This interlude into the deep blue sea is brought to you by the Danes, who a) know a thing or two about what to do with fish, and b) know a thing or two about meatballs. Here, we have the perfect union of both in these light and lovely fish cakes and accompanying herb-loaded creamy sauce. They can be plated up with boiled potatoes or a fresh green salad, but for an off-the-rack Scandi experience, serve them with dark rye bread.
This is one of those simple soups that, after making and enjoying it just once, you won’t even need a recipe for it. The addition of Chinese five-spice, with its combination of star anise, fennel seed, Szechuan pepper, clove and cinnamon, really enhances the humble carrot and apple combination, giving it a well-rounded flavour complexity with minimal effort.
Rich, creamy, made in one pan – is this the ideal relaxed dinner-party dish? I think so! You can halve this recipe to serve two, or scale it up and use a large roasting dish to feed a crowd in a fuss-free manner. Use canned cherry tomatoes if you can find them: they add beautiful texture and are sweeter than regular canned tomatoes. Delicious served with couscous, short pasta or rice, and a dressed green salad.
One of my favorite things that I ate in Singapore was chile crab, a cultural icon. A sweet and tomatoey sauce, enriched with eggs and used to smother giant crabs. We also got a black pepper butter crab which was so buttery and peppery. We ended up combining the two crabs and it created the most delicious bite we could have imagined – peppery, spicy, and slightly sweet. I’ve encompassed that glorious bite into a burger. To make it more budget friendly I’ve opted for shrimp instead of crab, but feel free to switch out the shrimp for 8 oz / 225g lump crab meat, or even any cooked fish for an easy fish patty.
These skillet tortillas use store-bought enchilada sauce for simmering, which makes them an especially convenient option for last-minute savory breakfasts or brunches. You can transform the meal repeatedly by experimenting with different toppings, be they creamy, melty, crispy, or crumbly. I give a few of my favorite options in the ingredient list, but don’t be afraid to add your own finishing touches! Note that the recipe calls for white corn tortillas, rather than yellow; white tortillas tend to be thinner and more pliable, which makes them especially good for soaking up the sauce.
Triple onion power here, with caramelized onions, spring onions and onion powder for maximum flavour. Get your favourite crunchy crisps out and enjoy.
Growing up, I awoke to the smell of this omelet cooking on most weekends, and my mom (whom our kids call “Nanima”) still makes it for the kids whenever they stay over. First, the potatoes are diced and sautéed until they’re perfectly tender, and then you add the spiced egg mixture. My mom would also pack it with onions, and we’d enjoy it with fresh paratha (a flatbread), yogurt, and green chutney; you can also serve it with Pickled Carrots. It’s kinda like a frittata but with all the Indian spices to warm your soul (and your taste buds). I love that the kids gobble it up and that they’re just as excited when they smell it cooking on a weekend morning as I was!
Since beef was expensive in Japan when I was growing up, it was a real treat when my grandmother, Hatsuko Ishikawa, invited us over for a meatloaf with amakara (salty and sweet) sauce, made with soy sauce, honey, and vinegar. She made hers in a round cast-iron skillet and always served it with potatoes, which were tossed in the pan (with the lid closed) to make them fluffy. This recipe is enhanced with a miso-infused shiitake mushroom sauce, my own wafu version of meatloaf.
We’ve put this recipe here because, unlike the pot pies in the first chapter, this is a traditional pot pie with a bottom crust and a top crust, making it a double-crusted pie. This pot pie uses the carcass of the holiday bird to make a rich turkey stock. Making stock is a very flexible process, so use common sense rather than precise measurements. Of course it’s fine to use store-bought turkey stock, but homemade is so much better and takes less than 10 minutes of active time. It’s well worth the small effort, since the turkey is abundance itself and shouldn’t be wasted.
To make britches, thread a needle with about 2 feet of darning thread or fishing line and tie a knot at one end to secure it.