Innholdsfortegnelse for Summer 2024 i National Geographic Traveller Food

Carolyn Boyd Across the Massif Central, I discovered incredible volcanic landscapes and learnt how locals created well-loved dishes such as aligot as a means to survive there. Equally fascinating is how today’s top chefs continue these traditions, using ingredients that represent the area’s terroir and its incredible biodiversity. MASSIF CENTRAL, P 64 Mallika Basu Diving into the North Indian restaurant classic butter chicken was an indulgent affair. I ate 10 versions —at restaurants, takeaways, handdelivered, even shipped in the post. For those from further afield, I have a network of experts to thank. And my own recipe gets an unctuous upgrade. DECONSTRUCT, P 74 Jo Davey Izakayas have long-been one of my favourite aspects of everyday Japanese life. The cuisine at these local bars is brilliantly moreish but usually unfussy…

BACKGROUND This dessert was all the rage in English health spas during the 19th century, when it was known as ‘hydropathic pudding’. Its light casing of white bread meant it was considered a ‘healthy’ treat by the Victorians. PREPARATION To help with de-moulding, line your basin with cling film; leave enough overhanging to cover the top. To fit your bread into a classic pudding basin, cut it into trapezium shapes; if you use a cake tin you can cut it into rectangles. BREAD Use the best-quality white bread you can, or a homemade loaf. Factory-made bread will turn slimy because of the additives and your pudding will almost certainly be unable to hold its shape. Find Regula’s recipe for summer pudding online. nationalgeographic.com/travel FILLING A medley of raspberries, blackberries, redcurrants…

A ripe mango is a beautiful thing —honey sweet, but with enough acidity to keep things interesting, a velvety texture and a heady perfume. As tropical fruits go, it’s a real big hitter. It comes in many varieties —from India’s fragrant alphonso to southern Thai small horse mangoes —and whether eaten sweet and ripe or green (underripe, crunchy and sour), it’s one of those ingredients that has magical affinities with other flavours. For me, sweet mango and fresh, sweet salty coconut cream scented with pandan leaf, or sour mango with dry, fermented or crispy seafood are combinations on a par with strawberries and cream. Mangoes are seasonal, and while you can find sweet ones all year round, if you want the best, it’s worth finding out when they’re in their…

My mum was way ahead of the curve in terms of healthy food. This was in the 1960s, and she’d make her own yoghurt and grow mung beans in the airing cupboard. She’d read an article about how cabbage was fantastic for you and cooked it every day —it took my dad 45 years to tell her he didn’t like cabbage. But when I think of my parents, weirdly, the thing I remember most is cheese on toast —I used to have it almost every lunchtime. The other one is Sunday roast. My dad was a vicar, so Sunday lunch was a very big thing for us. I lived on cream cheese and crackers for four days while travelling across Canada. I was 19 and on the Canadian Pacific Railway.…

“I specialised in fish and meat and could break down any whole animal,” says Zineb ‘Zizi’ Hattab. This isn’t perhaps what you’d expect to hear from the chef behind Switzerland’s first Michelin-starred vegan restaurant, but Hattab is full of surprises. For many chefs launching their debut restaurant, their first menu can be months, even years, in the making. Not for Hattab. At the start of 2020, three weeks before opening KLE in Zurich, the Moroccan-Spanish chef decided that she, and the restaurant, were to become vegan. “I got cold feet,” explains Hattab. “I looked at what impact the restaurant was going to have in the community and with the producers I had chosen, and it was crystal clear that the first step was to avoid animal products. There is no…

What sparked your interest in fishing? A morning’s mackerel fishing in Wells-next-the-Sea, Norfolk with a skipper called Nigel had me hooked —and he’s never been able to get rid of me. He asked me to come and work for him, so in 2018 I jacked in my office job to become one of the UK’s few commercial fisherwomen, unhooking and gutting mackerel and preparing baits and pots. I loved the contrast: the lack of stress; the seriously funny fishermen. What’s the catch in Norfolk? We currently catch 90% shellfish —crabs, lobsters and whelks. There’s also fantastic mackerel and cod, which we catch responsibly with hook and line. We’re highly selective: everything undersize goes back. There’s no fish market in Wells-next-the-Sea, so we sell directly on the quay. It’s all sushi-grade,…

South Korea’s most popular seaside city, Busan, is beginning to make a name for itself as a culinary hotspot. This beachside metropolis of 3.5 million people is renowned nationwide for its fresh seafood and signature pork soup, dwaeji gukbap, but now, a new generation of restaurateurs are determined to put the city on the global map as a world-class finedining destination. The availability of fresh fish and other great local ingredients is key to Busan’s offering. Combine this with talented homegrown chefs and stunning views of either the ocean or the mountains and you have the recipe for some truly exceptional restaurants. What’s more, the city has finally caught the attention of some big players located outside of Korea, including Michelin, which launched a Seoul and Busan guide in 2024,…

