Swedish Meatballs
Categories:
Serves: 4 servings
Ingredients:
- === MEATBALLS ===
- 2 sl White bread; without crusts,
- -torn into pieces
- 1/4 c Milk
- 3/4 lb Ground beef
- 3/4 lb Ground pork
- 1 sm Red onion; grated, or
- Finely chopped
- 1 Egg
- 1/8 ts Ground allspice
- 1/4 ts Ground cardamom
- 1/8 ts Ground ginger
- Salt; to taste
- Freshly-ground black pepper;
- -to taste
- Butter and vegetable oil;
- -for frying meatballs
- === GRAVY ===
- 2 c Beef stock
- 2 tb Flour
- 1/4 c Heavy cream
- Salt; to taste
- Freshly-ground black pepper;
- -to taste
- Fresh parsley; for garnish
Instructions:
In a small bowl, soak the bread in the milk until soft. In a large bowl,
combine all the meatball ingredients except the butter and oil, and add the
soaked bread. Mix thoroughly until smooth; it's best to use your hands for
this. Shape into small, golf-ball size meatballs (by dipping your hands in
cold water, the meatballs won't stick to your hands.) Heat butter and oil
in a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs, about 8
to 10 at a time, and gently brown on all sides, about 5 to 7 minutes. Shake
the skillet now and then so meatballs stay round and brown evenly. Place
them on a heated baking sheet in a low oven to keep warm. To make gravy,
deglaze the skillet with 1 cup of the stock, letting it simmer for 5
minutes while scraping the bottom of the skillet with a spatula. Strain the
gravy into a clean saucepan and add the remaining 1 cup of stock. In a
small bowl, mix the flour with 1/4 cup of cold water until smooth. Whisk
flour mixture into warm gravy, and let simmer, whisking constantly to
prevent lumps, until thickened slightly, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the
cream and season with salt and pepper. To serve, arrange the meatballs on a
serving platter, pour hot gravy over them, and garnish with parsley. Serve
with boiled new potatoes, lingonberry sauce, and lefse. This recipe yields
4 to 6 servings.