This minced meat dish is a staple of Estonian culture and super easy to make. It’s perfect with a nice side of roasted potatoes or a toasted piece of black bread to pick up the sauce. While it’s not glamorous it comes together in just a few minutes and can be adapted or flavored any way you want so it’s perfect for a quick mid-week meal. It’s also good as a topping on pasta or rice.

This might not be the usual empanada that I’m used to but it is a delicious and fairly easy to make pie from the Galician region of Spain. Smoked paprika and slow cooked onions give the pie an earthy and soft flavor that makes it easy to eat endlessly. This is a great dish for a party also because it’s easy to make a lot at once and it’s relatively mess free to eat so this could be a great appetizer or standing dinner. It’s apparently traditional to put the letter of whatever is in the pie on top so mine has a ‘P’ for pollo but feel free to try other fillings!

This is a very basic Norwegian stew but it also is one of the best stews I’ve made. It uses root vegetables and a low and slow cook time to get the most flavor out of the ingredients. Typically it calls for beef but I’ve made a chicken version with has a significantly reduced cooking time. You can probably use whatever mix of root vegetables you have on hand and also everything can be prepared well ahead of time so this is a fantastic nearly hands off meal that’s sure to be a winner in any household. This is perfect with the traditional flat bread (which is kind of like a giant cracker or a matzo) but probably great with any bread product though it’s thick and hearty enough to be eaten on its own. Also because this recipe is so simple, don’t be shy about the amount of salt especially if you’re using homemade chicken stock.