Home to the only surviving fortified river bridge in Britain and the birthplace of warrior-king Henry V, Monmouth is steeped in medieval history. But in recent years, the Welsh market town and surrounding area have quietly become a destination for gourmands as well as history buffs. Squeezed between the wooded hills of the Wye Valley, just a few miles from the English border, Monmouth bustles with well-stocked delis, bakeries and farmers’ markets (held on Fridays and Saturdays), all showcasing the very best of local produce, from beef to beer. Add a Michelin-starred restaurant and cosy country inns, and travellers have a winning recipe for a gourmet getaway. Monnow Street is the main thoroughfare; on a gently sloping hill, it’s home to independent food businesses, backed by the distant peaks of…

WINDERMERE, CUMBRIA • THEGILPIN.CO.UK When I read the words ‘our gin and tonic’ on the menu at Source, I know this isn’t going to be a simple aperitif. After all, chef Ollie Bridgwater spent almost a decade working under Heston Blumenthal at The Fat Duck, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he’d picked up some of his old boss’s tricks. And indeed he has — when the ‘G&Ts’ arrive, they’re not drinks at all, but green spheres so delicate they’re practically trembling in the spoons used to serve them. When I scoop mine into my mouth it bursts under the lightest pressure, flooding my palate with fresh, herbal flavours. Yet, Source — one of two restaurants at Windermere’s luxurious Gilpin Hotel — is more than a Fat Duck tribute act.…

Like many people who live more than an hour from the coast, I spend quite a lot of time quietly pining for it. I often find myself fantasising that the next corner I turn will lead me to the sea; or wishing my favourite cafe was perched on a harbour wall. For me, the sounds, sights and smells of the seaside are the essence of travel — they symbolise, like nothing else, that feeling of being away. Which is perhaps why seafood is the ultimate holiday dish for me. In fact, when I stop to think about it, so many of my favourite food memories involve fish or shellfish, from eating barbecued sardines in the Algarve to enjoying a fish curry while watching the waves from a cliff edge in…

Given that rosé and sparkling are two of the most popular wine styles, you’d think the combination of the two would be a real crowdpleaser. But, while its popularity is on the rise, sparkling rosé still only sells a sixth of the amount of standard fizz, according to figures from retailer Majestic Wine. Across the wine world, attitudes to pink fizz vary. In the case of the most famous roséproducing region, Provence, I suspect the preference for still wine is due to the fact that you often have to add extra sugar to sparkling wine, whereas Provence rosé is usually bone dry. In the Prosecco region, by contrast, a dash of pinot noir adds an appealingly fruity note to what can be a bit of a dull drink. This, by…

Japan Getting a taste for oysters and izakaya culture A raw food delicacy often downed whole in fine-dining restaurants, oysters are a revelation to be savoured in Japan’s informal izakaya bars, where they’re cooked and served steaming, and even wrapped in pork rashers. Words: Jo Davey Folding into a small wooden seating space, barely two feet wide, I glance up at a chalkboard. Scrawled on it is today’s menu, an artistic rendering of a language it’s easier to recognise when written in a crisp computer font but trickier when handwritten. Typed menus aren’t common in izakayas, Japan’s traditional bar-restaurants that fall somewhere between a gastropub, tavern and tapas bar, but thankfully my local companion offers to make the order —as she does so I can make out the word ‘kaki’:…

Odile looks at me suspiciously. There is someone new in her cowshed. She takes her place at her milking station, marked by her name plate, and is soon joined by Noisette who seems indifferent to my company as she languidly chews some hay. The rest of the herd trot in to line up beside them, heads held high, while farmer Philippe Galvaing hurries them from behind. These are Salers cows, a breed that thrives in the mountains of Cantal, one of France’s most remote departments, in the south of the historical Auvergne region, where steep, volcanic mountains have shaped local traditions. I’ve come to witness the process that goes into making the rare salers tradition cheese. Only seven producers of this particular fromage remain —each only uses milk from their…

Brushing past an 80-year-old bay tree, I follow the heady scent of smoky rose. Flora’s family are in the garden, chatting over a big pot of goat in a wood-fired clay oven. Preparations for kleftiko —a slow-roasted dish of lamb or goat —are well underway. The morning sun shines through the canopy of vines above our heads. Andreas, Flora’s husband, grabs a tiny terracotta cup in which Diamanto, Flora’s cousin, carefully places a few cubes of incense. “In Cyprus, before we cook something, we burn coal, olive leaves and rose incense to bring good luck,” says Diamanto, as a westerly wind wafts the fragrant smoke up my nose. Andreas gestures to the forest-cloaked mountains above, explaining that the incense comes from the Holy Monastery of Panagia Trikoukiotissa in nearby Prodromos,…

