My way of travelling is not to do art galleries and museums. I do food. I experience a place through tasting the flavours, by watching who and what's cooking and picking up ideas and tips so I can recreate and relive the experience back home. When I return from a trip I don't bore people with photos – I do it with food. I love showing others how easy it is to make a truly heroic dish in your own kitchen. Nici Wickes

In this stunning cookbook, WORLD COOKING presenter Nici Wickes presents spectacular recipes from six exotic locations that can be made by the home chef. Nici visits Mexico, India, Morocco, Spain, Greece, and Vietnam, capturing the flavours of each country and serving up wonderful recipes that bring each country alive. There is also a chapter of her favourite ‘at home’ meals that she cooks regularly for herself or for guests.

‘Pantry items for each cuisine, excellent photography, and the sheer breadth of recipes make this one of our favourite cookbooks of the year.’

– Cafe Magazine

SAMPLE RECIPES

Spicy Baked Yoghurt Chicken Drumsticks
One of my favourite ways to serve a meal is as a platter of deliciousness, where we all sit around and build our own little snacks, adding as much chilli or cooling yoghurt as we like. These drumsticks are wickedly spicy and so, so good.

Makes 10 drumsticks

You will need:
Marinade
5 tbsp yoghurt
1½ tbsp grated fresh ginger
2 tsp chilli powder
1 heaped tsp paprika
½ tsp garam masala
1 tbsp ground cumin
1½ tsp ground coriander
juice of ½ lemon
½ tsp salt
2 tbsp rice bran or vegetable oil
10 chicken drumsticks, skin on or off
2 tbsp oil
lemon juice, to serve
yoghurt, to serve

What to do:
To make the marinade, mix all the ingredients together in a large dish or bag. Marinate the chicken in the ingredients overnight if you can, or for at least 15 minutes.
Preheat oven to 200°C.
Remove chicken from marinade and lay out in an oiled baking dish. Make sure there’s space between each drumstick so that the hot air can circulate and the skin crisp
up. Roast for 35–45 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through.
Take the chicken out of the oven, sprinkle a little lemon juice over it and serve with yoghurt, Minted Lettuce (below), Tomato Kasundi and roti or naan breads.

Minted Lettuce

Serves 6
You will need:
½ iceberg lettuce, shredded
½ cup mint, finely chopped
juice of 1 lime or lemon
What to do:
Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl and toss well to mix.
Taste it — it ought to be minty with a hit of citrusy acid. If
not, add more of these. Transfer to serving platter.

Fiesta Cake
Tres leche cake, or three milk cake, is the cake to beat all cakes! It demands a party and perhaps that’s why it is one of the most popular desserts for birthday and wedding celebrations in Mexico. This is my version, complete with a fresh fruit filling.

Serves 10–12

You will need:
6 eggs, separated
¾ cup caster sugar
1½ cups plain flour
1½ tsp baking powder
2 tbsp rice bran oil
½ cup milk (optional)
1×395 g can sweetened
condensed milk
1 cup evaporated milk
½ cup whole milk
1 tbsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp rum (optional)
300 ml fresh cream,
whipped
1 cup cut fresh fruit (I like
strawberries or mango)
¼ cup chopped almonds
(optional)
sprinkles, for decoration

Frosting
75 g butter, softened
2 cups icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp milk

What to do:
Preheat oven to 175°C. Line a 30 cm round cake tin with baking paper. Make sure it comes up the sides of the tin.
Beat the egg whites until soft peak stage and set aside. In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks and sugar until pale, light and creamy. Fold the flour, baking powder and oil
into the egg and sugar mix. If the batter is too stiff, add up to ½ cup milk, until it reaches a soft runny batter consistency. Gently fold in the egg whites until incorporated.
Pour into the prepared cake tin. Bake for 40–45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when tested.
In the meantime blend condensed, evaporated and whole milks with vanilla and rum (if using). Use a skewer or fork to poke holes in the top of the cake to break the crust and allow easier absorption of the milks.
Now slowly pour the milks onto the cake, bit by bit, letting it absorb after each pour. Don’t do it too fast or the milks will plunge to the bottom of the tin. It might look like it is too
much liquid, but the cake will absorb it.
Refrigerate for at least 4 hours. For better results refrigerate overnight.
Turn the cake over onto a cake plate and with a long knife cut through the middle, horizontally.
Cover the bottom half with fresh whipped cream, fruit and almonds (if using). Replace the top half and decorate with frosting.
To make the frosting, beat the softened butter, icing sugar and vanilla in a bowl until fluffy. Add milk if needed to loosen it up. Ice the cake with a thick layer of the frosting and decorate with some festive sprinkles!

Author Biography

Nici is a trained chef and has run her own catering business, but her extensive knowledge of food and cooking comes from travelling the world. In 2009 she became the presenter for WORLD KITCHEN (now in its sixth season) – a fast-paced, cheeky travel and cooking show.