Cucumber

After lingonberry preserves, these pickled cucumbers are the most popular condiment in Scandinavia. They are a traditional accompaniment to Swedish Meatballs, simple salmon dishes, and roasts and other meats. They are even served with frankfurters sold at street kiosks, much like the sauerkraut that often tops the hot dogs sold here.

This recipe was given to me by one of my favorite farmers at my local market in Louviers, Normandy.

This dressing can also be used as a refreshing condiment for spicy curries.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

This recipe is an accompaniment for Summer Vegetable Curry.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Salmon and cod also work well.

Japanese cucumbers are small, virtually seedless, and quite crunchy. Young English cucumbers make a good alternative. This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

This recipe was created to accompany Grilled Swedish Meatball Kebabs Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less, but requires additional unattended time.

We've given a twist to the traditional Greek salad, then tucked it into toasted pita bread to come up with a tasty lunchtime treat.

This granita is delicious as a palate-refresher between courses or as a dessert.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are excerpted from chef Neil Perry's book Rockpool. Neil also shared some helpful cooking tips exclusively with Epicurious, which we've added at the bottom of the page. For your convenience, we've converted the measures — with as much accuracy as possible — from Australian to American. For those who have metric equipment and wish to follow Neil's recipe to the milliliter, we've included the original measures too. This dish is a blend of both Asian and Western techniques and flavours, and has been refined over a period of time. My objective was to end up with a layering of textures and flavours that built up from firm and sweet to soft and creamy. If there is one thing Eastern cooking has taught me, it is the balance and interplay of flavours from strong to subtle. This recipe also uses extra-virgin olive oil alongside tamarind, soy sauce and palm sugar to achieve a full-flavoured dressing that melds all parts of the composite salad together. When cooking Thai and Chinese food it is imperative not to use olive oil as it masks the authentic flavours, but once you understand the balance of these flavours you can start to blend with sympathy, and to create dishes that are in harmony with both their roots. The key to this salad is the same as for any composite salad; all the parts must be of the highest quality. The mangoes should be ripe but not overly sweet and soft. The chicken cannot be compromised, it must be fresh to achieve the right texture. Ensure that all the ingredients are at room temperature. It is ideal if all the preparation is done on the same day, but if that's impossible make sure you take everything out of the fridge well beforehand.

A delicious alternative to gefilte fish. Have the fishmonger fillet the whitefish.

Canapés came into fashion in the cocktail-party era that began in the 1920s. Bottled mayonnaise (which was first produced by Richard Hellmann in 1912 at his New York deli) and canned crabmeat help to make this canapé a model of fast food.