Appetizer

This traditional Greek pie consists of cooked or saut&eacute;ed nettles that are placed between two layers of phyllo pastry. Along with nettles, the filling can also incorporate herbs, onions, and crumbled feta cheese. Tsouknidopita is best served freshly prepared, while it is still warm and crispy and can be enjoyed as an appetizer, snack, or a light main course.

Tsouknidopita

Slovenia

Tuhinjska fila or Tuhinj stuffing is a traditional dish that is only prepared on festive occasions, such as Easter. It is made with white bread, eggs, ham or smoked meat, onions, cream, and various spices. Visually, it is reminiscent of savory pogača breads.

Tuhinjska fila

United States

Tuna tartare is an elegant starter originating from Los Angeles. The dish is made with a combination of raw tuna, avocado, egg yolks, green peppercorns, capers, chives, tarragon, mustard, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. It was invented in 1984 by chef Shigefumi Tachibe at the Chaya Brasserie when a few customers came in wanting beef tartare, but one of them didn't eat beef, so the chef tried tuna, and it was an instant success. Nowadays, it's usually served as a visually attractive appetizer with crackers or toast.

Tuna Tartare

Tzatziki is a Greek concoction made from yogurt, cucumbers, garlic, and numerous herbs and spices such as dill, mint, or parsley. It is usually served as a sauce accompanying many meat dishes, as a simple dip, or an appetizer. Its name is derived from the Turkish word cacik, denoting a very similar dip, although some suspect that tzatziki was derived from the Indian raita dip. Tzatziki is always served cold, and it is especially popular to serve it with dishes such as gyros and souvlaki. Often, it is served with pita bread as part of the first course of a big meal. With its huge popularity, and the fact that it is one of the best summer dips, it is not strange that there are many regional variations of tzatziki, in countries such as Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Cyprus, Bulgaria, and Serbia.

Tzatziki

Japan

Uni chawanmushi is a traditional egg-based dish. Chawanmushi is a soft egg custard that's steamed until the texture becomes silky smooth. The eggs are often flavored with dashi, soy sauce, or seafood stock. In this version, chawanmushi is topped with uni (sea urchin gonads) before serving, providing a nice textural contrast. This delicate dish can be served hot, warm, or cold in a small lidded cup, and since it can't be eaten with chopsticks, it's one of few Japanese dishes that are traditionally consumed with a spoon. Uni chawanmushi is traditionally served as an appetizer.

Uni chawanmushi

Italy

Uova alla monachina is a traditional dish originating from Campania. The dish consists of stuffed and fried boiled eggs. Once boiled, the eggs are shelled and the whites are separated from the yolks. The yolks are mixed with bechamel sauce, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. The mixture is placed into egg white halves, and it's topped with the other egg white halves. The eggs are then sprinkled with flour, dipped in beaten eggs, rolled in breadcrumbs, and fried in olive oil until golden and crisp. Once prepared, these stuffed fried eggs are drained on paper towels and served while still hot. Uova alla monachina is traditionally served as an appetizer, and it's especially popular during the Easter festivities.

Uova alla monachina

Uovo sodo con acciughe is a traditional snack or appetizer that's especially popular in Veneto. In order to prepare it, organic eggs are boiled in salted water, the shells are removed, and they are cut in half. An anchovy is placed on top of each half of the egg and it's secured with a toothpick. Before serving, uovo sodo con acciughe is sprinkled with chopped parsley and drizzled with extra-virgin olive oil.

Uovo sodo con acciughe

Utica greens is a traditional Italian-American dish originating from Utica in New York. The dish is usually made with a combination of escarole, prosciutto, olive oil, cherry peppers, garlic, breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, and Parmigiano-Reggiano. The greens are blanched until nearly limp, plunged into an ice bath to stop the cooking, then drained. The prosciutto, garlic, and cherry peppers are saut&eacute;ed in olive oil, and then mixed with the chopped greens and seasonings. A cup of grated cheese and the oreganato consisting of olive oil, breadcrumbs, and Parmigiano-Reggiano is added to the pan and stirred with the other ingredients. The pan is placed under the broiler until the top browns, and the dish is then sprinkled with more cheese and served immediately. Utica greens were popularized by Joe Morelle in the late 1980s at the Chesterfield Restaurant.

Utica Greens

Utopenci is a popular Czech dish that is commonly served in pubs and bars as a snack. It consists of sausages that are pickled in a tangy marinade with bay leaves, onions, black pepper, and other spices. The dish is traditionally eaten cold with white bread. The name utopence is translated to drowned men due to a belief that the inventor of the dish drowned while he was working on his mill. Others believe that the name comes from the fact that the sausages are drowned in the marinade. One can find utopenci throughout the Czech Republic, in bars, homes, and even in some restaurants.

Utopenci

Originating from the historical region of Red Ruthenia, these soft, crescent-shaped dumplings are filled with a combination of potatoes and cheese, which is occasionally modified with various seasonings or fried onions. Pierogi ruskie are usually boiled and shortly fried until they develop a crispy texture. The dumplings are often served sprinkled with cracklings, crispy fried onions, or bacon, and can be enjoyed as a hearty appetizer or as a main course. In Ukraine, the pierogis are called varenyky, and they are so popular that there is even a monument celebrating varenyky in the city of Cherkasy. The sweet, fruit-filled version of varenyky is typically served with sugar and sour cream.

