Our most popular April recipes included a real mix of old and new recipes – from recipes published way back when we launched Grantourismo in 2010, including our Moroccan lamb tagine and oxtail stew from Spain, to recipes for newer dishes, such as our Middle Eastern spiced rice recipe, and seasonal favourites, including my Russian Easter Cake and Anzac biscuits recipes.
It’s been a while since we published a round up of our top recipes of the month, but our most popular newsletters are those featuring our readers’ favourite recipes right now, and last month’s popular recipes were some of my favourites, so I thought we should reintroduce the series.
If you’re not signed up to our newsletters, there are two options: you can subscribe to receive new published posts in your in box in the right column on Grantourismo or scroll down to the end of this post to sign up for our occasional digests of popular posts, trending recipes and stories from our archive.
Looking for more cooking inspiration? See our compilation of 31 recipes to cook in May, which include recipes for Orthodox Easter, Mexico’s Cinco de Mayo, Mother’s Day, and Memorial Day in the USA, and the last month of autumn and spring. Now let me share our most popular April recipes.
Most Popular April Recipes – Recipes Our Readers Loved Last Month
These were our most popular April recipes on Grantourismo – the recipes our readers searched for and spent time on and hopefully cooked last month.
Traditional Beef Stroganoff Recipe
My classic beef Stroganoff recipe was one of our most popular April recipes on Grantourismo. No surprise, as it’s long been one of our top recipes. It’s one of my best Stroganoff recipes – I also have recipes for chicken Stroganoff, mushroom Stroganoff, meatball Stroganoff and pork Stroganoff.
An old aristocratic Russian dish with a long rich history, beef Stroganoff was democratised and popularised in canteens during the Soviet era, and travelled the world with Russian exiles, émigrés and World War 2 refugees, including my Russian-Ukrainian grandparents.
Pair with classic Stroganoff sides: crunchy shoestring fries or mashed potatoes and a crisp garden salad, plus homemade dill pickles and sour cream. For a proper Sunday meal of the kind my baboushka prepared serve at the centre of a spread of dishes, such as piroshki, borscht, Russian pelmeni, Ukrainian vareniki, cabbage rolls, a beet potato salad, and chicken kotleti.
Authentic Russian Beef Stroganoff Recipe for a Retro Classic from a Palace Kitchen
Aromatic Nom Banh Chok Recipe
Nom banh chok, also written as nom banhchok, which is both the name of the fresh rice noodles and the dish itself, is an ancient Khmer specialty that has influenced so many other dishes around Southeast Asia, from Thailand’s khanom jeen to a Southern Vietnamese Khmer dish from the Mekong Delta called bún kèn.
There are a handful of types of nom banh chok but our authentic nom banh chok recipe for Cambodia’s beloved ‘Khmer Noodles’ makes nom banh chok samlor proher, a popular breakfast dish of the rice noodles doused in a yellow-green coconut-based fish curry, garnished with fragrant herbs, seasonal vegetables, edible flowers, and wild herbs.
Cambodian food has such a special place in our hearts, having spent over a decade here, researching and writing our epic Cambodian cookbook and culinary history, so I’m always delighted to see Cambodian dishes land on these lists.
Authentic Nom Banh Chok Recipe for Cambodia’s Beloved Khmer Noodles
Authentic Cambodian Fish Amok Recipe
Our genuine fish amok recipe makes an authentic steamed fish curry to a classic recipe from an older generation of cooks who believe that if it’s not properly steamed, then it’s not amok trei. ‘Amok’ means to steam in banana leaves and ‘trei’ means fish in Cambodia’s Khmer language.
While the dish is eaten by all Cambodians on all kinds of occasions – the firm consistency and banana leaf wrapping made it convenient for farmers to take it out to the rice paddies for a midday deal, while the sumptuous texture and rich taste made it a wedding party favourite – it’s thought that this refined dish is a Royal Khmer specialty dating as far back as the Khmer Empire.
Our traditional Cambodian fish amok recipe was one of our most popular April recipes on Grantourismo, which thrills me no end, after spending so many years researching Cambodian cuisine and working on our epic Cambodian cookbook.
Cambodian Fish Amok Recipe for an Authentic Steamed Fish Curry in the Old Style
Buckwheat Kasha Recipe with Bacon, Caramelised Onions, Mushrooms and Eggs
Despite the rustic appearance, this is perhaps the least traditional of all my Russian family recipes and it’s one of my favourite recipes. Although I have to confess that of all the Russian breakfasts my baboushka used to make – French toast, blini, potato cakes, and buckwheat pancakes – kasha was my least favourite breakfast as a child.
