Andouille Skewers

Andouille Skewers

A Cajun cookout skewer, the kind of thing that comes off the grill at a Louisiana backyard barbecue while the gumbo is finishing on the back burner. You take andouille (the heavily smoked, garlicky Cajun pork sausage) and cut it into thick coins, then thread them onto pre-soaked wooden skewers (or metal) with chunks of red and green pepper, red onion, and a few halved cherry tomatoes. Brush with a quick Cajun glaze of melted butter, garlic, brown sugar, hot sauce and Cajun seasoning. Onto a hot grill over high heat for just long enough to char the vegetables and bring the sausage shiny and sticky. Eaten straight off the skewer with a beer in the other hand, the smoke still hanging in the air.

Snacks 27 minutes Serves8
Chana Chaat

Chana Chaat

Cooked chickpeas (tinned for speed, OR overnight-soaked and home-cooked for the best texture) toss with diced red onion, finely chopped tomato, small-diced boiled potato and chopped fresh coriander. The dressing: lemon juice, chaat masala (a salty-sour spice mix sold at Pakistani shops), roasted ground cumin, Kashmiri chilli powder and a pinch of salt. Hot chilli sauce and tamarind chutney drizzle on; the chaat tosses; crushed papri tops; eat immediately.

Sides 20 minutes Serves4
Choban Salata (Azerbaijani Shepherd's Salad)

Choban Salata (Azerbaijani Shepherd's Salad)

The Azerbaijani version of the shepherd's salad that turns up in some form on every table from the Balkans to Persia, the bright herby counter to anything rich coming out of the kitchen. You dice tomatoes, cucumber and red onion to five-millimetre cubes (smaller than a typical chopped salad, almost a relish) and chop the herbs fine: dill, mint and tarragon, the tarragon being the move that distinguishes the Azeri version from its neighbours. Everything tosses together with olive oil, lemon juice and salt about fifteen minutes before serving, so the salt draws the tomato juice out and the salad relaxes into itself. Best the same day; the salad weeps if held overnight. Eat with grilled meat, with plov, with lavash, with whatever the main is.

Sides 15 minutes Serves4
Choripán Chileno

Choripán Chileno

Chile's street sandwich and the food that fuels any Sunday football game or summer picnic. You take a Chilean longaniza (or any good fresh pork sausage), split it lengthways but leave it attached at one end so it opens like a butterfly, and grill it six minutes per side until the surface is charred and the inside still juicy. Marraqueta rolls split and toast briefly on the grill, the sausage tucks into the roll, and a generous spoonful of pebre goes on top. Some hands add a dab of mayo or mustard. Eaten immediately, standing up, with a beer in the other hand.

Snacks 27 minutes Serves4
Club Sandwich

Club Sandwich

The diner triple-decker reworked with a poached egg sitting on top - what an American sandwich shop would call a club with eggs, and what a French brunch menu would simply serve as the house club. Two slices of buttered, toasted bread layered with sliced grilled chicken, crisp smoked bacon, shredded iceberg dressed in mayo and a sharp pinch of onion, ripe tomato brightened with vinaigrette, and the soft poached eggs draped over the top so the yolks break into everything underneath. The pleasure is in the layering: a different texture in every bite, the bread crisp enough to hold structure but soft enough to give. You build it carefully, slice it on the diagonal, and pin the halves together with toast picks so the whole tower stays upright on the plate. Lunch counter at noon, light supper after a long afternoon, eaten with chips on the side and an extra napkin within reach.

American 15 minutes Serves2
Completo

Completo

The Chilean street hot dog and the proper night-out food after a few drinks in any city in the country. You start with a long soft frankfurter roll, poach the frankfurter in barely-simmering water for five minutes, dice tomato fine and salt it to draw out the water, and mash avocado with lime and salt to a thick paste. The build is bottom-up: split roll, frankfurter, diced tomato, sauerkraut, a heroic layer of smashed avocado, mayonnaise piped generously over the top, a squiggle of mustard if you like. Wrap in paper, hand it over, eat with both hands while walking down a Santiago street.

Sides 25 minutes Serves4
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