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59 recipes in this course

mainAICoq au VinA soul-warming braise of chicken thighs slow-cooked in Burgundy wine with lardons, pearl onions, and mushrooms. Rich, deeply flavoured, and utterly forgiving — the perfect bistro dish for any home kitchen.105 min30+754 servingsmainAIPaella ValencianaThe authentic Valencian paella made with chicken, rabbit, green beans, and saffron-scented bomba rice. Cooked in one pan over high heat until the rice forms a golden, crackling socarrat at the bottom — the most coveted bite in Spain.
  • Gluten-free
  • Lactose-free
60 min20+404 servings
mainAICacio e PepeThe simplest pasta in the world and one of the hardest to perfect. Three ingredients — spaghetti, Pecorino Romano, and black pepper — transform through careful technique into a dish that is peppery, creamy, and deeply satisfying.
  • Vegetarian
20 min5+152 servings
mainAITortilla EspañolaSpain's most iconic everyday dish: a thick, golden omelette of slow-fried potatoes and sweet onion, set over gentle heat. Perfectly good warm, even better at room temperature, and still excellent the next day. The secret is patience with the potatoes.
  • Vegetarian
  • Gluten-free
  • Lactose-free
45 min15+304 servings
mainAIBeef BourguignonBeef chuck braised for three hours in a robust red wine with lardons, carrots and herbs, finished with pearl onions and mushrooms browned separately. Nothing about it is difficult; it is only long.215 min35+1806 servingsmainAIUkrainian BorschA deep beetroot soup on beef broth with cabbage and potatoes. The colour survives because the vinegar goes in with the beetroot, not into the pot at the end. Served hot with sour cream, dill and crushed garlic.
  • Gluten-free
180 min30+1506 servings
mainAIIberian Pork Cheeks in Red WineIberian pork cheeks braised slowly in red wine with vegetables and bay, until they are tender enough to cut with a spoon. An Andalusian Sunday stew that is better the next day.
  • Lactose-free
175 min25+1504 servings
mainAIStuffed PeppersSweet peppers filled with pork, beef and half-cooked rice, then braised upright in a tomato and sour cream sauce until the peppers slump.
  • Gluten-free
85 min30+554 servings
mainAIFish and ChipsThick chips fried twice, and white fish in a cold beer batter fried once and fast, with malt vinegar over everything.
  • Lactose-free
60 min25+354 servings
mainAIHolubtsi Cabbage RollsCabbage leaves softened in boiling water, rolled around pork, beef and rice, and baked slowly under tomato and sour cream until the leaves go silky.
  • Gluten-free
135 min45+904 servings
mainAIBeef GoulashBeef shoulder braised slowly with a great deal of onion and sweet paprika, thickened at the end into a sauce heavy enough to coat a spoon. Ninety minutes of doing nothing, and most of the flavour is made in the first fifteen.
  • Lactose-free
135 min25+1106 servings
mainAILasagne alla BologneseThe Bolognese original: a ragù simmered for two and a half hours until the meat is silky, layered thinly with béchamel and Parmigiano between sheets of egg pasta. Time is the only difficult ingredient.220 min40+1806 servingsmainAIMusakaDiced potatoes baked with minced pork, onion and paprika, finished with a yoghurt-and-egg topping that sets to a golden crust. One of the simplest things to cook and very hard to get wrong.
  • Gluten-free
90 min30+606 servings
mainAIVegetable RagoutPotato, aubergine, courgette and pepper stewed down in their own juices with tomato. Entirely plant-based without trying to be, and better on the second day.
  • Vegan
  • Gluten-free
  • Lactose-free
55 min20+354 servings
mainAIUzbek Plov with LambLamb, a great deal of carrot and rice cooked in one pot until every grain is separate and stained gold. The technique that matters is the zirvak — the base that the rice steams above but is never mixed into.
  • Gluten-free
  • Lactose-free
105 min30+756 servings
mainAISteak au PoivreSteaks in a pepper crust, seared and then deglazed with cognac into a cream sauce. A quarter of an hour in total, which makes it the quickest dish in the book — and one of the most demanding on timing.
  • Gluten-free
25 min10+152 servings
mainAIChicken Tagine with Preserved Lemon and OlivesChicken thighs marinated in ginger and saffron, then braised slowly with onion until the sauce is thick and golden, finished with preserved lemon and olives. Made in a heavy casserole if you have no tagine.
  • Gluten-free
  • Lactose-free
85 min25+604 servings
mainAIRabbit Braised with GarlicRabbit jointed, floured and browned, then braised slowly with a dozen cloves of garlic, white wine and stock, finished with sour cream.95 min20+754 servingsmainAIGreen BorshchSorrel soup with potato, egg and a spoon of sour cream — sharp, green and quick. The soup that tells a Ukrainian household spring has arrived.
