Köttbulle

When it comes to meatballs, everyone’s a Swede. A combination of ground beef and pork simmered in cream. What’s not to like?

The first description of these little gems, or köttbulle, was in the late 18th century by a Swedish cook named Cajsa Warg. They were first in print by the 1920s and often served at buffets or smorgasbords. Brought to this country by Swedish immigrants to the Midwest, we’ve been enjoying them ever since.

The recipe is pretty classic with no big surprises. Sauté half a white onion in butter until soft. Set aside to cool. In the meantime, mix one pound of ground beef with one pound of ground pork. Add breadcrumbs and water to the mixture. Throw in your salt and pepper to taste along with your nutmeg and allspice. Put in the onions. You can use a hand mixer or the food processor. (Although, I would use the pulse action on the processor so you don’t pulverize your mixture.)

When you’re ready to roll them out, make sure you have a bowl of warm water to dip your hands in. Otherwise, the meatballs will stick to you and not the baking sheet. And yes, I baked them instead of pan-frying. With cream—and a little crème fraîche for good measure—I didn’t really think the added fry was necessary for calorie intake.

Here’s what went right with my dish: a pinch of allspice in the meatballs giving it that telltale Swedish flavor; a creamy sauce atop buttered egg noodles; a shot of color with parsley.

Here’s what went wrong with my dish: said creamy sauce. I went a little heavy on the cream thinking, “What’s wrong with a little extra?” Turns out, that extra made the sauce a little too gummy. I probably should have thinned it out a little more with the beef broth to get a much better taste and consistency. Oh, well. Next time.

Thanks to the Joy of Cooking, I snagged this recipe:

1 lb ground beef

1 lb. ground pork

1 c. breadcrumbs

1 c. water

3 TB butter

½ white onion, minced

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground black pepper

¼ tsp nutmeg

¼ tsp allspice

2 c. beef broth

¼ c all purpose flour

½ c. cream

¼ c. crème fraîche

Combine meatball ingredients. Roll out on to a baking sheet and bake for 12 minutes at 375 degrees. Note: use only one tablespoon of butter while sautéing the onions. The other two tablespoons should be used with the flour to create a roux for the sauce base. Deglaze with the beef broth and whisk together. Add the cream and the crème fraiche. Fold in the meatballs. Shoot your parsley on top for a pop of color. Serve on top of buttered egg noodles (or for something a little different, try mashed potatoes and even polenta).

Skål!

Chicken Soup

Courtesy of Bon Appetit

Chicken soup may not necessarily be for the soul, but it is pretty damn good on a raw, rainy night. It has proven health benefits, at least according to some. The New York Times reported in 2007 that a University of Nebraska study showed the positive health effects of chicken soup on the common cold. While the newspaper found the research inconclusive, it was reported that “at the very least, chicken soup with vegetables contains lots of healthy nutrients, increases hydration, and tastes good, too.”

The health benefits may come from those who make their broth directly from the bones. Now, I was never on board with the whole “bone broth” craze. But I do think there’s something to making your own reduction from the actual marrow of the chicken. Then, adding all that veg—a mirepoix of carrots, onions, and celery—and slow cooking it to tender perfection.

Here’s my go-to recipe:

1 whole chicken carcass (roasted chicken from the night before, of course)

6-8 c. cold water

3 TB Kosher salt

1 TB herbes de Provence

1 TB black peppercorns

3 bay leaves

Fresh sprigs of thyme, rosemary, parsley

1 c. diced carrots

1 c. diced celery

1 c. diced onion

¼ c. all purpose flour

1 c. white wine

3 cloves of garlic

1 c. mushrooms (optional)

1 c. egg noodles

1 knob of butter

1 TB extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Place the chicken bones in a stockpot. Cover with cold water. It may take as little as 6 or as much as 8 to cover thoroughly. Add the peppercorns, salt, and herbes de Provence. Boil down until it is a nice straw color. Strain into another stockpot and reserve liquid. With the first pot, place on medium heat and melt butter. Add olive oil. Sweat your onions. Add the carrots and celery. Salt and pepper to taste. When the carrots and the celery have softened, add the flour. Deglaze with the wine. Add the chicken broth. In a separate pan, sauté the mushrooms with the whole garlic. Remove garlic, smash, and mince. (A little Jacques Pépin tip: it’s easier to mince garlic when it’s tender from heat.) Place mushrooms and garlic in pot. Add the fresh herbs. Reduce liquid to concentrate flavors.

Enjoy!

Chicken Curry

There is no denying how fragrant Indian cooking can be. Cinnamon, cardamom, clove, cumin, garlic, chili and black pepper. Add a little ginger and you’ve got a feast for your nose.

As a riff on a curry recipe from Madhur Jaffrey, the queen of Indian specialties, I made chicken curry with legs instead of breasts and a little coconut milk. Her recipe had a few more ingredients like tamarind that I didn’t have on hand. But thrown together in the tagine, it was a wonderful mix of cooking genres.

The tagine, while North African in origin, lends itself nicely to this relatively slow-cooked recipe. My first order of business was to marinate the legs in a tablespoon of curry powder and peanut oil. Let that sit for at least an hour. (Obviously the longer, the better.) Then, I got cooking. A slick of canola on the bottom of the pan, minced shallots and a little garlic kicked it off. Adding a cinnamon stick to get things fragrant, I there in the red chili flakes, too. After a few minutes, I removed the cinnamon and placed the chicken legs in to get them nice and brown. I fit all those little suckers in, but it could also be done in batches. The end result is to cook off the chicken first and then set it aside.

I added cauliflower and Sungold cherry tomatoes along with the coconut milk. Cooking the veg and reducing the liquid, I now had a nice base to put the legs back in and marry the flavors. Let that go with the tagine cover on for another 20 minutes. With white or brown rice, couscous, or even buttered egg noodles, the flavors and fragrance of this dish would go with any base.

Here is the full recipe:

8 chicken legs

1 TB curry powder (for marinade)

1 TB peanut oil (for marinade)

1 TB canola oil

1 shallot, mined

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp fresh ginger, minced

1 cinnamon stick

1 tsp red chili flakes

1 tsp Kosher salt

12 oz. coconut milk

½ head of cauliflower

½ c. cherry tomatoes

Place tagine on medium heat. Cook the chicken in the oil. Set aside. Add the shallot, garlic, cinnamon, and chili flakes. After a few minutes, remove the stick. Add in the coconut milk, cauliflower, and tomatoes. Once tender, return chicken to tagine and cook for another 20 minutes or until meat is almost falling off the bone.

Bon appetit!