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KvashaFermented rye and buckwheat porridge

Kvasha is an old dish of the Volyn and Podillia regions of western Ukraine, cooked for Sviat Vechir, the Holy Supper on Christmas Eve, where twelve meatless dishes are served. Rye and buckwheat flour are mixed with boiling water and left a day to ferment, then cooked into a thick, sweet-sour porridge with dried fruit and honey, rather like a warm fruit pudding. Some villages added malt. It is vegan apart from the honey, which you can swap for sugar. Chef's tip: let the mixture ferment somewhere warm until it tastes pleasantly sour; under-fermented kvasha tastes floury and flat.

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KolachBraided Christmas ring bread

Kolach is the bread at the centre of the Ukrainian Christmas Eve table: three braided rings of rich white dough stacked on top of each other, for the Holy Trinity, with a candle set in the middle. It stays there all through the Holy Supper and is shared afterwards. The dough is lightly sweet with egg and butter, and the braids bake to a deep, glossy brown. A single ring is fine for a smaller household. Chef's tip: braid the strands loosely, as they need room to swell; tight braids tear open in the oven.

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Hrybna pidlyvaDried mushroom gravy

Among the twelve meatless dishes of the Ukrainian Christmas Eve supper, mushroom gravy (hrybna pidlyva) is the one everything else gets dipped in: varenyky, halushky, boiled potatoes and holubtsi. It is a thick, savoury sauce of dried forest mushrooms and slowly browned onion, thickened with toasted flour and made with oil rather than butter because the day is a strict fast, so it is vegan. Chef's tip: toast the flour in the oil until it smells nutty and turns light brown; this gives the gravy its depth without any meat stock.

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Chilcano de pescadoClear fish broth

In the fishermen's terminals of Chorrillos and Callao, chilcano is what you drink on a Sunday morning after a long night: a clear, gingery broth made from the heads and bones left over from cleaning fish for ceviche, with chunks of fish, red onion, chilli and a squeeze of lime in the bowl. It is light and warming, around 160 kcal a bowl, and still gives about 24 g of protein from the fish fillet and the broth. The common mistake is squeezing the lime into the pot while it boils, which turns it bitter; add it to each bowl at the table. Don't boil the bones for more than 30 minutes either, or the broth turns cloudy and harsh. Chef's tip: ask the fishmonger for heads and frames from mild white fish like sea bass or cod, and leave out oily fish such as mackerel, which makes the broth strong and fishy.

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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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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.

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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.

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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.

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Belgian frangipane tartlets

Look in the glass counter of a Flemish bakery and between the rice tarts and cream puffs sit rows of frangipanetaartjes: small shortcrust cases with a hidden layer of apricot jam, filled with almond frangipane and glazed with a thin, crackly white icing. Belgians pick them up on Saturday mornings or for a birthday at the office and eat them with coffee. They are buttery, nutty and moist, with a sharp fruity note from the jam. Too much jam is the mistake to watch: it bubbles up through the frangipane and glues the tartlets to the tin. Chef's tip: brush the warm tartlets with hot apricot jam first and let it set before the icing goes on; the jam seals the surface so the glaze stays white and shiny.

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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.

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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.

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PalianytsiaRound hearth loaf

Its name is famously hard to pronounce for anyone who did not grow up speaking Ukrainian, and the loaf itself is just as recognisable: a tall, round wheat hearth bread with one deep cut along its side, which opens in the oven into a raised, crunchy crest. Ukrainian families have long baked palianytsia for everyday meals and for welcoming guests. The crust is thick and well browned, the crumb white, open and slightly chewy. It belongs next to a bowl of borscht with garlic, or sliced with sunflower oil, salt and spring onions. A slow rise gives it flavour, so it uses little yeast. A shallow, timid cut is the commonest mistake: the side bursts in a random place instead of lifting into the crest. Chef's tip: cut at a low angle, about 2 cm deep, a third of the way up the side, and cool the loaf fully before slicing.

