388 traditional recipes

Traditional turtle and ham soup simmered with cloves, bay leaf, thyme, garlic, and chopped lemon. A hearty Cajun-style wild game soup with deep, savory flavor.

Pfefferkuchen, a German honey spice cake with whole wheat flour, coffee, cinnamon, cloves, and rum, glazed while hot. A traditional Christmas cookie bar that stays soft for weeks.

Traditional New Mexico pinto beans slow-cooked with a meaty ham bone. Just 4 ingredients and old-school technique for creamy, unbroken beans in rich pot liquor.

Biscotti Napoletani: traditional eggless Italian almond biscotti with whole and ground almonds, sweetened with corn syrup. Twice-baked Neapolitan cookies built for dunking in espresso or vin santo.

Traditional Tahitian ma'oa and pahua tairo combines fresh snails or clams with taioro (fermented coconut-shrimp sauce), onions, and garlic. An authentic South Pacific delicacy.

A traditional English fruit loaf where dried fruit soaks overnight in hot tea, then bakes low and slow with self-rising flour, mixed spice, nutmeg, and marmalade. No butter needed. Keeps brilliantly.

Anadama bread is a traditional hearty dark yeast bread from New England featuring molasses and cornmeal.

Georgia-style quail browned in butter and simmered in bouillon gravy until fall-off-the-bone tender. A traditional Southern game bird supper done simply.

Authentic biscotti di Prato (cantucci): the traditional Tuscan twice-baked almond cookies, made with no butter for a hard, crunchy bite built for dunking in coffee or vin santo.

Ogwissimanabo is a traditional Tuscarora yellow squash soup with shallots, cucumber, and a touch of maple syrup. A simple Native American summer soup ready in 30 minutes.

Ribbe is Norway's traditional Christmas Eve pork roast: a slab of belly ribs scored, salted overnight, then roasted slowly to crackling crisp skin and tender meat.

Traditional Polish cwikla: pickled beets layered with fresh horseradish, whole cloves, and caraway seeds in a tangy vinegar brine. Ready after 24 hours.

Mexican polvorones, crumbly cinnamon shortbread cookies coated in a chocolate-cinnamon sugar. Baked low and slow for a melt-in-your-mouth traditional Mexican cookie.

Traditional slow-cooked polenta finished with butter and Parmesan cheese. Stirred low and slow for up to 45 minutes until thick, creamy, and impossibly smooth.

German elderberry soup (Holunderbeersuppe): cooked elderberries with lemon, sugar, and cornstarch for a traditional tart-sweet fruit soup served hot or chilled.

Traditional Rio Grande Valley barbacoa de cabeza, beef head pit-cooked overnight in coals with onion, garlic, and cilantro. The Sunday-morning tortilla filling that defines South Texas cooking.