Meatballs In Gravy (Swedish Köttbullar med Gräddsås)
Köttbullar med gräddsås is widely thought of as Sweden's national dish. Köttbullar are smaller and have a diferent flavour to Italian meatballs and are nearly always served with a cream sauce. The recipe first appeared in a book by the legendary Cajsa Warg, published in 1755, and has been a firm favourite ever since. Köttbullar are light, delicate and a real treat. Be sure to serve your meatballs with some pressgurka (pressed cucumber), rårörda lingon (sweetend lingonberries) and potatismos (mashed potatoes) as they really are the best dishes to accompany köttbullar med gräddsås.
Meatballs:
4 Tbsp. fresh white breadcrumbs
4 Tbsp. milk or water
8 oz ground pork (225 g)
8 oz ground veal or beef (225 g)
2 Tbsp. onion, grated (not chopped)
1 egg, lightly beaten
3-4 whole allspice, crushed
sea salt
white pepper, freshly ground
2 Tbsp. butter, for frying
Cream Sauce:
1¼ cups hot water (300 mL)
1 beef stock cube
2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour, unbleached
7 Tbsp. milk or water (100 mL)
1 tsp. soy sauce
2-3 Tbsp. cream
For the Köttbullar:
Put the breadcrumbs in a large bowl and add 4 Tbsp. of milk or water. Leave them to absorb the liquid for about 5 minutes.
Add the mince, grated onion, egg, allspice and seasoning. Mix with your hands or a wooden spoon until evenly mixed. Don't over mix or the meatballs will be heavy.
Take a Tbsp. of mixture and roll it until it is nice and round. (Rinse your hands in cold water if the mixture is too sticky.) Repeat until you have used up all the mixture, by which time you should have between 30 and 40 meatballs.
Heat a Tbsp. of butter in a frying pan over a medium high heat until the butter stops sizzling. Fry half the meatballs, shaking the pan frequently when you first add them. When they are nicely browned, turn down the heat and cook for a further 10 minutes. Remove the meatballs from the pan and keep warm.
Add another Tbsp. of butter and fry the remaining meatballs in the same way.
For the Gräddsås:
When the meatballs are cooked, remove the pan from the heat and add the warm water and use it to scrap up all the meaty bits in the pan. Bring it up to the boil and let it simmer for a minute or two.
Sieve the mixture into a saucepan, add the stock cube and stir until dissolved.
Mix the flour with the milk or water and stir until dissolved. Pour into the saucepan, whisking continuously as you do so. Simmer the sauce for 5 minutes.
Add the soy sauce and cream. Heat for another couple of minutes, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon. (Use a whisk if you like a little foam, as shown above. If you like lots of bubbles, use an immersion blender with the blade half in and half out of the sauce.) Taste and adjust the seasoning.
Serve the meatballs with rårörda lingon, mashed potatoes, pressed cucumber and a light coating of the sauce. Pour the rest of the cream sauce into a jug for people to help themselves to if they want more.
Makes 4 servings.
Cook's Notes:
- Take your time rolling the meat into balls between the palms of your hand otherwise they will go out of shape quickly when you fry them.
- Fry the meatballs in two batches because if you fry too many at once they will steam rather than brown.
- If you like a foamy gräddsås, use an immersion blender to incorporate air into the sauce after adding the cream in step 9 below. Have the blade half in and half out of the sauce to incorporate lots of air. If you've not got an electric blender, whisk by hand for 2-3 minutes.
- For a julbord (Christmas buffet), grated potato and cream are usually added to the meat mixture. Julköttbullar (Christmas meatballs) are often baked.
- If you are making very large quantities for a party make the meatballs in advance and then reheat them in an oven for 10-15 minutes at 175°C (350°F, gas 4, fan 160°C). Use aluminium foil trays with lids, as the lids help to prevent the meatballs drying out.
- Use any leftovers to make some delicious köttbullesmörgås med rödbetssallad (open meatball sandwich with beetroot salad).