10 Regional Recipes Everyone Should Try Once
Recipes that hail from certain regions speak a lot of the people who love it. Getting so many people in one area to consider a dish a “classic” is a true feat with how different people are. If you’ve never tried any famous recipes from any region, consider making them for your family and friends one night. They’ll be impressed with your regional knowledge.
1. Eggs Benedict from New York
Eggs Benedict is a delicious recipe that hails from New York. It involves poaching your eggs, which can be difficult for people not accustomed to it. This recipe teaches you how to poach eggs like a pro so you can closely follow the NYC recipe. Assembling the Eggs Benedict is also an essential part of the recipe — and English muffins are a must-have. This recipe also entails creating the hollandaise sauce, which can be finicky but tastes fantastic.
2. Biscuits and Gravy from the South
This recipe relies on sausage gravy to give all those who taste the recipe an extra protein boost. Plus, sausage gravy is a staple of the South, just like biscuits and gravy. You can use premade or homemade biscuits, though this recipe tells you how to make your own out of flour. With homemade biscuits and gravy, you’ll have a hearty breakfast everyone will be jealous of.
3. Bananas Foster from Louisiana
This New Orleans recipe is directly tied to the city’s history in that it was part of a challenge to make a delicious dessert featuring bananas. It’s a great way to feel more connected to Louisiana’s culture while sampling a tasty fruit dessert. The sweet flavors of ice cream, cinnamon and banana melt together in this lovely dish that’ll impress your family or any guests.
4. Livermush from North Carolina
While the name of this dish might put you off, livermush is actually a great-tasting entree that works great for breakfast — though a livermush biscuit or sandwich would also work for lunch or dinner, too. This recipe takes time to master and requires hours of preparation. The meat, specifically, should cook at a simmer for almost three hours. When made right, you’ll find that livermush is far tastier than its name implies.
5. Gumbo from Louisiana
Gumbo is a delicious and hearty meal full of meats and vegetables. It’s a sort of soup dish that can keep you full for hours after you eat it. Plus, with tasty andouille sausage and crab meat, who could turn it away? This recipe requires quite a bit of waiting time, but every minute that passes gets you just a bit closer to the finished recipe. If you haven’t tried gumbo before, it should delight your tastebuds with its unique Cajun flavor and blend of all ingredients.
6. Stromboli from Pennsylvania
This recipe is a simple sandwich from the Northeast. It goes great with any kind of side — kettle-cooked chips, soup or veggies — and can quickly become a household favorite for how delicious and easy to make it is. You use frozen bread dough in this easy, 30-minute recipe. Perfect for weeknights, these stromboli sandwiches can be served with a side of marinara for added tastiness.
7. Frito Pie from the Southwest
Sometimes, you just want to eat a dish that’s a little less healthy. Frito Pie is here to meet your comfort food needs — and in under 30 minutes. Frito Pie is similar to the “walking taco,” where people might put taco ingredients in a bag of chips instead of taco shells. This recipe is more of a casserole in that you combine the ingredients in one dish, then bake it for around 20 minutes. It’s a great meal to feed a whole family on a weeknight.
8. Boston Baked Beans from Massachusetts
These baked beans take much longer than just opening a can — but their flavor is so worth it. By allowing them to marinate for around eight hours, Boston baked beans simmer in their deliciousness.
This recipe is different from other baked beans recipes because of its sweet molasses taste. The molasses in the recipe keeps the beans from getting hard and leaves them syrupy and delicious despite their long cook time. Boston baked beans prove that the best beans are slow-cooked.
9. Spam Musubi from Hawai’i
A tasty dish straight from Hawai’i, the Spam Musubi is a type of sushi that may be more affordable to many American homes. Using Spam instead of fresh fish can change the taste slightly but give you the feel of eating authentic sushi.
The marinade you soak the Spam in adds the most flavor to this dish. With oyster sauce, soy sauce and sugar all combined, you can rest assured that these flavors will call to mind the taste of sushi when you eat it. You then wrap the fried Spam and bed of rice up with nori, and you can enjoy it fresh or after keeping it for a few days in the fridge.
10. Pepperoni Roll from Appalachia
A pepperoni roll is almost like a pizza without really being a pizza. This recipe encourages you to make your own dough for a fresher taste, which can help it taste so much better and possibly last longer. Pepperoni and mozzarella cheese are both staples of this bread. The sprinkle of Parmesan on top makes this cheesy bread dish perfect once it’s toasted. Consider serving this bread with your favorite hearty dish — or eating the loaf by itself.
Eat Regional Foods With Stories
The best recipes are those with stories — and not the ones covering the pages that make you scroll to the bottom for the ingredients list. Many of these recipes are rooted in their region’s history, whether they’re tales from bygone times or made with local specialties or favorites. Try a different dish on each day of the week, and you may find that some regional choices become your household’s favorites, too.