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Ukrainian paskaEaster bread

In the villages of western and central Ukraine, Easter Saturday means carrying a basket to church with a paska nestled among the painted pysanky, butter and salt, to be blessed and then broken first thing on Easter Sunday morning. Unlike the tall, white-iced kulich of Russia, this paska is a wide, round loaf with a glossy egg-washed top and no icing: the decoration is made of dough, usually a cross laid over the centre, a braid around the rim and small rosettes or birds in between. The crumb is golden and soft, rich with yolks and butter and lightly scented with lemon zest and vanilla. Slice it with butter, sweet farmer's-cheese spread or a cup of tea. Some families knead in rum-soaked raisins; this version leaves them optional and soaks them in tea. Decorations made from the soft loaf dough puff up and blur, which is the usual disappointment, so firm that portion with extra flour. Chef's tip: brush the loaf twice, once before the final proof and again just before baking, for a deep mirror-like shine that shows off the cross and braid.

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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.

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KorovaiCeremonial wedding bread

A Ukrainian wedding once began days ahead, when married women of the village gathered to bake the korovai and sang over the dough. The finished bread is a great round loaf ringed with a braid and covered in dough pine cones, flowers and pairs of birds for the couple, often finished with sprigs of greenery and red guelder-rose berries. It is carried in on an embroidered rushnyk cloth, and at the end of the feast it is cut and shared with every guest. The crumb is soft and lightly sweet, good with honey, butter or tea the next morning. Expect it to take a whole afternoon. The trap is using the same soft dough for the decorations: they puff up and lose their shape, so firm up that portion with extra flour. Chef's tip: stick each decoration on with a dab of water and press it in a little, then chill the decorated loaf for 10 minutes before baking so the details stay crisp.

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CraquelinBrioche with sugar cube pockets

Sugar cubes, of all things, are the secret of the Belgian craquelin. Bakers in Ghent, Bruges and Brussels wrap broken cubes inside rich brioche, and as the loaf bakes they melt into little wells of syrup that set crunchy, while pearl sugar crackles on the crust (hence the name). It is a Sunday breakfast and weekend bakery loaf, sliced thick and eaten plain or with butter and a bowl of café au lait; Flemish bakers sometimes add orange zest. Leaving sugar pieces exposed on the outside, especially the base, is the usual pitfall: they caramelise, burn and glue the loaf to the tin. Chef's tip: chill the kneaded brioche for at least an hour before you fold in the sugar, so the butter firms and the dough is easy to wrap around the cubes.

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Kik watSpiced split pea stew

On Wednesdays, Fridays and the long Lenten fast, Orthodox households from Addis Ababa to Bahir Dar fill the beyaynetu platter with kik wat, the fiery red sibling of the mild yellow kik alicha. Yellow split peas are cooked into a thick sauce built on a mountain of slowly dry-cooked red onions, garlic, ginger and plenty of berbere, so it is earthy, smoky-hot and spoonable on a sheet of injera. The mistake is frying the onions in oil from the start: Ethiopian cooks sweat them in a dry pot until they collapse and turn jammy, and only then add oil and spice, which gives the sauce its body. Chef's tip: bloom the berbere in the oil for a full two minutes with a splash of water so it turns brick-red and loses its raw, dusty edge.

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Ye-difin misir watSpicy brown lentil stew

The everyday misir wat of Addis Ababa's fasting houses is made with split red lentils, but in Tigray and Amhara homes many cooks prefer difin misir, whole brown or green lentils that keep their shape and give a thicker, nubbly stew with a deep, peppery berbere sauce. It is hearty, earthy and properly spicy, the backbone of a Lenten lunch with injera, cabbage and a cold salad. The mistake is adding the lentils to the sauce raw: whole lentils take far longer than the onions can stand, so cook them separately until tender first. Chef's tip: finish with a teaspoon of mitmita or a pinch of ground cardamom (korerima) just before serving for a fragrant top note.

