I love to cook, and I love discovering new foods. I'm a big fan of world cuisine and I've really enjoyed learning how to cook foods from different countries. There's just so much choice when it comes to eating, I don't know why anyone would just settle for a regular set of meals when there is so much variety to be discovered and tasted.

Below are my favourite tried and tested recipes from 10 different European countries: France, Spain, UK, Italy, Greece, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Holland and Portugal.

I haven't visited them all personally, but I've sure tasted what they have to offer and I hope that anyone reading might try them too.

Traditional Italian Pizza Dough

30g yeast

350ml lukewarm water

500g strong flour

pinch of sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

Tomato Sauce

1 tablespoon tomato puree

Toppings

4 slices mozzarella

2 basil leaves

olive oil to drizzle

Alternative toppings

Anything you like!

• crumble the yeast into a bowl and sprinkle with sugar
• stir in 5 tablespoons of the water and 3 tablespoons of the flour
• cover with a clean tea towel and leave to rise in a warm place that is draught free for 30-60 minutes
• Once the mixture has been left to sit, sieve the rest of the flour onto a clean work surface
• make a hole in the center of the flour and add the mixture that was left to sit
• add the salt
• work the flour into the yeast mixture
• add the rest of the water gradually and work in until the dough stops sticking to the work surface
• knead the dough for at least 15 minutes until it is smooth and springy
• roll the dough into a ball
• place into a bowl and cover with a tea towel
• leave to rise in a warm, draught free place for 1-2 hours
• knead briefly
• divide into 3 or 4 portions of dough
• roll out to make a flat pizza base
• grease a baking tray with a little olive oil
• place pizza bases on the greased baking tray
• press down just inside the outer edge of the base so that the edge rises slightly to form the crust
• brush with a little olive oil
• spread tomato puree on base
  
• add desired toppings
• bake at 250C / 460F at the bottom of the oven for 15-20 minutes

Ideally, a pizza stone or pizza oven would be used for the best results.

Serves 2 - 4

150g flour

3 eggs

75g butter

150g smoked bacon / pancetta

125g creme fraiche

salt and pepper to taste

1 pinch nutmeg

2 tablespoons grated cheese (if required)

• sieve the flour into a bowl and make a well in the center
• cut the butter into small pieces and add to the flour
• add a pinch of salt and 1 whisked egg
• knead the ingredients until a dough is formed
• roll into a ball
• squash the pastry until flat and knead again into a ball shape
• wrap the dough tightly in cling film and refrigerate for 2 hours
• once the dough has sat, preheat the oven to 220C / 425F
• roll the dough into a thin sheet of pastry
• grease a quiche dish with butter
• line the dish with the pastry and trim any overhanging edges
• prick the dough several times with a fork
• bake for 10 minutes
• if using bacon, cut into small pieces
  
• brown the bacon or pancetta over a high heat on the hob, either in a non stick saucepan or frying pan
• beat the remaining 2 eggs and stir in the creme fraiche
• season with nutmeg and pepper (the smokiness from the bacon or pancetta will provide enough salt)
• place the bacon or pancetta into the quiche base
• add grated cheese if desired
• pour over the egg mixture
• bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes
  

There is something so traditionally English about Fish and Chips. It isn't the ingredients, because most of the world eat fish and potatoes. It's in the manner and tradition of how it's cooked and served.

Taditional Fish and Chip batter is thick and creamy, and this makes for a deliciously crisp encasing for the delicate fish inside. Traditionally the chips are fried twice, and this is what makes them so crispy and golden in colour. The chips that are served in this meal are absolutely nothing like French Fries, they are much thicker and deeper in colour.

Accompaniments for a traditonal meal of fish and chips range from basic salt and vinegar to pickled eggs and mushy peas.

Here's my Traditional Fish and Chips hub.

