Food Processor

Made throughout the Balkans, into Russia and Turkey, this is essentially a chopped vegetable—it can be almost anything—combined with a strong version of Tarator (page 600). It can be eaten alone or used as a spread or as a dip for pita. Most people let it sit for a few hours before serving, which allows the garlic to mellow and the flavors to marry. This isn’t a bad idea, but if you’re in a hurry, plunge right in. Other vegetables you can prepare this way: eggplant (roasted or quickly boiled, as in Eggplant Salad with Mustard-Miso Dressing, page 185); red beans, cooked until tender; green beans; spinach or other greens.

A pastry suitable for any pie, though for desserts I would go with the Sweet Tart Pastry on page 654. Here you can use olive oil in place of butter, with quite good results. The keys to easy success: use a food processor and chill the dough before rolling it out.

Almonds grow abundantly in Spain—you see the trees throughout the South and easily find fresh almonds, which are a rarity here—and play an integral role in many dishes, offering a rich flavor and body to sauces. This dish is a perfect weeknight offering, but it’s also a fine main course at a dinner party. I like monkfish here, but striped bass, grouper, red snapper, and black sea bass are all suitable; each will cook at slightly varying rates (the monkfish will take the most time, red snapper the least). This is wonderful over either white rice or a pilaf (page 513) or with crusty bread.

Foo foo, a staple in West Africa, is unlike any other starchy dish I’ve ever eaten. Traditionally, boiled plantains (or yucca) are pounded in large wooden mortars until they break down into a springy mash with a sticky, stretchy texture. Pieces are then pulled off by hand (you can use a spoon) and then dipped into a sauce, soup, or stew. I like to pull off pieces before serving and drop into Groundnut Stew (page 296).

This dish is dead easy to make and will wow everyone you serve it to. Dried banana leaves are sold at many Asian food markets, and though they’re not likely to be the kind of thing you use every week, they are cheap and keep forever. For steaming Sticky Rice (page 508) or a dish like this, they are enormous fun and add a wonderful woody, smoky flavor. Furthermore, they seal in so much moisture that it’s difficult to overcook the fish this way. See page 500 for information on Thai fish sauce (nam pla).

The heat from the sauce—red because of the chiles—and the tartness of the tamarind give these otherwise mild fillets a wonderful kick. For sweet and spicy flavors, try the variation. The spice mixture can be made well ahead of time and this dish finished in just a few minutes. See page 500 for information on Thai fish sauce (nam pla). Serve with any simple rice dish.

One of the most popular snacks sold at the famous open-air food bazaars of Singapore is a huge platter of fresh crabs stir-fried in a sweet, spicy sauce. You eat this crab dish, like many others, with your fingers; it’s worth the mess. (If that doesn’t appeal to you, try this dish with precooked crabmeat.) Remember, crabs must be alive and kicking (or cooked) when you buy them. Information on Thai fish sauce (nam pla) is on page 500.

A big potato pie, one of my grandmother’s favorites. She made this in a big cast-iron skillet, usually without butter, but it is better this way and can usually be made a couple of hours before eating; it remains quite crisp. Serve to a crowd, along with a stew or roast.

I have seen stuffed squid recipes with forty ingredients, and some are quite good; often, they contain squid ink, which—though hard to find (or to collect from the squid’s sacs)—is undeniably delicious. But those recipes are too time consuming for me. Still, squid—like piquillo peppers—seem to have been created for stuffing. So, over the years, I have devised this simple, sensible procedure, which produces a stuffed squid much like the one I was served a couple of years ago in northern Spain. Beware that squid shrinks significantly during cooking, so be careful to stuff it very loosely; over stuffing may result in burst squid. Great with Peasant-Style Potatoes (page 477) or Potatoes with Bay Leaves (page 481).

This is a warm salad, combining a wide range of textures and flavors, great as a light lunch or a starter for any Asian meal. Although you can buy packaged fried tofu at many Asian markets—and that is undeniably convenient—it is much better homemade. Just be sure to remove as much of the water as you can, by firmly pressing the tofu between paper towels as detailed on page 491. For information on shrimp paste, see page 9; for information on nam pla, see page 500.

Tofu is often, perhaps even usually, eaten as part of a vegetarian meal, but it’s also delicious when paired with shrimp or pork. This dish has some of the flavors and textures of Tod Mun (page 83), but the tofu adds a smooth texture and subtle flavor. For information on fish sauces like nam pla, see page 500. Serve this as an appetizer or as one of the centerpieces of a larger Asian meal. Use all shrimp if you like or substitute other meat for the pork.

These fresh cornmeal cakes are wonderful for breakfast or as a side dish. They can be served simply with butter or topped with scrambled eggs with tomatoes and onions.

In Piedmont, the home of grissini, these best-of-all breadsticks are scattered on restaurant tables, unpackaged, waiting for someone to sit down and start the inevitable and irresistible munching. They’re usually quite thin, irregular in shape, and very crisp, with a faint sweetness. You can make these stirato, or straight, by following the directions here. Or make them rubata—hand-rolled and irregular—by just rolling the strips of dough after you’ve cut them to make them even thinner. Sprinkle these with toasted sesame seeds, poppy seeds, freshly grated Parmesan cheese, or sea salt before baking if you like, though it’s rarely done in their homeland.

This is not unlike the classic American “white” bread—not the stuff sold in supermarkets today but the rich, milk-laden, soft (but not mushy) loaves of much of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It is no more difficult to make than French or Italian bread, but it keeps much better and is better for sandwiches. (Though it isn’t done in Portugal, you could even bake this in loaf pans.) If you have some saffron, add a pinch to the flour at the beginning for a lovely color and mysterious flavor.

I thought Lent was a time of self-denial, but in Sweden it’s when these absolutely delicious buns appear, filled with almond paste and whipped cream. They certainly could be served as dessert, but in Sweden people eat them as a midmorning or midafternoon snack.

Even more than the Italians, the Spanish eat sweet breads for breakfast. I like these in mid-afternoon—they are great with tea—but suit yourself. These rich rolls don’t keep especially well, so if twenty-four is too many for you, divide the recipe in half or freeze half the dough before baking; it will keep well for up to a month.

Fresh bread crumbs are superior to packaged ones in many ways. First of all, you can start with good bread. Second, you can keep them coarse, and coarse bread crumbs are almost always preferable to fine. Finally, you can season and toast them as you like.

A good all-purpose fresh chile sauce, one that will keep for a couple of weeks in the refrigerator. Hot but flavorful; great for bland foods, such as Hainanese Chicken Rice (page 275).

Still fiery, but mellower than raw chile sauces (and, of course, somewhat more work). Incredible on grilled chicken. This will keep fairly well, but because of the lime juice it is definitely at its best when fresh; thus I keep the quantity small. Information on Asian fish sauces like nam pla is on page 500.

A complex, multipurpose sauce that is good enough to eat with a spoon; adjust the proportions to your taste once you get used to it. Serve it warm, with Grilled Satay (page 101), Fried Satay (page 100), Spring Rolls (page 38), or simply rice crackers, sold at many Asian and health food markets, or other crackers. See page 500 for information on Asian fish sauces like nam pla.