Recipes | I've Been Cooking

Pakhlava

A rich, layered nut-and-honey dessert made with delicate phyllo, fragrant spices, and a glossy lemon-honey syrup. Crisp on top, tender within, and deeply aromatic with cinnamon, cardamom, and vanilla.

🇦🇲 Armenia$$$

Boiled Taro

Simple, comforting boiled taro seasoned with salt. Tender and mildly sweet, it’s a versatile staple or snack enjoyed on its own or as a base for other flavors.

🇻🇺 Vanuatu$

Dulce de Ajonjolí

Dulce de Ajonjolí is a traditional sesame candy cooked with piloncillo and sugar in creamy coconut milk, perfumed with cinnamon, vanilla, and lemon zest. It sets into chewy, aromatic bites with a gentle nutty crunch and buttery finish.

🇩🇴 Dominican Republic$

Souse

Chicken Souse is a bright, briny Caribbean comfort dish of tender chicken in a citrusy, peppery broth with cucumber, potato, onions, and herbs—refreshing, lightly spicy, and deeply aromatic.

🇧🇧 Barbados$

Polvoron de Clavo

A crumbly Spanish shortbread cookie scented with clove and cinnamon, enriched with lard and toasted almonds, and brightened by orange zest.

🇵🇭 Philippines$$

Leqebekoane

Leqebekoane is a traditional Basotho steamed bread made from a blend of all-purpose flour and maize meal, slightly sweetened and enriched with butter or oil. Soft, tender, and hearty, it’s perfect alongside stews, grilled meats, or enjoyed warm with butter.

🇱🇸 Lesotho$

Ka'ak Halabi

Ka'ak Halabi (Aleppine rings) are lightly sweet, aromatic snack rings scented with mahlab, anise, and fennel, and crusted with sesame and nigella seeds. Crisp-tender and golden with a hint of turmeric, they’re perfect with tea or coffee.

🇸🇾 Syria$$

Salată de vinete

A classic Romanian eggplant spread made from roasted eggplants blended with onion, sunflower oil, a touch of mayonnaise and lemon, served with tomatoes, roasted red pepper, and parsley on bread. Creamy, smoky, and fresh.

🇷🇴 Romania$

Toloma

Toloma is a warm, Amazonian plantain-and-cassava porridge-drink sweetened with panela and scented with cinnamon. Comforting, naturally gluten- and dairy-free, it’s perfect for breakfast or a nourishing snack.

🇩🇲 Dominica$

Tamina bi Zanjabil

Tamina bi Zanjabil is a traditional Maghrebi semolina sweet: semolina is toasted in butter, perfumed with ginger and cinnamon, then bound with honey into a soft, spoonable dessert. Finished with toasted sesame seeds and almonds, it’s fragrant, nutty, and gently spiced.

🇩🇿 Algeria$$

I've been...

Pakhlava

Boiled Taro

Dulce de Ajonjolí

Souse

Polvoron de Clavo

Leqebekoane

Ka'ak Halabi

Salată de vinete

Toloma

Tamina bi Zanjabil

I've been...

Pakhlava

Boiled Taro

Dulce de Ajonjolí

Souse

Polvoron de Clavo

Leqebekoane

Ka'ak Halabi

Salată de vinete

Toloma

Tamina bi Zanjabil