Serves 8

2kg aubergine / eggplant

2 onions

1kg ground lamb

750g tomatoes

200ml dry white wine

50g breadcrumbs

60g butter

6 tablespoons flour

1 litre milk

2 egg yolks

4 garlic cloves

salt

black pepper

2 tablespoons tomato puree

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped finely

pinch of nutmeg

75g grated cheese

Preparation

• wash and dry the aubergines and slice off the stalks
• cut the length of the aubergine into 1cm thick slices
• sprinkle with salt and leave for 1 hour to draw out the natural bitter juices
• Peel and chop the onions
• skin and de-seed the tomatoes (for a quick and easy method of peeling tomatoes see my Salsa Recipe Hub)
• finely chop the garlic
  
• once the juices have been removed, rinse the slices under cold water to remove the salt and bitter juices
  
• squeeze out the water and pat dry with kitchen paper

Cooking the filling

• add olive oil to a frying pan and brown the slices on both sides
• place on kitchen paper to remove excess oil
• fry the chopped onions until transparent
• add the lamb to the onions and brown
• add the garlic to the lamb, season with salt and pepper and stir
• stir the prepared tomatoes into the meat and cook on a medium heat for 5 minutes
• add the wine and tomato puree and stir
• leave to simmer for 30 minutes to allow the sauce to thicken
• add the herbs and re-season if needed

Layering the Moussaka

• preheat the oven to 180C / 350F
• grease a large oven-proof dish with olive oil
• place the breadcrumbs at the bottom of the dish
• place a layer of aubergine slices on top of the breadcrumbs
• spoon a layer of meat and sauce on top
• keep doing the layers of aubergine and meat until all is used up
• the last, top layer must be of aubergine

Making the sauce

• melt the butter in a pan and add the flour to make a roux
• stir until smooth and golden
• gradually add the milk, stirring continuously
• slowly bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes, continue to stir constantly
• when the sauce is smooth and creamy take off of the heat and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg
• beat the egg yolks and add the grated cheese
• add this to the sauce and stir in
• pour the sauce over the layers of aubergine and meat

Cooking the Moussaka

• bake in preheated oven for 1 hour
  

Grilled Sardines With Peppers

Serves 6

1kg large sardines (whole)

2 green peppers

2 red peppers

1 onion

sea salt

olive oil

white wine vinegar

• remove the scales from the sardines
• wash in salt water, then rub with a generous amount of sea salt
• leave to stand for at least 2 hours
• brush some of the salt off and rub the sardines with olive oil
• cut the peppers into strips
• put into a bowl and drizzle olive oil over them
• add a big pinch of salt and stir so that all the peppers are covered
• peel the onions and cut into rings
  
• grill both the sardines and peppers on a barbeque or grill until cooked
• place the onion rings and grilled peppers onto a warmed plate
• add the sardines
• drizzle with a little olive oil and white wine vinegar
  

Paella is the dish that is most associated with Spain. Traditionally, Paella is made with whatever ingredients are available. Most people think that shellfish is a traditional ingredient, but for the Spanish who lived in the rural countryside, this was simply not the case due to the lack of availability. To rural people, the traditional paella was made with wild rabbits, ducks and even snails. All things that could be sourced from the land.

Spaniards living on the coast would of course have included seafood into their traditional paella, and this is what makes this dish so interesting. There is no definitive taditional Paella, as it was a matter of location that dictated what ingredients were used.

Rice is of course always present in Paella, but other than that, saffron is the only tradtional ingredient that is a must.

My Perfect Paella hub.

400g gruyere cheese

200g emmental cheese

300ml white wine

1 garlic clove

1 teaspoon lemon juice

2 teaspoons corn flour

100ml kirsch

black pepper

ground nutmeg

white bread 200g per person

I recommend using an electric fondue pot. This is what I use and it's much easier to control the temperature when making fondue.

