MasterChef: Street Food of the World

With the climate of Europe spanning the often-baking hot Mediterranean to the sometimes positively chilly northern countries, it’s hardly surprising that street food on this continent is equally eclectic. Naturally, with colder weather the food on the street veers more towards comfort than speed, such as Anders Halskov-Jensen’s biksemad recipe, and Northern Europe excels at deep-fried delights and oozing melted cheese, whilst in the south things tend to be smaller, snackier and lighter – little miniature meatballs with a punchy tomato sauce, or the fresh niçoise salad wraps from the French Riviera, or Italy’s world-famous gelato.

As a continent, Europe perhaps has embraced the trend of street eating as a social event more than any other, with specialised food markets popping up all over the place. Germany’s world-famous Christmas markets sum up all that is good about eating on the street whilst wrapped in a snuggly coat – from crisp potato and apple fritters to dairy heavy pizzas or decadent fruit and cream laden waffles, all best washed down with warming spicy gluwein! Meanwhile crêperies are a familiar sight all across France, and offer inspiration for Marc Boissieux’s take on a banoffee crêpe.

It’s never been easier to find food from all corners of the globe in Europe, but there are also plenty of indigenous specialities that are hard to beat, including Simon Wood’s masterful take on a British pub classic, the humble but delectable Scotch egg, and Luca Manfè’s classic Italian bar snack, gnocco fritto.

My black pudding Scotch eggs are a great snack, and this classic combination of flavours are great served with a good mayonnaise or piccalilli, and of course are excellent when washed down with a good beer! They’re delicious warm, but are just as good cold at any time of day.

Place the black pudding, breadcrumbs, 1 egg and the oregano into a bowl. Using a fork, break down the black pudding and combine the ingredients evenly, season generously with salt and pepper and divide the mixture into 6 equal portions.

Bring a saucepan of water just to the boil, add the 6 eggs and cook for 6 minutes, which will give you a soft, creamy yellow yolk. Place the saucepan into the sink and run the cold tap over the eggs until they are cool, then remove the shells.

Use your hands to flatten one of the portions of black pudding into a rough disc, about 10–12cm in diameter, depending on the size of your eggs. Place a boiled egg in the centre and carefully shape the black pudding evenly around the egg, making sure to seal the joins well. Repeat this process with the remaining black pudding and eggs.

For the panne coating, set out 3 bowls. Put the flour into one bowl and season it with salt and pepper. Whisk the eggs into another bowl, and place the breadcrumbs and dried oregano into the final bowl.

Lightly coat each Scotch egg with the seasoned flour, then place it into the beaten egg, then roll it in the breadcrumbs. I like to repeat the egg and breadcrumb stages to get a thick, crunchy coating on my egg. Reshape the eggs so they are perfectly round, if required, then place them in the fridge to firm up.

Take a large saucepan and heat 15cm of oil to 175°C/345°F, or use a deep fat fryer if you have one. It’s hot enough when a 1cm square of bread turns golden in about a minute. Carefully place 2 or 3 eggs at a time into the oil; if you overload the pan the temperature of the oil will drop and you will end up with soggy eggs that stick together! Cook for 6–8 minutes, turning regularly to ensure that they are evenly golden and crisp. Drain on kitchen paper and serve.

Coming from Cornwall, I have a real weakness for a properly seasoned Cornish pasty, although to my mind they taste their best when eaten by the sea accompanied by the sound of seagulls! The pastry here is unusual because it’s made with strong bread flour, which results in a sturdier crust to support the robust filling.

salt and freshly ground black pepper, plus extra sea salt flakes for sprinkling (optional)

To make the pastry, add the flour, butter, lard or shortening and salt to a large bowl and stir together until the fats are completely coated in flour. Gradually add just enough ice-cold water to bring it together into a firm dough that is not too sticky. There should be no loose pieces of fat or flour left in the bowl.

Turn on to a lightly floured work surface and roll into a rectangle about 1cm thick. With the shorter edge facing you, fold the top third towards you into the middle, and the bottom third up and over it, just like folding a letter. Turn the pastry by 90 degrees, roll out again to a 1cm-thick rectangle and repeat the folding, adding a little more flour as necessary to stop it from sticking. Repeat this turning, rolling and folding process 4 or 5 times. Wrap tightly in cling film and chill for an hour.

To make the filling, combine the beef, potato, swede and onion in a large bowl and season generously with salt and pepper. Cover and set aside while the pastry chills.

Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C Fan/Gas Mark 6. On a lightly floured worktop, cut the pastry into 8 even-sized pieces. Shape into a ball and then roll each piece out to a circle about 5mm thick. Add a little pile of cooled filling to one half of each circle, leaving a generous 2cm margin around the edge. Bring the empty half of the pastry up and over the filling, encasing it completely. Press the edges of the pastry together, then twist along like a rope to crimp and seal. Brush with a little beaten egg and scatter over a few flakes of sea salt, if you fancy.

Spread the pasties over two baking trays and put into the hot oven. Reduce the heat to 180°C/160°C Fan/Gas Mark 4 and bake for 45 minutes until deep golden brown. Best served steaming hot from the oven.

Good old fish and chips is the ultimate British street food, ideally eaten by the seaside on a blustery day! Triple-cooked chips are a bit of an effort, but they are worth it – the chilling in the fridge guarantees a supreme crunch. And if you are making chips, you may as well make plenty, so this recipe gives a generous portion each.

800g firm white fish fillet (cod, haddock, ling or pollack), ideally 2–3cm thick

Peel the potatoes and slice into 1cm-thick chips. Place in a colander and rinse well under cold running water. Tip into a large saucepan and shake in a little sea salt. Pour in enough boiling water to submerge the chips and cover with a lid. Bring back to the boil and cook until just tender when pierced with the tip of a sharp knife, about 3–4 minutes. Drain well and spread out on a large baking tray to steam dry. Leave to go completely cold.

