Europe’s food traditions have plenty of dishes that reward a second look. Some arrive with unfamiliar ingredients. Others make an entrance so dramatic that their flavour risks becoming an afterthought.
Odd Bites: Europe by Mike Bukayo gives both the food and its story room at the table. These three dishes are a good place to begin.
Escargot: start with the garlic butter
The classic Burgundy-style preparation of escargot combines snails with butter, garlic and parsley. It is a wonderfully direct introduction: warm, fragrant butter and a firm, slightly chewy bite.
Bread makes the experience even better, catching the butter left behind. For a newcomer, that familiar combination of garlic, herbs and richness provides an easy way into the dish.
The snail is central, of course, but so is the care taken to season and serve it.
Haggis: a savoury centrepiece
Haggis combines sheep’s offal with oatmeal, onion, fat and spices. Once cooked, it offers a substantial, savoury mixture in which the grain and seasoning matter as much as the meat.
With neeps and tatties—swede and potatoes—it becomes a comforting plate of contrasting textures. The vegetables give the rich, seasoned haggis space to stand out.
The book connects it with Robert Burns and the ceremonial supper held in his honour. Learning about that tradition adds another dimension to a food whose ingredient list can distract first-time readers from its appeal.
Stargazy pie: look beneath the pastry
Fish heads protruding through a pie crust are hard to ignore. Underneath them is a much more familiar invitation: fish, pastry and a filling that can include potatoes and eggs.
The book places stargazy pie in the Cornish village of Mousehole and recounts the legend of fisherman Tom Bawcock. Treating that account as folklore preserves what makes it engaging: a community story told through a memorable dish.
The presentation may prompt the first question, but the filling gives us a reason to keep talking about the food.
These dishes offer three different pleasures: a rich starter, a hearty centrepiece and a pie tied to a local tradition. Each becomes more interesting when we look beyond the detail that first catches our eye.
Explore these foods and their cultural stories in Odd Bites: Europe.