Last month my husband and I spent three weeks in Europe visiting eight different countries to celebrate our 50th birthdays. We went to places we had never been to before and while we enjoyed every place we saw, our favorite country was Sweden. It made me think of the wonderful Swedish meatballs my mother used to make. When I got home, I found her old recipe and made it tonight. It smelled and tasted exactly as I remembered as a child and it was like she was in the kitchen with me. Mom used to serve these with flat egg noodles or with mashed potatoes. I served them on top of some mashed cauliflower, which was delicious, unless of course you don’t love cauliflower—like my husband. Oops!
SWEDISH MEATBALLS
Ingredients for meatballs:
2/3 cup evaporated milk
2/3 cup chopped sweet onion
¼ cup plain bread crumbs
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon allspice
Dash black pepper
1 lb. 85-90 percent lean ground beef
Ingredients for sauce:
2 teaspoons salted butter
2 beef bouillon cubes or packets (I used the salt free, just FYI)
1 cup boiling water
½ cup cold water
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup evaporated milk
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
Combine first six ingredients in a medium bowl and mix, then add the meat and mix well. Chill for at least an hour in the fridge. Remove from fridge and form into approximately 1 inch balls. In a large skillet, melt the butter and brown the meatballs at medium heat (300 degrees). In a glass measuring cup dissolve the bouillon cubes in the boiling water. Once the meatballs are browned, pour the contents of the measuring cup into the skillet, bring to a boil and then cover and lower temp to a simmer for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, blend the cold water and the flour. When 15 minutes is up, remove the meatballs from the skillet and leave the juices in the pan. (If there is too much fat skim it off but leave the juices) Add 1 cup evaporated milk and the flour/water mixture to the juices in the skillet; cook, uncovered over low heat, stirring constantly until it thickens to a gravy consistency. Return meatballs to skillet and stir in the lemon juice. Serve over noodles or potatoes or enjoy by themselves.
Buon Appetito!!