Food
15 Comfort Foods To Try This Winter
Slide Nr 1The desire to tuck into hot, hearty dishes when the mercury drops is the same the world over. What differs, though, are the ingredients. We ask bloggers from all four corners of the globe to share what comfort foods will be warming them – and their compatriots – this winter.
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Food
15 Comfort Foods To Try This Winter.
Slide Nr 2Athens, Greece – “Definitely one of the most characteristic Greek comfort foods is fasolada, often called the National Food of Greece. Yes, not souvlaki, tzatziki or moussaka; this humble bean soup is one of the most popular Greek winter dishes. Made with seasonal produce, like carrots and celery or selino (a local leafy celery variety), onions and olive oil, this is a hearty and filling bean stew that has fed generations of Greeks – especially in hard times, when access to meat was limited. To this day, fasolada remains widely popular because of its nutritional benefits, as well as its excellent taste.” – Mirella Kaloglou and Panos Diotis of littlecookingtips.com [Photo: courtesy littlecookingtips.com]
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Food
15 Comfort Foods To Try This Winter.
Slide Nr 3Buenos Aires, Argentina – “Every winter we look forward to the resurgence on restaurant menus of the national dish, locro. It’s a classic dish – a stew – that can be found in many versions throughout South America, as it originated in the Andes and was originally a stewed potato dish. These days, in Argentina, it’s become a stew based on cracked white corn, squash, sausage and a variety of meats, usually a mix of different beef, pork and offal cuts. While not heavily spiced, it’s got a great balance of aromatic flavours from tomatoes, smoked paprika, cumin, oregano and garlic make it the nation’s first choice for hearty winter fare!” – Dan Perlman of saltshaker.net [Photo: courtesy Dan Perlman]
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Food
15 Comfort Foods To Try This Winter.
Slide Nr 4Cape Town, South Africa – “In winter in the Western Cape, the Waterblommetjie, known in English as ‘pondweed’, gets turned into a much-loved traditional dish: Waterblommetjie Bredie (stew). Waterblommetjies grow wild in the small dams, swamps and marshes, which dry up in summer. The plants sprout in autumn, producing a white flower that stands above the water. For the purpose of cooking the dish, the flowers must be harvested while they are still in bud, typically between June and September. The early settlers and their slaves probably learned from the indigenous Khoikhoi that these aquatic plants were edible, and over the years, the fusion of 3 cultures ultimately led to the creation of this stew, which is in essence a simple dish that doesn’t require much fussing over. Fatty meat is used, generally lamb, and there’s a hint of acidity to balance things out.” – Sam Linsell of drizzleanddip.com [Photo: courtesy Sam Linsell]
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Food
15 Comfort Foods To Try This Winter.
Slide Nr 5Dublin, Ireland – “Once the colder seasons begin to move in, us Irish immediately seek the warmth of comfort food. The world over, people are familiar with Irish Stew – stewed lamb, potatoes and root vegetables in a deliciously meaty broth, often bulked out with barley or lentils. Though lamb is traditional, it often isn’t the first choice for many, who opt for beef instead. Either work wonderfully. For a non-traditional addition, squirt some HP sauce into the broth and stir. Trust us. Where slow-cooked stew doesn’t tempt taste buds, there’s always colcannon. Buttery, creamy, soft mashed potatoes peppered with chopped curly kale, cabbage or spring onions stirred through it. On a cold evening, a bowl of this Irish classic is a meal all in itself, best enjoyed curled up near a roaring fire under a thick woollen blanket.” – Russell James Alford and Patrick Hanlon of gastrogays.com [Photo: VegaTeam/Flickr]
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Food
15 Comfort Foods To Try This Winter.
Slide Nr 6Helsinki, Finland – “Green pea soup, or hernekeitto, is mostly considered a ‘Thursday food’ and usually comes with pancakes for dessert, but traditionally, it’s a dish served on Laskiainen (Shrove Tuesday) to celebrate the middle of winter – accompanied by a day of downhill sledding and enjoying laskiaispulla (a sweet pastry filled with whipped cream). Hernekeitto is a very simple dish made from dried peas, onion and sometimes salted pork, making it the perfect comfort food for a frosty winter day, inside or outside!” – Kathrin Deter of luminoucity.net [Photo: sk/Flickr]
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Food
15 Comfort Foods To Try This Winter.
Slide Nr 7Hong Kong, China – “Given that it’s stupidly hot for 9 months of the year here, the window of opportunity for locals to chow down on the ultimate Cantonese comfort food is quite limited. But once there’s an inkling that cooler weather is on the way, it’s clay pot rice time! Picture a warm clay pot filled with rice that’s been cooked over a charcoal flame, the rich flavour of your meat (usually pork, chicken or eel) permeating through the rice with a healthy dose of soy sauce. *sigh* To get the best experience, you’ll really need to ask a local for their favourite neighbourhood spot.” – Anthony Clark of foodmeupscotty.com [Photo: courtesy Anthony Clark]
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Food
15 Comfort Foods To Try This Winter.
Slide Nr 8Melbourne, Australia – “Australia is the country of roasts and pies for winter warming, and rare breed roasted suckling pig is a must have dish Down Under. In recent times, chefs have forged closer relationships with producers and are attempting to revive some of the breeds that may have been lost, through better farming practices. A perfect winter’s dish is tender rare breed suckling pig roasted with chestnut wood. Add an organic fennel and radicchio salad with mustard fruits, and heirloom pumpkin with olives, brown butter and sage.” – David Hagger of theworldlovesmelbourne.com [Photo: courtesy David Hagger]
