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Tallarines rojosSpaghetti in red sauce with chicken

Tallarines rojos is the Sunday-lunch and weeknight pasta of homes all over Peru, from Lima to Arequipa: spaghetti in a sweet, deep-red sauce of blended tomato, onion and garlic with a little ají panca and oregano, often with pieces of chicken cooked right in it. Children love it, and it is served with a sprinkle of grated cheese and sometimes a spoon of huancaína on the side. The usual mistake is cooking the sauce too briefly, so it tastes of raw onion; let the blended tomato fry until it darkens and the oil shows at the edges. Chef's tip: a bay leaf and a spoon of ají panca paste give the sauce its Peruvian character; paprika will do if you can't find the paste.

30 min

Peruvian Pasta & Noodles

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Nan-o panir-o sabziBread, white cheese and fresh herbs

Nan-o panir-o sabzi, 'bread, cheese and herbs', is laid out on Iranian tablecloths from Tabriz to Mashhad for breakfast, for a light summer supper and before dawn during Ramadan: warm flatbread, salty white cheese, a big plate of fresh herbs, walnuts and crisp radishes, all wrapped into little bites. There is no cooking beyond warming the bread, so it is ready in ten minutes. The common mistake is serving herbs that are still damp from washing, which wilt and make the bread soggy; wash them earlier and let them dry fully. Iranian white cheese (lighvan) and most feta are made with animal rennet, so choose a vegetarian feta-style cheese if needed. Chef's tip: soak the walnuts in cold water for 10 minutes; it softens their bitterness the way Iranian cooks like.

12 min

Persian Breakfast & Brunch

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Kak-e KermanshahiThin buttered sugar sheets

Kermanshah, in Iran's Kurdish west, is famous for its ghee, and kak is the sweet that shows it off: dough rolled so thin you can read through it, baked crisp in seconds, then brushed with melted ghee and showered with sugar before the sheets are folded and stacked. Shops in the city's bazaar sell them in tall boxes, and families bring them out for guests and at Nowruz with glasses of black tea. They are traditionally made with Kermanshahi ghee, a nutty sheep's-milk ghee; ordinary ghee or clarified butter works well. The classic mistake is rolling too thickly: anything over a millimetre bakes up like a cracker, not a crisp, glassy sheet. Chef's tip: roll on a lightly oiled counter rather than flour, and stretch the last bit over the backs of your hands, as the Kermanshah bakers do; excess flour scorches on the hot tray.

120 min

Persian 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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NimrooHalf-set fried eggs

Nimroo, literally 'half-done', is what Iranian students in Tehran and families in every city cook when there is no time: eggs fried gently in a small pan until the whites set and the yolks stay soft, sprinkled with salt, pepper and sometimes a pinch of turmeric. It is eaten straight from the pan with torn lavash or sangak, fresh herbs and sweet black tea, for breakfast or a late supper. The common mistake is a fierce heat that burns the edges of the white while a raw film stays round the yolk; a lid for the last minute sets the top gently. For anyone pregnant, very young, older or with a weakened immune system, cook the yolks until firm. Chef's tip: serve it in the pan it was cooked in, on a board, so it stays hot.

8 min

Persian Breakfast & Brunch

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Nan-e keshmeshiSaffron raisin cookies

Ask an Iranian child which Nowruz sweet they reach for first and many will say nan-e keshmeshi, the little raisin cookies with crisp golden rims and soft, chewy centres. Confectioners in Tehran make them by the thousand in the run-up to the spring new year, and they turn up again whenever there is tea and company. The dough is a simple butter-sugar-egg batter warmed with saffron and vanilla, spooned out in small dabs that spread thin in the oven. Spooning them too big or too close is the common slip: they run into each other and bake into one sheet. Chef's tip: soak the raisins in hot water for 10 minutes and dry them well first; plump raisins stay juicy instead of burning on the surface.

44 min

Persian Baking

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Dopiazeh alooPotatoes fried with onion and tomato

Dopiazeh means 'two onions', and in Shiraz this potato dish lives up to the name: cubed potatoes are fried with a generous heap of golden onions, turmeric and tomato paste until the edges catch and the sauce clings to every piece. Shirazi families eat it as a side with rice and kebab or, on busy evenings, as the main dish rolled up in flatbread with yogurt or fresh herbs. The usual mistake is crowding the pan, so the potatoes steam and break up instead of browning; use your widest pan. Chef's tip: fry the tomato paste in the oil for a full minute before adding water, so it turns brick red and loses its raw edge.

30 min

Persian Sides

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Omelet-e gojeh farangiTomato and egg omelette

In Iran the word omelet means something quite different from a folded French one: ripe tomatoes are cooked down in oil with a little onion and turmeric until jammy, then eggs are stirred through so they set in soft streaks of red and gold. It is the classic quick dinner of Tehran apartments and student dorms, eaten from the pan with lavash and a plate of herbs. The mistake that makes it watery is adding the eggs before the tomato juices have cooked away; wait until the sauce is thick and the oil sizzles again. Chef's tip: grate the tomatoes on a box grater and throw away the skins, so the base melts down in minutes.

20 min

Persian Breakfast & Brunch

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Nan-e badamiAlmond cardamom cookies

Tabriz and Yazd both claim the best nan-e badami, and in the weeks before Nowruz pastry shops across Iran fill trays with these small almond cookies for the new-year table. Made from ground almonds, sugar and egg white with no flour at all, they have a thin crisp shell and a moist, chewy middle, perfumed with cardamom and rose water and topped with a sliver of pistachio. Offer them with tea when guests make their Nowruz visits; they also keep well enough to make a week ahead. Over-whisking is the easy error: the whites only need to be frothy, not stiff, or the cookies puff and crack like meringues. Chef's tip: let the shaped cookies sit uncovered for 20 minutes before baking so a skin forms; that skin is what gives the neat, crackled top.

