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672 recipes

Berlingots de Carpentras (striped Provençal hard candies)

Carpentras, the market town below Mont Ventoux, has made berlingots since the nineteenth century, using the fruit syrups left over from its candied-fruit trade. The little four-sided pyramids are clear and glassy with fine white stripes, and they are sold year round at the Friday market and in paper cones for the Christmas sweet table. They crunch cleanly and dissolve slowly, here with a cool mint flavour; a fruit syrup can take its place. Offer them after a meal with coffee or herbal tea. Hard candy is naturally egg-free: the sugar, cooked to the hard-crack stage, sets glass-hard by itself, and glucose syrup keeps it clear instead of grainy. You will need heatproof gloves, oiled scissors and a warm place to keep the sugar soft while you shape it. Chef's tip: make these on a dry day; the common mistake is cooking sugar in a steamy kitchen, which leaves the berlingots sticky within hours.

85 minFrenchDessertsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Morue en raïtoSalt cod in tomato sauce

In Provence the gros souper on Christmas Eve is a lean but festive meal eaten before midnight Mass, with seven meatless dishes for the seven sorrows of Mary, and salt cod en raïto is often the centrepiece. Pieces of soaked cod are fried, then simmered in raïto, a dark sauce of tomato, onion, garlic, black olives and capers that is traditionally cooked with red wine. Here the wine is optional: use vegetable stock with a spoon of red wine vinegar for an alcohol-free sauce. Serve with boiled potatoes or crusty bread. Chef's tip: soak the salt cod in the fridge for 36 hours, changing the water often, and taste a flake before cooking; it should be pleasantly seasoned, not salty.

90 minFrenchFish
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Khao chae (jasmine-scented chilled rice)

Khao chae came to Central Thailand with the Mon people and became the classic Songkran lunch for the hottest days of April: rice served in iced, flower-scented water to cool the body and honour the New Year with something cool and fresh. The rice sits in its fragrant water, surrounded by little savoury bites eaten in turn: fried shrimp-paste balls (luk kapi), battered stuffed shallots and moo foi, sweet shredded pork fried until it is dry and caramelised. Each mouthful is a bite of salty-sweet side followed by a spoon of cold, clean rice. Scent the water with food-safe, unsprayed jasmine flowers or a few drops of food-grade jasmine extract, never florist's flowers. Chef's tip: rinse the cooked rice to wash off its starch so the water stays clear and the grains stay firm.

240 minThaiRice & Grains
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Pâte de coingsQuince paste

On Christmas Eve in Provence the gros souper ends with the treize desserts, thirteen small sweets set out together and left on the table until 27 December. Pâte de coings, a firm, glowing amber quince paste cut into squares and rolled in sugar, is nearly always among them, beside nougat, dried fruit and fougasse. It is simply quince pulp and sugar cooked down slowly until it pulls away from the pan, so it is vegan and gluten free, and it keeps for months. Serve it in small cubes, or with a sharp cheese. Chef's tip: cook the quinces whole with their skins and cores, which hold most of the natural pectin, and only sieve them afterwards.

150 minFrenchDessertsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Khao niao daeng (Thai red sticky rice)

Khao niao daeng, "red sticky rice", is made in Central Thailand in the days before Songkran and carried to the temple as an offering, its sticky grains a wish that family ties hold fast through the year. The rice is steamed first, then folded into a long-reduced coconut and palm sugar caramel until it turns a glossy red-brown and every grain is sweet, chewy and fragrant. Pressed into a tray, it slices neatly and keeps for a few days, so it is a good make-ahead sweet for a crowd. Serve squares with a sprinkle of toasted sesame and a cup of tea. Chef's tip: reduce the caramel until it is thick and bubbling slowly before the rice goes in, or the rice turns mushy instead of chewy.

90 minThaiDessertsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Cotignac d'Orléans (clear quince jelly)

Orléans has made cotignac since the Middle Ages and offered it to visiting kings, and the town still sells it in small round wooden boxes, to be eaten by scraping the jelly out with the edge of the lid. It is a winter sweet, made when the autumn quinces come in and given at Christmas and New Year. The jelly is clear and ruby-red, firm enough to cut but tender on the tongue, with a scented, slightly tart quince flavour. Serve it after dinner with coffee, or with a mild cheese. Nothing but fruit and sugar sets it, so it is naturally egg-free: quinces are among the richest fruits in pectin, and boiling their juice with sugar to the setting point is all it takes. Small ramekins or silicone moulds lined with baking paper stand in for the wooden boxes. Chef's tip: let the cooked quince drip through the cloth without pressing; the common mistake is squeezing it, which clouds the jelly.