Heat the oil in a deep fat fryer to 120°C/250°F. Fry the parboiled chips for about 5 minutes until soft all the way through but not coloured at all. You may need to do this in 2 or 3 batches depending on the size of your fryer. Drain thoroughly then spread out once again on a baking tray in a single layer. Leave to go cold then chill in the fridge for a few hours, or preferably overnight.

Make the tartare sauce by placing the egg yolks, mustard and salt in the bowl of a food mixer. Using the whisk attachment, whizz until smooth and completely combined. Measure the oils into a jug, then, with the motor running, start to add the oils very slowly, literally drop by drop at first, letting the sauce whizz and mix between each addition. If you go too fast you risk separation rather than emulsification. Once the egg is thickening and turning paler you can increase the flow of oil to a few drops at a time, very gradually increasing to a thin trickle as it begins to look like mayonnaise. When all the oil is in, add the lemon juice and whisk once more until combined. Then fold through the cornichons, parsley, capers and shallot with a tablespoon. Taste to check the seasoning, adding black pepper, extra salt or a squeeze more lemon to taste before scooping into a bowl and chilling until needed (overnight is fine).

For the batter, mix the plain flour, cornflour, turmeric and salt together in a large bowl. Cut the fish into 4 even-sized pieces and lay on a large plate or baking tray. Take a generous tablespoon of the seasoned flour and sprinkle it over the fish, then toss the fish around to get a light, even coating. Gradually pour the beer into the remaining flour in the bowl, whisking all the time until you have a smooth batter.

Preheat the oven to 140°C/120°C Fan/Gas Mark 1 so you can keep the fish warm while the chips are cooking. Heat the oil in the deep fat fryer to 180°C/350°F.

Have the plate of fish and bowl of batter right next to the deep fat fryer. Dip a piece of fish into the batter, completely submerging it so it gets an even coating, then immediately slide it gently into the hot oil. Repeat with another piece of fish and leave both to fry for about 5 minutes, until the batter is golden and puffed up. Drain briefly over kitchen paper and slide into the warm oven on a baking tray while you repeat with the remaining 2 pieces. Slide those into the oven too, to keep warm while you give the chips their final crisping in the fryer.

Fry the chips for a second time – at the higher heat of 180°C/350°F – again in batches if necessary, until golden and really crisp, about 4 minutes. Drain briefly before scattering over a little sea salt and serving immediately with the fish and the tartare sauce with lemon wedges on the side.

These traditional waffles are a street staple in their native Belgium. Unlike American waffles (which use baking powder), these have a little yeast in the batter. The result is a light and airy inside and a crisp outside. As to what to top your waffle with – the world is your oyster!

a waffle iron (I use a sturdy cast-iron one that sits on the hob and which you flip over halfway through cooking)

Melt the butter in a saucepan. As soon as it has melted, pour in the milk and vanilla extract and allow it to warm for a couple of minutes. Don’t let it get too hot – dip your little finger in; it should feel nicely warm. Pour the liquid over the dry ingredients and whisk together to form a smooth batter.

Separate the eggs, one at a time, into two glasses. After separating each egg, slide the yolk into the batter and the white into a clean mixing bowl. (If you get any yolk in the white they will not whisk up properly, so doing them individually lessens the risk of ruining all three should one yolk split open.) Whisk the yolks into the batter so they are completely amalgamated.

Take a very clean whisk and whisk the egg whites to soft peaks. Using a large metal spoon, fold them gently through the batter mix, trying to keep as much air in as possible. Cover tightly with cling film and leave to prove at room temperature for an hour. You can also prove the batter overnight in the fridge, and then make fresh waffles as a fabulous treat for a weekend breakfast.

Lightly oil the inside of your waffle iron and heat it up as per the manufacturer’s instructions. Make sure it’s really hot (a little drop of water should sizzle away instantly on contact with the surface), then pour in a ladleful of batter – don’t overfill – and shut the lid. Leave to cook, again as per instructions: mine suggests a minute per side. Serve immediately with your favourite toppings.

Try one of the following toppings, or mix and match to suit your taste – the options are endless!

Made from chickpea flour, socca is a naturally gluten-free pancake from Nice, in southern France. Here it is wrapped around a classic Niçoise salad – a perfect combination from the shores of the French Riviera. Best eaten in the sunshine with a glass of chilled rosé!

Begin by making the socca batter. In a bowl, whisk together the chickpea flour with 500ml cold water, the olive oil and rosemary, seasoning well with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours to allow the batter to settle.

For the dressing, place all the ingredients in a sealed jam jar, seasoning to taste with salt and pepper, and give it a good shake. Or for a super-smooth and perfectly emulsified dressing, place all the ingredients in a jug and pulse with a stick blender until creamy. Set aside.

Put the eggs in a pan of cold water, bring to the boil and cook for 5–6 minutes. Run under cold water until cool enough to handle, then peel and slice each one into quarters. Set aside.

Plunge the green beans into boiling water and cook for about 4 minutes until just tender. Drain well and refresh under cold running water to cool quickly and halt cooking. Tip into a large bowl and add the tomatoes, pepper, cucumber, anchovies, olives and basil. Pour over the dressing and stir well to mix. If you are making ahead of time, however, don’t dress the salad until you are ready to eat.

Remove the socca batter from the fridge and give it a final whisk to mix. At this point you can divide it between 6 glasses if you like, to make sure the pancakes are of even size. Or you can do as I do and make an educated guess! A ladleful per pancake is about right. Take a large (28–30cm) non-stick frying pan and set it over a medium heat. When it’s hot, add a little oil and brush it all over the surface of the pan using a piece of scrunched-up kitchen paper. Make the first pancake by pouring in the batter and swirling it around to spread it out into a round pancake. Let it cook for a couple of minutes then flip over with a fish slice and cook on the other side for a further couple of minutes. Remove to a plate and keep warm in a low oven (around 110°C/90°C Fan/Gas Mark ¼) while you repeat with the rest of the batter to give you 6 pancakes.

