This traditional pie from the Netherlands combines delicious brioche-like dough with a fruity filling of apricots. Be as generous as the people of Limburg, where this delicacy originated, by dividing this wagon wheel sized pastry into giant slices.
Photo: Oof Verschuren
Sudan's agashé is a must-try for every kebab or suya lover: skewers of meat are coated in spicy peanut powder and cooked on a barbecue. Omer Eltigani: "Traditionally, you'd fire up some coals and arrange the coals in a circle on a bed of sand. You then start placing the skewers facing upwards but slightly tilted towards the coals to cook them. It's a showpiece."
Meat, scrambled egg and almonds are combined with spices and baked inside crisp pastry to make bastilla, a Moroccan pie that walks the line between sweet and savoury thanks to its topping of cinnamon and icing sugar.
Photo: Javier Peñas
Named for its crinkled, torn appearance, buss up shut is a classic Trinbago dish of shredded paratha. Eaten as an accompaniment to curries and other dishes, it’s soft, flaky and filling.
Ceviche is perhaps Peru’s most famous culinary export. Raw fish is sliced and served in a dressing made with citrus juice, chilli, herbs and often other seasonings, known as ‘tiger’s milk.’ There are many different variations on the dish according to the species of fish and regional ingredients available.
The freshest fish you can find, a few lemons, a red onion, a handful of coriander and some peanuts. You don't need much to make this incredibly fresh appetiser: ceviche jipijapa from Ecuador.
The comforting scent of a roast chicken bathed in bright golden olive oil; sweet onions, warming cumin and the thrilling sharpness of sumac; a freshly baked taboon flatbread, still-hot from the oven. Chicken musakhan is Palestine’s aromatic and irresistible national dish.
Photo: Jenny Zarins, originally published in Falastin by Tara Wigley and Sami Tamimi
Francis Mallmann: "Steak is a highly prized ingredient in Argentinian culture. A rump steak - which we call caudril - is not expensive, but cut in the right direction it’s an excellent piece of meat. Grill it on a plancha - it is an ecstasy to eat.”
Iraqi dolma is an elaborate and impressive dish layering seasonal vegetables such as aubergines and courgettes with stuffed vine leave and rice. It’s aromatic with the spices of garam masala and sweet with the cooked vegetables and onions, which crisp on the bottom of the pan. Traditionally, the dish is completed with yoghurt, salad and pickles, added at the table.
Photo: theiraqicookbook.com
This dish takes a few hours to make, but the result will be delicious. Jessie Chipindo: “It’s a true indigenous Zambian dish and it’s popular across the country. Not all people prepare it the same way though; the fish can also be grilled or fried. The recipe included here is the most traditional version, in which it’s stewed.”
Tartare, a dish of thinly sliced seasonal meat, fish or vegetables is popular throughout Finland. Sami Tallberg loves to make his version using elk meat, which is dressed in a piquant ‘sauce’ of chopped pickles, shallots, mustard and herbs.
Photo: Liisa Valonen
These crispy meat pies are easy to make and perfect as a starter or snack. The recipe follows a classic Turkmen culinary philosophy: produce dishes that are rich in flavour using just a few ingredients.
Photo: TurkmenKitchen.com
One of Georgia's most famous dishes, this delicious, pizza-like cheese bread sometimes comes with an egg yolk on top. Tiko Tuskadze: "When the fishermen would go fishing, the wives would make the bread in the shape of the boat. The egg yolk on top would symbolise the sun."
The snack that gave its name to this website. Make the base using groundnuts and a splash of water, use spices such as nutmeg and ginger to make it warming, add chilli powder for heat or perhaps sugar for sweetness. This endlessly variable snack is a staple in Benin.
Photo: Instagram.com/1qfoodplatter
Maunika Gowardhan: “Getting the meat from the clams, while the shell would be covered in that spicy coconut chutney, it was a joy of scooping that out along with the masala and eating it with chapattis.” This Indian seafood dish with spicy coconut paste is an absolute showstopper.
