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Cristina

Cabbage roll soup with rice meatballs is all of the flavour of traditional cabbage rolls without the effort of rolling!

Cabbage Roll Soup with Rice Meatballs

Slow Cooked Pork & Beans with Smoked Ham Hock

Plăcintă cu Carne | Romanian Meat Pie

This classic Romanian soup features hearty porcupine meatballs swimming in a creamy and flavourful broth dotted with diced veggies and fresh herbs like lovage, parsley and dill. Serve with hot pickled peppers and crusty bread for a perfect cold weather meal.

Ciorbă de Perisoare | Romanian Porcupine Meatballs Sour Soup

This creamy bacon and pea pasta is a quick mealtime indulgence that only calls for 7 simple ingredients and takes about 15 minutes to make. You can even make it in one pot for max convenience.

The Easiest Creamy Bacon & Pea Pasta

This smoky Romanian Bean Stew tastes like home and comfort. It calls for just a few basic ingredients, it’s versatile so you can use what you have, and it only needs about 5-10 minutes of prep time.

Fasole cu Afumătură | Smoky Romanian Bean Stew

Even with the work from home pandemic life, weeknight dinners can still be a challenge and takeout is sooo easy. There’s nothing wrong with ordering in and we still do it regularly, but there are so many good things about cooking for yourself – it costs less, it’s healthier, and if you do it right, it can taste way better. There are a few staples in our regular weeknight rotation that are easy to prepare but deliver big in flavour so we don’t get bored (and order in too often). Many of them take 30 minutes or less to prepare and make great next day lunches too.

10 Easy Weeknight Meals With Big Global Flavours

Eating beef patties on the beach in Jamaica.

The problem with ‘authenticity’ in food

Homemade Jamaican beef patties with rice and peas in the background.

Jamaican Beef Patties

Two poached eggs over a bed of creamy garlic and herb yogurt topped with Aleppo pepper butter and a garlic and herb infusion and served with half a roasted aubergine, smokey aubergine puree, and arugula dressed with a simple lemon tahini dressing. This is Çilbir or Turkish poached eggs and I guarantee the combination of flavours will be the most exciting thing you’ve had for breakfast in a long time – maybe ever.

Çilbir: Turkish Eggs with Aleppo Butter, Jalapeño Shug & Roast Aubergine

Classic jamaican rice and peas is rice and kidney beans simmered with coconut milk, green onion, fresh thyme and spices. It’s an easy way to jazz up your meals and makes a great accompaniment to just as easy Jerk Chicken.

Classic Jamaican Rice & Peas

Jerk chicken is a perfect blend of spice, salt, acid and heat. The quick jerk marinade turns your regular chicken thighs into a super flavourful meal even on a busy weeknight. A good marinade is probably the easiest way to go from regular chicken to an exciting meal.

Jamaican Jerk Chicken

These fish tacos with mango salsa and creamy white lightning sauce are full of vibrant flavours layered together to create a perfect bite. Made with baked fish and lots of fresh ingredients, they’re healthy but they taste like pure indulgence. All for only 400 calories and 10 grams of fat per serving of 3. The best part is that they’re quick and easy to make. Fish tacos are the answer to boring weeknight meals.

Easy Mango Salsa in 10 Minutes or Less

The thing is – they just look like some cooked tomatoes in oil so you really don’t expect much. At first glance they are… unassuming. And I’ve eaten my share of preserved tomato products. Sauces of course, but also preserved whole tomatoes – in vinegar, in brine, and yes, even in oil. Sun dried tomatoes too. None of them were anything to write home about. But these tomatoes are something else entirely. When you take your first bite it’s near life changing. Like you’re tasting the full potential of tomatoes for the first time.

My Mother in Law’s Famous Slow Roasted Tomato Confit

These fish tacos with mango salsa and creamy white lightning sauce are full of vibrant flavours layered together to create a perfect bite. Made with baked fish and lots of fresh ingredients, they’re healthy but they taste like pure indulgence. All for only 400 calories and 10 grams of fat per serving of 3. The best part is that they’re quick and easy to make. Fish tacos are the answer to boring weeknight meals.

