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Pasteis de Bacalhau

Pasteis de Bacalhau

These are the little salt-cod fritters you'd order at a marble counter in Lisbon, sitting with a glass of vinho verde while the bartender slides a plate across with no ceremony. The recipe itself is simple, dry mashed potato through flaked bacalhau with onion, garlic, parsley and egg, then a brief fry, but it does start the day before because the salt cod wants 24 to 36 hours of cold water soaks to draw the salt out. That step is the one thing you cannot shortcut. Once the cod is desalted, everything else is an afternoon's work: simmer the cod, flake it through warm potato, shape into the three-sided football "quenelles" that are the Portuguese signature, and fry until amber. Eat them warm with a wedge of lemon and a dish of piri-piri on the side.

Snacks 36 hours 55 minutes Serves6
Pastéis de Nata

Pastéis de Nata

Pastéis de nata are Portugal's answer to a cup of coffee, and you would never have one without the other. The puff pastry shells are rolled thin, brushed with butter, rolled back into a tight cylinder, then sliced into pinwheels and pressed into the cups of a deep muffin tin (the swirl of the slice becomes the spiral shell). The custard is a hot sugar syrup whisked into milk thickened with cornflour and tempered into egg yolks. Filled three-quarters full, baked at the hottest temperature your oven will go (the original Belém bakery uses 290°C). The blackened, blistered top is the signature, the custard underneath is silky and only just set, and you eat them warm with a dusting of cinnamon and a strong espresso at eleven in the morning.

Desserts 48 minutes Serves12
Pastel de Choclo

Pastel de Choclo

Chile's summer corn cake, the layered casserole made when fresh sweetcorn is at its peak and the asado has yielded leftover meat. You cook the pino first: onions softened slowly with cumin, paprika and oregano, beef mince browned in, raisins and olives folded through with a splash of stock to keep it moist. Chicken pieces poach separately and shred. The corn topping is the star: fresh sweetcorn (or a kabocha-corn mix in winter) blends with milk, butter and fresh basil into a thick batter. Layer in clay dishes (or one large baking dish): pino, shredded chicken, hard-boiled egg slices, corn batter poured over the top. A heavy dust of sugar finishes it, which caramelises under the grill into a sweet crusted top. Eaten with ensalada chilena on the side and a glass of red wine.

Chilean 1 hour 55 minutes Serves6