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Food
15 Comfort Foods To Try This Winter.
Slide Nr 9Paris, France – “If there’s one dish you must eat in France in the winter, it has to be a good Beef Bourguignon. Beef is seared and then braised in red wine (traditionally from Burgundy) and left to slowly cook for hours in a rich sauce of wine, beef stock, lardons (unsmoked bacon), garlic, onions, carrots and a bouquet of herbs. Mushrooms are usually added at the end, and it’s served with noodles, potatoes or polenta. After hours of slow braising, the beef becomes fall-apart tender. It’s the ultimate comfort food, perfect on a cold winter’s night.” – Julie Neis of parisfoodaffair.com [Photo: Meal Makeover Moms/Flickr]
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Food
15 Comfort Foods To Try This Winter.
Slide Nr 10Riga, Latvia – “Boiled potatoes with creamy wild mushroom sauce – that’s the ultimate Latvian comfort food. We can’t complain of a lack of green spaces in Latvia: around 50% of our little country is covered in forests. So in autumn, there’s no greater pastime than poking around the woods in search of chanterelles, porcini and other edible fungi that grow in abundance. Once the mammoth task of cleaning and sorting them is done, we freeze or dry them. To cook the mushrooms, we douse them in cream and throw in some onion and ham. The sauce is commonly served over boiled potatoes.” – Lelde Benke of lifeinriga.com [Photo: courtesy Lelde Benke]
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Food
15 Comfort Foods To Try This Winter.
Slide Nr 11Santiago, Chile – “When I think of Chilean cuisine, one word comes to mind: stews! Steaming pots of vegetables, rested meats and spicy juices. On cold days, with the flavours combining over low heat and the aromas filling the kitchen, you get the feeling that this is where you need to be. And when I think of stews, my heart shouts: charquicán! A puréed stew of potatoes and pumpkins, made even more heavenly with threads of dried meat (jerky), charquicán is my favourite Chilean dish. And this love affair is not only mine – all Chileans are united by a love of this dish, which has been present throughout our history. – Santiago Sahli of sansabor.cl [Photo: Santiago Sahli]
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Food
15 Comfort Foods To Try This Winter.
Slide Nr 12Shanghai, China – “When the weather gets cold in Shanghai, my friends and I head straight for a Muslim Noodle Shop (like the one on Hami Lu) for a bowl of steaming hot noodle soup called Lanzhou Lamian (兰州拉面). The noodles are pulled and stretched fresh every day and then served in a bowl of beef broth with a heaping helping of cilantro, all for around 9RMB (less than $1.50). I like to add a little bit of spicy sauce – perfect to keep me warm all day!” – Hanady Awada of recipenomad.com [Photo: courtesy Hanady Awada]
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Food
15 Comfort Foods To Try This Winter.
Slide Nr 13Sydney, Australia – “Growing exclusively during winter, few ingredients are more symbolic of the brumal season than the locally grown Périgord truffle. For a most hearty and unique way to enjoy the delicacy, a truffle croissant is as left field as it is creative. A heady combination of croissant, perfectly creamy scrambled eggs and absolutely on-point bacon is topped with 5g of Western Australia black Périgord truffle. Either make your own, or try it out at Devon Café: the Sydney institution to which we owe this marvellous creation.” – Michael Shen of imstillhungry.net [Photo: courtesy Michael Shen]
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Food
15 Comfort Foods To Try This Winter.
Slide Nr 14Vancouver, Canada – “Vancouver isn’t nicknamed Raincouver without reason. Living in the Pacific Northwest, we deal with a lot of rain. And when it’s chilly out, the one thing that Vancouverites are craving for is soup-based food. Being such a diverse city, we’re very fortunate to sample the world in our backyard. From Vietnamese pho to Malaysian laksa, Japanese ramen and Taiwanese beef noodles, there’s something for everyone. After a long day’s work, there’s nothing like a hot bowl of noodle soup.” – Billy Lam of birryram.com [Photo: courtesy Billy Lam]
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Food
15 Comfort Foods To Try This Winter.
Slide Nr 15Vejer, Spain – “At this time of year, simple, warming meatballs – known in Spain as albondigas – are sure to please everyone. My take on this classic dish blends minced pork and chorizo, and makes for a great supper dish or part of a tapas spread. Alternatively, you can make smaller versions to serve as canapés with drinks. Served with a tomato sauce laced with Andalucía’s fabulous dry sherry, it’s the perfect comfort food for the winter months and is as easy to prepare as it is delicious to eat!” – Annie Manson of anniebspain.com [Photo: courtesy Annie Manson]
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Food
15 Comfort Foods To Try This Winter.
Slide Nr 16Wellington, New Zealand – ”Kiwis love some good old-fashioned lamb when they’re in need some comfort food. Maybe it’s the fact we have more sheep per head of population than anywhere else in the world, but when we as a nation gather together for special occasions, it’s rare that there isn’t a rack of lamb present. Instead of the typical root vegetables and mint jelly (though we love these, too), locals might pick out edible flowers and Maori herbs from their garden, tossed together with some peppery rocket and other bitter greens. This lamb (photographed) was in fact home-reared by friends from the Wairarapa Country region near Wellington, and all the ingredients were grown on their 4-hectare section – making such a dish extra special.” – Lucy Revill of theresidents.co.nz [Photo: courtesy Lucy Revill]
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Food
15 Comfort Foods To Try This Winter.
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