👉 Bigos is Poland’s national dish: a slow-cooked “hunter’s stew” of sauerkraut and fresh cabbage with pork, smoked sausage, mushrooms and prunes. It is sour, smoky and deeply savoury – and it gets better every time you reheat it. Polish families make a big pot for Christmas and Easter, and…
👉 Msemen (also called rghaif) are Morocco’s favourite breakfast breads: square, flaky pancakes made by stretching dough very thin, folding it with butter and semolina, and cooking it on a hot pan. Served warm with honey and butter and a glass of mint tea. They look tricky but the folding…
👉 Fasolada is often called the national dish of Greece: a simple, hearty white bean soup with tomato, vegetables and a generous pour of olive oil. It’s naturally vegan, very cheap and even better the next day. Serve it Greek-style with bread, olives, feta and a few slices of raw…
👉 Dushbara are Azerbaijan’s famous tiny dumplings – so small that a good cook fits 10 or more on one spoon. They are filled with spiced lamb, folded into little “ears”, then boiled in clear broth and served with dried mint and garlic vinegar. They take patience, but making them…
👉 Ash reshteh is a thick, comforting Persian soup packed with herbs, beans, lentils and noodles, served with tangy kashk, crispy fried onions and mint oil. It is traditionally made for Nowruz (Persian New Year) and on cold days. Don’t worry about the long ingredient list – it’s mostly herbs…
👉 Lángos is Hungary’s favourite street food: a big disc of yeast dough fried until puffy and golden, brushed with garlic water and piled with sour cream and grated cheese. You’ll find it at every beach, market and festival in Hungary. A little mashed potato in the dough keeps it…
👉 Varenyky (also spelled vareniki) are the beloved boiled dumplings of Ukraine: soft, thin dough folded into half-moons around a savoury or sweet filling. The classic savoury version is filled with creamy mashed potato and fried onion, often with a little farmer’s cheese, while in summer families make them with…
👉 Mercimek çorbası is the soup you find in every Turkish home and lokanta: silky red lentils blended with onion, carrot and a little potato, finished with sizzling mint-and-paprika butter and a squeeze of lemon. It costs very little, is ready in about 35 minutes and is naturally vegan if…
👉 Soko ketsze (სოკო კეცზე) means “mushrooms on a ketsi” – a Georgian clay dish. Whole mushroom caps are filled with butter and sulguni cheese and baked until the cheese melts and the mushrooms release their juices into the pan. Just three main ingredients and 25 minutes – a favourite…
👉 Harira is Morocco’s national soup – thick, warming and full of tomatoes, lentils, chickpeas, herbs and gentle spices. It’s the traditional dish to break the fast in Ramadan, but it’s perfect any cold evening. The flour-and-water mix stirred in at the end (tedouira) gives harira its signature velvety body.…
👉 Bacalhau à Brás is one of Portugal’s favourite home dishes: flaked salt cod, soft onions and thin crispy potatoes, all bound together with creamy, just-set eggs. Comfort food from Lisbon’s Bairro Alto. Take the pan off the heat while the eggs are still a little runny – they keep…
👉 Mujadara is a classic Levantine dish of lentils and rice topped with a mountain of dark, crispy onions. It’s vegan, filling, very cheap – and one of the most satisfying things you can cook in one pot. Don’t rush the onions: their deep caramel colour is where all the…