To serve, place the pancakes on a plate in the middle of the table, along with the salad, the tuna, the egg quarters and the lettuce, and let your guests fill and wrap their own. Or you can assemble them yourself and wrap tightly in foil ready to eat.

Panisses are deep-fried chickpea flour chips, perfect for dunking in tapenade as a Provençal alternative to fries and ketchup. Begin making the panisses in plenty of time, as the batter needs to chill and set before it’s sliced and fried.

Note: you will need to begin this recipe at least 6 hours before you want to eat, or even the day before, to allow time for the panisses to chill.

a 20cm-square shallow baking tin, lined with cling film, pressed well into the corners

Place 1 litre of water and the butter in a saucepan and set over a medium heat. Bring to a simmer, allowing the butter to melt, then quickly sieve in the chickpea flour. Use a whisk to beat vigorously for a couple of minutes as the mixture thickens. Reduce the heat to low, season to taste and allow to cook for 10 minutes, stirring regularly. Scrape into the prepared tin, levelling with a spatula (the mixture should be about 1cm thick), and set aside to cool. Once cool, put the tin in the fridge to chill for at least 6 hours or overnight.

For the tapenade, simply place all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse to a paste. Taste and add a little more red wine vinegar or black pepper, if desired. Scoop into a bowl and cover with cling film, leaving at room temperature for an hour or two for the flavours to develop; it will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.

To cook the panisses, turn out the now solid block on to a chopping board and, using a sharp knife, cut into fingers of about 10 x 2cm. Heat the oil in a deep fat fryer to 180°C/350°F and fry in batches for around 5 minutes until deep golden brown and crisp. Drain in a bowl lined with kitchen paper and repeat until they are all cooked.

Serve immediately in a bowl or basket, or tip into a paper cone for the full street experience, with the tapenade dolloped alongside for dipping.

La crêpe is one of the most famous dishes in France. If you travel throughout the country you’ll see restaurants dedicated to the crêpe, and Paul Bocuse himself has served the famous Crêpe Suzette in his resaurant for 50 years. It also makes for great street food, and this is my version of a crêpe like a banoffee – enjoy!

To make the batter, combine the eggs, yolks, flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl and mix for a few minutes. Add the milk gradually and whisk until the batter is homogeneous. Continue to whisk as you add the melted butter. Leave the batter to rest in the fridge for an hour.

While the batter is resting, make the sauce. Cut the butter into small cubes. Place half the sugar in a pan and heat slowly. Place the cream in another pan and heat slowly.

When the sugar becomes liquid caramel, add the remaining sugar. When it is brown in colour, remove from the heat and add the butter, whisking slowly. Add the hot cream, mix together and set aside to cool.

Cut the bananas into discs. Put half the butter in a pan to heat. Add the bananas and cook for a minute. Add the rum and blaze for seconds before removing from the heat.

For the crêpes, melt a little of the remaining butter in a frying pan, add a ladleful of batter and swirl to coat the base of the pan. Cook for 1–2 minutes, then flip over and cook for a further minute. Scatter a few banana discs on to each crêpe and sprinkle with the toffee sauce. Fold in half then half again to form a triangle. Repeat until all the batter is used. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

From the mountainous southern region of Germany, flamkuchen are thin, crisp pizzas topped with a dreamy combination of melting onions, cream, cheese and smoked bacon. I can’t think of a more perfect accompaniment to an ice-cold beer or two.

Make the pizza base in a food mixer or by hand. Stir together the flour, salt and yeast until mixed, then add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the water, kneading together until smooth and elastic. This will take around 10 minutes by hand; around 5 minutes in a food mixer with a dough hook. Scrape the dough into a clean, lightly oiled bowl and cover loosely with a clean tea towel. Leave to prove while you cook the onions.

Melt the butter and the remaining tablespoon of oil in a deep saucepan and add the sliced onions. Cook over a really low heat, stirring every now and then, until the onions are soft but not coloured. This will take around 40–45 minutes, maybe even a touch longer; don’t try to rush the process – slow-cooked onions take on an incredible depth of flavour and in this simple dish that is the key to success. A deep saucepan helps prevent the onions from burning as they cook in a thick, dense layer.

Preheat the oven to 240°C/220°C Fan/Gas Mark 9. Divide the dough into 4 even pieces, and stretch and roll each to a thin disc of about 22–24cm in diameter. Lay each on a baking tray (if you don’t have 4 suitable trays, lay them on separate sheets of baking parchment ready to slide on to trays to bake in shifts). Top each base with a couple of tablespoons of crème fraîche and season all over with salt, pepper and a generous grind of fresh nutmeg. Dot spoonfuls of the cooked onions over each base and scatter on the lardons. Finally sprinkle over the grated Gruyère cheese and bake in the hot oven, in batches if necessary, until the base is crisp and the cheese golden and bubbling, about 12–14 minutes.

Garnish with the snipped chives and ideally serve straight from the oven, although this still tastes great at room temperature or even cold.

Funnily enough, leberkäse translates literally from the German as ‘liver cheese’, despite there being neither liver nor cheese in this meatloaf recipe. Hugely popular in the Bavarian region, it is often served sliced, fried and piled into a burger with mayo, gherkins, mustard and crisp onions, as I have done here. The texture of the meat is really fine, much like a hot dog, and it tastes like a spicy sausage. The curing salt is not essential, but it does keep the meat nicely pink; substituting ordinary salt is fine but the loaf will be darker in colour.

