Swedish Pea Soup with Pork (Ärtsoppa)
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.
Lunch
The lighter meal in the middle of the day. Soup, salad and open sandwiches.
Toast Skagen (Swedish Shrimp Toast)
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.
Caesar Salad
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.
Hummus with Pita Bread
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.
Swedish Shrimp Sandwich (Räksmörgås)
An open-faced sandwich of cold shrimp, mayonnaise, hard-boiled egg and dill on buttered rye bread. It is the standard lunch counter order across Sweden, and it comes together in about half an hour.
Chicken Katsu with Rice
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.
Spanish Tortilla (Tortilla Española)
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.
Ratatouille
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.
Danish Meatballs (Frikadeller)
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.
Hamburgers with Fries
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.
Jansson's Temptation (Janssons Frestelse)
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.
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.
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.
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.
Danish Rye Bread (Rugbrød)
A dense, dark sourdough loaf studded with whole rye kernels, baked in an ordinary loaf pan. This is the bread under every open sandwich in Denmark, sliced thin and topped with everything from liver pâté to pickled herring.
Gravlax (Gravad Lax)
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.
Swedish Meatballs (Köttbullar)
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.