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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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SkābputraSoured barley porridge drink

Skābputra, 'sour porridge', is one of the oldest Latvian foods, and at Jāņi, Midsummer on 23–24 June, it is served cold alongside caraway cheese, pīrāgi and wreaths of flowers. Pearl barley is cooked soft, then soured with buttermilk or kefir for a day or two until it is tangy and fresh-tasting, and it is thinned with milk into a thick, cooling drink sipped or eaten with a spoon on hot summer days. This home version uses bought live buttermilk to start the souring safely. Chef's tip: use clean jars and utensils, and taste it each day; once it is pleasantly sour, chill it so it stops souring.

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MarsepeinShaped almond paste

On pakjesavond, the Sinterklaas present evening on 5 December, Dutch children find marzipan in every shape: little pink pigs for luck, pieces of fruit, potatoes rolled in cocoa, and the first letter of their name. Homemade marsepein is simply finely ground almonds kneaded with icing sugar and a little egg white, then coloured and shaped, a lovely job to share with children. This recipe uses pasteurised egg white so it is safe raw. Chef's tip: knead in the colour with a toothpick's worth at a time; marzipan takes colour very quickly.

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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.

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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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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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Gevulde speculaasAlmond-filled spiced pastry

Gevulde speculaas is a Sinterklaas favourite in the Netherlands from November to 5 December: a thick layer of almond paste baked between two layers of buttery, brown-sugar speculaas dough full of cinnamon, nutmeg, clove and ginger, decorated with blanched almonds and cut into squares. It is rich and best with a cup of coffee or hot chocolate. Chef's tip: make the almond paste a day ahead and let the dough rest overnight too, so the spices mellow and the layers bake evenly.

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BorstplaatSugar fondant sweets

Borstplaat is the sweet of Sinterklaas in the Netherlands: small, melt-in-the-mouth discs or hearts of boiled sugar and cream or milk with a little butter, flavoured with coffee, vanilla or strawberry. Children find them in their shoes on the morning of 5 December alongside pepernoten and a chocolate letter. They need only a few ingredients and a little care, and are gluten free. Chef's tip: stir the cooled syrup until it turns cloudy and starts to thicken, then pour at once; that stirring forms the fine crystals that make borstplaat creamy.

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PepernotenAnise and honey spice drops

When Sinterklaas arrives in the Netherlands in mid-November, his helpers throw handfuls of pepernoten into the crowd and children find them in their shoes in the morning, until the big present evening of 5 December. Real pepernoten are the old-fashioned kind: soft, chewy, slightly irregular drops of rye flour, honey, anise and spice, paler and chewier than the crunchy kruidnoten sold today. This egg-free dough comes together in minutes. Chef's tip: let the dough rest for an hour so the honey softens the rye and the drops come out chewy, not cakey.

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RabarbrikookRhubarb crumble cake

By Jaanipäev, Estonian Midsummer on 24 June, the rhubarb in every country garden is tall and red, and Estonians take rhubarb cake to the Jaaniõhtu bonfire evening along with grilled sausages, cheese and the beer for the grown-ups. Rabarbrikook is a simple, soft butter cake packed with sharp rhubarb under a thick, sweet crumble that soaks up the juices. Serve it warm with vanilla sauce or cold in squares. Chef's tip: toss the rhubarb in a spoonful of sugar and flour first; the flour thickens the juice so the cake below does not go soggy.

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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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OranjekoekAlmond paste cake with orange icing

On Koningsdag, 27 April, the whole of the Netherlands turns orange: flea markets fill the streets, boats crowd the canals and bakeries sell oranjekoek, a buttery cake with a hidden layer of almond paste under a thick orange glaze. It is cut into neat squares and eaten with coffee between bargain hunting. The almond paste filling is like the one in gevulde koek, sweet and lemony. Chef's tip: let the cake cool fully before icing, or the glaze slides off and goes patchy.

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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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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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Australian rissoles

On Australia Day, 26 January, backyards fill with the smell of the barbie, and rissoles are as much a part of it as sausages: thick, homely patties of beef mince, grated onion, breadcrumbs and a splash of sauce, fried or grilled until browned. They are served with gravy and mash in winter, or in a bread roll with tomato sauce and salad on a summer afternoon. Some families now mark the day as a quieter long weekend, but the rissoles stay. Chef's tip: squeeze the grated onion dry, or the patties go soft and break on the grill.

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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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Taai-taaiAnise and honey biscuits

In the Netherlands, taai-taai ('tough-tough') are chewy honey and anise biscuits shaped into figures of Sinterklaas, his horse, windmills, sweethearts and animals, eaten from mid-November until his feast on 5 December. They contain no fat or egg, so they are firm and chewy rather than crisp, and they keep well. Bakers once used carved wooden moulds; cookie cutters work fine. Chef's tip: heat the honey only until runny, then let the dough rest overnight; the rest is what makes the chew.

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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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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.

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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.

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KerstkransjesAlmond butter ring biscuits

In the Netherlands, kerstkransjes are small, ring-shaped butter biscuits topped with flaked almonds and pearl sugar, traditionally threaded with a ribbon and hung on the Christmas tree for children to pick off. They are tender and buttery with a lemony crumb and a crunchy top, and keep well in a tin through the holidays. They take about 45 minutes from start to finish. Chef's tip: punch the centre hole slightly bigger than you want; it shrinks as the biscuits bake.

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DuivekaterLemon Christmas bread

Duivekater is an old festive bread from Holland and Zeeland, baked for St Nicholas, Christmas and New Year's Eve. It is a long, flat, glossy loaf of rich, lemon-scented sweet dough, shaped with cuts at both ends that curl like a bone or a pair of legs; bakers once also made it for church feast days. Slices are eaten with butter. Chef's tip: give the shaped loaf a full second rise before cutting the ends, or the cuts close up in the oven.

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Helado de dulce de leche (Buenos Aires dulce de leche ice cream)

Dulce de leche is the flavour Buenos Aires heladerías are judged by, and on a summer night the queues at neighbourhood ice-cream shops stretch out onto the pavement well after dinner. Locals order it plain, with a ripple of extra dulce de leche (dulce de leche granizado adds chocolate flakes), often by the kilo to take home. It is dense, chewy and deeply caramel. This home version is egg-free with no custard: a little cornflour cooked into the milk thickens it the way yolks would, and the dulce de leche itself is milk and sugar cooked down, its sugar and milk solids keeping crystals tiny so it stays smooth and scoopable. Churn it, or still-freeze and stir it every 45 minutes. Chef's tip: chill the extra dulce de leche before rippling it in; the common mistake is folding in a warm one, which melts into the ice cream instead of leaving ribbons.

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ParihuelaSpicy seafood soup

Parihuela is the big weekend seafood soup of Callao and the Peruvian coast, eaten at long Sunday lunches in cevicherías and praised as a cure for tiredness and late nights. A deep red broth of ají panca, ají amarillo, tomato and fish stock is loaded with chunks of fish, prawns, squid and mussels. A portion gives about 30 g of protein, from the fish and shellfish, for roughly 300 kcal. Some cooks add chicha de jora or beer; this version has none. The common mistake is adding all the seafood at once: squid and prawns turn rubbery while the fish cooks, so they go in last. Before cooking, discard any mussels that stay open when tapped, and after cooking discard any that stay shut. Chef's tip: fry the chilli pastes in the oil until they darken and smell sweet; that toasted ají is what gives parihuela its depth.

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