Western dishes are the dishes that are dominating the world on the higher level of the hierarchy. Western dishes have some principles which they obey. They go dominating to the top, but it doesn’t throw shade to other dishes and cuisine. Western dishes include not only American or British cuisine, but also European cuisines like the German cuisine, Polish cuisine, Swiss cuisine, and many other Southern, Eastern, Western, Northern, and Central European cuisines. A typical Western dish includes meat of any sort, dairy products, vegetables, and the most important grape wine. They have been keeping the tradition of keeping the bottle of wine on the dinner table and wine glasses. After a long hard day when you come home and drink a glass of wine, it will eradicate all the problems for the time being. Another most significant food material that is must is the bread. Bread should be there on the table to eat with the stew or the sauce. But these dishes listed below will take your heart away. Want to know how to take the best food photos? Read about food photography tricks.
1. Macaroni and Cheese (England)
A dish that is present in everyone’s kitchen shelf. It is like an emergency food which can help you when you’ve moved out or shifted to a new place and don’t have any groceries and its late night so what do you do? Stay empty stomach or enjoy some food. Instead of doing that, you can make Mac and Cheese and enjoy your new life. It is basically Macaroni Pasta and Cheese mostly cheddar, with vegetables or meat. It is an English dish popular in America and Canada. You can also call it a Comfort Food.
2. Austrian Wiener Schnitzel (Viennese)
It is best known as a part of Viennese Cuisine, most popular in Austria and still being eaten after so many years. This dish is made from veal slices coated with whipped egg, flour, and bread crumbs. The veal slices are fried in oil or butter. The main ingredient is the fat floating around it. I know it doesn’t sound like a healthy dish, but it is worth trying. Salad is mostly served on the side of the main dish and it is also served with French fries. You can also use pork or any other meat or vegetable to make this. It is garnished with lemon and parsley.
3. Lohikeitto (Finland)
It is a soup that will keep you wanting more of it. This soup is not among those spicy soups that will spice up your tongue, but a creamy delight that will keep your palate reminding every day. This is a creamy soup with fish like salmon, milk, potato, and leeks. This combination makes the dish worth trying. It is famous in Finland and is also known as creamy salmon soup.
4. Croissant (France)
It is a puff pastry which will melt in your mouth with ingredients like butter, sugar, eggs, cream, and milk. These ingredients will form a sweet texture and give the added sweetness. These puffs are laminated with butter on top and it is sometimes filled with chocolate or other ingredients. When you give it a bite, the chocolate just oozes out and falls on your shirt and you don’t regret it.
5. Poronkaristys
It is also known as sautéed reindeer. This is an unusual meat but a delicacy in Lapland; mostly in Sweden, Russia, and Finland. The reindeer back is used to make this dish and is then fried using fat. You can use reindeer fat or butter to do so. Black pepper and salt are added to spice up the dish which is served with mashed potatoes. The meat is tenderized using water, cream. Traditionally, it is served with lingo berries mashed with sugar and sometimes with pickled cucumber.
6. Moussaka (Middle East)
It is an eggplant dish with potato and minced meat. The layer on the dish is made from milk or sauce that gives thickness and more flavors than you can expect. The dish is served hot in Greece and many other countries in the Middle East, but it is usually served cold in Arab countries. It is most popular in Levant, Middle East.
7. Irish Stew (Ireland)
St. Patrick’s Day and Irish stew are competing on for the top most popular place. No doubt St. Patrick’s Day is winning. But Irish stew is still famous for some amazing flavors it serves. Galway Girl by Ed Sheeran is on the top only because the Irish stew was in the background. The dish is made from lamb, carrots, potatoes, and parsley.
8. Goulash (Hungary)
A traditional dish originated in Hungary in the 19th century and been popular from that date onwards. This dish is made using meat, noodles, and potato. To give this soup or stew some flavors, it is seasoned with paprika and other spices. Make sure you include this on your dinner table, when guests are about to crash.
9. Fenkata (Malta)
It is also popularly known as rabbit stew. Yeah, heard the first time? Me too. This dish is popular in Malta, Southern Europe. The rabbit or hare is the primary ingredient of this dish. The rabbit is marinated with a liquid such as wine. Traditionally, the blood of the rabbit or hare was used to marinate the meat. The secondary ingredients include carrots, beetroot, garlic, onion, and mushrooms sometimes. The dish is served with spaghetti and it will never disappoint you.