Place the pepper, salt, mace or nutmeg, coriander, marjoram, chopped onion and garlic in a food processor and whizz to a pulp. Add the bacon and process again until well blended and quite smooth. With the motor running, drop spoonfuls of mince into the processor, allowing it to process for about 20 seconds or so before adding more. Once both the beef and pork mince have been added, keeping the motor running, pour in the ice-cold water in a steady trickle. Allow everything to process for another couple of minutes until you have a really smooth pâté-like paste. If your processor bowl is on the small side you may need to do this in a couple of batches to get it smooth enough, then beat the batches together to a uniform emulsion.

Scrape the mixture into the prepared loaf tin, pressing it well into the corners and mounding it up and smoothing the surface so it looks like a raised loaf of bread. Don’t worry that the tin is full to overflowing – it won’t rise as it cooks and by mounding it high you will get nice big slices when you cut it. Wet a sharp knife with cold water. Make diagonal slashes across the surface to form a diamond pattern, wiping and re-wetting the knife as you go so it doesn’t stick. Put the tin on to a baking tray and slide into the oven. Bake for about an hour and 15 minutes, until it’s browned on the surface and has pulled away from the sides of the tin. It should be piping hot all the way through – if you have a meat thermometer, it should read 75°C/170°F in the centre; if you don’t, insert a skewer into the centre and leave it for 20 seconds, then touch it quickly to your bottom lip – it should feel hot rather than lukewarm.

While the meatloaf is cooking, make the chive mayonnaise by stirring the mayonnaise and chives together in a small bowl and seasoning with a little pepper. Set aside.

Place the oil and sliced onions in a large frying pan and set over a medium heat, frying until starting to soften and lightly golden, about 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and set aside until the meatloaf is cooked.

Once the meatloaf is out of the oven, remove it from the tin and place on to a chopping board. It should come out easily, skewered on to a fork at each end. Cut into 2cm-thick slices.

Set the onions back over a medium heat, pushing them to one side of the pan. Fry the slices of leberkäse for a minute or so on each side until crisp. You may need to do this in batches, depending on the size of your pan. The onions should caramelise nicely alongside the slices of meatloaf – if they are getting too browned, lift them out on to a plate.

To assemble the rolls, spread the chive mayonnaise on the base of each, and top with a little lettuce and a few slices of gherkin. Add a slice of leberkäse to each, followed by a few onions. Spread a little mustard on to the top half of the bun and press it down on to the burger. Serve immediately.

A staple snack at Christmas markets across Germany, kartoffelpuffer are crisp potato pancakes served with a dollop of tart apple sauce. These make a great snack with a glass of cold beer, or try them with a warming glühwein, just as they would in Germany.

Peel the potatoes and grate them into a bowl. Grate in the onion and add the flour and eggs, stirring well to mix together. Season generously with salt and pepper and stir in the horseradish or mustard, if using. Set aside.

For the apple sauce, peel, core and chop the apples, dropping them into a saucepan as you go. Add 2 tablespoons of water and set over a medium heat, covering with a lid. Allow to cook until soft, about 5–8 minutes, mashing them with a spoon from time to time to help them along. Season to taste with a little sugar, bearing in mind that the sauce is supposed to be quite tart, and spoon into a bowl to cool a little. The sauce can be served warm or made in advance and served cold.

Add 2–3 tablespoons of vegetable oil to a large frying pan and set over a high heat. Once the oil is hot, dollop a few tablespoons of the potato mixture into the pan, flattening them out until around 1cm thick, and allow to fry for 2–3 minutes until crisp and golden. Flip over with a palette knife and fry on the other side. Remove to a plate lined with kitchen paper and keep warm in a low oven (around 110°C/90°C Fan/Gas Mark ¼) while you make the rest.

Biksemad is a traditional Danish dish created from leftovers of meat and boiled potatoes – typically meat from a beef or pork roast – and served with fried eggs, pickled vegetables and condiments such as ketchup, HP sauce and Worcestershire sauce. Traditionally, the dish is made by cutting meat and potatoes into bite-sized cubes and frying them with onions before serving, but I prefer to cook the ingredients individually and combine them afterwards.

Place the oil in a frying pan over a high heat and fry the potato cubes until they have a nice golden crust. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

Place half the butter in the frying pan and fry the onions at medium heat until they soften and start to brown a little. The idea is to bring out the sweetness in the onions without frying too much. Set aside.

Fry the meat cubes gently in the remaining butter. Since the meat is already cooked, it should just be warmed through. Add the potatoes and the onions, mix everything together and season with thyme leaves and salt and pepper, to taste.

Serve the biksemad with 1 fried egg per person, alongside condiments and pickled vegetables such as beetroots and gherkins. If you can get it, Danish rye bread with butter is a nice side dish.

•Homemade béarnaise sauce (in my family this version is known as Dronningebiks [The Queen’s biksemad]).

Ubiquitous across Finland, often eaten as a snack with a glass of cold milk, these buns are translated literally as ‘slapped ears’ – some say because of their slightly squished shape, and others because children who tried to steal them hot from the oven were told they would get their ears slapped.

Note: you will need to begin this recipe several hours before you want to eat, or even the day before, to allow time for the dough to prove.

2–3 tablespoons pearl sugar, or granulated sugar (if you can’t find pearl sugar)

Start by making the dough. If using whole cardamom pods, bruise them with the flat of a large knife, peel and discard the skins, and place the seeds into a spice mill or pestle and mortar. Grind to a powder then tip into a food mixer or large bowl. If using ground cardamom, simply place it straight into the food mixer or bowl.

