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1000 recipes · 100 countries · updated weekly

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Dish of the week: Holubtsi

9 Bay leaf Recipes From 8 Cuisines.

The quiet background note of European braising — a leaf or two dropped into stock, stew, beans or a pot of sarma releases a subtle eucalyptus-like depth you only notice when it is missing. Dried bay is standard and keeps well; fresh bay is stronger and more floral. It never softens enough to eat, so it is always fished out before serving. Two leaves season a family-sized pot.

9 recipes on this route

The recipes.

Crusty roll filled with thin slices of marinated pork, sauce soaking into the bread

Portugal8 hr 40 min

Bifana

Portuguese Marinated Pork Sandwich

Dark braised beef pulled into threads in glossy sauce, served beside boiled potatoes and red cabbage

Netherlands3 hr 35 min

Draadjesvlees

Dutch Slow-Braised Shredded Beef

Danish roast pork with blistered crackling scored into strips, bay leaves tucked between the cuts

Denmark3 hr 15 min

Flæskesteg

Danish Roast Pork with Crackling

Bowl of dark Dutch onion and beef stew beside boiled potatoes and braised red cabbage

Netherlands2 hr 45 min

Hachee

Dutch Onion and Beef Stew with Vinegar

Chopped lechon kawali with blistered golden pork crackling and juicy fat, beside a saucer of garlic vinegar dip

Philippines9 hr 35 min

Lechon Kawali

Filipino Crispy Fried Pork Belly

Deep dish of Serbian prebranac — baked white beans layered with paprika-red caramelized onions under a browned crust

Serbia11 hr

Prebranac

Serbian Baked Beans with Caramelized Onions

Thin translucent slices of cured salo pork fat on dark rye bread with raw garlic and pickled cucumber

Ukraine96 hr 25 min

Salo

Ukrainian Cured Pork Fat with Garlic

Maltese rabbit stew in a heavy pot, dark red wine sauce with potato chunks, carrots and bay leaves

Malta10 hr 15 min

Stuffat tal-Fenek

Maltese Rabbit Stew in Red Wine

Glass jar of split smoked sausages pickled with onion rings, bay leaves and peppercorns in cloudy brine

Czechia336 hr 30 min

Utopenci

Czech Pickled Sausages with Onion

also known aslaurel, lovor

common in