290 minFrenchDessertsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Pruneaux d'Agen fourrés (stuffed Agen prunes)

Agen, on the Garonne in south-west France, has dried its plums into prunes for centuries, and its confectioners stuff the best ones with a paste of more prunes and almonds. Boxes of pruneaux fourrés are a Christmas present across the south-west and a speciality of the town's prune festival at the end of August. Each one is glossy and plump, with a soft, sticky skin and a dense, mellow filling that tastes of fruit, almond and a little orange. Serve them with coffee or tea, or as part of a cheese plate. The filling is a kind of almond paste, held together by the sticky prune purée and sugar, so it is egg-free like the rest of the sweet; some versions add a little brandy, and orange juice takes its place here. Chef's tip: if the prunes are dry, steam them for 5 minutes first; the common mistake is forcing filling into stiff prunes, which split.

45 minFrenchDessertsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

BeraweckaDried fruit and nut Christmas loaf

In Alsace, berawecka (the name means 'pear loaf') is baked in early December and sliced thinly through Advent, often handed to neighbours and godchildren. It is mostly fruit: dried pears, figs, prunes, raisins and walnuts held together with just enough bread dough, spiced with cinnamon, star anise and clove. Alsatian families soak the fruit in kirsch; this version uses strong black tea, which keeps the loaf moist and alcohol-free, and you can add 3 tbsp kirsch to the soak for adults if you like. It is vegan, keeps for weeks wrapped in foil, and is lovely buttered with a cup of tea. Chef's tip: cut the pears and figs the same size as the raisins, so every slice holds a mosaic of fruit instead of big lumps that tear the loaf.

100 minFrenchBakingVegan
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Kalamae (Thai coconut caramel sticky rice sweet)

Kalamae is the Songkran sweet of Central Thailand: in villages, neighbours take turns at a huge wok for hours, and the finished trays go to monks and elders at the New Year, the long shared stirring standing for a community pulling together and the sweetness for a sweet year ahead. Glutinous rice flour, coconut milk and palm sugar slowly turn from milky beige to a deep mahogany paste that is chewy, a little smoky and rich with coconut. Cut it into small squares and serve with jasmine tea, or wrap the pieces in banana leaf to give away. A home batch takes about two and a half hours at the stove, so put on some music and keep a wooden spoon moving. Chef's tip: use the widest heavy pan you own; more surface means faster thickening and less risk of scorching.

180 minThaiDessertsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Coussin de Lyon (green almond-paste cushions with chocolate ganache)

Lyon's sweet emblem recalls the city's plague vow of 1643, when the aldermen carried a candle and gold coins on a silk cushion to the chapel of Fourvière. Chocolatiers turned that cushion into a confection in the 1960s and it is now the gift Lyonnais bring at Christmas and New Year, or for a host on a Sunday visit. A soft, almond-sweet shell of pale green paste, marked with a darker green stripe, hides a melting dark chocolate ganache scented with orange. Serve two or three with coffee after dinner. The classic ganache is laced with orange liqueur; here fresh orange juice and zest give the flavour without alcohol. Shop marzipan is not always egg-free, so this almond paste is bound with sugar syrup cooked to the soft-ball stage, which coats the ground almonds and sets them firm as it cools. Chef's tip: chill the ganache until it holds a line before shaping; the common mistake is using it soft, so it squeezes out of the seams.

85 minFrenchDessertsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Pâte de fruits (Auvergne apricot fruit jellies)

Clermont-Ferrand, the capital of the Auvergne, built a name for pâtes de fruits in the nineteenth century using apricots from the Limagne plain, and the jewel-bright squares remain a favourite in Christmas boxes and with coffee at the end of a meal. Good pâte de fruits tastes more of fruit than of sugar: dense, tender and clean-cutting, with a sparkle of sugar crust and a sharp edge of acid. Serve them on a plate of petits fours, or pack them as a gift. They are naturally egg-free: pectin, the fruit's own setting agent, does all the work once the purée is boiled with sugar to 106°C and the acid is added. Use yellow pectin for pâte de fruits if you can find it; it sets slowly enough to pour. Chef's tip: stir in the citric acid only off the heat, right before pouring; the common mistake is adding it early, so the jelly sets in the pan.

90 minFrenchDessertsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Kluay tak (Thai dried bananas, oven method)

In Bang Krathum, a district of Phitsanulok in lower northern Thailand, small nam wa bananas are peeled and laid out under the sun in glass-roofed drying boxes for several days, then pressed flat to make kluay tak. The district is famous for them, and bags are bought as a gift on the road home and nibbled with tea or coffee in the afternoon. They are dense and chewy like a soft toffee, dark amber, with a deep caramel and honey flavour that comes only from the fruit. As sun-drying takes days and needs steady heat, this version uses a very low oven overnight, then a rest in a jar so the moisture evens out. They are naturally egg-free and need nothing to bind them: the banana's own sugars concentrate and hold it together. Chef's tip: keep the oven low and prop the door open with a wooden spoon; the common mistake is a hot oven, which cooks and blackens the outside while the centre stays wet.

