Most often cooked with
Garlic
Bay leaf
Butter
Carrot
Stock
Dill
Egg
ParsleyRecipes with onion
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.
Albóndigas in Almond Sauce
Pork and beef meatballs simmered in a pale sauce thickened with fried bread and almonds rather than flour.
Bechamel Sauce
A white sauce built on a cooked butter and flour roux, with the milk beaten in by stages so it thickens smooth instead of lumpy.
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.
Birria de Res
Beef braised in a deep red chilli broth until it shreds, served as a stew or folded into tacos dipped in its own fat.
Borscht
Beetroot and cabbage soup built on beef broth, with the grated beetroot added late and with acid so it stays red.
Braised Red Cabbage
Shredded red cabbage cooked slowly with apple, vinegar and spice, the acid going in early so the colour stays bright.
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.
Carnitas
Pork shoulder simmered in its own fat until it falls apart, then crisped in the same pan so half of it shatters.
Ceviche Clasico
Firm white fish, lime, chilli and onion, and a fifteen-minute window where it is exactly right. Buy the fish the day you make it.
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 à la King
Poached chicken and mushrooms in a sherry cream sauce with pimento, served over rice, toast or pastry depending on the decade.
Chicken and Prawn Paella
Bomba rice cooked flat and never stirred in a wide pan, which keeps the grains separate and toasts a crust onto the base.
Chicken Noodle Soup
Poached chicken and vegetables in a clear stock, with the noodles cooked apart so the broth stays clean rather than thick and starchy.
Chicken Stock
Stock from a roast carcass, held at a bare simmer for hours so it stays clear, and what the onion and tomato soups both ask for.
Chicken Thigh and Potato Traybake
Bone-in thighs roasted on top of potatoes and lemon in one tin, so the skin crisps above the juices rather than poaching in them.
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.
Chickpea and Spinach Stew
Dried chickpeas cooked from scratch and thickened with fried bread pounded to a paste, which is how Seville gets body without cream.
Cochinita Pibil
Pork buried in achiote and sour orange, slow-roasted in banana leaf until it falls apart. A Yucatecan dish that asks for one shopping trip and then leaves you alone.
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.
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.
Egg Curry
Hard-boiled eggs, scored and browned in spice, simmered in an onion and tomato masala.
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.
Fabada Asturiana
Big white beans stewed slowly with chorizo, morcilla and pork until the broth turns thick and orange.
Forshmak
Salt herring chopped fine with apple, hard-boiled egg and onion into a spread for dark rye bread.
French Onion Soup
Onions cooked down for an hour until they are jammy and dark, then finished under the grill with a raft of bread and melted cheese.
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.
Golubtsy
Cabbage leaves rolled around seasoned mince and rice, then braised slowly in tomato and soured cream.
Herring Under a Fur Coat
Layers of salted herring, onion, potato, carrot and beetroot under mayonnaise, left overnight so it sets firm enough to cut.
Holodets
Pork trotters and beef simmered for hours until the broth sets to a firm savoury jelly around the shredded meat.
Kotlety
Everyday Soviet-era mince patties bound with milk-soaked bread, which keeps them tender rather than springy.
Kulebyaka
An enriched pastry loaf layered with salmon, rice, egg and dill, baked until the crust sounds hollow.
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.
Lemony Chickpea and Herb Salad
Chickpeas dressed while they are still warm so they drink the lemon and oil, then turned through parsley, mint and dill by the handful.
Malai Kofta
Potato and paneer dumplings fried until crisp, sitting in a mild cashew and tomato sauce enriched with cream.
Minestrone
A chunky vegetable soup built on a slow soffritto, with beans and small pasta simmered in the broth so it thickens as it stands.
Mole Poblano
A long, dark sauce of toasted chillies, nuts, seeds, spices and a little chocolate, poured over turkey or chicken.
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.
Mushroom Julienne
Mushrooms baked in a bechamel-style sauce under grated cheese, in individual dishes, browned under the grill.
Mushroom Risotto
Carnaroli rice cooked in stock a ladle at a time and beaten with butter at the end, so it spreads on the plate rather than sitting in a heap.
Olivier Salad
Potato, egg, pea and pickle in mayonnaise, cut to an even dice and dressed only once everything is properly cold.
Pasta e Fagioli
Borlotti beans cooked down until half of them collapse, with small pasta cooked in the same pot so the starch thickens everything together.
Pelmeni
Small meat dumplings in thin dough, boiled until they float and served with smetana or with butter and vinegar.
Pho Bo
Charring the onion and ginger before they go near water is what makes the broth smell like pho rather than beef soup. Everything else is patience.
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.
Pisto
Courgette, pepper, onion and tomato cooked separately, then together, until everything collapses into something sweet and jammy.
Plov
Rice steamed over lamb, carrot and cumin in a heavy pot, left unstirred so the grains stay separate.
Pork Vindaloo
Pork marinated in vinegar, garlic and dried chillies, then cooked slowly until sharp, dark and much more sour than hot.
Pozharsky Cutlets
Breaded minced-chicken cutlets enriched with butter and cream-soaked bread, fried until the crust is deep gold.
Quick Pickled Red Onions
Thin red onion slices covered in warm sweet-sharp brine, bright magenta and ready to eat in half an hour.
Rassolnik
Barley and pickled cucumber soup, sharpened at the end with the pickle brine itself rather than with vinegar.
Roast Leg of Lamb with Garlic and Rosemary
A bone-in leg studded with garlic and rosemary, roasted hot then moderate and pulled off the heat pink, with gravy made in the tin.
Roast Squash and Sage Soup
Squash roasted until the cut faces caramelise, then blended with stock and sage, which gives a depth that simmering raw cubes never reaches.
Roast Tomato Soup
Tomatoes roasted hard with garlic until the edges blacken, then blitzed, so the flavour concentrates instead of thinning out in a pan of stock.
Saag Paneer
Spinach cooked down to a dark, silky base with ginger and green chilli, with cubes of fried paneer folded through at the end.
Salat Mimosa
Tinned fish, egg, cheese and onion layered with mayonnaise and topped with sieved yolk that looks like mimosa blossom.
Salsa Verde
Tomatillos and green chilli blitzed with coriander and lime — sharp, loose, and made in the time it takes to boil a kettle.
Shakshuka
Eggs poached directly in a spiced tomato and pepper stew, cooked and served in the one pan so the yolks stay hot to the table.
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.
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 Beef Ragu
Coarse beef mince browned in batches then held at a bare simmer for three hours, finished in the pan with the pasta.
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.
Smoked Haddock Kedgeree
Smoked haddock poached in milk, the rice then cooked in that same liquid, folded together with boiled eggs and curry spices.
Solyanka
A thick sour-salty soup of mixed cured meats, brined cucumbers, olives and lemon, built on their brine as much as stock.
Spanish Potato Tortilla
Potatoes and onion softened slowly in olive oil, then set with beaten egg in a small pan and turned out on a plate to finish.
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.
Sweetcorn Chowder
A thick corn soup that simmers the stripped cobs in the stock first, then blends only part of itself for body.
Tacos al Pastor
Chilli-and-pineapple marinated pork, grilled hard and served in small tortillas with onion, coriander and more pineapple.
Tagliatelle al Ragù
Bolognese ragù cooked for three hours with milk and a little wine, served on fresh tagliatelle rather than spaghetti, which is what Bologna actually does.
Ukha
Clear freshwater fish broth, never thickened and barely seasoned, so what you taste is the fish and the water it cooked in.
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.