  • Gluten-free
55 min20+356 servings
mainAIKababiGrilled skewers of hand-mixed lamb and beef mince with onion and herbs, served with a quick vinegar-pickled onion and pomegranate seeds.
  • Gluten-free
  • Lactose-free
45 min30+154 servings
mainAIShkmeruliPan-fried chicken pieces finished in a rich garlic and milk sauce — a Racha specialty built almost entirely on how much raw garlic a sauce can carry.
  • Gluten-free
50 min15+354 servings
mainAIKhinkaliGeorgian dumplings from the mountains, twisted into a topknot and filled with juicy spiced beef and pork, eaten by hand and never with a fork.
  • Lactose-free
75 min60+154 servings
mainAIAdjaruli KhachapuriBoat-shaped Georgian bread from the Black Sea coast, baked with a molten cheese filling and finished at the table with a raw egg and a knob of butter stirred straight into the middle.
  • Vegetarian
120 min100+204 servings
mainAIBanoshA creamy Hutsul cornmeal porridge from the Ukrainian Carpathians, cooked in sour cream instead of water or milk and finished with crackling and crumbled brynza cheese.
  • Gluten-free
35 min10+254 servings
mainAIBigosPolish hunter's stew of sauerkraut and fresh cabbage simmered for hours with three meats, mushrooms and prunes — a dish everyone agrees tastes better the day after it's made.
  • Gluten-free
  • Lactose-free
190 min30+1606 servings
mainAIDranikiGrated potato pancakes, pan-fried until the edges turn deeply golden and crisp, served hot with a spoonful of sour cream — everyday food built from almost nothing but potatoes.
  • Vegetarian
40 min20+204 servings
mainAIPasta BologneseA slow-simmered ragù of beef and pork over a soffritto base, mellowed with milk and built to be cooked far longer than the pasta it's served with.130 min20+1104 servingsmainAIPasta CarbonaraRoman spaghetti in a sauce of egg, cured pork and parmesan, thickened by the heat of the pasta alone — no cream anywhere near it, ever.30 min10+204 servingsmainAITortellini in BrodoSmall hand-folded pasta parcels of pork, ham and parmesan, simmered and served in a clear chicken broth — the dish Bologna and Modena have argued over for centuries, and neither has ever backed down.95 min75+204 servingsmainAIClassic FideuàThe original fisherman's version of fideuà: prawns and white fish, short noodles, and a fish stock, cooked down to the crisp bottom crust that defines the dish, with nothing extra to distract from it.
  • Lactose-free
45 min20+254 servings
mainAIFideuà Marinera with AllioliShort noodles cooked in a rich seafood stock with prawns, mussels and squid until they stand on end and crisp at the bottom, served with a spoonful of garlicky allioli on the side.
  • Lactose-free
55 min25+304 servings
mainAIPhở BòVietnamese beef noodle soup: a clear, spiced beef broth poured scalding over rice noodles and paper-thin raw beef, finished at the table with bean sprouts, herbs and lime.
  • Gluten-free
  • Lactose-free
125 min20+1054 servings
mainAIAsadoBeef short ribs and chorizo grilled low and slow over wood embers until deeply browned outside and tender within, served simply with a garlicky, vinegar-sharp chimichurri.
  • Gluten-free
  • Lactose-free
105 min15+904 servings
mainAIAussie Meat PieIndividual hand-held pies of rich, gravy-thick minced beef baked in flaky pastry until the top puffs and browns — the handheld staple of Australian footy matches and lunch counters alike.65 min20+454 servingsmainAIBouillabaisseA Provençal fisherman's stew of mixed white fish, prawns and mussels in a saffron-and-fennel broth, served with garlic-rubbed toasts and a spicy rouille.
  • Lactose-free
70 min30+404 servings
mainAICeebu JënSenegal's national dish: whole fish stuffed with a garlicky herb paste, simmered in a tangy tomato broth with cabbage, carrot and cassava, then the same broth used to cook rice until it's stained deep orange-red.
  • Gluten-free
  • Lactose-free
80 min25+554 servings
mainAIChicken BiryaniMarinated chicken and part-cooked basmati rice layered together and finished under a tight lid, so the rice steams in the meat's own spiced juices and saffron milk while staying separate, fluffy grain from grain.
  • Gluten-free
90 min40+504 servings
mainAIChikuzenniA New Year's osechi classic: chicken and an assortment of root vegetables and mushrooms, cut into shapes and simmered together in a sweet soy-and-dashi broth until glazed.
  • Lactose-free
50 min20+304 servings
mainAICouscous RoyalA generous platter of steamed couscous topped with a spiced lamb-and-chicken stew, root vegetables, chickpeas and merguez sausage, served with harissa on the side for anyone who wants more heat.105 min30+754 servingsmainAIDoro WatEthiopia's iconic dish: chicken simmered slowly in an intensely red, berbere-spiced onion sauce until it turns deep and glossy, finished with whole hard-boiled eggs left to soak up the sauce.
