Europe, one story further.
AI-generated imageLet the mushrooms take on some colour before the cider bubbles into the pan. Add the cream only at the end. The sauce comes together around chicken that cooks gently under the lid.
AI-generated imageA large dish, a little rice and plenty of milk: the oven does the long work. Teurgoule is a rice dessert from Normandy. Our version follows Coutances Tourisme’s slow oven method, with cinnamon and one vanilla pod.
AI-generated imageSet a small baking dish in the centre of the table and serve bread to dip into the warm cheese. A few cuts in the rind make room for garlic and thyme. This warm starter needs little else.
AI-generated imageMash some of the chickpeas to thicken the sauce without cream.
AI-generated imageDrain the spinach well to help keep the pastry beneath the filling crisp.
AI-generated imageSlowly cooked onions turn sweet and golden; the cheese toast goes on the soup only when serving.
AI-generated imageSoften the potatoes in the pan before adding the eggs. Cut the tortilla only once the centre is set.
AI-generated imageRinse the beans, cut the vegetables and make the lemon dressing just before mixing. The salad can go straight to the table.
AI-generated imageLet the onion and aubergine soften first. Add the tomato later so the vegetables can cook without scorching.
AI-generated imageA thin layer of batter matters more here than a tall cake. Chickpea flour, water and olive oil become golden farinata with a soft interior in a hot oven.
AI-generated imageThe pesto waits in the bowl until the pasta is ready. A splash of cooking water loosens the sauce; there is no need to fry or boil it separately.
AI-generated imageThe vegetables stay raw and recognisable. Tuna, egg and olives turn this bowl into lunch; basil and a simple dressing bring the flavours together.
AI-generated imageA firm rusk becomes the base of a light lunch. Grated tomato soaks into the bread, while the feta on top stays crumbly.
AI-generated imageMint makes the difference in this bake. Thin slices of courgette and potato sit between tomato and white cheese; the potatoes on top can turn golden brown.
AI-generated imageLemon and olive oil give a simple tin of chickpeas a different role. Mash a small portion of the chickpeas to give the sauce more body without cream.
AI-generated imageA smooth orange soup topped with a few drops of dark green oil: it is that simple. Here, the oil is added in the bowl as a finishing touch. A handful of toasted seeds adds crunch.
AI-generated imageLarge, cooked runner beans, raw red onion, vinegar and a splash of dark green oil: that is all. The work lies in soaking and cooking the beans. After that the salad is left to steep briefly while the beans are still warm.
AI-generated imageGarlic, anchovy and olive oil infuse together over the lowest heat into a warm sauce. Around it lies a pile of vegetables, raw and cooked, which everyone dips in themselves. Not a dish to eat in a hurry.
AI-generated imagePlenty of egg yolk makes this pasta dough deep yellow and supple. Roll it out thinly, cut narrow ribbons and cook them only very briefly. With browned butter and sage, that is all you need.
AI-generated imageHazelnut is not a side issue here but the main point. The nuts are first roasted and then ground. Egg and sugar are whisked until light, and only a little flour goes in. The cake is dense and moist.
AI-generated imageThe dough should be so thin that light almost shines through it. On top go only cream and quark, onion and bacon. At home you turn the oven up as high as it will go, up to 250 °C.
AI-generated imageSauerkraut, wine and juniper braise together with a piece of smoked bacon until everything tastes of everything else. The sausages go in later, each at its own moment. A pot for a cool autumn evening and a full table.
AI-generated imageQuetsches are small oval plums with firm flesh. Halve them and stand them upright close together, like roof tiles. The base is soft yeasted dough, as in the Alsace recipe this version is based on.
AI-generated imageThe oven does most of the work. Roast the vegetables until soft inside, then remove their skins. Arrange what remains in broad strips on a platter with olive oil.
AI-generated imageThe tomato does not sit in slices on top of this bread. Rub the flesh of half a ripe tomato into the cut surface. A little oil and salt are enough; eat immediately before the crisp edges soften.
AI-generated imageMake the pale custard on the hob. Only once it is cold does it get its layer of caramelised sugar. One spoonful brings the contrast: a crisp top, then soft custard with cinnamon and lemon.
AI-generated imageThe potatoes must be cooked first. Only then do you add the fresh tome: gentle heat and careful folding turn separate slices into a panful of soft, stretchy cheese.
AI-generated imageKeep the lentils whole and the cheese recognisable. In this salad, small cubes of Bleu d’Auvergne, finely chopped shallot and tarragon each bring something different to a simple bowl of lentils.
AI-generated imageThis apple pastry has a layer of dough on top too. Cut a few slits in it: steam can escape while the apple softens and the puff pastry browns.
A small pastry with a big story. It has been sold in Belem since 1837; various stories circulate about its origins in the monastery.
Vienna has two cakes that both claim to be the real one. The dispute dragged on for almost thirty years, and the ruling ended up finding for each of them on a different point.
The name means reboiled. That is not a nickname but the method, and it explains why this dish belongs on a Friday.
Filled dumplings are thought of as plain fare. The name says otherwise, and the Christmas Eve table bears it out.
Spain's best-known dish comes from marshland near Valencia and contains no chorizo. What does belong in it is a shorter list than you would think.
The white sauce on top was added only in the 1920s, by one cook with a mission. What lies beneath is far older and far more widespread.
Outside Hungary goulash is a thick stew in paprika sauce. In Hungary it is soup, and the name is not about the food but about who made it.
What now appears on the priciest menus in Marseille began as what the fishermen could not sell. The name gives away how it is supposed to be made.
The brown, almost black sheen of a pretzel does not come from the oven but from a tub of liquid before it. Without that bath it is just a roll tied in a knot.
It is an open sandwich, and that is about the only simple thing about it. There are rules for what goes on, the order in which you eat, and why there is no lid.
Euromagazine · 3 October 2026
Euromagazine · 6 October 2026
Editors · 9 October 2026
Europe's rainiest city owes that to seven mountains and a sea in front of them. The mechanism is the same one that makes the foehn on the other side of such mountains.