Add the flour, sugar, yeast and salt and, using the dough hook of the mixer, or with a wooden spoon if you are making by hand, mix together thoroughly. I would not advise attempting the next stage by hand as the dough is very wet, so place all the dry ingredients in the bowl of a food mixer and add the milk, eggs and butter. Mix on a low speed until combined. Turn the motor up to medium and knead for 5 minutes until smooth and elastic.

Lightly grease a large, clean bowl with a little soft butter and scrape the dough into it. Cover and leave to prove until doubled in size – about 3 hours at room temperature or overnight in the fridge; I prefer a slow overnight prove so they are ready for breakfast the following day.

For the filling, beat the butter, sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl to form a smooth, soft paste. Set aside.

Tip the dough on to a lightly floured worktop and cut it in half. Roll each piece out to a large rectangle, approximately 50 x 30cm in size and 5mm thick. Spread the spiced butter thinly and evenly over the 2 sheets of dough, then roll each up snugly to form a long sausage shape. Cut each length into triangles by slicing through on the diagonal, first one way, then the opposite (you should get about 26). You want the tip of the triangle to be about 2cm wide, and the base to be about 6–7cm. Then, with a triangle in front of you, base side closest, press your finger firmly down the centre from the tip to the base. This will flatten the top and squish out each end to reveal the spirals of spiced butter. Repeat with the other triangles. Arrange them, well spaced out, on 2 or 3 baking trays and leave to prove once more for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 220°C/200°C Fan/Gas Mark 7. Just before you bake, brush the surface of each bun with a little beaten egg and sprinkle on some pearl sugar (or granulated sugar). You can freeze them at this stage: leave on the baking trays to freeze, then pack into a bag or tub and leave in the freezer until ready to cook.

Bake in the hot oven for about 15 minutes, until deep golden brown. If cooking from frozen, give them an extra couple of minutes. Serve warm.

These traditional Polish dumplings are fairly easy but pretty time-consuming to make. For me, their rich woodland flavours make them the perfect street food for making on a wild, wet autumn afternoon – they really are comfort food extraordinaire.

To make the dough, stir the flour and salt together in a large bowl. Pour in 200ml water and add the soured cream or yogurt, stirring to bring it together into a flaky ball. Tip on to a lightly oiled worktop and knead for 5 minutes until smooth and shiny. Wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for an hour or so (up to 24 hours is fine).

Meanwhile, melt 25g butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil together in a large frying pan set over a medium-low heat. Add the chopped onion and allow to soften and lightly caramelise for 10–15 minutes. Stir through the grated potato, mushrooms and caraway seeds and season well with salt and pepper.

Tear off a sheet of baking parchment and scrunch it up under running water. Shake off the excess water and spread it out over the filling in the frying pan, tucking it snuggly around the edges to create a steamy lid. Reduce the heat to low and cook gently for a further 15 minutes until the potato is soft and collapsing, stirring occasionally to incorporate the caramelised bits on the base of the pan. Turn off the heat, scoop this filling mixture into a dish and leave to cool.

Wipe out the frying pan and set back over a medium heat. Add the remaining oil and fry the bacon until crisp on both sides. Set aside to drain briefly on a plate lined with a couple of sheets of kitchen paper, then snip into pieces. Add the sliced onions and remaining 50g butter to the pan and gently fry until soft and lightly caramelised, about 20 minutes. Scoop into another dish and set aside. Give the frying pan a wipe clean.

Take the ball of chilled dough from the fridge and roll it out on a lightly floured worktop until it’s about 2mm thick. Take a 10cm cutter and stamp out as many circles as you can, then re-roll the scraps and cut a few more circles until you have used as much of the dough as possible.

To fill the pierogi, take one circle and place a heaped teaspoon of filling on one side, leaving a border around the edge. Dampen the border with a little cold water using a clean finger or small brush. Fold the other half of the circle over the filling, pressing the edges together to seal the filling inside, then crimp and roll the edges over so they look like miniature pasties. Set aside on a well-floured baking tray. Repeat until you have used up all the circles and filling.

When you are ready to cook, bring a large pan of lightly salted water to the boil over a high heat. Add about a third of the pierogi and simmer rapidly until they all bob to the surface, about 4–5 minutes. Scoop out with a slotted spoon, allowing the water to drain back into the pan, and tip them on to a lightly oiled baking tray. Cook the remaining pierogi in 2 more batches, placing them on to the baking tray in a single layer when done – use 2 sheets if necessary so they don’t stick together.

Add a little butter to the cleaned frying pan and let it melt over a medium heat. Fry the pierogi in batches for a minute or so on each side until crisp. Then transfer to a dish and keep warm in a low oven (around 110°C/90°C Fan/Gas Mark ¼).

Once all the pierogi are fried, tip the onions back into the pan to warm through, along with the bacon.

To serve, divide the pierogi between plates, spoon over a few onions and bits of bacon, drizzle on a little soured cream and scatter with a few chives.

Nicknamed the ‘Polish pizza’, and hugely popular on the streets across Poland, zapiekanki are open toasted sandwiches topped with sautéed mushrooms and melted cheese. Said to hail from the Communist days of the 1970s when food was scarce, this is a cheap and deliciously comforting snack. You could embellish it with other vegetables, such as roasted peppers or sweetcorn, but I prefer the simplicity of the earthy mushrooms and oozing cheese. The ketchup is absolutely de rigueur, so even if you think you don’t like it I urge you to give it a go.

Melt the butter and oil together in a frying pan and throw in the mushrooms and the garlic, if using. Season with salt and pepper and sauté over a medium heat for about 10 minutes, until the mushrooms are soft.

Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C Fan/Gas Mark 6. Slice the baguette in half lengthways and lay the pieces on a baking tray. If they are a little wobbly, make a support for the wobbly edge with a piece of kitchen foil screwed into a pencil shape. Once the mushrooms are cooked, divide them evenly between the pieces of baguette and top with the cheese.