As a little kid, it was the strange smell that put me off more than the nutty taste of the ancient grain, and it wasn’t until I was a young adult going to Sydney University and visiting my grandparents for overnight stays that I finally got kasha and I’ve loved it ever since.
This comforting Russian buckwheat kasha recipe with caramelised onions, bacon lardons, pan-fried mushrooms, and soft-boiled eggs makes my heartier take on my grandmother’s traditional Russian breakfast and it was another of our most popular April recipes on Grantourismo.
The key ingredient of this savoury porridge (kasha) is buckwheat groats (grechka). While based on my Russian grandmother’s recipe, I’ve spiced things up. My baboushka put chopped-up hard-boiled eggs on top, whereas I use soft-boiled eggs and also serve it with a dollop of sour cream, diced gherkins, and plenty of fresh fragrant dill.
Comforting Russian Buckwheat Kasha Recipe with Bacon, Caramelised Onions, Mushrooms and Eggs
Chebureki Recipe for a Beach Holiday Treat
This recipe for traditional chebureki (чебуреки) makes deliciously-crunchy fried pastries filled with savoury minced beef and onions. They are so big you need to hold them in two hands but I also have a recipe for mini chebureki that are a little spicier.
My Russian-Ukrainian grandmother had fond memories of summer holidays on the Black Sea and cheburkei have long been a beloved Black Sea beach holiday snack. Now a popular street food in Russia, Ukraine and other Eastern European and Central Asian countries, its origins are in Crimean Tatar cuisine
This chebureki recipe was another of our most popular April recipes on Grantourismo. My chebureki recipes will definitely be going in the Russian-Ukrainian cookbook and family memoir I’m developing, so I’m always delighted to see our readers landing on these recipes.
Chebureki Recipe for a Crimean Beach Holiday Treat That Became a Popular Russian Street Food Snack
Moroccan Lamb Tagine with Prunes and Almonds
Back in 2010, Marrakech in Morocco was the first stop on the yearlong global grand tour which launched Grantourismo, with the aim of inspiring you all to travel more slowly, locally and experientially, forms of travel we’d long believed were more immersive, engaging and interactive. Learning to cook local food and slow food were big parts of that project.
Terence learnt to make this recipe from Jamila, the lovely cook at our Marrakech riad. In the Moroccan edition of Weekend Eggs he wrote about the many different versions of chakchouka, but that was nothing compared to the variations of tagine. You won’t find two cooks who’ll agree on exactly what should go into a tagine.
This Moroccan lamb tagine with prunes and almonds was another of our most popular April recipes. It’s also one of our best recipes with nuts and one of my favourite tagine recipes, along with this classic chicken tagine with preserved lemons and olives.
Moroccan Lamb Tagine with Prunes and Almonds Recipe from Marrakech
Khmer Yellow Kroeung Paste Recipe
The Khmer yellow kroeung paste is the basic kroeung or freshly-pounded herb and spice paste in Cambodian cooking. The other four are the green kroeung (kroeung prâhoeur), the red kroeung (kroeung samlor kari), ‘k’tis kroeung’ (kroeung samlor k’tis), and the saraman kroeung (kroeung samlor saraman), used to make the Cambodian Saraman curry.
The yellow kroeung is used for many classic Khmer and Cambodian dishes, including the sublime fish amok (amok trei) and hearty soups such as samlor machou kroeung sach ko, a sour beef soup with morning glory, which is why the paste is commonly called kroeung samlor machou.
The yellow kroeung is also used as a marinade for the popular street food snack, charcoal-grilled beef skewers, and in prahok k’tis, the ubiquitous Khmer dip made with prahok (fermented fish), minced pork, coconut milk, and pea eggplants that is eaten with crunchy vegetable crudites. It was fantastic to see it was another of our most popular April recipes.
Khmer Yellow Kroeung Recipe for Kroeung Samlor Machou, Cambodia’s Essential Spice Paste
Tomato Bredie Recipe for a Classic Cape Town Stew
This tomato bredie recipe, which makes a classic Cape Town stew was another of our most popular April recipes. A ‘bredie’, which is an Afrikaans word meaning ‘stew’, is a slow-cooked mutton and tomato stew, and it’s as Cape Town as Table Mountain.
The variety of bredies and amount of spices used have an infinite variety of permeations. This is Terence’s version, cooked during our two weeks in Cape Town way back in 2010. After sampling the dish in Cape Town restaurants during our stay, and making it in our kitchen several times, Terence found the sweet spot with this recipe.
