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Dowina (Kurdish yogurt soup)

Dowina, called ash-e doogh in Persian, is warming spring food in Kurdish homes around Newroz, when yogurt is plentiful and the first herbs are cut from the garden. Rice and chickpeas simmer in a tangy, lightly thickened yogurt broth, finished with fresh dill, coriander and a sizzle of dried mint in oil. It is eaten warm, never boiling hot, with flatbread. The common mistake is to heat the yogurt too fast without stirring, which makes it split into grainy curds. Chef's tip: whisk an egg yolk and a spoonful of rice flour into the yogurt before it goes on the heat; it holds the soup smooth all the way to the simmer.

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Pâté de Pâques berrichonPork, veal and egg pastry loaf

In the Berry region of central France (around Bourges and Châteauroux), Easter Sunday lunch begins with pâté de Pâques: a long loaf of puff pastry filled with seasoned minced pork and veal around a row of whole hard-boiled eggs, so every slice shows a golden yolk in the middle. It is eaten warm or cold with a green salad. Some cooks marinate the meat in white wine or Cognac; this recipe uses no alcohol. Chef's tip: cut a chimney in the top crust and keep it open with a roll of card, so steam escapes and the pastry stays crisp.

110 minFrenchMeat
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Gardianne de taureauBull beef braised in red wine

Gardianne is named after the gardians, the mounted herdsmen who raise black bulls on the marshes of the Camargue, and it is served at the summer ferias and village fêtes of Arles and Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer with nutty Camargue red rice. Taureau (bull meat) is lean and deeply flavoured, braised slowly in red wine with onions, garlic, herbes de Provence and black olives until dark and tender; beef shin or chuck makes a fine substitute. This recipe contains alcohol: for an alcohol-free version, replace the wine with the same amount of beef stock plus 2 tbsp red wine vinegar and 1 tbsp grape juice. Chef's tip: marinate the meat overnight in the fridge for the deepest flavour.

235 minFrenchMeat
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TihaneStuffed lamb spleen

Tihane, or tehal, is an old Eid al-Adha speciality from Moroccan towns such as Fez and Marrakech, made on the days after the sacrifice when the offal is shared out. The lamb's spleen is cut open into a pocket and stuffed with chopped liver and heart, a little fat, green olives, preserved lemon, garlic and cumin, then sewn shut, poached and roasted until browned. It is sliced thin and eaten warm or cold with bread. Ask a halal butcher for the spleen and offal. Chef's tip: prick the spleen with a fine needle before poaching so it doesn't burst in the pot.

130 minMoroccanMeatGluten free
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BrasucadeGrilled mussels with garlic and parsley

At village fêtes around the étang de Thau in Languedoc, and on beaches in summer, people gather round a brasucade: mussels piled into a large pierced pan over a fire of vine prunings until they open, then doused with a garlicky oil of parsley and a little chilli and tossed. It is smoky, juicy and eaten by hand with bread. A barbecue grill works at home. Chef's tip: use a lid or a sheet of foil over the pan; the trapped steam opens the mussels evenly while the fire adds smoke.

25 minFrenchFish
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Brioche de Saint-GenixPink praline brioche

In Saint-Genix-sur-Guiers, in Savoie, this round brioche dotted with bright pink sugared almonds is baked for the feast of Saint Agatha on 5 February, and its shape is said to recall the saint's martyrdom. Today it is sold all year in the bakeries of the Savoie and Lyon, rich and buttery, with the pralines melting into sticky pink pockets. The dough rests overnight in the fridge, so start the day before. Chef's tip: crush the pralines roughly and fold them in at the very end, or they dissolve and stain the whole dough pink.

595 minFrenchBaking
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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.

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TaloaMaize flatbread with ham and cheese

During the Fêtes de Bayonne in July, when the whole town dresses in white with red scarves, stalls in the Pays Basque sell taloa: thick flatbreads of maize and wheat flour cooked on a hot griddle and folded around fillings. The classic is with jambon de Bayonne (a cured pork ham), with sheep's cheese or with ventrèche (cured pork belly), and it's eaten hot in the street. Cheese alone makes a good vegetarian version. Chef's tip: cook the taloa on a dry, very hot pan; it should blister and puff in patches like a tortilla.

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ManalaBrioche men

On 6 December, St Nicholas' Day, Alsatian bakeries fill with manala (also mannele): little brioche men with raisin eyes and buttons and a snipped belt, given to children by St Nicolas, who brings treats to good children. They are eaten for breakfast or an after-school snack, dipped in hot chocolate. The dough is a soft, buttery milk brioche. Chef's tip: shape the figures loosely and well apart, because they double as they rise and bake, and thin arms that touch become one blob.

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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.

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KourdassGrilled lamb liver bundles

After the sacrifice of Eid al-Adha, Moroccan families use every part of the lamb, and kourdass is one of the dishes made in the days that follow: pieces of tripe and liver rubbed with cumin and paprika, wrapped in caul fat and traditionally hung up to air-dry before grilling. This home version skips the drying, which is hard to do safely in a modern kitchen, and grills the bundles fresh over charcoal or under a grill until the fat crisps and the liver is cooked through. Buy cleaned, pre-cooked tripe and caul fat from a halal butcher. Chef's tip: wrap the bundles tightly so the caul fat bastes them as it melts.