45 min

Persian 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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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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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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Nan-e khameiCream puffs

Tehran's pastry shops, the qanadi on every busy street, sell nan-e khamei by the boxful: small golden choux puffs split and filled with softly whipped cream, dusted with icing sugar. Families buy a box to take when visiting relatives, for birthdays and above all for the Nowruz new-year table, and they are eaten with glasses of black tea. The shells are crisp and hollow, the cream barely sweet and sometimes lifted with a drop of rose water, and a few chopped pistachios on top add colour. Filling them too early is the usual mistake, as the cream softens the shells within hours, so fill them shortly before serving. Chef's tip: whip the cream in a chilled bowl and stop at soft peaks with a little hold; it pipes smoothly and doesn't turn grainy.

80 min

Persian Baking

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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 min

Austrian Baking

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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.

240 min

Peruvian Breads & Parathas

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Persian kotlet (beef and potato patties)

Kotlet is the dish Iranian families make in big batches for school lunches, road trips and Friday picnics in the park: minced beef mixed with grated potato, onion, egg and turmeric, shaped into flat ovals and fried until deep brown and crisp at the edges. They are eaten tucked into lavash or a soft roll with tomato, cucumber pickles and herbs, warm at home and cold the next day. They contain egg and gluten (breadcrumbs). Chef's tip: squeeze the grated onion and potato hard in a cloth; that water is what makes kotlet fall apart in the pan.

50 min

Persian Meat

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Fereni for babies (Persian rice-milk porridge)

Fereni is one of the oldest Persian sweets, and in Iranian homes it is also a baby's first spoon food: rice flour cooked slowly in milk until it is soft, pale and silky. Mothers often make it for breakfast or for a winter afternoon. For babies under one it is served plain; older children get the rosewater, a little sugar and a dusting of cinnamon that the family enjoys. It contains milk; there is no egg, gluten, nuts, soya, sesame or fish. Chef's tip: stir with a whisk for the first few minutes, then switch to a spatula so you can scrape the bottom of the pan.

22 min

Persian Breakfast & Brunch

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Ash-e dandooni (Persian first-tooth soup)

When an Iranian baby's first tooth appears, the family cooks a big pot of ash-e dandooni and shares it with relatives and neighbours, who return the bowl with a small gift for the baby. It is a hearty, mild soup of whole wheat, chickpeas, beans and lentils, eaten by the whole family; in some homes the little one gets the soft, mashed grains without salt or toppings. It is free of milk, egg, nuts and soya and contains gluten (wheat). Chef's tip: soak the wheat and pulses together overnight, so everything cooks at the same speed.

120 min

Persian Soups

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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.

149 min

Peruvian Breads & Parathas

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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 min

Austrian Vegetarian

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Khoresh-e lubia sabzGreen bean and beef stew

Green bean khoresh is the stew Iranian children ask for, cooked in homes from Mashhad to Shiraz through the summer when beans are cheap; Tehran cooks often add a pinch of cinnamon that makes the tomato sauce taste rounder. Beef or lamb simmers until soft, the beans are fried briefly and then cooked in the sauce until tender but still green. Serve it with chelow and a spoon of tahdig on the side. The mistake to avoid is cutting the beans too fine, which turns the stew into mush; 3 cm pieces keep their bite. Chef's tip: fry the beans in a little oil for 5 minutes before they go into the pot, so they keep their colour and taste nutty.

100 min

Persian Curries

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Khoresh-e gharchMushroom stew

Tehran flats fill with the smell of khoresh-e gharch on busy weeknights, when there is no time for a three-hour gheymeh but rice is already steaming; it became a city favourite in the late twentieth century as button mushrooms grew common in the bazaars. The mushrooms are browned hard, then simmered briefly with golden onion, turmeric and saffron, and the sauce is finished with lemon and a spoon of kashk or cream, so it tastes savoury, a little sour and gently rich. Serve it over chelow with a plate of fresh herbs and torshi. The usual mistake is crowding the pan: piled-up mushrooms stew in their own water and turn grey and slippery instead of meaty. Kashk contains dairy; use soured cream if you can't find it. Chef's tip: tear rather than slice half the mushrooms, because the ragged edges brown better and soak up more sauce.

40 min

Persian Vegetarian

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Gheymeh nesarSaffron lamb and nut rice

Qazvin, the old capital west of Tehran, is famous for gheymeh nesar, the jewelled rice served at weddings, engagements and nazri gatherings. Small cubes of lamb cook slowly with onion, saffron and a little rosewater, then are mixed with barberries, slivered pistachios, almonds and candied orange peel and spooned over buttery saffron rice. Serve it with salad shirazi. Barberries burn in seconds and turn bitter, and that is the commonest mistake: fry them over a low heat for one minute only. Contains pistachios, almonds and butter. Chef's tip: cut the lamb into 1 cm dice, much smaller than for a stew, which is what makes this a Qazvin gheymeh nesar rather than a lamb pilaf.

160 min

Persian Rice & Grains

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Kuku-ye morghSaffron chicken egg cake

Tehran families take kuku-ye morgh to the mountains of Darband and Tochal on Friday outings, cut into wedges and stuffed into lavash with tomato and pickled cucumber. Poached chicken is shredded, mixed with golden onion, saffron and eggs, and cooked into a thick, moist cake that holds together for sandwiches. Serve it warm or cold with yogurt and herbs. The mistake is overcooking the chicken before it goes in, which leaves the kuku dry and stringy; poach it gently just to temperature. Contains egg. Chef's tip: add 2 tablespoons of the poaching broth to the eggs; it keeps the kuku juicy even the next day.

55 min

Persian Chicken

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