Category: budget

Recipe: Oyakodon

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Oyakodon literally means parent and child bowl and it’s a fantastic and easy one pot dish that will come together in a few minutes. Pair it with some miso soup, pickled radish, or some grilled sweet potato for a perfect all together meal. This can be made ahead of time technically but I find it doesn’t reheat well so making your sides and rice ahead of time is what actually will make this a quick dinner. You can make the egg in this bowl as runny or solid as you like depending on your preferences.

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Recipe: Vegetarian Fleischnacka

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Since I love making fleischnacka I really wanted to see if I could make a meatless version just to see if it worked and it does! This version gets its deep umami flavors from a combination of eggplant, zucchini, and mushrooms that are slow roasted together with tomato paste and the ground really finely so they stick together in the roll. These don’t taste exactly like the meat version but they have their own delicious, deep flavor all its own.

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Recipe: Waterzooi

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This is a Belgian boiled chicken stew that historically used to be a seafood stew. It uses cream and egg yolks to thicken it. All the recipes include breaking down your own chicken and making your own stock but I suggest that you either do that on a separate day from making the soup itself or simply skip that step, buy stock and proceed from there. Breaking down a chicken and making your own stock will turn this simple recipe into an all day project but if you have the time, that’s okay. This is a delicious soup which is thick and rich and perfect with some crusty bread to soak up all the broth. Traditionally you leave the meat on the bones but my husband really hates that so I simply took it off after boiling the chicken parts.

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Recipe: Pollo con Chimichurri

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Most people are probably familiar with chimichurri sauce at this point but it’s a wonderful green sauce that is fresh and bright and make everything taste a little more delicious. This super simple recipe for chicken with chimichurri sauce comes together very quickly for a great weeknight meal alongside a salad, french fries, or roasted vegetables. You can save any extra sauce to use on some salad or even pour on your potatoes.

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Recipe: Nkoko Rolex (Chicken Rolled Egg Bread)

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This is a very popular kind of Ugandan street food which is called a rolex because it’s portmanteau of “rolled eggs”. These can basically have anything your heart desires as long as you have a chapati (which is made from plain flour in Uganda) or other flatbread as the base and then a thin omelette on top of that. Play around with the vegetables and even add cheese or sauces to your taste. This is a great lunch food because it’s quick and easy and can be made out of leftover odds and ends.

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Recipe: Plokkfiskur [Icelandic Fish Stew]

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It is really hard to describe this dish but if you’ve had a Japanese style cream croquette this is kind of like a bland version of the filling. It will definitely keep you full and satisfied through the winter and it’s a nice way to use up odds and ends of fish also. We ate this by dipping buttered rye bread into the stew mixture and that made it way more interesting but in the future it might be nice to add some herbs, vegetables, or even some citrus and chopped pickles to give it a flavor boost.

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Recipe: Köttbullar med Gräddsås (Meatballs with Cream Sauce)

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I’ve never had the meatballs at IKEA so I can’t tell you how these compare but these meatballs are made very simply and served with a thick cream sauce that can’t be beat for its high marks in comfort. Traditionally these are paired with buttery rich potatoes, a simple pressed cucumber salad, and lingonberry jam but they’re also pretty good over rice or pasta with some fresh herbs.

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Recipe: Paratha

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If you want to impress someone you can make this absolutely wonderful, buttery and flaky paratha. While it doesn’t take that much time overall you’ll need to plan ahead because this has to sit and rise twice. It’s worth the wait because you get so many deliciously pull apart layers that make eating this kind of like eating a flattened croissant. If you can, use ghee but if you don’t have any on hand butter works very well. You can easily fill these or use flavored butter to make the experience extra decadent.

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Recipe: Masoor Dal

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Quick, delicious and filling red lentils made from pantry staples and things you probably have lying around the house. You can serve this with almost any carb you can think of: rice, roti, naan, paratha, even sourdough bread or biscuits if you want to go crazy and it comes together in 30 minutes without much supervision so it’s great for a weeknight or when you just can’t babysit dinner.

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Recipe: Hakklihakaste (Estonian Minced Meat Sauce)

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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.

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