I think most people around the world can easily rattle off a couple of meals that are tried and true classics in their family. Dishes that are cooked regularly, consumed by all, and generally well loved and regarded. In our house, that meal is Swedish meatballs. I’ve been making these for many months now and they’ve quickly earned legendary status. We probably eat them every other week, Paul adores them and Adam and I have discovered they go really nicely in a wrap or sandwich the following day too.
If you haven’t got a meatball recipe in your repertoire, I highly recommend giving these ones a whirl…
The guide I follow (and have barely made any tweaks to) is the BBC Good Food recipe for ‘classic Swedish meatballs‘. BBC Good Food is such a great resource – I find so many delicious recipes on here, so if you’re ever after dinner/dessert/breakfast inspiration, check out the website.
What you’ll need
- 400g of lean pork mince (I just buy the standard 500g trays of mince you find at the supermarket – I find the 100g difference doesn’t change the recipe greatly)
- One egg, beaten
- One small onion finely chopped (I use a Tupperware Turbo Chef chopper for a superfine dice – best investment ever – probably the most used utensil in our kitchen)
- 85g of breadcrumbs (original recipe specifies fresh, but I just use the packet variety)
- One tablespoon of chopped dill (I use dried dill, as it’s always on hand in the pantry)
- One tablespoon of butter
- One tablespoon of olive oil
- Two tablespoons of plain flour
- 400ml of hot beef stock (I use stock powder and slightly cooled water boiled in the kettle)
- Dash of Worcestershire sauce
How to do it
- In a bowl, mix the mince, beaten egg, onion, breadcrumbs, dill, a generous pinch of salt (it helps to bind the ingredients together) and a good grinding on black pepper. Form into walnut shaped balls. I find I generally get about 28 meatballs with the above stated ingredients. I like to then refrigerate my meatballs for a few hours before cooking as I think they hold together better during cooking – so I generally make the meatballs at lunch time when Paul’s having a nap, so then they’re ready to cook coming dinner time.
- Heat the olive oil over a medium heat and cook them until they’re golden. Remove from the pan (I like to keep mine warm on a plate in a 100°C oven) and add in the butter, allowing it to melt. Then sprinkle over the flour and stir well, cooking for about two minutes. Then slowly add in the hot stock, continuously stirring until you’ve created a delicious gravy. I also like to add a dash of Worcestershire sauce to my gravy (I am married to a Worcestershire native don’t forget!)
- Serve meatballs with gravy and vegetables of your choice – we like our meatballs with steamed new potatoes, corn on the cob and broccoli.
I love the simplicity of this dish, and perhaps that’s why it’s so tasty. Easy to make, easy to eat. Despite that, we never get sick of it at our house and look forward to it whenever it’s on the menu.
Have a wonderful week.
M. x
Wattle and Ash 
I’m going to try this as most American recipes for Swedish meatballs call for beef rather than pork, and as a result are rather bland. Worcestershire sauce is always on hand here. Apropos of nothing, because my father was in England for three years during WWII, I was the only kid for miles around (actually, we were the only family) who could pronounce it correctly! Have a lovely day, and hugs to Paul.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for your kind wishes Angela, and let us know how the meatballs go- I think the pork ensures a lovely juicy meatball, and the accompanying gravy is very tasty ;).
LikeLiked by 1 person