Photo: Hodder & Stoughton
Masa are fermented, pan-fried rice cakes originating from northern Nigeria. While masa are traditionally served plain, they are also delicious with a variety of fillings including meat and cheese. Their light and fluffy texture means they are popular at any time of day.
Photo: Instagram.com/1qfoodplatter
Smoked beef in a spicy Malaysian coconut curry: that’s masak lemak daging salai in a (coco)nutshell. If you have a few coconut shells lying around your garden – collect them, soak them in water and throw them on the lit barbecue to coco-smoke your beef before you cook the smoked slices in a fragrant mixture of spices.
Photo: norazlitaaziz.blogspot.com
Fire up your grill and make Angolan grilled fish. Anselmo Silvestre: "Mufete was a weekend breakfast or lunch dish for us. Go for the full experience with the beans, sweet potato, plantain and cassava. You need the rest of the day to digest it!"
Hearty lentils and fragrant rice form the base of this typical Syrian, vegetarian comfort meal, but it is the topping of sweet, caramelised onions that makes it special. Serve with a cool cucumber-yoghurt dip and a refreshing salad on the side, and you’ve got your weekday meal sorted.
Photo: Sumac: Recipes and stories from Syria
This smoky, hearty American dish is Adrian Miller's favourite: "The tradition is that you eat greens on the first day of the year in order to have symbolic prosperity, because greens represent money (currency is green in the United States)."
Nam phrik is a spicy chilli paste that’s essential to Thai cuisine. Eaten all over the country, people season and adapt it to their individual tastes and the regional produce they have available. Common ingredients include chillies, lime, garlic, shallots, and shrimp paste (or other fish) to season.
A rich, silky groundnut soup made with peanut butter and fiery peppers was the starting point for Zoe Adjonyoh’s journey into the cuisine of her Ghanaian heritage.
Photo: Instagram.com/zoeadjonyoh
The earthy flavour of beetroot and as many as 70 other ingredients appear in different variations to make the nourishing, sustaining soup, popular throughout Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. For Ukrainian born Olia Hercules it is the taste of home - her mother’s version rich with oxtail and a base of seasonal vegetables, grown with care and harvested in their prime.
Photo: Joe Woodhouse
En tacuara just means in bamboo and paiche is a huge invasive fish in the Amazon region of Bolivia. No paiche at hand? Don't worry! Pick a fish you love, combine it with healthy veggies, coriander and some passionfruit (or copuazu, if you can get it) and cook it in the oven - either in bamboo or in banana leaves.
Do you like roasted meat? Do you like risotto? Then you will probably enjoy Saudi Arabia's saleeg. Eman Gazzaz: "It’s simple to make, there’s lots of umami from the meat stock that we use to cook the rice in and kids absolutely adore it. You serve it on a big platter so everyone can enjoy it!"
Photo: Instagram.com/food_by_nour
Vibrantly pink, incredibly refreshing and easy to make, this Lithuanian beetroot soup is perfect for lunch. Winter is over once this cold beetroot soup sees its first preparation of the season. Deivydas Praspaliauskas: "There’s no better way to celebrate the end of the cold season by meeting friends and having šaltibarščiai together.”
Many Cambodian people consider samlor korko to be their national dish. A rustic, nourishing stew-like soup, it features some of the cuisine’s signature ingredients, including prahok and kroeung, and its aromatic, sustaining broth is brimming with fish and vegetables.
Every type of chilli in this traditional Mayan dish from central Guatemala yields a different flavour, contributing to a rich and hearty salsa in which three types of meat (or mushrooms!) are cooked, traditionally in banana leaves.
Rabah Ourrad: "It’s my absolute favourite dish from Algeria. The different types of chilli, the garlic, the tomato, the bread. It should be piping hot. When I have it, I can’t stop eating. I start sweating. Crying. I fight the dish but I can’t stop. It’s beautiful."
Photo: Instagram: welcometomykitchen123
Photo: Migal Van As
