Meatballs belong to the traditional Swedish cuisine, which we call Husmanskost and is simple peasant food made with good and local ingredients. It is everyday food in the home but also served in the finest restaurants, including Stockholm Opera House venues, Operakällaren and Bakfickan.

You can easily vary the ingredients, but in this classic meatball recipe, you need both beef and pork mince, an egg, breadcrumbs, cream and milk, yellow onion, mustard, and spices. The egg, creamy milk, and breadcrumbs are binding agents, and the onion and spices enhance the meat’s flavour. The result is a meatball, which is deliciously moist inside and satisfyingly crispy on the outside.

We serve our classic meatballs with potatoes, creamy sauce, gherkins, and lingonberries. I used lingonberry sauce from IKEA in this recipe, but redcurrant jam works equally well.

These meatballs are also perfect on the buffet table or Smörgåsbord as we call it in Sweden, or with pasta.

Serves: 6-8   Total time: 45 min

INGREDIENTS MEATBALLS

500 g pork minced meat
500 g beef minced meat
1 large or 2 small yellow onions, finely diced
1 egg
100 ml cream
100 ml full-fat milk
200 ml homemade breadcrumbs from day-old white bread
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper

Tips: For dried breadcrumbs use 100 ml

INGREDIENTS CREAM SAUCE

2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp plain flour
300 ml full-fat milk
100 ml cream
200 ml pan fond
1 beef stock cube
2 tbsp soya sauce
1 tbsp lingonberry or redcurrant jam
1 tbsp liquid from the gherkins
Salt and pepper to taste

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 220°C / 200°C Fan.

For the breadcrumbs, whiz the white bread (without its crust) in your food processor. Add the breadcrumbs to a small bowl followed by the mixture of milk and cream and allow the breadcrumbs to absorb the liquid.

Finely dice the onion and fry half of it in butter until soft and transparent.

Add the beef and pork mince to a large bowl, followed by the raw and cooked onion and the moist breadcrumbs.

Add the egg, mustard, salt, and pepper and use your hands to mix it all. It will feel wet at first, but as you gently massage the meat, the consistency will develop.
With moist hands (use water or a little oil), start shaping the meat mixture into balls by softly rolling the meat between the palms of your hands. Arrange the meatballs on a paper-lined baking tray and cook in the oven for 6 – 8 minutes.

While the meatballs are in the oven, prepare the sauce. Melt the butter in a pan, add the flour and stir. In the meantime, heat the milk and cream and add it gradually to the pan until it thickens. Season with soya sauce, lingonberry or redcurrant jam, liquid from the gherkins, salt, and pepper.

Take the meatballs out of the oven and brown them in a frying pan for 5 minutes until crispy. Season with more salt and pepper. Between each batch of meatballs, deglaze the pan with water, removing and dissolving the residue from the pan. Pour the liquid through a fine-mesh sieve once or twice to remove any bits and add the fond to the cream sauce.

Serve the meatballs with boiled or mashed potatoes, lingonberry or redcurrant jam, gherkins, and the cream sauce.

Tips: You do not have to pre-cook the meatballs in the oven, but I find it very helpful when making large batches. Pre-cooked meatballs also do not stick to the pan.