Most often cooked with
Garlic
Onion
Sugar
Butter
Flour
Egg
Ginger
DillRecipes with cooking oil
Ackee and Saltfish
Salt cod soaked and flaked into sautéed onion and pepper, then folded through ackee at the very last moment so it does not break up.
Beef and Ale Stew with Herb Dumplings
Chuck steak simmered in dark ale until it gives, with suet dumplings steamed on the surface of the pot for the last half hour.
Beef Stroganoff
Strips of beef seared fast and finished in a soured-cream and mustard sauce that is warmed through rather than boiled.
Borodinsky Rye Bread
Dark sourdough rye scalded with red rye malt, sweetened with molasses and finished with a crust of coriander seed.
Borscht
Beetroot and cabbage soup built on beef broth, with the grated beetroot added late and with acid so it stays red.
Brown Stew Fish
Fried whole fish simmered briefly in a dark sweet-savoury gravy built on browning, onion and thyme, and served with the sauce spooned over.
Buckwheat Kasha with Mushrooms
Buckwheat toasted dry, then cooked pilaf-style with onion and mushrooms so the grains stay separate.
Buttermilk Pancakes
Thick American-style pancakes raised with buttermilk and bicarbonate of soda, mixed in under a minute so the batter stays lumpy.
Chana Masala
Chickpeas simmered in a dark, sour tomato and onion masala, finished with amchur so the sourness sits behind the spice rather than on top of it.
Chicken Kiev
Crumbed chicken breast sealed around garlic-and-herb butter, chilled hard so the filling stays in until cutting.
Chicken Tikka Masala
Yogurt-marinated chicken charred hard under a grill, then finished in a spiced tomato and cream sauce that only works if the char goes in with it.
Conch Fritters
Chopped conch in a loose batter with sweet pepper and scotch bonnet, dropped into hot oil and eaten standing up with a squeeze of lime.
Crisp Hash Browns
Grated potato rinsed of its loose starch and wrung genuinely dry, then pressed into hot fat so it fries crisp instead of steaming.
Crisp-Skinned Salmon
Salmon fillets cooked almost entirely on the skin side in one pan, which crisps the skin and leaves the flesh barely set.
Crumpets
A wet yeasted batter cooked in rings on a low griddle, with bicarbonate stirred in at the end so the holes open right through.
Curry Goat
Goat shoulder burned into curry powder and then cooked for two hours, until the meat gives and the sauce is thick enough to coat rice.
Dan Dan Noodles
Noodles over a pool of chilli oil, sesame paste and vinegar, topped with crisp fried pork and preserved vegetable.
Dark Chocolate Brownies
Fudgy brownies built on melted dark chocolate and eggs whisked to a foam, which is what gives them their paper-thin crackled top.
Egg Curry
Hard-boiled eggs, scored and browned in spice, simmered in an onion and tomato masala.
Egg Fried Rice
Yesterday's rice broken up cold and fried hard in a wide pan, so the grains stay separate and toast instead of steaming to paste.
Escovitch Fish
Whole fish fried until the skin shatters, then dressed hot with vinegar, onion, carrot and scotch bonnet so it pickles as it cools.
Everyday White Tin Loaf
A straight-dough sandwich loaf made with commercial yeast and no starter, baked in a tin so it slices square for toast.
Festival
Slightly sweet cornmeal dumplings rolled long, fried until crisp outside and cakey within, and eaten with anything fried or jerked.
French Toast
Thick slices of stale bread soaked in an egg and milk custard, then fried in butter over medium heat so the centre sets without the crust burning.
Fried Plantain
Very ripe plantain sliced on the diagonal and fried until the sugars caramelise at the edges and the middle goes to custard.
Garlic Naan
A yoghurt-enriched yeasted dough cooked in a screaming hot pan and blistered under the grill, which stands in for a tandoor.
Goan Fish Curry
White fish poached in a coconut and tamarind sauce ground from whole spices, sour and hot in equal measure and cooked in under half an hour.
Grilled Pineapple with Rum Syrup
Pineapple wedges charred over high heat and spooned with a dark rum, lime and brown sugar syrup reduced until it just coats.
Hot and Sour Soup
A brothy Sichuan-style soup thickened with a cornflour slurry and finished with vinegar and beaten egg off the heat, so both stay sharp.
Jerk Chicken
Chicken marinated overnight in scotch bonnet, allspice and thyme, then cooked slowly over smoke until the skin is lacquered almost black.
Kotlety
Everyday Soviet-era mince patties bound with milk-soaked bread, which keeps them tender rather than springy.
Kung Pao Chicken
Diced chicken stir-fried fast with dried chillies and peanuts in a sauce that is sour, sweet and salty in that order.
