Regional Cuisine Recipes

A classic Russian vinaigrette salad with roasted beets, boiled potatoes, carrots, green peas, dill pickles, and a tangy mustard-vinegar dressing. Served chilled as a hearty side dish.

An Italian Christmas is not complete without this high-domed cylinder of fruit-studded sweet bread.

In Bangladesh, cabbage is usually available in the market during the winter season, as are tomatoes, peas and carrots. So this dish appears quite frequently at Bengali dinner tables during the winter. In the markets where such vegetables are available year round, banda is a popular standard.

Loaded Creole omelette with potatoes, ham, okra, red bell pepper, and cayenne, cooked in a skillet and puffed under the broiler. Brunch with a bayou kick.

Greek island chicken with sun-dried tomatoes, olives, white wine, cinnamon, and lemon simmered into a fragrant Mediterranean sauce. One-skillet dinner over rice.

Vegetarian moussaka with rice, eggplant, and potatoes layered with a tomato-garlic rice mixture and a soy milk white sauce with nutmeg and allspice. A dairy-free take on the Greek classic.

Mung dal with black mustard seeds, turmeric, and ginger, finished with a hot ghee tadka of sputtering mustard seeds and green chile. A traditional Indian lentil dish with bright, bold tempering.

Beef liver seared and simmered in stewed tomatoes with green pepper, basil, sherry, and garlic, spooned over hot rice. Old-school Cajun comfort for liver lovers.

Viennese chocolate torte for Passover uses ground walnuts, cake meal, and potato starch in place of flour. A flourless-style torte split and filled with apricot-orange preserves and finished with a chocolate-orange glaze.

Eastern European poppy seed crescents made from rich yeast dough filled with a sweet cinnamon-lemon poppy seed paste, brushed with egg wash and topped with chopped nuts.

Lucknawi dal simmers pink lentils with turmeric and tamarind, then finishes with a sizzling tadka of cumin seeds, fried onion, garlic, ginger, and dried red chili. Sour, smoky, and brothy in the best Awadhi tradition.

This is the good old fashioned way of serving what's 'bad' for you but tastes so good.

Marjoram spiced souffle made by steaming in a cheesecloth.

Southwestern crab cakes with carrots, celery, and cayenne, pan-fried golden and served with a smoky pasilla chili aioli made with pimientos, white wine, and garlic.

A dairy-free Greek spinach pie with homemade olive oil pastry, fresh spinach, curly endive, dill, scallions, and lemon zest. Traditional Lenten spanakopita, completely vegan.

Russian marinated herring (selyodka) layered in Mason jars with olives, dried chilis, coriander, mustard seeds, and a sweet vinegar brine. Ready after 5 to 7 days in the fridge.