the twisted strips for 10 minutes before baking so they keep their spiral.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

BorrelnootjesCoated peanuts

Borrelnootjes, peanuts in a crunchy seasoned shell, are the bowl you find on every Dutch bar counter and next to the cheese at home borrels, and they come from the Indo-Dutch kitchen, where they were spiced with garlic and coriander. Most people buy them in bags, but home-made ones are lighter and far less salty. Raw peanuts are dusted in seasoned flour and starch, splashed with water and coated in several thin layers, then baked until they crack. Never serve them to anyone with a peanut allergy, and keep whole nuts away from small children. The usual mistake is adding too much water at once, which makes the nuts clump. Chef's tip: build the coating in three thin layers, shaking the bowl hard each time.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Msemen m'amer (stuffed square msemen)

Morning cafés in Fes and Casablanca sell msemen m'amer straight off the griddle: the familiar square laminated pancake, but folded around a spicy filling of onion, tomato, parsley, cumin and paprika, so every bite has a juicy, savoury layer. It's eaten for breakfast or at teatime with mint tea, and in Ramadan it's on every iftar table. Wet filling is the enemy — fry it until dry or it steams the dough from inside and tears it. Chef's tip: oil your hands and the worktop rather than flouring them; that oil is what makes the layers. Contains wheat.

by KrazyBadal 0 views

Showing 24 of 394 recipes

Show more recipes

Page 1 of 17