Swedish Meatballs
Categories: Meat | Scandinavia
Serves: 6 Servings
Ingredients:
- 1 lb Ground beef
- 1 sm Onion; finely grated
- 1 tb Finely chopped garlic
- 1 ts Ground allspice
- 1/4 ts Plus a pinch ground nutmeg~
- 1/4 c Plus 3 tablespoons chopped
- -fresh dill
- 1 lg Egg; lightly beaten
- 1/4 c Dried bread crumbs
- Salt and coarsely ground
- -black pepper; to taste
- 2 tb Vegetable oil
- 1/2 c Defatted Rich Beef Broth;
- -(see recipe)
- 1 tb Cognac
- 1 c Cr=E8me fra=EEche
- Coarsely ground white
- -pepper; to taste
Instructions:
1. Mix the beef, onion, garlic, allspice, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/4 cup
chopped dill, the egg, bread crumbs, salt, and pepper. Form into 30
walnut-size meatballs.
2. Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Saut‚ the
meatballs in 2 batches, shaking the skillet occasionally, until browned on
all sides and cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove to a paper towel to
drain.
3. Pour off any oil in the skillet. Add the broth and Cognac to the skillet
and cook over high heat, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom, until
slightly reduced, about 1 minute. Whisk in the cr=E8me fra=EEche, 2
tablespoons of the remaining dill, the remaining pinch of nutmeg, and white
pepper to taste. Cook, stirring, over medium heat for 4 minutes. Add the
meatballs to the pan and cook for 10 minutes, spooning the sauce over the
meatballs as it thickens. Before serving, sprinkle with the remaining 1
tablespoon dill.
Makes 30 cocktail meatballs, serves 6 as an entree
NOTES : The hallmark of a true "gourmet" cook in the late sixties was the
freshly polished copper chafing dish on any buffet table, filled with
Swedish meatballs in a creamy dill sauce. I scoured Sweden for the real
McCoy but, alas, all I found were meekly spiced meatballs with no sauce.
Nostalgia won out, so I made a version that will send you searching for
that chafing dish. These meatballs are also just right as an entree,
spooned over mashed potatoes.