Falafel with Tahini Sauce
Crisp chickpea patties fried golden and served with a lemony tahini sauce, warm pita, and chopped salad. Made from dried chickpeas soaked overnight, which is the only way they hold together properly.
No oven
Needs no oven. Stove, hot plate or no heat at all.
Finnish Salmon Soup (Lohikeitto)
A creamy soup of salmon, potatoes and dill that comes together in half an hour. It is everyday cooking in Finland, and needs nothing more than a pot, a knife and good fish.
Pickled Herring Salad (Sillsallad)
Tender pickled herring folded with boiled potato, crisp apple, red onion, and dill in a sour cream dressing. It chills for an hour, then goes on the table in a bowl with hard-boiled egg on top.
Danish Open Sandwiches (Smørrebrød)
Three classic smørrebrød built on buttered Danish rye: pickled herring with red onion and capers, cold-smoked salmon with egg and dill, and roast beef with curried remoulade and crispy onions. A platter of twelve pieces, enough for four people at lunch.
Greek Salad (Horiatiki)
Tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, red onion, olives and a slab of feta, dressed with olive oil, red wine vinegar and dried oregano. No lettuce, no cooking, ready in twenty minutes.
Chicken Curry with Rice
A mild coconut curry made with jarred curry paste and pre-cut chicken thighs, simmered with bell pepper and carrot and served over rice. On the table in about 40 minutes with one skillet and one pot.
Æbleskiver (Danish Pancake Balls)
Danish pancake balls fried in a cast iron æbleskiver pan, light from beaten egg whites and scented with cardamom. Served hot with confectioners' sugar and lingonberry jam.
Norwegian Fish Cakes (Fiskekaker)
A weeknight staple in Norway, these pan fried patties are made from a smooth paste of white fish, potato starch, and milk, and cook up light and slightly bouncy inside a golden crust. Every Norwegian grocery store sells them ready made, but they take about the same time to mix from scratch.