Bake in the oven for 6–7 minutes until the bread is crisp and the cheese melted. Sprinkle each with a few chives and garnish with a squiggle of ketchup for true authenticity. Eat immediately, napkin at the ready.

Probably Ottoman in origin – and similar to the various borek (stuffed pastries) enjoyed by the Turkish – burek is quite specifically a Bosnian pastry of homemade filo type, stretched as thin as paper, stuffed with a spiced beef filling and coiled up like a snake. The pastry takes a bit of courage: it will almost certainly be the thinnest dough you ever work with, but the trick is to go slowly when stretching so that it thins out without too many holes appearing.

Add the oil to a deep frying pan set over a high heat. When the oil is hot, tip in the mince, breaking it up with a wooden spoon as it heats. Stir fry for a good 10–15 minutes until it’s brown and crisp in places. This caramelisation adds loads of flavour, so I prefer to brown my mince before adding any onion. Reduce the heat to low and add the onion, frying for another 10 minutes to soften slightly. Add the garlic, paprika and allspice and fry briefly – for another minute or two – before pouring in the stock. Season with salt and pepper and bring to the boil. Cook for about 40 minutes, uncovered, stirring from time to time as it reduces. You want a rich mince sauce that’s not too wet, otherwise it will make your pastry soggy. Turn off the heat, stir through the parsley, then scoop the filling into a bowl and set aside until completely cold. You can make the filling well ahead of time (up to 3 days) and chill in the fridge.

For the pastry, simply mix the flour and salt together in a bowl and gradually pour in 300ml cold water, stirring to bring it together into a ball. Tip on to a lightly floured worktop and knead for a few minutes until smooth. Cover with cling film and leave to rest for 30 minutes.

Clear your worktop or kitchen table – you will need a big space as the dough will be rolled to a circle of around 55–60cm. Spread a thin layer of oil on the surface and over a rolling pin and begin to roll out the dough, turning it regularly to keep the shape as circular as possible. Use plenty of oil to make sure it doesn’t stick. Once it’s as thin as you can roll it, switch to your hands, coating them with a little oil first. You want to slowly and gently stretch the dough as thin as you possibly can: it will become pretty much see-through in places. If little holes or tears appear, push the edges back together.

Preheat the oven to 220°C/200°C Fan/Gas Mark 7. Once you have your large circle of dough, take the cold filling and spread some of it little by little into a large 1cm-thick ring about 3cm from the outer edge of the pastry. When you have a complete circle of meat, fold up the edge of the pastry to enclose the meat. Then continue to roll over so you are wrapping the meat in several layers of pastry, working bit by bit all the way round. Once you have rolled the meat in about three layers of pastry, take a small knife and cut through all the way round so you have a long circular sausage shape. Make a cut through the pastry to break the circle into one long sausage shape, then slide one end carefully on to a baking tray and coil it around and around in a spiral.

Go back to the remaining pastry, which will now be a smaller circle, and repeat the process once more. Trim away the centre of the circle and discard, then coil this sausage around the other on the baking tray. Sprinkle over a few flakes of sea salt and slide into the hot oven. Bake for about 45–50 minutes until golden brown and crisp.

Serve hot or at room temperature, cut into wedges, with a traditional dollop of plain yogurt.

This super-easy fried cheese snack from the Czech Republic ticks all the street food satisfaction boxes – crisp outside, oozing melting middle, and a sharp, tangy sauce to go with it. The trick to getting a crunchy exterior with the cheese melting all over the pan is the double coating of egg and breadcrumbs, so don’t scrimp on this step.

Place the flour in a shallow bowl, the eggs in another and the breadcrumbs in a third. Take a wedge of cheese and roll it in the flour, then dip into the egg, submerging it to wet it all over. Then roll in the breadcrumbs until completely coated. Set aside on a plate and repeat with the other 3 pieces of cheese. Then re-dip each one into the remaining egg, and roll once more in the breadcrumbs to give each piece a second coat. Return to the plate and chill in the fridge for an hour.

Meanwhile, make the tartare sauce by mixing together the mayonnaise, vinegar, mustard, onion, gherkins and lemon zest in a small bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper and set aside.

Take a large frying pan, pour in a good 5mm of oil and set over a medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, fry the cheese wedges for 2–3 minutes on each side until bronzed and crisp.

Serve immediately while the cheese is still molten, garnished with the chives, and with the tartare sauce dolloped alongside to dunk in as you eat.

These lemony Greek kebabs are best made with a succulent, not-too-lean cut of pork, such as leg or shoulder, as the marbling of fat through the meat bastes the kebabs from the inside as they cook. You could use low-fat tenderloin if you prefer, but the result will be a touch drier.

Note: you will need to begin this recipe several hours before you want to eat, or even the day before, as the pork needs time to marinate.

6 metal or bamboo skewers (if using bamboo, soak in cold water for an hour before using to prevent them from burning)

Place the pork in a large bowl with the oil, garlic, lemon juice and zest, oregano, chilli flakes and a generous grind of black pepper. Mix together thoroughly and leave to marinate for at least 2 hours, or ideally overnight in the fridge.

Make the tzatziki by grating the cucumber, skin and all, into a sieve hung over a bowl. Sprinkle over the salt, stirring well to mix, and leave for 30 minutes. Squeeze out any excess liquid and add the cucumber to a small bowl along with the yogurt, garlic and mint. Stir to mix and set aside.

When you are ready to eat, fire up a barbecue or set a griddle pan over a high heat until it’s smoking hot. Thread the pork evenly between 6 skewers and cook over a high heat for 10–12 minutes, turning regularly, until the kebabs are golden and lightly charred in places.

Lightly toast the pitta breads and split open. Fill each with the meat from a kebab and a generous dollop of tzatziki; finish with a little tomato and onion, and lemon wedges alongside to squeeze over.

