Credit: timolina Via Freepik
There’s no shortage of listicles on the internet touting the easiest weeknight meals – let’s get that out of the way. But too often, these rundowns limit their scope to conventional North American cooking: casseroles, one-pot pastas, slow cooker fare, and other rich, heavy dishes.
Luckily, there’s a whole world outside of this continent. Learning from different cultural eating practices and foodways can help your family expand their palates and minds. It can foster a deep sense of respect for other perspectives. And, critically, it’s often a healthier alternative to those rich local dishes.
With that in mind, let’s try a different kind of weeknight meal list, courtesy of the online food and cuisine database from Canada’s own meal delivery service, SkipTheDishes. Pulled from the wide-ranging database of various cultural cuisines, here are four easy-to-make meals from various countries.
Table of Contents
India: Moong Dal
In many Indian households, a meal isn’t complete without a steaming, comforting bowl of dal. You can make dal with just about any legume or pulse (chickpeas, split peas, etc.), but moong dal is perhaps the most famous iteration. Made with inexpensive, easy-to-find yellow lentils, it’s packed with flavour and nutrition.
Simply sautee onions, garlic and ginger in a saucepan before adding the yellow lentils. Top with water (at a three-to-one ratio) and add a chopped tomato, a teaspoon each of turmeric and garam masala, a bay leaf, and salt to taste. Cook for 10 or 12 minutes until the lentils are soft. For extra oomph, you can add whole spices bloomed in oil (called a tadka) or just serve it straight up!
Italy: Spaghetti alla Puttanesca
Spaghetti alla puttanesca is a pantry cleaner all-star! The southern Italian dish might have a questionable origin story (look it up!), but it doesn’t matter – the end result is pure deliciousness. Best of all, the sauce comes together in the time it takes for the spaghetti to boil.
Start by gently frying garlic in a healthy glug of olive oil. Add anchovies for a traditional taste, but omit them if they aren’t your thing. Next, add capers, pitted olives and a pinch of chilli flakes, marrying everything together as you continue to sautee. Add a can of Italian tomatoes and bring everything to a medium simmer as you wait for your pasta to be al dente. Mix the pasta with the sauce, stirring vigorously to create an emulsion, and you’re ready to eat. An excellent side would be an Orzo based dish.
Thailand: Pad Gra Prow
Pad Thai gets all the love here in Canada, but most Thai diners prefer their pad gra prow around dinner time.
To start, fry some garlic and Thai chillis (to taste) in neutral oil. Add the ground meat of your choosing (beef, pork and chicken are all popular) alongside roughly chopped green beans, and saute until cooked through. Add soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar and oyster sauce to taste. At the last minute, throw in a heaping handful of Thai basil. Serve with steamed jasmine rice and a fried egg.
Spain: Gazpacho
As the summer heat descends, Spaniards look for ways to cool off. One tried-and-true method is to blend up a refreshing, nutritious bowl of cold gazpacho. Think of it like a cold tomato soup or a blended tomato salad – however you define it, it’s a fantastically light weeknight dinner. It also makes an excellent accompaniment for a summer BBQ.
The process couldn’t be more straightforward. Blend tomatoes, cucumbers, half a red onion, a clove of garlic, a green bell pepper and some stale bread in the blender. With the motor whirring, pour in a generous amount of olive oil, some salt and a splash of vinegar (sherry vinegar is traditional). Serve chilled with a good loaf of crusty bread.
These dishes should come together in a half hour or less, making them ideal for those cramped evenings between work, school, hockey practice and piano lessons. Best of all, they expose the whole family to new ways of thinking about food.