It’s a good mix of lamb pieces cooked for at least a couple of hours. It gets a good rest overnight before reheating, and then you add the potatoes. Garnish with fragrant coriander and serve this tomato bredie recipe with some aromatic rice, and roti if possible, and a good South African Shiraz or some ice cold beer.
Tomato Bredie Recipe for a Classic Cape Town Stew from South Africa
Cauliflower Cabbage Potato Soup Recipe
Our easy cauliflower cabbage potato soup recipe makes a creamy vegetable soup that’s incredibly rich and comforting and it was another of our most popular April recipes on Grantourismo.
You could enjoyably slurp it as is on a chilly autumn or fall evening, dunking toast into the silky broth, or add texture and make it a bit fancy by sprinkling crushed croutons, fresh fragrant dill sprigs, and cracked black pepper on top.
One of our best potato soup recipes, this creamy cauliflower cabbage potato soup recipe will make you a comforting vegetable soup textured with homemade croutons that tastes so rich and creamy you’d think there was cream in it (there isn’t!) and while you could happily tuck into a bowl on the sofa in your PJs (which is what I’m doing tonight), you could also make it a bit fancy.
Cauliflower Cabbage Potato Soup Recipe for a Comforting Creamy Vegetable Soup
Cote de Boeuf Recipe by Chef Pierre Gagnaire
This côte de bœuf recipe, which came courtesy of superstar French chef Pierre Gagnaire and became one of our most memorable souvenirs of our stay in Paris in the spring of 2010, tops the list of our 12 most popular recipes in 12 years of Grantourismo.
The chef’s cooking tips for his cote de boeuf recipe were “serve it with pommes frites!” and “cook it bleu (rare)!” although he said he preferred to eat his côte de bœuf with pomme noisettes (potatoes carved into a hazelnut-shape), cracked black pepper, sauce béarnaise, and a fresh green salad, or perhaps just with potato Dauphinoise (layered slices of potato baked in milk and/or cream and a little cheese).
The bone-in ribeye steak is a delicious cut of meat but it is also an expensive cut, so if you’re unsure about oven temperatures or how to judge the doneness of the meat, use a meat thermometer. You don’t want to get this wrong.
Cote de Boeuf Recipe Courtesy of Chef Pierre Gagnaire in Paris
Salmon Potato Salad Recipe with Soft-Boiled Eggs
My Russian salmon potato salad recipe with soft-boiled eggs, capers, gherkins and dill makes my take on one of our Russian family recipes so it was very cool to see that it was another of our most popular April recipes.
It makes a filling salad that you can eat year-round. In the cool season, you can serve it with warm potatoes and seared salmon straight from the pan, while it can be refrigerated for warm weather meals, such as summer barbecues and spring picnics.
I really love a salad you can eat all year. You can work quickly and combine the potatoes, pan-seared salmon and soft-boiled eggs while they’re still warm if you’re eating this in cool or cold weather. This salad is fantastic chilled or warm, which is something I love in a salad.
Russian Salmon Potato Salad Recipe with Soft-Boiled Eggs, Gherkins, Capers and Dill
Traditional Russian Beef Stew Recipe for Solyanka
This traditional Russian beef stew recipe makes solyanka, a delicious hearty stew or heavy soup that’s a little sour, a little sweet, and was a whole lot saltier back in its day.
First mentioned in print in the 15th century, solyanka is an ancient dish made for modern times: it’s a one-pot dish that is filling and comforting. It’s one of my favourite beef stew recipes, based on my baboushka’s recipe, which I grew up eating in the 1970s.
Solyanka has long been thought to have been invented to use up leftovers, which explains all the bits and pieces, and why some solyanka recipes call for several kinds of meats and sausages, and ingredients such as dill pickle juice.
Traditional Russian Beef Stew Recipe for Solyanka, a Medieval Dish for Modern Times
Middle Eastern Rice Recipe with Spices, Pistachios, Cashews and Raisins
My quick and easy Middle Eastern rice recipe with spices, nuts and raisins will make you a fragrant spiced rice dish infused with Middle Eastern spices and textured with nuts and raisins. It’s fantastic with smoky kofta kebab or garlicky shish tawook, Middle Eastern vegetable sides and salads such as fatoush and tabbouleh. It’s one of our best Middle Eastern recipes.