10. Bacalhau (Portugal)
Bacalhau is a Portuguese dish which consists of dried and salted cod. The cod is dried and salted before cooking to give it a special texture. The dish has around 500 recipes, but the common one includes potatoes and tomatoes and different sauces served with green or mature wine on the side.
11. Bigos (Poland)
The land where Madam Curie was born is the land where Bigos was originated. The principal ingredients in this dish are the different meat used in this dish. The use of beef, pork, veal, and may be some other meat we might not know about is used. Sauerkraut is another ingredient added to this dish. The sauerkraut flavor can be enhanced using red wine. Adding sugar will give a sweetness of tiny bit in the dish. Potatoes are added to absorb the excess moisture. Cabbage is sliced and mixed with the dish. It is another dish to try and enjoy.
12. Sarmale (Ottoman Empire)
Rolled and wrapped things are always fun to eat. You don’t know what’s inside and when you bite into it; you’ll taste the diversity of flavors and you’ll go for another one in the plate. Sorry to burst the bubble but this dish includes cabbage, grapes, and some chopped nuts.
13. Paella (Spain)
This dish was famous way before Shakira and Despacito came into our life. But the dish, Shakira, and the song are still in our hearts. The common thing is that they are ruling the world in their own fields. The traditional dish is Valencian Paella which is considered to be the really old recipe for the Paella and it consists of rice, meat (Chicken and Rabbit), green beans, and snails. To give this dish the unique flavor, we include rosemary and saffron.
14. Sunday Roast (London)
Britishers are having so many things that are ours, The Kohinoor, Dev Patel, and even Vijay Mallya. You can keep him, we won’t mind. Keeping aside all that, we are obsessed with the Sunday Roast that originated in London. This dish is typically eaten on Sunday; hence the name. The famous meal includes roasted meat, roasted potato, Yorkshire pudding, vegetables, sausages, and gravy. It is a perfect meal on a Sunday outside in the garden with the royal queen.
15. Moules Frites (Belgium)
Remember when Phoebe spoke French and Rachel wanted to jump on her. I won’t lie that accent and everything about that sounded nice. But the food is made in Belgium with French name and that makes me want to eat the whole dish. The dish is made using mussels and potato fries. Traditionally this dish is made using white wine, shallots, parsley, and butter. The butter is used to cook mussels. The mussels are cooked and served hot with fries on the side.
16. Zagorski Strukli (Croatia)
This dish is generally baked or cooked. The cooked dish includes pastry covered with Cottage Cheese (Paneer), sour cream, and eggs all over and then they are rolled to form pieces. The pieces are baked with clotted cream and topped with fried onion and served. This dish is related to struklji, a Slovene dish.
17. Crème Catalan (England)
This name sounds like a way to say, “eat me.” Or is it just me who is listening to that. This is a dessert from England. This dessert is made with a custard base, complementary layer of hard caramel. The rich custard base is flavored with vanilla and is blow torched on the top to enhance the caramelization process. It is served with coffee on the side.
18. Pierogi (Eastern and Central Europe)
This dish is especially associated with Poland & Ukraine and is popular in many eastern European countries. This dessert is a dumpling filled with potatoes, sauerkraut, meat, fruits, and cheese. The dumplings are either baked or fried served with butter on top or fried onion or sour cream.
19. Pumpkin Pie (England)
Originated in England, but is famous all over America and Canada. Christmas, Halloween, and Thanksgiving are useless without pumpkin pie on the table. It has a pumpkin-based custard filling which is spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves. The spices are added just to give a kick to the dish and made seasonal in winter and spring. It is so popular that people make drinks out of these. The dessert is served with whipped cream on the top.
20. Risotto (Italy)
Who likes to cook rice in normal water, when Italy is cooking rice in a broth and I think this is a very good idea. The broth is made using vegetables, meat, or fish. The rice is added to the broth for cooking. Some variety of risotto contains white wine, onion, and butter. Long time back, saffron was used to add color and flavor to the rice. It is served hot and garnished with mint.
Reading all this doesn’t it make you want to book a flight and go to all the places and explore the different flavors? Why wait then, you can go now. Traveling is a remarkable thing to do, but when it is accompanied by delicious and different food, it makes the journey more valuable and enjoyable.