Lamb Rogan Josh
Lamb shoulder browned hard then cooked for two hours in yogurt and Kashmiri chilli, until the sauce is red, glossy and clinging rather than soupy.
Malai Kofta
Potato and paneer dumplings fried until crisp, sitting in a mild cashew and tomato sauce enriched with cream.
Mapo Tofu
Silken tofu in a fierce red sauce of fermented bean paste and Sichuan pepper, with just enough pork to season it.
Mayonnaise
Egg yolk, oil and acid whisked by hand into a thick emulsion, with the drop-by-drop start that decides whether it holds or splits.
Mujaddara
Lentils and rice cooked in one pot under a mound of onions fried well past golden, which is where the whole flavour comes from.
Mushroom and Barley Soup
Dried mushrooms soaked and their soaking liquor used as the stock, with pearl barley cooked in it until the pot turns thick.
Mushrooms on Toast
Mushrooms seared hard in a wide pan until they brown, then finished with garlic butter and piled onto thick toast.
Oladyi
Small thick pancakes raised with kefir and bicarbonate of soda, fried in a shallow film of oil until the edges set crisp.
Patatas Bravas
Twice-cooked potatoes under a smoky, faintly fierce tomato sauce — the one tapa every bar in Spain is judged on.
Pirozhki
Small yeasted buns filled with cabbage and egg, baked or fried, sized to be eaten out of the hand in two or three bites.
Pork Vindaloo
Pork marinated in vinegar, garlic and dried chillies, then cooked slowly until sharp, dark and much more sour than hot.
Rassolnik
Barley and pickled cucumber soup, sharpened at the end with the pickle brine itself rather than with vinegar.
Red-Braised Pork Belly
Pork belly caramelised in sugar and braised in soy and wine until the fat turns to jelly and the sauce to lacquer.
Sausage and Bacon Breakfast Bap
Sausages cooked slowly from a cold pan, bacon crisped in their fat, and the roll toasted on its cut face so it holds together.
Shashlik
Cubed lamb marinated in grated onion and vinegar, then grilled on flat skewers over embers until charred at the edges.
Shchi
Cabbage soup simmered in meat broth, made sour with sauerkraut in winter and with fresh cabbage in summer.
Silky Miso Mushroom Ramen
A shiitake and kombu broth that starts with a half-hour soak, finished with white miso and topped with seven-minute eggs.
Slow-Braised Beef Shin
Beef shin browned hard then cooked for hours at a bare simmer, until the collagen melts and the meat falls apart under a fork.
Slow-Cooked Black Dal
Whole urad soaked overnight and simmered for hours until it turns black and glossy, then finished with butter and a little cream.
Solyanka
A thick sour-salty soup of mixed cured meats, brined cucumbers, olives and lemon, built on their brine as much as stock.
Spiced Fruit Tea Loaf
Dried fruit soaked overnight in strong tea, then stirred into a batter with no fat in it at all and baked slowly into a dark loaf.
Split Pea and Ham Hock Soup
Yellow split peas simmered with a smoked ham hock until they collapse into the broth, thickening the soup with nothing but themselves.
Steak Diane
Thin beef fillet seared in seconds, then finished in a mustard, brandy and cream pan sauce flamed at the table.
Steamed Sea Bass with Ginger and Spring Onion
A whole fish steamed plain, dressed with soy, and finished by pouring smoking oil over raw ginger and spring onion.
Swiss Roll
A fatless whisked sponge baked in ten minutes and rolled while it is still hot, which is the only way it curls without cracking.
Syrniki
Fried curd-cheese fritters made from drained tvorog, crisp at the edge and soft in the middle, eaten with soured cream.
Tacos al Pastor
Chilli-and-pineapple marinated pork, grilled hard and served in small tortillas with onion, coriander and more pineapple.
Toasted Honey Granola
An oat and almond granola bound with honey and baked in a slab, so it breaks into proper clusters rather than loose dust.
Vanilla Panna Cotta
Cream set with just enough gelatine to hold its shape for a moment on the plate and then slump under the first spoon.
Vareniki
Larger Ukrainian dumplings filled with potato and fried onion or with sweetened curd, boiled and dressed in butter.
Vegetable Stock
A light stock of leek, carrot, celery and onion simmered for only forty minutes, because long cooking turns vegetable stock bitter.
Vinegret
Beetroot, potato, carrot and sauerkraut dressed with oil rather than mayonnaise, with the beetroot oiled first to hold the colour.
Zharkoye
Beef, potato and root vegetables braised slowly in one pot until the meat pulls apart under a fork.