While my Middle Eastern rice recipe is authentic in taste – there are few more quintessential Middle Eastern spice blends than the ‘seven spice’ mix known as ‘baharat’ and nuts such as pistachios and cashews – the technique I use is inauthentic. Instead of the pilaf method, I use the Asian stir-fry method to use up leftover rice.
The next day, I combine any leftover Middle Eastern spiced rice with kofta kebab meat or garlicky chicken leftovers, which I break up into bite-sized pieces and quickly stir-fry again. The result is a wonderful rice dish that makes an easy yet comforting meal for a filling lunch or casual dinner.
Middle Eastern Rice Recipe with Spices, Pistachios, Cashews and Raisins
Rabo de Toro Oxtail Stew Recipe
This rabo de toro oxtail stew recipe from Jerez in Spain is a classic slow braised dish that requires a long cooking time, but rewards with rich, robust flavours. This recipe is another from that 2010 trip, inspired by the rabo de toro that we ate at Bar Juanito in Jerez.
After tasting and researching countless regional oxtail stew recipes and talking to locals in Jerez, Terence came to the conclusion that rabo de toro oxtail most closely resembled bœuf bourguignon, only for us it’s tastier because the marrow from the ox tail adds depth to the gravy or sauce. The bone and the marrow aren’t used in bœuf bourguignon.
Both dishes require the meat to be browned, a mirepoix to be sautéed, and the two to be combined. Terence has found the best way to cook this dish is in a Dutch Oven but you could also make it in a pressure cooker, just half the time and test to make sure the oxtail is fall-apart cooked.
Rabo de Toro Oxtail Stew Recipe from Jerez in Southern Spain
Authentic Mexican Guacamole Recipe
This authentic Mexican guacamole recipe was another of our most popular April recipes, which was so great to see, as it’s another recipe that we published during our time in Mexico for Terence’s series called The Dish.
Our recipe makes a genuine Mexican guacamole of the kind your Mexican abuela (grandma) might make – the kind that’s made table-side at good restaurants in Mexico. It’s all about the creamy luscious texture, bright green colour and full flavour of perfectly ripe avocados
I’ve been making this authentic Mexican guacamole recipe for almost 30 years, since we tasted our first genuine guacamole in Mexico City on our inaugural trip to Mexico in the mid-Nineties. We became so smitten with that sublime guacamole that was so much simpler yet far superior to the one I’d been making, that we adapted a guacamole ritual and I’ve been making it ever since.
Whether you use a Mexican mortar and pestle called a molcajete or not is much-debated. In Mexico City, chef Martha Ortiz said it was essential, while our cooking instructor in San Miguel de Allende was adamant it wasn’t. As most of our readers outside Mexico probably won’t have a molcajete, the recipe calls for a fork. You could also use a Southeast Asian granite mortar and pestle.
Authentic Mexican Guacamole Recipe Like Your Mexican Abuela Would Make
Russian Easter Cake Recipe
This Russian Easter cake recipe makes kulich, a Russian Easter bread laced with dried fruit and topped with lemon icing that drips down the loaf. Baked in tin cans, the cylindrical-shaped bread is similar to Italian panettone or French brioche.
In Russia, Ukraine and other Slavic countries, this Easter cake is typically baked on Easter Friday or Easter Saturday, is blessed by the Orthodox priest at church at Saturday’s midnight service, and is traditionally eaten on Easter Sunday and the period between Easter and Pentecost.
It only takes a couple of hours to make, most of which is resting, rising and baking time. It was another of our most popular April recipes. If you like Italian panettone or French brioche then you’ll love this – especially with lashings of salted butter and a strong cup of tea.
Russian Easter Cake Recipe for Kulich and Happy Easter or Schastlivoy Paskhi
Classic Anzac Biscuits Recipe
This classic Anzac biscuits recipe is as close to the early 1933 Australian Country Women’s Association Anzac biscuit recipes that I could get it and it makes the best Anzac biscuit ever – even better than the Anzac biscuits of my memory growing up in Australia.
ANZAC Day was on 25 April and it is a day that’s special to Australians and New Zealanders. In the lead up to the Anzac Day long weekend in Australia and New Zealand, it seems every Australasian newspaper, magazine and food site published and republished some form of the classic Anzac biscuits recipe, often with a twist on the traditional or an Anzac inspired dessert.
So it was great to see that this traditional Anzac biscuits recipe was another of our most popular April recipes.
Classic Anzac Biscuits Recipe Based on the 1933 Country Women’s Association Recipes
Please let us know in the comments below if you make any of the recipes in this collection of our most popular April recipes as we’d love to hear how they turn out for you.
