Around the world via your tastebuds
1. Spain's Basque Country; Spinach and goat’s cheese croquetas Northern Spain's Basque Country has a lot to be proud of: a dramatic coastline with sleepy fishing villages and some of the best waves in Europe, a lush mountainous interior unique to the country, and the two captivating cities of Bilbao, a cultural and architectural powerhouse, and San Sebastián, which is home to a dizzying number of Michelin-starred restaurants.
This region packs bold flavours into its dishes, and you’ll often find large hunks of T-bone steak, grilled fish and sweet peppers on rather rustic menus, contrasted with lavish spreads of pintxos (small, tapas-style snacks). Make sure you call in at a sagardotegi (traditional cider house), where you fill your glass with local cider straight from the barrel, while tucking into plates of salt-cod omelettes. Yummy croquetas are a staple of any pintxos menu, and José Pizarro’s version from his book Basque: Spanish Recipes from San Sebastián and Beyond can be adapted to suit whatever you have in the fridge, such as ham or mushrooms (as long as you keep them suitably cheesey).
2. Iran; Iranian herb fritters Iran is both a treasure chest of ancient Persian history and a conflation of Eastern and Western cultures thanks to its central location on the Silk Road trade route. And that’s not to mention its varied landscapes of snow-capped mountains and vast deserts, as well as some of the most beautiful architecture on the planet, including the elegant turquoise-tiled domes of Imam Square, Ali Ibn Hamza Mausoleum’s glass-encrusted halls and Nasir al-Mulk Mosque’s mesmerising kaleidoscopic stained-glass windows.
Middle Eastern cooking is a vegetarian’s playground: zingy salads, moreish dips and freshly baked bread all take centre stage on the dining table, and the Silk Road brought cuisine all across the world straight to the country’s doorstep, resulting in a surprising fusion of flavours for the modern plate. Yotam Ottolenghi’s Simple is a fantastic place to start for recreating dishes of the Middle East.
3. Lisbon; Portuguese custard tarts Lisbon’s terracotta-roofed houses, river views and narrow winding streets of trundling yellow trams, terrace bars and colourful murals, create a charming backdrop to Portugal’s excellent food scene. You’ll find everything from Michelin-starred fine dining to tiny patio restaurants serving small dishes to hip converted warehouses showcasing the latest food trends.
Pasteis de nata tarts are icons of Lisbon - tourists and locals alike devour their buttery pastry and creamy custard fillings by the thousand every day. There’s plenty of debate around where the best in the city are found. Pastéis de Belém, with its beautiful tiles, frequently tops most tourist lists, but Rebecca Seal, in her book Lisbon, recommends Manteigaria, in the Chiado area. The bonus of this local hotspot is watching the masters craft the pastries behind the counter while you sip on an espresso.
4. Bangkok; Thai hot and sour soup Bangkok’s street-food scene is world famous, and any visitor to Thailand’s capital knows the first port of call should be to one of the city’s many bustling markets to fill their bellies ahead of a day of exploring glittering golden temples, air-conditioned mega malls and cool rooftop bars.
Yaowarat, or Chinatown, was the first street-food market, and usually features high on any Bangkok to-do list for a delicious, and often bewildering, experience. You’ll come across favourites like pad thai, chicken satay and fiercely fiery soups, as well as a whole load of more unusual offerings like fried duck beaks, crispy ants and scorpion skewers. Once you’re back home, Leela Punyaratabandh’s cookbook, Bangkok, includes the city’s top eats for you to recreate in your own kitchen (minus the bugs).
And the great thing about Thai cooking is that a lot of the ingredients can be replaced if you’re finding them tricky to source: try ginger instead of galangal and dried versions of the herbs instead of fresh. Or put in an order at an online supermarket and stock up.
5. Italy; handmade tagliatelle pasta Everyone has a favourite holiday memory from Italy, whether it’s sipping Aperol on a stately Venetian piazza, exploring Tuscany’s medieval hilltop towns, or paddling the glittering azure waters of Sardinia. But there’s one thing we can all agree on - it’s almost impossible to recreate that perfect plate of pasta from your trip in your own kitchen.
Chef Evan Funke is looking to change that in his book American Sfoglino, using little more than a rolling pin and a select few ingredients. Expect step-by-step techniques for honing your sfoglia (pasta sheet) skills, as well as range of sauces and broths to bring your Italian noodles to life.
6. Ghana; lamb cutlets with spicy peanut sauce Ghana may currently be flying under your travel radar, but if this little West African country’s food is anything to go by, it should go straight to the top of your bucket list. As well as Portuguese influences and unique music style, hiplife - a combination of hip hop and Ghanaian culture; it has a stunning array of natural scenery, including golden-sand beaches and Kakum National Park. The park's canopy walkway floats 30 metres above the rainforest floor, which is home to forest elephants, leopards and over 600 species of butterfly.
Ghanaian food is a relaxed affair - think fresh fish and seafood, hearty salads and spices that infuse every dish with flavour - well suited to home-cooked meals for the whole family. “For too long Africans have kept this incredible food a greedy secret", says Zoe Adjonyoh in her book Zoe's Ghana Kitchen, and her peanut stew recipe was one of the first she shared with Londoners from the tiny stall she set up in her front garden in 2010.
Peanut sauce is a staple of Ghanian cooking and can be paired with any combination of meat, seafood or vegetable - plantains or yams should be your first port of call, though, for a truly authentic experience.