These feta and filo pies are sold in bakeries throughout Greece, where they are usually bought as a late breakfast or mid-morning snack and eaten on the run. I think tiropita taste best warm rather than piping hot from the oven, so they make a fantastic on-the-go street food.

a 22cm square baking tin lined with a strip of baking parchment (for ease of lifting from the tin)

In a large bowl, mix together the feta, yogurt, Parmesan and eggs. Add a generous grating of nutmeg and season well with black pepper. Set aside.

Take out 6 sheets of filo from the pack, keeping the rest well wrapped up so they don’t get dry and cracked. Working quickly, lightly brush melted butter over each sheet, using them to line the base and sides of the tin. Depending on the size of the sheets and the shape of the tin, you may need to overlap the sheets to ensure that the base and sides are fully covered.

Pour the filling into the tin, levelling it with the back of a spoon. Then brush the remaining pastry sheets with butter and lay each over the filling, again overlapping as necessary to ensure the filling is completely encased in pastry. Finish by brushing the last of the butter on the top and sprinkling over the sesame seeds.

Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes until the pastry is golden and the filling set; a gentle prod will help you decide – it should feel firm to the touch. Allow to cool a little before lifting from the tin to cut and serve.

Arancini, derived from the Italian for ‘little orange’, are crisp fried balls of creamy risotto from Sicily. Traditionally stuffed with a little ragù, in this recipe they are filled with roast squash and gorgonzola. Making arancini is a bit of a fiddly, messy business, but worth it for such a delicious combination of crunchy exterior and creamy cheesy squidge inside. My best advice is to start the rolling and coating process with a clear and organised worktop, and to stop when your hands are a total mess – wash and dry them, then continue!

Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C Fan/Gas Mark 6. Soak the saffron threads in 1 tablespoon of boiling water.

Place the butternut squash in a roasting tin with 2 tablespoons olive oil, season lightly and cook for 20–25 minutes, until soft.

Place the remaining oil and half the butter in a heavy-based pan and set over a medium heat. As the butter melts, tip in the onion, reduce the heat to as low as possible and allow to cook gently for about 20 minutes, until soft but not coloured.

Increase the heat to medium, stir through the garlic and fry for just a minute before adding in the rice. Stir fry for a couple of minutes until the grains start to turn translucent, then pour in the wine, if using, or extra stock. Stir frequently over a medium heat until the liquid is almost absorbed, then pour in about a third of the stock, along with the saffron water, and keep cooking and stirring for around 5–8 minutes until the liquid is almost absorbed. Add another third of the stock and repeat, then add the remaining stock, stirring regularly until it has absorbed and the rice is just tender. Turn off the heat and stir through the rest of the butter and the Parmesan. Season to taste with salt and pepper and set aside to cool – spreading it out on a tray will speed this up considerably.

Roughly mash the roasted squash on a chopping board, then divide it into 12 equal portions. Flatten each portion out to a disc, then place a cube of gorgonzola in the centre, before covering it over by drawing up the squash around the sides.

Clear the worktop and set up a production line: the risotto, followed by the squash filling, the bowl of flour, bowl of egg, bowl of breadcrumbs and finally a clean plate to put the finished arancini on.

Take a generous tablespoon of risotto, or alternatively weigh the cooked risotto and divide it by 12 to give you equal portions: it’s extra work, but worth it. Roll the first piece of risotto into a ball in your palms, pressing it firmly together. Then flatten the ball out and add a ball of squash filling to the middle, drawing up the sides of the risotto to completely enclose it as a sphere. Drop the ball into the bowl of flour and roll it gently until coated all over. Then transfer it to the bowl of egg, rolling again until coated, before finally dropping and rolling it in the bowl of breadcrumbs. Set aside on the clean plate and repeat for the other 11 arancini.

Heat the oil in a deep fat fryer to 170°C/340°F. Fry the arancini in batches of 3 or 4 for about 5 minutes, until crisp and golden.

Polpette are little flavoursome Italian meatballs, normally served as a snack or appetiser rather than with the perhaps more familiar bowl of spaghetti. The trick to a soft and tender meatball is to soak the breadcrumbs in milk before you add the rest of the ingredients.

Note: you may wish to begin this recipe the day before you want to eat, to allow the flavours to develop.

Place the breadcrumbs in a large bowl and pour over the milk. Leave to soak until the milk is completely absorbed, about 10 minutes. Add the mince, Parmesan, egg, lemon zest, garlic, parsley and a generous seasoning of salt and pepper. Mix together with your hands until thoroughly combined. Wash your hands and shake dry. Using damp hands, roll the mixture into little walnut-sized balls and lay on a baking tray; you should get about 35. At this point you can cover with cling film and leave to rest in the fridge for up to 24 hours; this isn’t essential but it does allow plenty of time for the flavours to develop.

To make the sauce, add the onion and half the olive oil to a saucepan and set over a medium-low heat. Fry the onion for 15 minutes until starting to soften, then stir through the garlic and fry for a further minute. Pour in the tomatoes, add the sugar and season to taste with salt and pepper. Simmer steadily, stirring from time to time, until the sauce is rich and thick, about 25–30 minutes. Stir through the remaining olive oil.

While the sauce is simmering, cook the meatballs. Take your largest frying pan, add the olive oil and set over a medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the meatballs in a single layer. They need to have a little space around them so you can turn them easily, and you may need to cook them in 2 batches. The meatballs need about 20 minutes of gentle frying, so they’re cooked through to the centre and develop a lovely golden crust all over. Turn them regularly – I’m more dextrous with 2 forks, but use tongs if you prefer – but don’t turn them too soon or they’ll stick to the pan; allow a golden crust to form before attempting it.

