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!