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Dabo firfirBread in berbere sauce

Injera firfir is the famous one, but Addis Ababa cafés and Bole apartment kitchens make dabo firfir when there is yesterday's bread to use up: torn chunks of soft white dabo stirred into a quick sauce of red onion, tomato and berbere enriched with niter kibbeh, the spiced clarified butter. It is a hot, spicy, buttery breakfast, eaten with a spoon and a glass of sweet spiced tea, and children love the softer, less spicy version. On fasting days swap the butter for oil to make it vegan. Contains wheat and dairy. The mistake is drowning the bread so it turns to paste; toss it through the sauce off the heat so the edges stay a little chewy. Chef's tip: toast the torn bread in a dry pan for three minutes first; it drinks up the sauce without falling apart.

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NifroBoiled wheat and chickpeas

When a baby cuts a first tooth, Ethiopian families celebrate with tirs mastecha, and the dish at the centre is nifro: a big pot of whole wheat berries, chickpeas and fava beans boiled with salt and handed round warm in cupped hands or small bowls. It also turns up at funerals, saints' day gatherings and long coffee ceremonies in Gondar and Addis, chewy, nutty and plain in the best way. The common mistake is boiling everything together from dry, so the wheat bursts while the fava stay hard; soak them all overnight and add the wheat later. Fava beans are unsafe for anyone with G6PD deficiency (favism), so leave them out if in doubt. Not gluten free. Chef's tip: once drained, toss the warm nifro in a dry pan for two minutes; it dries the surface and makes the salt and a pinch of berbere cling.

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Ethiopian vegetable rice

Rice is a newcomer in a country of injera, but in Addis Ababa it has become a school-lunch and café staple, often served next to a mild alicha or a fasting combination: long-grain rice fried in oil with onion and garlic, coloured with turmeric and cooked with carrot and peas. It is fluffy, mild and golden, which is why children ask for it. The mistake is skipping the rinse: unwashed rice turns sticky and clumps in the pot. Chef's tip: fry the rinsed, drained rice in the oil for two minutes until the grains turn opaque; they stay separate when cooked.

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Ethiopian vegetable soup

Every café and school canteen in Addis Ababa has a pot of ye-atakilt shorba on the go: a light, golden soup of potato, carrot and cabbage cooked with onion, garlic, a little ginger and turmeric, eaten with a bread roll for lunch or given to children who don't want berbere. Families make it on fasting days and when someone is feeling poorly. It is mild, soothing and slightly sweet. The mistake is adding the cabbage with the potatoes, which makes it sulphurous and grey; it needs only the last ten minutes. Chef's tip: blend one ladle of the cooked potato and carrot and stir it back in; the soup thickens to café-style body without any flour.

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Ye-qey sir selataBeetroot and potato salad

Fasting-day platters at Addis Ababa restaurants and church feasts often carry a bright magenta heap of this cold salad beside the hot wats: boiled beetroot, potato and carrot tossed with lemon juice, thin red onion, green chilli and a little oil. It is sharp, sweet and cooling, a palate-cleanser between spoonfuls of berbere-red lentils. It differs from key sir alicha, the warm beetroot stew, in that everything is boiled whole, cooled and dressed raw. The usual slip is dressing the vegetables while hot, which turns the potatoes pink and mushy; let them cool first. Chef's tip: dress the onion and chilli in the lemon juice and salt ten minutes ahead so they soften and lose their sharp bite.

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Misir alichaMild red lentil stew

Not everyone at the table in Gondar or Addis wants berbere, so the fasting platter almost always has a gentle yellow wat beside the red one: misir alicha, split red lentils cooked down with dry-sweated onion, garlic, ginger and turmeric until creamy. It is soft, warming and easy on children and anyone who finds misir wat too hot. The common mistake is letting the lentils cook to a thin soup; simmer uncovered at the end until it mounds on a spoon and sits on injera without running. Chef's tip: a sliced green chilli and a pinch of ground ajwain (netch azmud) stirred in at the end lift it without adding much heat.

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