54 min 30 minA hearty meatless beetroot soup with potato, cabbage and carrot, sweet-sour from a little vinegar and sugar. Serve it ruby red with a spoonful of sour cream and dill. Adapted from “Borscht” in the Wikibooks Cookbook (CC BY-SA 4.0). Beetroot raised from about 150 g to 250 g for a deeper colour; single amounts chosen where the source gave ranges, and cup measures converted to metric. Photo: liz west, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (“Borscht served”).
1 h 15 min 37 minMinced lamb simmered with carrots, peas and sweetcorn in a savoury gravy, topped with buttery mash and baked until golden. A proper British family supper. Adapted from “Shepherd's Pie III” in the Wikibooks Cookbook (CC BY-SA 4.0). Scaled from 1–2 to 4 servings with amounts for the vegetables, ketchup and stock; the stock now has 300 ml water so it can simmer, and an onion stands in for the unspecified mixed vegetables. Photo: Peachyeung316, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (“Shepherd Pie from Grand Cafe”).
25 minSoft egg noodles tossed in a hot pan with chicken, shrimp and crisp vegetables and coated in soy sauce. A flexible stir-fry that takes whatever meat and vegetables you have. Adapted from “Lo Mein” in the Wikibooks Cookbook (CC BY-SA 4.0). Fixed amounts for 4 in place of equal "parts" and "enough" soy sauce; picked chicken, shrimp, broccoli, carrot and asparagus from the suggested options and added spring onions to finish. Photo: jeffreyw, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (“Lo mein (13878821955)”).
1 h 13 min 23 minHungarian chicken slowly cooked down in a generous amount of sweet paprika, then finished with sour cream. Serve with dumplings, rice or mash. Adapted from “Paprika Chicken” in the Wikibooks Cookbook (CC BY-SA 4.0). Single amounts; served as 4 portions instead of 6–8 (one chicken). Photo: Kobako, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons (“Paprikahuhn”).
28 min 21 minA family recipe for Thailand's best-known noodle dish: rice noodles tossed in a sweet, sour and salty tamarind sauce with egg, bean sprouts and peanuts. Adapted from “Pad Thai” in the Wikibooks Cookbook (CC BY-SA 4.0). Chili flakes cut from 2 tbsp to 1–2 tsp, fewer bean sprouts, the "assorted vegetables" made specific. Photo: Index Librorum Permissorum, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons (“Pad Thai 2018-12-26 (1)”).