STORIES Bethlehem Fadi Kattan Franco-Palestinian chef Kattan tells tales of his childhood in Bethlehem and his homeland’s cuisine by celebrating unsung cooks and culinary heroes. He also shares classic recipes ranging from spiced slow-roast lamb to kofte and stuffed vine leaves, plus his own innovations. £28, Hardie Grant FUSION FOOD Misarana Eddie Scott In Misarana (meaning ‘fusion’ in Punjabi), 2022 MasterChef champion Scott recalls food enjoyed on childhood holidays in France, alongside Punjabi recipes from his grandparents. These — and other — international influences collide in dishes like Taj Palace French toast and gratin aloo boulangère. £26, Carnival WORDS: ROSIE CONROY. STREET-FOOD STAPLES Pocha Su Scott Korean-born Scott’s new cookbook is anchored in her affection for Seoul’s pochas (traditional food stalls). The comforting recipes are inspired by street food such…

I’VE BEEN EATING AT... UBA, in Shoreditch, London, where the menu is a homage to the flavours of East Asia. While I loved the Korean crispy fried chicken, it was the seared salmon belly maki with prawn that stole the show. Farida Zeynalova, assistant editor What’s the most unusual gelato flavour you’ve ever tried? PASSIONFRUIT CHEESECAKE IN FLORENCE Bought within sight of the Uffizi Gallery, this really delivered a medley of wonderful flavours. Glen Mutel, editor BLACK GARLIC IN SORRENTO It’s something of an acquired taste, but black garlic ice cream worked for me. I’d happily eat several scoops on a hot day. FZ BREAD IN SARDINIA I found this on a menu in Porto Rotondo. It had such a distinctly bready taste I half-expected to find crumbs in my…

THE EXPERTS Franka Philip Food writer and media consultant Natasha Laggan Founder of Trini Cooking with Natasha Ria Birju Founder of Cooking With Ria Where can you recommend for a memorable dining experience in Trinidad? FRANKA PHILIP: The island’s mix of races and cultures makes it a truly exciting culinary getaway. That said, you’re unlikely to find many totally ‘local’ gourmet restaurants as Trinis tend to seek something different if they’re dining out. In addition, the influx of Venezuelan, Chinese and Middle Eastern immigrants in recent years has given the local food scene a more international vibe. For a hearty Trini breakfast in Port of Spain, the capital, head to Mano’s on Park Street. Expect delicious classics like saltfish buljol, tomato choka, fried aloo (potatoes) and curried channa in a…

Standing on the edge of the marina in the port of Palamós, about an hour’s drive north of Barcelona, I shiver in the dark, 6am chill. A 16th-century church bell tower looms high above the Old Town behind me and only the metallic whine of the chains linking the boats to the dock interrupts the early morning silence. I’ve come to join Xavi Miró and his crew aboard the Estrella del Sur III for a day of ‘pescaturisme’ (fishing tourism), accompanying them as they trawl the sea off the Catalan coast for gambas rojas, the red prawns for which Palamós is known. Like champagne and parmigiano reggiano cheese, the prawns have a protected designation of origin classification and have to be caught within a specific radius of the Palamós coast.…

Pieces of chicken, tossed in a simple spice marinade, lightly charred and then submerged in an unctuous, light, buttery, creamy tomato sauce. Butter chicken —or murgh makhani —is a dish so beloved, it’s now ubiquitous on Indian restaurant menus the world over. Yet, it started life as a way of repurposing leftovers. Traditionally, the dish would begin with tandoori chicken: bone-in meat coated in cumin, coriander, turmeric, chilli and garam masala, partially cooked in a tandoor (a hot clay oven) before later being flash-cooked in the tandoor a second time. Meat has been cooked in tandoor-style ovens in northwest India since around 2600-1900 BCE, according to archaeological finds, but butter chicken only evolved in the first half of the 20th century. The dish came about in response to discerning restaurant…

The route begins in Mostar, named the European Wine City Dionisio 2024. The city’s old town has been carefully restored, with its winding cobblestone streets home to Ottoman houses serving traditional Bosnian coffee and sweets, and the ateliers of craftspeople who work with leather and copper. A 20-minute car journey away, in the mountains behind the city, lies the village of Goranci, where, at Restoran Goranci, you can expect traditional meals such as slowroasted veal and grah, a Bosnian bean stew, with potato bread and hurda (a local cheese curd). If Mostar marks the start of the wine route, the end point is the country’s southernmost city, Trebinje (right), where the nearby karst fields, known as Popovo Polje, are considered some of the best agricultural terrain in the country, and…

What are your earliest food memories? I grew up in Antakya in southeast Turkey and spent childhood holidays there at my grandparents’ 450-year-old stone house. They grew walnuts, figs and pomegranates that my grandmother would use to make molasses. I absorbed everything watching her and my mother cook. My uncle and grandfather were food merchants and would bring cases of fresh produce home, which were used in meals or preserved — nothing was wasted. And I loved going to the bakery and the farmers’ market with my father, handpicking produce and chatting to the vendors. Are markets still a big part of life today? Very much so, you’ll find one at the heart of every neighbourhood. Each is different, depending on its location, the local demographic and growing conditions. They…