Varenyky

Brazil

Rich, substantial, and tropically flavored - vatap&aacute; is one of the most famous Brazilian dishes, a main course consisting of a combination of stale bread, fish (usually cod), shrimp, coconut milk, manioc flour, dend&ecirc; palm oil, and cashews. The dish is often consumed with white rice, or as a filling for acaraj&eacute; fritters, another popular Brazilian dish. Bright yellow in color, vatap&aacute; is a specialty of Bahia, a state on the country's northeastern coast that is heavily influenced by the West Africans who were brought to the country as slaves. Although the origins of this dish are unknown, most culinary historians agree that it was invented in Bahia, even if the basic concept for the dish came from Africa.

Vatapá

Vignarola is a Roman dish made during early spring when the ingredients necessary for the dish are at their freshest. It consists of sliced spring onions, diced pancetta or guanciale, broad beans, shelled peas, baby artichokes, lettuce leaves, and white wine. The vegetables are slowly simmered until they become extremely tender. Vignarola is usually served as an antipasto, but it can also make for a nice main dish or a side dish. Some say that vignarola is a recent variation on the Roman dish fave al guanciale. The name of the dish supposedly refers to vignarole, young women who worked in the vineyards in the early spring and would make a meal with whatever they found growing there. However, some say that the name is derived from vigna, meaning vine, and others claim that vigna means vegetable garden in Roman dialect, hence the name of this fresh vegetable dish.

Vignarola

Croatia

Virovitički satara&scaron; is a Croatian appetizer originating from the city of Virovitica, hence the name. It consists of vegetables such as onions, pumpkin, tomatoes, and bell peppers that are saut&eacute;ed in lard and flavored with garlic and parsley. The dish is traditionally served warm, and although it is classified as an appetizer by the locals, Virovitički satara&scaron; also makes for a great side dish accompanying various meat dishes.

Virovitički sataraš

Vi&scaron;ka pogača is a savory Croatian pie originating from the island of Vis. The dough is quite similar to that of focaccia, consisting of flour, salt, yeast, and warm water. The pie is filled with a combination of olive oil, onions, anchovies, and spices. There is also an ongoing debate about the shape of the pie &ndash; should it be baked in a rectangular or round shape? Regardless of the shapes and the varieties, when this filling pie is paired with a glass of red wine, it is a perfect meal on its own, although it is more commonly served as a warm appetizer. If the same pie has tomatoes in the filling, it is then called Komi&scaron;ka pogača, and it is traditionally prepared in the city of Komiža, also on the island of Vis.

Viška pogača

Another northern Italian classic, vitello tonnato, or vitel tonn&egrave; in local dialect, is a filling Piedmontese entr&eacute;e made with white wine-marinated and tender-boiled veal smothered in a velvety tuna, anchovy, and caper sauce. It is traditionally served garnished with capers, parsley, anchovies, and lemon slices. The dish is believed to have been invented in the 1700s, but it wasn't until the mid-1800s when the recipe was first published in La Cucina degli Stomachi Deboli, a cookbook written by a renowned Italian physician and medical researcher Angelo Dubini.

Vitello tonnato

France

Invented in the early 1800s in Antonin Car&ecirc;me&rsquo;s pastry store in Paris, these round, light, airy puff pastries are baked such that the center part can be removed, creating a cavity that is then filled with either sweet or savory fillings. Car&ecirc;me&rsquo;s signature vol-au-vent was known as the financi&egrave;re, the filling of which consisted of minced chicken, breadcrumbs, and mushrooms in a Madeira sauce. Today, vol-au-vent is typically served as a snack or an appetizer with either a chicken or fish filling. There is also a Belgian variety of vol-au-vent that can be found in most restaurants, filled with a combination of chicken, mushrooms, and tiny meatballs and served with a side of french fries or mashed potatoes.

Vol-au-vent

Australia

Vol-au-vent des fruits de mer is an inexpensive and easy to prepare New Caledonian dish. The vol-au-vent is filled with seafood and coated with a sauce. Shrimps and scallops are typically used as garnishes, while cream, garlic, and champagne or white wine are preferred for the sauce. This dish is perfect for parties as it can be served as a starter or as a main dish that is often accompanied by rice.

Vol-au-vent des fruits de mer

Waldorf salad had been invented in 1896 by Oscar Tschirky, a dining room manager at New York's Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. Originally, the salad consisted of apples, celery, and mayonnaise, and was a huge success. Interestingly, finely chopped walnuts were added to the salad much later, in 1928, although most people associate the salad with walnuts as the key ingredient. Today, Waldorf salad is usually served cold as an appetizer, on a bed of lettuce, while ingredients such as chicken, raisins, or grapes are sometimes added in the modern versions of this elegant dish.

Waldorf Salad

These South Korean meatballs are usually prepared with a combination of tofu and minced beef or pork. Sometimes a combination of both beef and pork can be used, and additional ingredients typically include onions, garlic, and seasonings, as well as finely diced carrots and scallions. Before frying, the meatballs are shaped and flattened and then coated in flour and egg wash. Although they are a common everyday dish, wanjajeon are also regularly enjoyed on Korean New Year and Chuseok&mdash;traditional harvest festival. They are quite versatile and can be served as a main course, side dish, snack, or an appetizer, usually with a dipping sauce on the side.

Wanjajeon

Wanja jorim are traditional glazed meatballs originating from South Korea. These sweet and savory meatballs are usually made with a combination of ground beef, garlic, soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, flour, oil, and black pepper. A mixture of ground beef, garlic, soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, and black pepper is shaped into balls that are rolled in flour and cooked in oil over medium-high heat until fully cooked. The meatballs are removed from the pan, while the remaining sugar and soy sauce are heated in the same pan, and the meatballs are then rolled in the pan until fully coated and glazed. The glazed meatballs are served as an appetizer, usually on skewers, but they can also be served simply with rice on the side for a complete meal. In Korea, wanja jorim are also popular as a lunch box item.