Polish Bigos

Ingredients:
2 lb sauerkraut, washed and drained
2 lb white cabbage, shredded
1 lb kielbasa, sliced into small pieces (kielbasa is a Polish sausage, usually pork)
1/2 lb smoked ham, cubed
1/2 lb smoked pork, cubed
1/2 lb bacon, chopped
1/2 lb beef or venison, cubed
2 oz dried mushrooms
4 pitted prunes, chopped
2 apples, cored and cubed
1 tomato, diced
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp allspice
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp peppercorns
1/2 cup dark red wine

Preparations:
Prepare the ingredients as listed above. Simmer the cabbage until soft (1/2 to 1 hour), then drain. Meanwhile, cook the bacon and set aside, preserving the fat. In the bacon fat sauté the onions and garlic, and brown the remaining meat except the kielbasa. Combine all ingredients in
a pot and cook: in a slow cooker, set on "low" for 5-10 hours; on the stove, cook briefly on medium and then simmer 2-3 hours.

Refrigerate any leftovers and reheat for serving. The flavor improves each time, peaking around the third day.

Greek Cypriot Ttavas

This is a very flexible recipe for beef stew, you can change the proportions of the ingredients if desired and add other vegetables like carrots or courgette.

Ingredients
1 ½ kg beef, in big cubes (can be substituted by rabbit or lamb)
300 gr potatoes, in cubes
150 gr onions, sliced
200 gr tomatoes, sliced (can be substituted by tomato juice)
200 ml olive oil
200 ml red wine
2 bay leaves
salt
pepper
ground cinnamon, ground cloves

Put all the ingredients in a big pan in the oven for about two hours and taste if it's done. Leave a bit longer if not yet tender enough.

Belarusian cabbage salad, draniki and bliny

Cabbage salad
Just grate or slice red cabbage, squeeze some lemon juice over it and add salt and oil to taste.

Draniki
Grate 8 medium potatoes on the smallest possible grater, add a scrambled eggs, 2 tablespoons of flour and one grated onion (optional). Make small patties and fry into potato pancakes in a frying pan with sunflower oil.

Bliny
Take four eggs, separate the yolks from the whites, add a bit of sugar to the yolks, 2 tablespoons of sunflower oil, 2 glasses of milk and 1 glass of flour. Stir and ensure there are no lumpy bits. Then beat the egg whites with some salt and add to the batter. Fry the thin pancakes in a frying pan with a little oil. Do not add too much oil, as the batter already contains some.

Peruvian Picarones

Picarones

Ingredients (serves 2):
1/2 cup of boiled pumpkin or butternut squash
1/4 cup of water (that the pumpkin was boiled in)
3 cups flour
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon yeast
1 tablespoon maizena
1 teaspoon sugar
oil (for frying)

Syrup:
500 grams of chancaca (dark brown sugar)
2 cups water
peel of one orange, finely grated

Preparations:
For the syrup: Put the ingredients for the syrup in a pan with a thick bottom. Let the sugar melt into a syrup at a low fire. It should be dark and thick.

For the picarones: First, boil the pumpkin and drain. Then dissolve the yeast in a bit of the water you boiled the pumpkin in, with the teaspoon of sugar.
With a blender, mix the boiled pumpkin and add the milk bit by bit. Then add the flour and the maizena while constantly mixing. Then add the yeast mixture and mix it all into a thick batter. Put the batter into a bowl and put it in a pre-heated oven. Turn off the heat after a minute and let the batter rise while still in the oven.
Finally, we fry the batter in plenty of oil to make the picarones. They should have the shape of a ring (about 10 cm diameter).
Serve hot with lots of syrup.

Latvian Rosols

Rosols

Ingredients: (serves 6)

8 big hard-boiled potatoes
2 big sausages (preferably “doctor sausage”, but any sturdy sausage will do)
(jar of) cooked carrots
(jar of) cooked peas
(jar of) pickles (=gherkins)
8 hard-boiled eggs
sour cream
mayonaise
salt and pepper

Preparations:

Chop everything in tiny pieces and mix in big bowl or pan. Add sour cream and mayonaise till all the chunks are lightly covered with it, then add salt and pepper to taste.

Costa Rican Ceviche

Ceviche

Ingredients: (serves 4 as lunch or starter)
1 kg of "white fish", cut into cubes
1 cup (250 ml) of fresh squeezed lemon or lime juice
1 (red)onion, finely diced
handful of cilantro (coriander leaves) chopped
2 teaspoons of salt

optional:
2 stalks of celery, finely diced
1 red bell pepper, finely diced
1 small chili, seeded and finely diced
------------------------
mayonaise and/or ketchup

Preparation:
Marinade the fish in the lemon juice and the rest of the ingredients. Put in fridge and stir after an hour or so, then let sit for up few hours so the flavors can blend.
The fish will be "cooked" by the acid lemon juice.
Looks pretty with the chopped cilantro strewn over the salad. Can be served with some mayonaise to make it more creamy, and/or ketchup to taste.

Thai Tom Yum Kung

Ingredients: (serves 4)
Shelled prawns 500 g.
Clear (chicken) broth 3 cups
Lemon grass, cut 1 inch pieces, lightly pounded (1 stalk)
Kaffir lime leaves, torn 3 (if available at local Asian shop...if not, leave out)
Tomatoes (small) 5
Canned mushrooms 1/2 cup
Fish (oyster) sauce 4 tablespoons
Lime juice 4 tablespoons
Coriander leaves 1 tablespoon
Toasted chili paste, fried 2 tablespoons
Small chilies, lightly pounded 5

Preparations:
Boil the clear broth and add the chopped lemon grass and kaffir lime leaves. Cover the pot until it begins to boil. Add the tomatoes, mushroom and fish sauce and leave to cook. Add the prawns, wait for the broth to boil, remove the pot from the heat. Put chili paste and lime juice into a bowl, spoon stir until mixed well, then add he small chilies. Pour the Tom Yum soup into the bowl and stir gently until well blended. At this point, taste and if required add additional spices. Sprinkle the coriander leaves on top and serve while hot.

Burkina Faso Chicken Gizzards

Ingredients: (serves 4)
500 g of chicken gizzards
2 large onions, chopped finely
3 cloves of garlic, chopped finely or crushed
oil
vinegar
salt

Preparations:
Cut the gizzards in halves if your butcher has not done that for you already. Marinate for half an hour or longer in a bowl with equal amounts of oil and vinegar (about 4 tablespoons each) and the chopped onions and garlic. Add salt.
Put the contents of the bowl in a frying pan and fry till done. About 10 minutes. Serve the gizzards hot with boiled rice on the side.