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CornuellesAniseed biscuits

On Palm Sunday in Villebois-Lavalette, in Charente, stalls sell cornuelles, hard triangular biscuits with a hole in the middle, threaded onto a stick or a sprig of blessed box. The three points are said to stand for the Trinity, and children carry them home from church. They are crisp and scented with aniseed, glazed with a thin sugar icing. Chef's tip: roll the dough thin and even, about 5 mm, so every biscuit bakes through crisp without burning at the points.

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Galette comtoiseChoux king cake

While most of France eats a puff-pastry galette des rois at Epiphany in January, Franche-Comté has its own: a flat golden cake made from a choux-like dough, tender and slightly custardy inside and scented with orange-flower water. As elsewhere, a fève (a little charm or a dried bean) is hidden inside, the youngest child under the table calls out who gets each slice, and whoever finds the fève is crowned king or queen. Chef's tip: let the cooked paste cool for a few minutes before beating in the eggs, or they scramble.

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Chichi frégiChickpea flour fritters in sugar

On the seafront at L'Estaque, the old fishing quarter of Marseille, and at summer fêtes all along the coast, kiosks fry chichi frégi: long, ridged fritters of wheat and chickpea flour, rolled hot in sugar and eaten in a paper cone. The dough is a yeasted, egg-free batter piped straight into the oil, crisp outside and soft inside, with a faint nutty taste from the chickpea flour and a hint of orange flower. Chef's tip: keep the oil at 175 °C; cooler and the fritters soak up fat, hotter and they burn before the middle cooks.

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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.

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Boudin blanc aux pommesWhite sausage with apple compote

In Liège and across Wallonia, Christmas Eve supper often begins with boudin blanc: pale, delicate sausages of finely minced pork and milk, sometimes with a little chicken, gently fried in butter until golden and served with warm, chunky apple compote and bread. Butchers make piles of them in December. Buy them fresh from a good butcher, or poached and ready to fry. Chef's tip: prick nothing and cook gently; boudin blanc is fragile, and a hot pan splits the skins.

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KalanehWild leek stuffed flatbread

In Kurdistan and Kermanshah, Newroz arrives with the first spring greens on the hillsides, and families gather wild leeks to fold into kalaneh, thin griddle breads cooked over a fire or a hot pan and soaked in melted butter. The dough is plain and soft, rolled very thin around a pile of chopped leek or chives with a little salt and pepper, so the greens steam inside as the bread blisters. Eat it hot, torn into strips, with yogurt and tea at a Newroz picnic. The common mistake is wet greens, which turn the dough soggy and make it tear; dry them well after washing. Chef's tip: brush the butter on the moment the bread leaves the pan so it soaks right in.

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Macaronade sétoisePasta with beef rolls and sausage

In Sète, on the Languedoc coast, families of Italian origin cook macaronade for Sunday lunch and above all for the Saint-Louis festival in August, when the harbour hosts its famous water-jousting. Thin slices of beef are rolled around garlic and parsley (braciole), browned with Toulouse-style pork sausage and simmered for hours in a tomato sauce, which then dresses thick pasta. Traditionally a splash of white wine goes into the sauce; it is optional here, and stock works just as well. Chef's tip: simmer the sauce very gently, with the lid ajar; the beef rolls need time to turn tender, not fast boiling.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Hishi mochi (diamond rice cakes)

Hishi mochi sit on the tiered doll display for Hinamatsuri, Girls' Day on 3 March, and their colours are a little poem about early spring: green for new grass pushing through, white for the last snow, pink for peach blossom (some families also read them as health, purity and protection from evil). The diamond shape is said to echo the water chestnut and a wish for growth and many children. This home version is made from glutinous rice flour set in a square tin, so the cake is soft, bouncy and only gently sweet, with a grassy hint from matcha. Serve small pieces with green tea, or beside chirashizushi and clam soup at the festival table. Mochi is very sticky: cut it small for young children and older people, and see that they chew well and eat sitting down. Chef's tip: press each layer on while the one below is still warm and tacky, so the three bond into one cake.

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Fukumame (roasted lucky soybeans)

On Setsubun, the eve of spring in early February, households all over Japan fling roasted soybeans out of the door shouting "Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!" (demons out, luck in), then each person eats one bean for every year of their age, plus one for the year ahead. The beans are called fukumame, "fortune beans", and roasting them matters: a raw bean could sprout, and a demon's bean must not take root. Home-roasted ones are nutty, toasty and properly crunchy, far better than the packet kind, and they are good with green tea or scattered over a salad. Whole roasted beans are a choking hazard, so do not give them to children under five; grind theirs to a powder and sprinkle it on rice or yoghurt instead. Chef's tip: let a test bean cool for a minute before you judge it, because hot beans always feel softer than they will be.

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Tsukimi dango (moon-viewing dumplings)

On the night of the harvest moon in September or early October, families across Japan set a tray of plain white dumplings by the window with a vase of pampas grass, as thanks for the harvest and an offering to the full moon. The round white dango stand for the moon itself, and the traditional count is fifteen, for the fifteenth night of the eighth lunar month, stacked nine, four and two. This Kanto-style dough is steamed and then kneaded, which gives a smoother, firmer bite than boiled dango, with a clean rice flavour that loves a dusting of kinako or a spoonful of sweet red bean paste once the moon-viewing is over. Mochi is very sticky: cut the dumplings small for young children and older people, and see that they chew well and eat sitting down. Chef's tip: knead the steamed dough while it is still hot, wrapped in a damp cloth, until it turns satiny.

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