Swedish Meatballs (Köttbullar)

Sweden

“While Swedish cuisine overall is not as famous as the food from many of their European neighbors to the south, Swedish meatballs are known around the world. For many, their culinary experience with this dish starts and ends with what they can buy from IKEA. Luckily, Swedish meatballs are easy to make at home and are much more delicious than what can be found at the store. The recipe we share with you today is a good version of this dish (in our humble opinion), but each household in Sweden has its own variation, so feel free to adjust the recipe as you see fit!”

— Alex LeGore - ActivSport Travel Trip Leader (and Director of Sales)

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes

Serves 4

Ingredients

Meatballs

• 4 Tbsp. fresh white breadcrumbs

• 4 Tbsp. milk

• 1/2 pound ground pork

• 1/2 pound ground beef

• 2 Tbsp. grated onion

• 1 egg, lightly beaten

• 1/4 tsp. ground allspice

• salt and freshly ground white pepper

• 2 Tbsp. butter, for frying

Cream Sauce

• 1¼ cup beef stock

• 2 Tbsp. plain flour (all-purpose flour)

• 1/2 cup milk

• ½-1 tsp. soy sauce

• 2-3 Tbsp. heavy cream

Sides

• Lingonberry Sauce (use cranberry sauce if not available)

• Mashed Potatoes

• Fresh Pickled Cucumber

Instructions

Meatballs

1. Put the breadcrumbs in a large bowl and add 4 tablespoons of milk. Leave them to absorb the liquid for about 5 minutes.

2. Add the ground beef and pork, grated onion, egg, allspice and seasoning. Mix with your hands or a wooden spoon until evenly mixed. Don’t over mix or the meatballs will be heavy.

3. Take a tablespoon of mixture and roll it until it is completely round. (Rinse your hands in cold water if the mixture is too sticky.) Repeat until you have used up all the mixture, by which time you should have between 30 and 40 meatballs.

4. Heat a tablespoon of butter in a frying pan over a medium high heat until the butter stops sizzling. Fry half the meatballs, shaking the pan frequently when you first add them. When they are nicely browned, turn down the heat and cook for a further 10 minutes. Remove the meatballs from the pan and keep warm.

5. Add another tablespoon of butter and fry the remaining meatballs in the same way as in step 4.

Cream Sauce

1. When the meatballs are cooked, remove the pan from the heat, add the beef stock and use it to deglaze the pan. Bring it up to the boil and let it simmer for about a minute.

2. Pour the mixture through a sieve into a saucepan

3. Mix the flour with the milk and stir until dissolved. Pour into the saucepan, whisking continuously as you do so. Simmer the sauce for 5 minutes.

4. Add the soy sauce and cream. Heat for another couple of minutes, stirring continuously with a spoon. (Use a whisk if you like a little foam. If you like lots of bubbles, use an immersion blender with the blade half in and half out of the sauce.) Taste and adjust the seasoning.

5. Serve the meatballs with lingonberry sauce, mashed potatoes, pickled cucumber and a light coating of the sauce. Put the remainder of the cream sauce into a container for people to help themselves to if they want more.