Must-eat foods

10 dishes you must try once

Do you know what hamam meshwi is? Have you ever woken up in Oslo to a fresh prawns breakfast? There are things we should all savour at least once in our lives. At Youareitblog we have elaborated our own Top 10 with the help of chef Diego Guerrero and food critic Mimi Sheraton, author of “1,000 Foods to Eat Before You Die”

1. POKE (HAWAII)

Poke

This salad of raw fish is one of the most popular appetisers in Hawaii. Natives elaborate it with gutted fish pieces, seasoned with sea salt and algae. Influenced by other cuisines, poke is prepared with sashimi of yellow fin tuna marinated with salt, soya, sesame oil, algae and Hawaiian chilli. If can also be made with octopus and salmon.

2. BAUMKUCHEN (GERMANY)

When you cut it, this spongy pastry cake looks like a tree trunk with its concentric rings. Known as the king of pies (König der Kuchen) and prepared in the most curious way: rotating ovens where its layers are baked, overlaying.

3. HIDEG MEGGYLEVES(HUNGARY)

When the heat arrives, this is one of the star dishes of Hungarian gastronomy. Hideg means cold, meggy means cherries, and leves means soup. It’s a creamy and refreshing soup of cherries, elaborated with pitted cherries and sour cream, to be had over dinner or as an appetiser. Each family has their own version of this dish and there are some who add lemon slices, cinnamon, clove, a couple spoonfuls of rum or red wine…

4. DIRI AK DJON-DJON (HAITI)

This delicious black rice with mushrooms is a typical criollo dish, especially in the north part of the country, and is usually present at family gatherings and festive bank holidays. It’s made with djon-djon mushrooms, much appreciated as they tint the water black, which can then be used to cook the rice and give it that characteristic colour and flavour. This rice usually comes with meat or fish.

5. VATAPÁ (BRAZIL)

In almost every restaurant in the Brazilian state of Bahía you can try vatapá, made with bread crumbs (or flour), ginger, chilly pepper, onion, peanut, coconut milk and palm oil. The result is a cream that usually goes with fish or veal and rice. It can also be served with acarajé, a dish made of beans and shrimp.

vatapa

6. PIE FLOATER (AUSTRALIA)

Renowned as being part of cultural heritage in Meridional Australia, this is a dish typical from Adelaide, consisting in a meatloaf over (or immersed in) pea soup. Sometimes, you might add some tomato sauce, Malta vinegar or mint sauce. Traditionally, you could get them from street vendors in the evenings, but these have almost disappeared. You can now find them all day long in most cafes and bakeries.

7. KASUTERA (JAPAN)

This popular Japanese sweet – also known as castella, which comes from Castilla bread – is typical of Nagasaki and was introduced in the island by the Portuguese in the 16th century. It’s a very spongy cake made with sugar, flour, egg and starch sirup. You will find it not only in Japanese homes but also in festivals. New flavours, like Match tea, keep appearing.

8. RAVIOLIS CON ALUBIAS DE TOLOSA (SPAIN)

This is, without doubt, one of the dishes that most impact made on Diego Guerrero’s career. Born in El Club Allard and almost doomed to oblivion when the DSTAgE was inaugurated. His mother stopped it: a dish of this kind could not be removed from the menu. And there it continues, with its own merit, converted into a classic in homage to his homeland, the Basque Country.

9. PASTRAMI(U.S.)

This cold cut is made with cow meat, firstly submitted to a brine process and later seasoned with herbs and spices, then boiled and smoked. It is thought to have originated in Romania, and exported by Jewish emigrants to New York in the 19th century. Today it is the main ingredient in the most emblematic sandwich of the Big Apple.

pastrami

10. ALIGOT (FRANCE)

This easy and heartening dish is associated to the French region of Aubrac. Passing pilgrims on the way to Santiago de Compostela would knock on people’s doors asking for “aliquid” – “something” in Spanish – to eat. And the monks would give them bread and mixed cheeses. That’s where aligot comes from, a dish of made of Laguiole cheese blended into mashed potatoes, which makes it quite malleable.

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