Slow-cooked lamb in a rich gravy under a golden crust of buttery mashed potato: the British supper that tastes of the countryside.
Pears poached in vanilla syrup, cold ice cream and warm chocolate sauce: the Paris bistro dessert named for an operetta.
Roasted chestnuts simmered with shallots and thyme and blended to velvet: the elegant autumn starter of France’s chestnut country.
A dense, fragrant loaf of honey, rye and warm spices that only improves after a few days: the gingerbread of Dijon.
White beans, duck confit, pork and garlic sausage baked slowly under a golden crust: the great Sunday dish of the Languedoc.
Paper-thin pastry wrapped around apples, rum-soaked raisins and buttered breadcrumbs: the Apfelstrudel of the Viennese coffeehouse.
The yolk-rich ribbon pasta of the Langhe, finished simply in butter with porcini or, in season, a shower of white truffle from Alba.
Cannellini beans, cavolo nero and day-old bread simmered into a thick, olive-oil-rich soup: the farmhouse classic of Tuscany.
Pork chops with golden apples, a flambé of Calvados and a cream sauce: the orchard cooking of Normandy in under 40 minutes.