Baked Fish Tacos with Mango Salsa & Creamy White Lightning Sauce

These fish tacos with mango salsa and creamy white lightning sauce are full of vibrant flavours layered together to create a perfect bite. Made with baked fish and lots of fresh ingredients, they’re healthy but they taste like pure indulgence. All for only 400 calories and 10 grams of fat per serving of 3. The best part is that they’re quick and easy to make. Fish tacos are the answer to boring weeknight meals.

Sărățele: 3 Ingredient Romanian Cheese Sticks

A meal to remember on the Amalfi Coast.

A Meal to Remember on the Amalfi Coast

A super easy weeknight meal that goes from freezer to pan (and then to plate) in no time. Add a side of 5-minute Asian sauteed cabbage with garlic, sesame & chilli and some rice (or even noodles if you want to live on the wild side 😝) and you’ve got a complete meal with ka-pow pow flavour on the table in less than 30 minutes. My kind of weeknight friends.

Sweet & Spicy Hoisin Freezer Meatballs

5 minute sauteed cabbage with garlic, sesame & red chili pepper

5-Minute Asian Sauteed Cabbage with Garlic, Sesame & Chili Pepper

This 3 ingredient creamy herb and tomato pasta is comfort in a bowl. Imagine a vegetarian carbonara. Creamy and luxurious with a bold undertone of umami richness. Just 3 ingredients. I can’t get over it.

Creamy Tomato & Herb 3 Ingredient Pasta

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THE FACE BEHIND THE BLOG

photo me 4

Hi, my name is Cristina. I'm a Romanian from Toronto living in beautiful Amsterdam. I started this blog to share my love of cooking and food culture. What you'll find at the AOI are recipes and explorations of histories, techniques and flavours that bring the tastes of the world to your table.

Thanks for stopping by,

Cristina

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Featured Posts

cinnamon and brown sugar pasta

Cinnamon & Brown Sugar Pasta

December 10, 2019 By Cristina 18 Comments

homemade macaroni from scratch

Handmade Macaroni From Scratch

July 21, 2017 By Cristina 6 Comments

Topics

15 minute meals (9) Amsterdam eats (9) bbq (2) beans (2) beef (4) cabbage (2) Caribbean (2) chicken (3) cookies (1) cooking classes (1) cooking with leftovers (5) dough (1) eating out (10) fennel (1) fish (9) ground meat (1) holiday baking (7) improvisation in the kitchen (17) Italy eats (1) Jamaican inspired (1) Jamaican style (1) meat (2) meat pie (1) Mexican inspired (1) noodles (1) one pot dinner (1) pastry (1) pies & tarts (7) puff pastry (3) recipe roundup (1) rice (1) romanian (13) salad (2) savoury baking (2) spices (1) thanksgiving (6) tomato (1) vegan (7) vegetarian (14) winter (1)

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Recent Posts

  • Cabbage Roll Soup with Rice Meatballs
  • Slow Cooked Pork & Beans with Smoked Ham Hock
  • Plăcintă cu Carne | Romanian Meat Pie
  • Ciorbă de Perisoare | Romanian Porcupine Meatballs Sour Soup
  • The Easiest Creamy Bacon & Pea Pasta

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Some of my favourites

Homemade Jamaican beef patties with rice and peas in the background.
These fish tacos with mango salsa and creamy white lightning sauce are full of vibrant flavours layered together to create a perfect bite. Made with baked fish and lots of fresh ingredients, they’re healthy but they taste like pure indulgence. All for only 400 calories and 10 grams of fat per serving of 3. The best part is that they’re quick and easy to make. Fish tacos are the answer to boring weeknight meals.
Caramelized Roasted Cabbage Stuffed Phyllo Spirals
Homemade potato gnocchi with lamb ragu made from leftover roast lamb and mashed potatoes.

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