Food for the evening table: the fish, the roast and the weeknight pan.
Pan fried pork chops with a quick cream sauce of cremini mushrooms, onion and thyme. A standard Nordic weeknight dinner, on the table in about 40 minutes with boiled potatoes alongside.
Strips of sirloin seared fast, then mushrooms, onion and a sour cream sauce built in the same skillet. On the table in about 40 minutes, served over rice or wide noodles.
Short-grain rice simmered slowly in milk until thick and creamy, served warm with cinnamon sugar and a pat of butter, or cold with milk poured over. This is the dish Swedish families eat on Christmas Eve, with one blanched almond hidden in the pot.
Yellow split peas simmered soft with onion, thyme and cubes of pork, finished with a spoonful of mustard at the table. One pot, mostly unattended, and it feeds four with leftovers.
Cold-water shrimp folded into dill mayonnaise and piled on butter-fried white bread, finished with roe and a wedge of lemon. The starter Swedes order out and make at home whenever there is something to celebrate.
Crisp romaine in a garlicky dressing of mayonnaise, parmesan, anchovy and lemon, with croutons fried in olive oil. Served as a starter or as a light lunch on its own.
Chickpeas blended smooth with tahini, lemon and garlic, finished with olive oil and cumin, served with warm pita. Fifteen minutes from can to bowl, and better than anything in a plastic tub.
A butter short crust shell filled with the first garden rhubarb of the year, thickened with potato starch and scented with vanilla and cardamom. Baked until the juices bubble and the lattice is golden, and served warm with cold cream.
Strips of pork tenderloin seared in a hot skillet with bell pepper, onion and canned pineapple, then glazed in a ketchup and vinegar sauce. One pan, pantry ingredients, rice on the side.
Breaded chicken cutlets fried until deep gold, sliced and set over short-grain rice with a quick tonkatsu-style sauce and shredded lettuce. A Nordic weeknight regular borrowed straight from Japanese home cooking.
A thick omelette of potatoes and onion cooked slowly in olive oil, then set in the pan and flipped. It needs five ingredients, no dairy and no flour, and it tastes better lukewarm than hot.
A French vegetable stew of eggplant, zucchini, bell pepper, and tomato, cooked down in olive oil until soft and glossy. It works as a side for almost anything grilled, or as a light main with bread.
Homemade pizza with a simple uncooked tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, and basil, baked as hot as a home oven will go. Makes two 12-inch pizzas, enough for four.
Chicken thighs marinated in spiced yogurt, seared hard, then simmered in a tomato and cream sauce. Served with jasmine rice, it has become a standard weeknight dinner in Nordic homes.
Oblong pork and veal patties shaped with a spoon and fried slowly in butter until deeply browned. Served the standard Danish way, with boiled potatoes and brown gravy made in the same pan.
Thin, lacy pancakes fried in butter and served with lingonberry preserves and whipped cream. In Sweden they follow a bowl of yellow pea soup on Thursdays, but they work as dessert any day of the week.
Chicken thighs simmered in coconut milk with green curry paste, broccoli and bell pepper, finished with lime and cilantro and served over jasmine rice. On the table in about 35 minutes.
Onions cooked slowly in butter until deep brown, simmered in beef stock with a splash of wine, and finished under the broiler with a cheese-covered slice of toasted baguette. A classic winter starter for guests, and mostly a matter of patience with a pot of onions.
Thick patties of plain supermarket ground beef, salted on the outside only, seared hard in a skillet and finished with cheddar, plus oven fries cut from ordinary potatoes. A burger sauce of mayonnaise, mustard and chopped pickle holds it together.
A Swedish Christmas bake of matchstick potatoes and onion layered with pickled sprats, cream, and buttered breadcrumbs. It bakes until the top is golden and the cream has thickened around the potatoes, and it belongs on the julbord next to the ham and the herring.
Chicken thighs, bell pepper and broccoli seared hot and fast, then coated in a soy-garlic sauce thickened with potato starch. Served over jasmine rice, it lands on the table in about 35 minutes.
Friday night tacos the Nordic way: seasoned ground beef in a skillet, soft tortillas, and a table full of chopped toppings everyone builds from. The spice mix is stirred together from pantry jars instead of a packet.
Short-grain rice simmered slowly in milk until thick and creamy, served hot with a pool of melting butter, cinnamon sugar and, on Christmas Eve, a whole almond hidden in the pot.
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.
A straightforward ground beef and tomato sauce simmered with onion, carrot and garlic, served over spaghetti. It goes on the table in about 45 minutes and is standard Tuesday food in Nordic homes.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Raw salmon cured for two to three days under salt, sugar, and dill until it turns silky and rose-pink, sliced thin and served on the Nordic Christmas table. This is the dish that first taught Americans that 'Nordic food' meant more than pickled herring.
Tender beef and pork meatballs simmered in a cream gravy, served with mashed or boiled potatoes and a spoonful of lingonberry preserves. This is the everyday version Swedish families actually make, not the smorgasbord centerpiece.