As I was digging through the cupboard last week, I stumbled across my grandmother’s recipe box. There are memories attached to many of those recipes!
Grandma grew up on Järstad farm outside of Skänninge, Sweden. As a young woman, she chose to follow her brother Knut, and emigrate to America. She landed in Minneapolis in 1928, just before her 19th birthday.
I am amazed at what she had to sign as declaration of intention, something the United States stopped requiring in 1952. Grandma became a U.S. citizen ten years later.
This is a picture of Grandma and her brother Knut, who also moved to Minneapolis, probably in 1929.
I always found it fascinating that my grandparents (Grandpa also immigrated from Sweden) chose to not teach their children Swedish. Grandma told me once that she became an American, and wanted her sons to not have any confusion about where their allegiance would lie. However, she and Grandpa attended church at the Swedish-speaking Salvation Army on Lake Street in Minneapolis each Sunday, and spoke Swedish around us kids when they did not want us to understand what they were saying.
Grandma and Grandpa returned to Sweden for the first time to visit family in 1953. We have found an entire stack of letters and postcards, that went back and forth over the Atlantic Ocean, written during those first decades.
Many of the recipes in Grandma’s box are steeped in Swedish food traditions. However, some of them make me groan out loud:
- chow mein
- green bean casserole
- chinese rice
- minced ham filling for sandwiches
I just can’t even . . . . . . . .
So, what is so special about Swedish meatballs? How do they differ from what you would typically find drenched in red pasta sauce??? Here is my response, as weak as the reasoning may be:
- Italian meatballs are large and have a fresh, loud, and bright taste with basil, parsley, and garlic.
- Swedish meatballs are small and include quiet, warm, and cosy spices like nutmeg and allspice.
And there you go!
I made some adjustments to Grandma’s recipes, mostly because I like to cook once, then eat several meals. This makes two baking sheets full of meatballs — one pan to eat right away, and another to freeze for future meals. Because I am busy and distracted, I also bake them, rather than hovering over a frying pan for hours. If you typically prepare food for a small army, this should satisfy at least 8 people.
What to do with leftovers? Take them hiking with you, as the Swedes do, and warm them over the campfire!
What makes these meatballs even better is the cream sauce. It only takes a few minutes to create using ingredients you already have, but the rich gravy brings out the homeyness of the seasoned meat. Of course, a dollop of “lingonsylt”, or lingonberry sauce, provides a tangy-sweet counterpart, but I keep using it up when baking mjuk pepparkaka (soft gingerbread).
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Swedish Meatballs with Cream Sauce (Kötbullar med Gräddsås)
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Description
Small, happy, tasty little orbs of Swedish-ness
Ingredients
Meatballs:
2 pounds lean ground beef (93%)
1 pound ground pork
1 cup finely chopped gluten free bread crumbs
1 cup milk
1 large onion, shredded
2 eggs
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
Cream Sauce:
1 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp gluten free flour blend
1 cup heavy cream
1 tsp beef soup base
1 tsp gluten free tamari sauce
1 tsp worchestershire sauce
1/2 tsp thyme
salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
While beef and pork come to room temperature, finely chop bread, grate onion on a box grater (making sure you collect all the juices), whisk eggs, and preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Combine all meatball ingredients in a large bowl — use your hands to ensure everything gets mixed well.
Create small, evenly-sized meatballs on a baking sheet, and bake for 18-20 minutes. If desired, place one pan at a time under the broiler for a minute or two to give a nice “crust” to the meatballs.
Meanwhile, melt butter in a small saucepan. Sprinkle flour over the butter and stir until combined. Allow to cook for a minute or two. Add the soup base and thyme, then slowly stir in the heavy cream. Simmer gently until thickened. Add soy sauce and worchestershire sauce, and season with salt and pepper.
Notes
If you have lots of time and patience, fry the meatballs. Just don’t crowd the pan.
These certainly don’t have to be gluten free. If using wheat flour, cut the amount in half. Regular soy sauce can be used instead of tamari sauce.
If using beef bouillon instead of beef soup base in the cream sauce, be very careful how much salt you add.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
