• 3 slices white bread, crusts removed, cut into cubes (about 2 cups) • 1/4 cup milk • 4 tablespoons butter, divided • 1/2 large yellow or white onion, grated using the large holes of a box grater • 1 large egg • 3/4 pound ground beef • 1/2 pound ground pork • 1 teaspoon kosher salt • 1 teaspoon black pepper • 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg • 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom • 3 tablespoons butter • 3 tablespoons flour • 2 cups beef stock • 1/4 cup sour cream (use full-fat or the sauce may curdle) • 2 tablespoons lingonberry, red currant, raspberry, or cranberry jelly, to taste (optional) • Salt and pepper, to taste
Method
Place the cubed bread in a large bowl and mix with the milk. Let sit for 5 to 10 minutes. Once the bread has soaked up all the milk, shred with the tines of a fork or by hand.
Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a sauté pan on medium-high heat. Stir in the grated onion and cook until translucent and softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool for a minute.
Stir the cooled onions into the milk bread mixture. Add the egg, ground beef and pork, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and cardamom. Use your (clean) hands to mix everything together until well combined. (If you have extra time, chilling the mixture for 20 or so minutes will make it easier to roll out the meatballs.)
Use your hands to form the mixture into meatballs about 1 1/4-inch to 1 1/2-inch wide and place them on a plate or sheet pan. This recipe should make about 40 meatballs. Note that the meatballs will be a bit on the wet side.
Heat 3 tablespoons of butter in a large sauté pan on medium heat. When the butter is melted and foamy, start adding some meatballs to the pan. Working in batches so as not to crowd the pan, slowly brown the meatballs on all sides. Use a wooden spoon or tongs to turn them. Handle the meatballs gently so they do not break apart as you turn them. Once the meatballs have browned on all sides and are just cooked through, remove them from the pan to a bowl. You’ll warm the meatballs in the sauce later. Once you have removed the meatballs from the pan, wipe out the butter and blackened bits with a paper towel. We’ll want to start with fresh butter so we don’t pick up any burnt bits from the pan. This way, we will be able to more accurately gauge the amount of fat in the pan for making the meatball sauce in the next step.
Add 3 tablespoons of fresh butter to the pan. Heat the butter in the pan on medium heat until it melts and starts to bubble. Slowly whisk in 3 tablespoons of flour. Stir until smooth. Continue to stir, allowing the flour mixture to cook for several minutes, until the roux is the color of coffee with cream.
When the roux has cooked to a lovely shade of light brown, slowly add the stock, stirring as you do. The stock will sputter at first, and the roux may seize up, but keep adding the stock slowly and keep stirring. Eventually, the sauce will loosen and become silky.
Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the sour cream. If you are including jelly, either stir it in now or serve it on the side. Taste for seasonings and add more salt and pepper to taste. (I use about 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper.)
Return the meatballs to the pan with the sauce and cook on low heat to warm them through for a few minutes. Serve over mashed potatoes or egg noodles. Or serve individual Swedish meatballs dipped in gravy as an appetizer.
This is truly yummy. Made it yesterday. I can eat all of it by myself.
With the cooler weather, I’m thinking soup. Here are 30 easy soup recipes that only require a few ingredients.
Cook onions: Stir together onions, melted butter, sugar, salt, and pepper in a 6-quart slow cooker until onions are fully coated. Place thyme and bay leaf on onion mixture. Cover and cook on HIGH, stirring once halfway through, until onions are deep golden brown and caramelized, 6 to 7 hours.
Add broth: Remove and discard thyme and bay leaf. Stir in broth and vinegar. Cover and cook on HIGH until thoroughly heated, about 30 minutes.
Add baguette and cheese to soup-filled ramekins: Preheat oven to broil, with oven rack about 6 inches from heat. Spoon soup into 6 ovenproof ramekins; place on a large rimmed baking sheet. Top each ramekin with 2 baguette slices; divide cheese evenly among ramekins (about 1/4 cup each).
Broil cheese: Broil until cheese is melted and golden brown, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle with fresh thyme leaves and black pepper. Serve immediately.
1 rotisserie chicken, skin and bones discarded, meat shredded (about 3 to 4 cups shredded chicken)
8 cups lower-sodium chicken broth
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
2 cups uncooked wide egg noodles
Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Directions
Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high. Add onion, carrots, celery, and garlic to Dutch oven; cook, stirring often, until vegetables are just soft, about 8 minutes.
Stir in chicken, broth, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, and gently boil 6 minutes.
Add noodles to Dutch oven.
Reduce heat to medium-low, and cook until noodles are tender, about 6 minutes. Garnish with chopped parsley.
4 cups beef broth (you can use chicken or vegetable broth if using pork)
1 small onion, chopped
2 teaspoons dried Mexican oregano
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon sweet (not smoked) paprika
2 ½ lbs stew meat, or cubed beef shoulder/pork butt roast*
Salt and pepper
3 Tablespoons flour
2-4 Tablespoons oil
1 bay leaf
Juice from 1 small lime
Cornstarch slurry (1 Tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 1 Tablespoon water)
For serving (optional):
Tortillas, corn or flour
chopped fresh Cilantro for garnish
Sliced radishes
Mexican rice
Instructions
Remove meat from the refrigerator and cut into ½ inch cubes. Set aside.
Remove the stems and seeds from the dried chiles while rinsing them under cold water. Place chiles in a saucepan and cover with broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the meat. Season on all sides with salt and pepper and sprinkle with flour. Add oil to a skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the meat and cook until browned on both sides. Depending on the size of your pan, you will need to do this in a few batches to prevent overcrowding.
Remove meat to a plate and set aside. Add onion to the pan and saute for several minutes.
As the onions cook, pour the softened peppers and the broth into a blender. Add the sautéed onion and blend until smooth. Set aside.
Return the browned beef (and accumulated juices) to the pot. Strain the chili sauce from the blender through a fine mesh strainer into the pot. Add oregano, cumin, paprika, and garlic powder, and stir well. Add the bay leaf.
Bring to a slow boil, then reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for about an hour, or until the meat is very tender.
Uncover and stir in lime juice and cornstarch slurry. Cook for a few more minutes, until the sauce has slightly thickened.
Serve as a stew with tortillas for dipping and a side of Mexican rice and beans.
1 lb. dried white navy beans, sorted of debris and rinsed
1 (about 1-lb.) ham bone or uncured ham hock (I use a smoked hock or smoked turkey.)
2 1/2 qts. water
1 large russet potato (about 8 oz.)
3 cups chopped celery (about 6 stalks)
3 cups chopped yellow onion (about 3 medium onions)
1 garlic clove, minced
3 tsp. kosher salt
3/4 tsp. black pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Directions
Soak beans: Place beans in a Dutch oven; add water to cover, and soak 8 hours or overnight. Drain beans. Return to Dutch oven.
Boil ham bone and beans: Add ham bone and water. Cover and bring to a boil over high; reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 1 hour.
Cook potato: Rinse potato; pierce with a fork, and wrap potato in a paper towel. Microwave on HIGH until tender, about 4 to 5 minutes; peel and mash potato.
Add vegetables and seasoning: Stir potato, celery, onion, garlic, salt, and pepper into bean mixture; simmer over medium-low until beans are tender, about 1 hour.
Remove meat from bone: Remove ham bone from Dutch oven, and let stand until cool enough to handle, about 20 minutes. Remove and discard bone and fat; dice meat, and stir into bean mixture. Top each serving with chopped parsley.
Note: If you want to avoid some of the effects of eating the musical fruit, pour off the soaking water and rinse the beans thoroughly before moving on to the next step.