  • Gluten-free
80 min20+604 servings
mainAIFeijoadaA long-simmered black bean stew loaded with smoked sausage, ribs and bacon, served with rice, wilted collard greens and orange slices to cut through the richness.
  • Gluten-free
  • Lactose-free
120 min20+1004 servings
mainAIHāngīA whole meal of pork, chicken, kumara, pumpkin, potato and cabbage, wrapped and slow-cooked together until the meat falls apart and the vegetables carry its smoky, earthy juices — adapted here for a home oven from the traditional earth-oven method.
  • Gluten-free
  • Lactose-free
130 min20+1104 servings
mainAIJollof RiceLong-grain rice cooked down in a smoky, deep red pepper-and-tomato sauce with chicken until every grain is stained through, the base coaxed into a prized crust at the bottom of the pot.
  • Gluten-free
  • Lactose-free
75 min20+554 servings
mainAIKosharyEgypt's beloved street food, layered rather than mixed: rice, brown lentils and macaroni topped with chickpeas, a garlicky tangy tomato sauce and a heap of deep-fried crispy onions.
  • Vegan
  • Lactose-free
65 min20+454 servings
mainAIMole PoblanoChicken simmered in a deep, dark sauce of dried chillies, toasted nuts, tomato, spice and a hint of dark chocolate — savoury and only faintly sweet, built from more than twenty ingredients that no single one of them dominates.
  • Lactose-free
90 min30+604 servings
mainAIPeking DuckWhole duck dried, glazed with a honey-vinegar wash and roasted until the skin turns deep mahogany and shatteringly crisp, carved and rolled into thin pancakes with hoisin, cucumber and spring onion.
  • Lactose-free
105 min30+754 servings
mainAIPizza NapoletanaThe original pizza: a thin, blistered sourdough-leavened base topped with nothing more than crushed San Marzano-style tomatoes, fior di latte and basil, baked until the crust chars in spots.
  • Vegetarian
65 min30+354 servings
mainAISoup JoumouA hearty beef and squash soup, thickened until the squash nearly dissolves into the broth, loaded with root vegetables and small pasta — Haiti's dish of independence, eaten every New Year's Day.
  • Lactose-free
95 min25+704 servings
mainAIGerman Roasted PigeonNuremberg-style whole pigeons, seasoned inside with marjoram, wrapped in bacon and roasted in butter until the skin is crisp and the meat stays tender.60 min20+404 servingsmainAIEscudella i Carn d'OllaThe classic Catalan Christmas stew: a broth perfumed by three meats, served first with galets pasta and a meatball, then enjoyed again as a plate of meats and vegetables on its own.
  • Lactose-free
210 min30+1806 servings
mainAICepelinaiLithuania's national dish: oval dumplings of raw and boiled potato wrapped around seasoned pork, simmered gently and served with crisp bacon, onion and sour cream.
  • Gluten-free
100 min60+404 servings
mainAIChicken and Cheese CasseroleChicken breast baked under a blanket of sautéed mushrooms and onions, sour cream custard and melted cheese: a one-dish dinner for the whole table.
  • Gluten-free
70 min25+456 servings
mainAIChicken ShashlikBoneless chicken thighs marinated in yogurt, garlic, paprika and lemon, grilled on skewers until charred at the edges and juicy inside.
  • Gluten-free
45 min25+204 servings
mainAILamb ShashlikTender cubes of lamb shoulder marinated in onion, cumin and lemon, grilled over embers on skewers and served with raw red onion and parsley.
  • Gluten-free
  • Lactose-free
50 min30+204 servings
mainAIPork ShashlikJuicy cubes of pork shoulder marinated in onion, salt and pepper, grilled over embers on skewers and served with raw red onion.
  • Gluten-free
  • Lactose-free
50 min30+204 servings
mainAICabbage PirozhkiSoft baked yeast buns filled with sweet braised cabbage and chopped boiled egg, glazed until golden: a humble Ukrainian bakery favourite.
  • Vegetarian
75 min50+256 servings
mainAIPotato PirozhkiSoft baked yeast buns stuffed with buttery mashed potato and fried onion, glazed with egg until glossy: the Ukrainian bakery classic made at home.
  • Vegetarian
70 min45+256 servings
mainAIHomemade Doktorska SausageA mild, tender, finely textured cooked sausage of pork and beef with milk, egg and a hint of nutmeg, poached gently and sliced for sandwiches.
  • Gluten-free
105 min60+4510 servings
mainAIHomemade Krakowska SausageA coarse, garlicky, peppery pork and beef sausage in the style of Kraków, oven-baked until its skin turns deep amber and sliced thick for the table.
  • Gluten-free
  • Lactose-free
150 min50+10010 servings