1340 minThaiDessertsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Orangettes (candied orange peel in dark chocolate)

All over France, from Paris chocolatiers to village pâtisseries, orangettes arrive in the shop windows as the days shorten and are a fixture of the Christmas and New Year sweet table. Long strips of orange peel are candied until tender and translucent, then dipped in dark chocolate: chewy and bittersweet inside, with a clean snap of chocolate and a long citrus finish. Serve them with an espresso after dinner, tie them up in a box as a gift, or offer them with a cheese course. They are naturally egg-free: the sugar syrup preserves the peel and stops it going tough, and the tempered chocolate sets into a firm, glossy shell with no other help. For a vegan batch, use a dark chocolate made without milk. Chef's tip: dry the candied peel well before dipping; the common mistake is dipping wet peel, which makes the chocolate seize and turn dull.

180 minFrenchDessertsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Krathong thong (crispy golden cups with chicken)

Krathong thong, "golden baskets", are named after the little floating krathong set on the rivers at Loy Krathong in Central Thailand, and their golden colour makes them a party bite for wishing wealth at festivals and New Year gatherings. A thin rice-flour batter is fried on a hot flower-shaped mould into crisp, delicate cups that shatter at the first bite. The filling is minced chicken cooked with sweetcorn, carrot, garlic and a little sugar, so it is gently sweet and savoury, which children love. Serve them as a starter with a sweet chilli dip, filling the cups just before serving so they stay crisp. Chef's tip: the cups keep for a week in an airtight tin, so fry them a day ahead and only cook the filling on the day.

60 minThaiSnacks & Starters
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Fontainebleau (fromage blanc and whipped cream mousse)

Fontainebleau takes its name from the town south of Paris, whose cheese shops sold it in little muslin-wrapped pots for the weekend. It is a fresh-cheese dessert for late spring and summer, best when the first strawberries and raspberries arrive. Fromage blanc and whipped cream are folded together and left to drain in muslin, so the mousse firms up into a light, cloud-soft mound that tastes of fresh milk with a gentle tang. Serve it chilled with berries or a spoonful of red-fruit coulis, and a little extra sugar on the side. Some recipes fold in whisked whites; this one leaves them out entirely, because firmly whipped cream alone holds the air, and draining away the whey gives the mousse its shape. Chef's tip: drain the fromage blanc before you start; the common mistake is folding in a wet, runny cheese, which collapses the cream and leaves a puddle in the dish.

255 minFrenchDessertsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Salade d'endives aux noixChicory, walnut and apple salad

Across Picardy and the Nord, and over the border in Belgium, Belgian endive (chicory) is the winter salad, and this one appears after the main course at Sunday lunch or as a light supper from November to March. The pale, crisp leaves are cut into rings and tossed with sweet apple, toasted walnuts and a sharp mustard vinaigrette, so you get bitter, sweet and nutty in every mouthful. Many bistros add Roquefort; this version is vegan, and if you add cheese, note that Roquefort is made with animal rennet. A portion gives about 4 g of protein from the walnuts, so it is a side or starter. The most common mistake is slicing the endive too early: it browns at the cut edges, so dress it within 10 minutes of cutting. Chef's tip: cut out the small cone of core at the base of each endive; it holds most of the bitterness.

18 minFrenchSaladsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

ไอติมกะทิ (Itim kathi, Thai coconut ice cream)

Itim kathi is the ice cream of Bangkok's pushcarts: a vendor lifts the lid of an insulated drum, scrapes up a scoop of snow-white coconut ice cream and piles it into a small cup over sticky rice, then adds whatever the customer points at, from roasted peanuts and sweet corn to chewy palm seeds. It is sold all afternoon in the hot months, outside schools and temples and in markets. Some vendors tuck the scoop into a soft bread roll; serve it in cups as here and it stays gluten free. It is naturally egg-free and dairy-free. Coconut milk carries the fat that makes it creamy, and a little cornflour cooked into it binds the water so crystals stay fine and the texture stays smooth without any custard, while a pinch of salt sharpens the coconut. Chef's tip: use full-fat coconut milk with no added water; the common mistake is using a light one, which freezes hard and icy.

300 minThaiDessertsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

TtoroBasque fish soup

Ttoro was the meal Basque fishermen in Saint-Jean-de-Luz and Ciboure made from the part of the catch they couldn't sell, and the town still holds a ttoro festival every autumn. A deep red broth of peppers, tomato and Espelette pepper is poured over pieces of hake and monkfish, mussels and prawns, with garlic toast on the side for dunking (use gluten-free bread if needed). A portion gives about 32 g of protein, from the fish and shellfish, for around 360 kcal. The common mistake is boiling the fish in the broth: it breaks into flakes, so the pieces are seared first and then only poached gently on top for a few minutes. Discard any mussel that stays open when tapped before cooking or stays shut after. Chef's tip: dust the fish in rice flour before searing; the light crust protects the fish in the broth and thickens it slightly.

