Hello, Mamas!

Winter is coming and I for one am certainly craving comfort foods. My family recipe for Swedish meatballs is definitely up there on my list of best comfort foods!

I grew up with Swedish meatballs.  My mother is Swedish and this was standard fare in our house for dinner all year round.  Once you get the hang of it, it’s so easy!  But there are steps to follow, so I really wanted to do a step-by-step demonstration with this recipe.  Easy instructions make me less nervous about the prospect of messing things up and burning, which is something that happens to me a lot…

So here goes.  Sent to you with love by me (and my mother Fleur).  This Swedish meatballs recipe is a family heirloom passed down from my Swedish great-grandmother and I am so happy to be sharing it all with you.

How to Make Swedish Meatballs

Ingredients:

• 1/4 stick butter (or enough to keep skillets properly greased and sizzling!)
• 1 cup breadcrumbs
• 2 eggs
• 1 medium size red onion — grated coarsely
• 1 heaping teaspoon salt
• Fresh ground pepper, to taste
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 2 packages (around 2 lbs, give or take) 80 percent ground chuck
• 1 cup (or more!) half and half
• **This recipe will make about 36 meatballs!  You can easily cut into half if you desire a smaller amount!**

Directions:

• Grate onion coarsley and place in large mixing bowl.  Add breadcrumbs.  Add eggs, milk, parsley, salt and pepper.  Mix into a thick paste.  Add meat and incorporate well.  Use a Kitchen Aid mixer if you’re lucky enough to have one!
• Heat a good saucepan — you need a thick, Le Creuset-type or other cast iron saucepan — to high heat.  Place two tablespoons of butter into your saucepan and allot to melt.  As you can see from my photos here, I use two saucepans at a time when it’s a big amount.
• Wet your hands and roll the meat mixture into balls.  One by one, place them onto your saucepan.  They should be about the size of a smallish golf ball.

• Keep going as you fill your saucepan.  Leave your meatballs until they are very nicely browned to a crisp on the first side.  Then, gently flip them with a spatula onto the other side.  Here is how nicely browned they should be:

• Once you have browned the meatballs well on all sides (they must be very well browned to crispy, otherwise, they will fall apart in the sauce), cover generously with the half and half. You want them to be nicely coated so that you get a nice sauce:

• Put on low heat and cover and cook for an additional 20 minutes.
• I serve these with red potatoes boiled with dill, carrots and broccoli – oh, and don’t forget a generous spoonful of Swedish Lingonberries for a condiment.
• Here are our plates — Marielle’s is the little one with a smaller portion.  Little kids love these and you can even give them mashed up to babies once they’re comfy with solid foods!