Eliopitakia are Cyprus’ charming olive hand pies: crumbly olive-oil pastry folded around a filling of chopped olives, onion and fresh mint. They belong on a mezze platter, beside a strong Cypriot coffee, or in...

Fried cuttlefish, Portuguese style, is beach-restaurant food at its purest: pieces of tender cuttlefish shaken in fine cornmeal, fried until golden, and finished with nothing but lemon. Five ingredients, most of which are already...

Choco frito is Setúbal on a plate. If you have ever been to that sunny port city south of Lisbon, you know: every seafood restaurant serves platters of golden fried cuttlefish, and choosing where...

Banku is one of Ghana’s great staples: a smooth, slightly tangy dough of cassava and corn, cooked and shaped into dumplings that partner grilled fish, okra soup or a rich meat stew. A dear...

Caraotas negras are the beating heart of the Venezuelan table: glossy, savory-sweet black beans that anchor pabellón criollo, the national dish, and overflow from freshly toasted arepas with shredded white cheese. Once you make...

Bolo de banana is the cake Portuguese households make when the fruit bowl gets ahead of them: soft, cinnamon-warm and intensely banana-flavored, the honorable end that overripe bananas deserve. The sour cream (or yogurt)...

Sopa tarasca is Michoacán in a bowl: a velvety purée of beans and roasted tomato, crowned with crispy tortilla strips and dark ribbons of fried pasilla chili. It is humble, deeply flavored, and exactly...

Banana lumpia — better known in the Philippines as turon — is proof that great desserts do not need long ingredient lists: bananas rolled in brown sugar, wrapped in a lumpia wrapper and fried...

Töltött paprika — Hungarian stuffed peppers — is grandmother food in the best sense: sweet peppers filled with seasoned pork and rice, simmered gently in a silky, paprika-scented tomato sauce until everything is tender...

Lasagna needs no introduction — but this one deserves one anyway. Adding chorizo to the meat sauce changes everything: its smoky paprika fat seasons the whole dish, giving you that slow-simmered depth in a...