• grate the cheese
• Slice the bread into bite sized cubes
  
• peel the garlic clove and rub the inside of the fondue pot with it
• add the wine and lemon juice and bring to the boil, stirring constantly
  
• add the cheese, corn flour and kirsch, stir
  
• season with pepper and nutmeg, stir again
  
• cook until the cheese is smooth and creamy
• transfer the fondue pot to the table
• continue to let bubble and stir ocassionally
• Dip the bread into the cheese using fondue forks
  

Basic Pancake Batter

200g flour

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

pinch of salt

• place the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl
• gradually add cold water and mix until a thick batter is formed
• mix until there are no lumps remaining
• stir in the eggs
• heat a small knob of butter in a frying pan on a high heat
• add a ladle of batter and tip the pan so that the batter is distributed evenly around the botton of the pan
• cook on both sides until golden brown
• repeat until all the batter mix is used
  

Bacon - brown the bacon in a frying pan and then add the basic batter to cover the bacon.

Apple - peel and core the apples, then slice thinly. Place the batter mix in the pan, then the apple slices on top.

Sprinkle with sugar and cook until the bottom is browned. Using a plate, turn the pancake over and cook apple side down. The apple and sugar will caramelise. Serve apple side up.

Syrup - simply cook the basic pancake batter and the pour syrup over to serve.

Makes 1 large loaf - around 12-14 slices

For the dough

300g flour

1 egg

pinch of salt

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

125ml lukewarm water

caster sugar to decorate

For the filling

80g raisins

80g breadcrumbs

100g butter

1.5kg cooking apples

80g walnuts

100g sugar

pinch of cinnamon

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 tablespoons rum

Making the dough

• mix the flour, egg, salt, oil and water together to make a dough
• leave to stand for 30 minutes
• flour a baking sheet and roll out pastry into a rectangle until thin
• cut off uneven edges and save

Making the filling

• soak the raisins in the rum
• melt 40g butter and pour over the breadcrumbs
• slice the apples thinly
  
• spread the breadcrumbs over the pastry
• mix the apples, raisins, nuts, cinnamon and lemon juice together
• spread evenly onto the pastry, making sure that you leave enough pastry to fold over and seal the strudel
• fold the bare pastry over to seal the loaf
• tuck the ends under and push in tight to seal
• decorate the strudel with the pastry edges that you cut off earlier
• pierce the pastry several times with a fork

Cooking the strudel

• preheat the oven to 180C / 350F
• grease a baking tray with a little butter
• place the strudel onto the baking tray
  
• melt the remaining butter and gloss the pastry with it
• bake for 30-45 minutes
• decorate with caster sugar
• slice and serve
  

Serves 6 - 8

For the cake

6 large eggs

150g caster sugar

50 cocoa powder

For the filling and decoration

275ml double cream

450g morello cherries

50g dark chocolate

1 tablespoon caster sugar

2 tablespoons kirsch

You will need two round 20cm cake tins to make this recipe.

Making the cakes

• preheat the oven to 180C / 350F
• grease the cake tins with a little vegetable oil
• seperate the eggs into two bowls
• whisk the yolks with the caster sugar until they thicken
• add the cocoa powder and stir
• whisk the egg whites until stiff
• gradually add the egg whites to the mixture and fold in gently
• halve the mixture and divide evenly between the 2 cake tins
• bake for 15-20 minutes
• remove from the tins whilst still warm, but not hot

Making the filling and decoration

• whip the cream and caster sugar together until it is spreadable
• drain the cherries, retaining the juice in a bowl
• mix 2 tablespoons of the cherry juice with the kirsch
• spoon the cherry juice and kirsch mix over the chocolate cakes
• taking 1 cake, spread 1/3 of the cream mix over it
• slice the cherries, leaving some whole for decoration
  
• evenly spread the sliced cherries on the cake with cream
• place the second cake on top of the first, so it is layered
• cover all with the remaining cream
• place whole cherries on top
• grate the dark chocolate and sprinkle all over the gateau for decoration