There are dishes that feel like they were always meant to exist. The galette montagnarde is one of them — a buckwheat crêpe straight from Brittany, loaded with Alpine comfort: garlic sausage, molten raclette, crème fraîche, onions, a runny egg, and a sprinkle of crispy onions for texture. Rustic, hearty, and the kind of plate you want after a cold day in the mountains.
Belgium has many national dishes, but few inspire such instant nostalgia as américain préparé. Despite its misleading name, it is 100 percent Belgian—born in early-20th-century Brussels, when brasserie chefs reimagined French steak tartare into something smoother, creamier, and easier to spread. The result became a cultural monument.
Unlike tartare, which is coarse, minimal, and assembled to order, américain préparé is a fully seasoned preparation: ultra-lean minced beef folded into a creamy emulsion of sauces, spices, pickles, and aromatics. It’s bold, comforting, and always ready to eat.
Light, fluffy, and unctuous, fiskekaker are a comforting staple of Norwegian home cooking. These delicate fish cakes, often made from cod or haddock, have a mild flavour and melt-in-the-mouth texture that embodies the essence of Nordic simplicity. Traditionally served with boiled potatoes, steamed vegetables, or nestled in a soft bun, they pair wonderfully with romsås, a creamy mayonnaise-based sauce with fish roe and gherkins that adds a bright, tangy contrast.
A Venetian classic, baccalà mantecato is one of those dishes that prove simplicity and patience can create magic. In Venice, it’s often served as cicchetti — the city’s version of tapas — spread generously on crostini or grilled polenta.
Here I’ve gone for golden pan-fried polenta rectangles, crisp on the outside and creamy within, paired with the airy, whipped salt cod spread.
Traditional Flemish Pancakes: Thin, Supple and Perfectly Foldable
A Little History
Flemish pancakes (Vlaamse pannenkoeken) have been part of home cooking in the Low Countries for centuries. They were traditionally made on feast days such as Candlemas (Lichtmis), when every household would prepare a stack to mark the end of winter and the return of light. Before sugar was cheap, they were eaten with apple syrup, honey or simply a dusting of brown sugar. In rural Flanders, families cooked them on cast-iron pans over a wood stove, and children learned to flip their first pancake long before they could properly write their name. Even today, every generation has its own “secret” recipe – but they all agree on one thing: the perfect Flemish pancake must be thin, supple, and soft enough to roll with one hand.
A hearty gourmet toast layered with pastrami, melted Comté, sautéed mushrooms and pesto rosso on grilled sourdough, finished with fresh salad and a squeeze of lemon. Easy, well thought and packed with flavour.
An indulgent toast that’s closer to a meal than a snack.
Mushrooms are king in autumn and this recipe highlights them gloriously.
This delicate tart celebrates the deep, earthy flavors of oyster mushrooms and button mushrooms, resting on a crisp, buttery base and finished with fragrant garlic butter.
Bissara — Morocco’s Winter Soul Food 🇲🇦
A humble bowl of warmth that has fed generations from the Rif mountains to the streets of Marrakech. Bissara is a thick, creamy fava bean purée — smoky with cumin, bright with paprika, always drenched in good olive oil. It’s cheap, filling, and unbelievably satisfying on a cold morning with hot bread.
I discovered this Moroccan staple on a trip and the good news is it is easy to make, dead cheap and delicious. After a bowl of it you will feel the energy to climb the Atlas mountains.
🥓 Salade de viande — the salad that cancelled vegetables
Only in Europe do we take the idea of salad 🌿… and replace every single leaf with pork. The French and Belgians call it salade de viande, the Germans have Fleischsalat, and lettuce is filing a formal complaint to the UN...which means nothing is going to happen .
Foie Gras Butter in a Marrow Bone 🦴🍞
Here’s a dish that straddles the line between rustic indulgence and quiet sophistication. Foie gras butter — velvety, rich, and slightly sinful — served straight from a roasted marrow bone. It’s the kind of thing that doesn’t just sit on a plate, it poses on it.
A nod to the grand French kitchens of old, yet pared down to its essence: good butter, good foie, and good bread. The bone itself becomes both mould and serving vessel — primitive yet sophisticated and unapologetically carnivorous.
Five favourite ingredients and why not pair them, US style? Bacon, tomato, raspberry jam, Munster cheese and a Bagel.
