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685 recipes

Tortitas de calabacita (courgette and cheese fritters)

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

27 minMexicanVegetarian
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Camarones a la diablaPrawns in fiery chile sauce

Camarones a la diabla, 'devil's prawns', come from the seafood shacks of Mexico's Pacific coast, from Mazatlán down to Acapulco, where they are eaten at lunch with cold drinks, white rice and lime. The sauce is a quick blend of toasted guajillo and chile de árbol with tomato and garlic, fried until it darkens and clings, and the prawns go in only for the last few minutes. It is properly hot; use fewer árbol chiles for a milder pan. The common mistake is burning the dried chiles when toasting them: a few seconds a side is enough, and blackened chiles make the whole sauce bitter. Chef's tip: fry the blended sauce in the oil until it turns a shade darker and thick enough to leave a trail; that is where the deep, rounded flavour comes from.

30 minMexicanFishGluten freeSpicy
by KrazyBadal 0 views

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 minPersianBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

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 minPersianBreakfast & BrunchGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Huevos con salchichaScrambled eggs with sausage

All over Mexico, from Monterrey kitchens to Mexico City fondas, huevos con salchicha is what a parent makes when breakfast or a late supper has to be on the table in a quarter of an hour. Coins of frankfurter are browned until their edges curl, then soft eggs are folded through with a little tomato, onion and green chile, and the whole pan is scooped up with warm corn tortillas and a spoon of refried beans. Most supermarket frankfurters are pork or a pork and beef mix, so check the packet if you need a pork-free version; chicken or turkey frankfurters work just as well. The usual mistake is adding the eggs to a wet pan: cook the tomato down first, or the eggs turn watery and grey. Chef's tip: take the pan off the heat while the eggs still look a little glossy; they finish setting on the way to the plate.

15 minMexicanBreakfast & BrunchGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Salpicón de aveCold chicken salad

Salpicón de ave is the cold supper of Argentine summers, made in Buenos Aires flats and on estancias alike when it is too hot to cook much, and a favourite way to use the chicken from a puchero or Sunday roast. Shredded chicken is mixed with diced pepper, tomato, spring onion, sweetcorn and boiled egg, bound with mayonnaise sharpened with lemon and mustard, and served chilled with crusty bread or on lettuce. The common mistake is dressing it while the chicken is still hot, which melts the mayonnaise into an oily puddle; let everything cool first. Chef's tip: dress the chicken with the lemon juice and a pinch of salt before the mayonnaise goes in, so the meat itself is seasoned, not just its coating.

30 minArgentinianSaladsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Pay de quesoCreamy cheesecake

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

90 minMexicanBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

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 minPersianBakingGluten 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

Pescado al mojo de ajoGarlic butter fried fish

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

25 minMexicanFishGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

CampechanasFlaky sweet pastries with sugar top

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

180 minMexicanBakingVegan
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Papas a la mexicanaPotatoes with tomato and chile

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

28 minMexicanVegetarianVeganGluten freeSpicy
by KrazyBadal 0 views

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 minPersianSidesVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

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 minPersianBreakfast & Brunch
by KrazyBadal 0 views

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 minPersianBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Tarta de coco y dulce de lecheCoconut and dulce de leche tart

Ask Argentinians for their favourite tart at a family birthday and this one often wins: a crisp shortcrust spread thickly with dulce de leche, then covered with a coconut, sugar and egg topping that bakes into a golden, chewy crust. Bakeries from Córdoba to Mar del Plata sell it by the slice for the merienda with mate or a café con leche. It is very sweet, so the slices are thin, and it is a good keeper for a few days. Ordinary spreading dulce de leche is the mistake: it runs and bubbles out at the edges. Use the thicker pastry-style kind, sold in Argentina as 'repostero'. Chef's tip: chill the case with the dulce de leche spread on it for 15 minutes before adding the coconut, so the two layers stay distinct.

75 minArgentinianBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Torta de ricotaLemon ricotta tart

Italian families brought ricotta tarts to Buenos Aires and Rosario, and torta de ricota is now as Argentinian as mate: every panadería has one in the window, with a lattice of sweet, crumbly masa frola over a pale, lemon-scented ricotta filling. It is cut into wedges for the merienda, the late-afternoon snack, or for a birthday where nobody wants a heavy cake. The texture is light and slightly grainy rather than silky, and the pastry tastes of butter and vanilla. Wet ricotta is the biggest risk, giving a weeping, soggy tart. Chef's tip: drain the ricotta overnight in the fridge in a sieve lined with a cloth, and add a few raisins only if they have been soaked, or they draw moisture from the filling.

90 minArgentinianBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Fideos con mantecaButtered noodles with cheese

Ask anyone from Buenos Aires to Córdoba what they ate when they came home late or felt poorly as a child, and the answer is often fideos con manteca: short pasta tossed with butter and a snowfall of grated queso rallado. It is the plainest dish in the Argentine home kitchen and the one people cook for themselves on a tired weeknight. The mistake that ruins it is draining the pasta bone-dry and adding cold cheese to a hot empty pan, which leaves greasy strands and clumps; a splash of cooking water makes a light, creamy coating instead. Argentine reggianito and Parmesan are made with animal rennet, so use a vegetarian hard cheese if needed. Chef's tip: grate the cheese very finely, like dust, so it melts on contact.

15 minArgentinianPasta & Noodles
by KrazyBadal 0 views

HojarascasCinnamon sugar crumble cookies

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

40 minMexicanBakingVegan
by KrazyBadal 0 views

CoricosCornmeal cinnamon ring cookies

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

43 minMexicanBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Caldo de queso sonorense (Sonoran cheese soup)

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

30 minMexicanSoupsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Huevos al albañil (bricklayer's eggs)

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

20 minMexicanBreakfast & BrunchGluten freeSpicy
by KrazyBadal 0 views

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 minPersianBreakfast & BrunchGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Pan de yemaEgg yolk bread with sesame

Sesame-flecked and burnished almost to mahogany, Oaxaca's pan de yema is made for dunking. Bakeries in the city and in the bread town of San Antonio de la Cal turn it out daily, but it is most loved around Día de Muertos, when it sits on the family altar with marigolds and a painted dough face, and is broken into bowls of frothy Oaxacan hot chocolate made with water or milk. The crumb is dense, yellow and close, with a gentle orange note. Some bakers use lard; butter and vegetable shortening are used here so it stays vegetarian. A pale loaf is the giveaway of skipping the second yolk wash: brush twice for that deep, shiny crust. Chef's tip: the dough is heavy and sticky with yolks, so knead it by machine and resist adding flour; it firms up as it develops.

240 minMexicanBreads & Parathas
by KrazyBadal 0 views

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