70 minFrenchFishGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Artichauts à la barigouleBraised artichokes

In Provence, artichauts à la barigoule is cooked in spring when the small violet artichokes come into the markets of Aix, Avignon and Marseille, and it is served warm as a starter or as a light main with bread. The trimmed artichokes are braised in olive oil with carrot, onion, garlic and herbs until tender in a fragrant, slightly tart liquor. The traditional braise uses white wine; this version is alcohol-free, using vegetable stock sharpened with white wine vinegar and lemon. It is vegan, with about 5 g of protein per portion, from the artichokes. The common mistake is trimming too timidly: any dark green leaf left on stays tough and stringy, so keep going until only the pale, tender leaves remain. Chef's tip: rub each artichoke with lemon as you trim and drop it straight into lemon water, or it will go brown within minutes.

60 minFrenchVegetarianVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Kluay chuam (Thai bananas in palm-sugar syrup)

Kluay chuam is a market dessert of central Thailand, cooked in big brass pans and sold by the bag year round, and it is a common sweet to offer monks at merit-making. Small, starchy nam wa bananas are simmered slowly in palm-sugar syrup until they turn translucent and amber, soft and chewy rather than mushy, then served with thick, salty coconut cream poured over. The flavour is deep caramel and banana, cut by the salt. Serve at room temperature in small bowls. Being egg-free by nature, it relies on the long simmer in syrup firms the bananas and a little rice flour thickens the coconut topping. Chef's tip: keep the syrup at the gentlest simmer and don't stir; the common mistake is a fast boil and a spoon, which break the bananas before they have time to turn glassy.

60 minThaiDessertsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Salade de pissenlitsDandelion salad with warm vinaigrette

In Lorraine and around Lyon, the first tender dandelion leaves of March and April are gathered from meadows (or bought in bunches at the market) for a salad that marks the end of winter. The leaves are pleasantly bitter, and a hot vinaigrette poured over them wilts them slightly, with soft eggs to make it a light supper. The traditional version has crisp lardons; this vegetarian version uses toasted walnuts and a little of their oil for the same richness. A plate gives about 15 g of protein from the eggs and walnuts, so it is not a high-protein dish. The yolks stay runny, so use pasteurised eggs for anyone pregnant, very young, older or vulnerable, or boil the eggs for 10 minutes instead. The mistake to avoid is using big, old leaves from flowering plants; they are tough and harshly bitter. Chef's tip: soak the leaves in cold water for 30 minutes before drying them; it crisps them and tames some of the bitterness.

25 minFrenchSaladsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

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.

70 minPeruvianFishGluten freeSpicy
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Kaeng khae with tofu and mushroomsHerb curry with tofu and mushrooms

Kaeng khae comes from the hills around Chiang Mai and Lampang, where it is cooked through the rainy season with whatever the garden and forest give: pea aubergines, long beans, pumpkin tips, acacia shoots and handfuls of leaves, in a brothy, coconut-free curry scented with lemongrass and the peppery prickly ash called makhwaen. In northern homes it is a lunch dish eaten with sticky rice. It is normally cooked with chicken, frog or fish and seasoned with fermented fish; this vegetarian version uses firm tofu, oyster mushrooms, soy sauce and a little salted soybean paste. With the tofu a portion has about 11 g of protein, so it is light rather than high protein. The common mistake is adding all the vegetables at once: the leaves are done in a minute while the beans and aubergines need five. Chef's tip: dry-fry the curry paste in a spoon of oil until it smells toasty before adding water; it gives the broth its depth without any fish.

45 minThaiCurriesVeganSpicy
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Aguadito de polloCoriander chicken rice soup

Aguadito is the soup Lima serves in the small hours: at the end of a wedding, after New Year's Eve and at weekend family lunches, it is ladled out thick and steaming to revive everyone. Rice simmers in chicken broth coloured deep green with blended coriander and warmed with yellow ají amarillo, along with peas, carrot, pepper, sweetcorn and potato. A portion gives about 24 g of protein, from the chicken with a little from the rice and peas, for around 480 kcal. The common mistake is adding the coriander purée too early: cooked for long it turns khaki and loses its fresh taste, so stir it in for the last 10 minutes. The chicken must reach 74 °C at the bone. Chef's tip: blend a handful of spinach with the coriander; it keeps the colour vivid green without changing the flavour.

75 minPeruvianSoupsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

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