This is a delightfully moreish but wonderfully simple recipe from the deep south of Italy. These deep-fried courgette and aubergine sticks are best eaten as soon as you make them, but be warned: they will be really hot so nibble gingerly at first.

Slice the courgettes and aubergines into sticks about the size of your index finger.

Place the flour and Parmesan in a shallow bowl, season well with salt and pepper and stir until combined. Add the milk to another shallow bowl, and have a large baking tray handy.

Take a small handful of the vegetable sticks and roll them in the flour mixture. Shake off the excess and dip briefly in the milk, before dipping back into the flour mixture to coat all over. Spread out on the baking tray and repeat with the rest of the vegetables.

Fry in the hot oil in batches for about 2–3 minutes until crisp and golden. Drain on kitchen paper and eat immediately.

There are a few things I like to the eat the most when I go back to Italy: gnocco fritto is definitely one of them. I crave it so much when I am here in the States that it becomes a special treat when I am back home. Fluffy, crunchy and so flavourful, gnocco fritto is ideal with every little snack or even instead of bread at dinner time. It’s literally fried bread! I use it a lot like a sandwich: a combination of stracchino and mortadella is for sure my favorite filling, but don’t give any limits to your fantasy because you can dress a gnocco fritto in anyway you prefer. I am sure that with this easy recipe gnocco fritto will soon become one of your favourites as well! Buon appetito!

Crumble the fresh yeast into a bowl, add the sugar, then pour over 50ml warm water and let the yeast melt, stirring with a spoon. Add 2 tablespoons of flour to form a very soft batter and leave it to rest for half an hour.

After 30 minutes, place the remaining flour into a large bowl and add the batter and the butter or lard. Dissolve the salt in the remaining warm water, then pour all the water into the bowl and begin to knead the dough.

When the liquid has been fully incorporated into the flour, transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead until it becomes smooth and homogeneous. Bring the dough into a ball shape and cut a cross into the top of the ball.

Place the dough in a large bowl that has been sprinkled with a handful of flour and cover the bowl with cling film. Leave to rise for about 4 hours in a warm and dry environment, until the dough has approximately tripled in volume. When the dough is ready, knead it on a floured surface and roll it out to a sheet about 3mm thin and cut it into 8–10cm diamonds or squares.

Half fill a pan with vegetable oil and heat it to 180°C/350°F. Dip a few gnocco at a time into the oil and fry for 4–5 minutes until golden brown. Turn over halfway through. Remove them with a slotted spoon and place on a piece of kitchen paper to remove the excess oil.

While still warm, cut each one in half and put 1 or 2 thin slices of stracchino in the middle with a couple of pieces of mortadella and eat it like a panino!

It is imperative to serve this with a glass of red wine – buon appetito, beautiful people!

The Spanish answer to a pasty, these little pastries are stuffed full of tuna amd sweet onions and peppers, and are heady with the scent of smoked paprika. For the very best flavour, they are great served warm, rather than hot, making them the ideal candidate for a street-food picnic.

In a large bowl, by hand or in a food mixer with a dough attachment, mix together the flour, polenta, yeast and salt for the dough. Pour in the wine and olive oil and add the lard or fat and the beaten egg. Add enough warm water to bring it all together into a soft, pliable dough. Knead for a couple of minutes, but don’t overdo it; it just needs to be well mixed and look smooth. Transfer to a clean bowl brushed with a little oil and cover with cling film. Leave to prove until it has doubled in size – about 2 hours in a warm room.

While the dough is proving, heat the olive oil gently in a large, deep frying pan. Sweat the onions and peppers together for 15 minutes until starting to soften, then add the garlic, paprika and sherry vinegar. Continue to cook for about an hour until you have a softly melting mass – the longer and slower you do this the sweeter the result, so take your time. Stir through the parsley and season to taste with salt and pepper. Gently fold through the tuna, trying not to break it up too much. Turn off the heat and set aside to cool.

Preheat the oven to 220°C/200°C Fan/Gas Mark 7. Once the dough has risen, turn it out on to a lightly oiled worktop and chop into 12 even-sized pieces. Roll each piece out to a circle about 5mm thick. Add a little pile of cooled filling to one half of each circle, leaving a generous 2cm margin around the edge. Top each with a couple of slices of hard-boiled egg and bring the empty half of the pastry up and over the filling, encasing it completely and crimping the edges together to seal. Brush with a little beaten egg and scatter over a few flakes of sea salt.

Spread the empanadillas over a couple of baking trays and bake in the oven for about 20–25 minutes, until the crust is golden and crisp.

The quintessential Spanish street breakfast, churros are long, thin doughnuts served with a rich chocolate sauce for dunking. You could also flavour the sauce the Mexican way with a little orange zest stirred through as the milk warms.

Stir the flour and salt together in a large bowl. Pour in the boiling water, olive oil and vanilla extract and beat together thoroughly to form a smooth paste. Set aside to rest for 10 minutes, then spoon the dough into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle.

For the sauce, pour the milk into a saucepan, set over a medium heat and bring to simmering point. Remove 1 tablespoon of warm milk and stir it through the cornflour in a small bowl. Add the chocolate to the pan and stir until melted, then pour in the cornflour and milk paste and whisk continuously until the sauce is smooth and thickened. Keep warm over a very low heat.

Stir the sugar and cinnamon together and spread out in a large flat dish or tray.

Heat the oil in a deep fat fryer to 180°C/350°F. Working carefully, squeeze the dough out into 10–12cm-long strips directly into the hot oil. I find the easiest way to snip off the end of a strip is to simply pinch it off with a clean finger and thumb, but you can also cut them with scissors. Don’t add more than 4 or 5 to the oil at once or they will stick together. Fry for 4 minutes until crisp and deep golden brown. Drain briefly on kitchen paper before rolling in the cinnamon sugar while still hot. Repeat until you have used up all the dough.