095. Köttbullar meatballs with cranberry sauce (Swedish recipe like at IKEA)

I've already described one Swedish dish — the "Almondy" almond cake you can enjoy at the IKEA café. This time I'll share another dish that can rightly be called the company's calling card — "Köttbullar" meatballs with cranberry (lingonberry, currant, etc. — I used lingonberry) sauce. The recipe under the cut differs a little from the "shop" version (the taste may seem different), but that all comes down to the proportions of spices.

Either way, try it and experiment!

Cooking time ≈ 3 hours.

Ingredients (for 40–50 meatballs):

• 300 g minced beef
• 300 g minced pork
• 1 medium onion
• 80 ml cream
• 80 g breadcrumbs
• 1 egg
• 1/8 tsp allspice
• Salt, ground black pepper to taste
• Vegetable oil (or butter)
• Wheat flour for coating

For the cranberry (berry) sauce:

• 150 g cranberries (lingonberries, blackcurrants)
• Water, 20 ml
• Honey, 20 g
• Salt, pepper to taste
• Sugar, to taste

For the sour cream sauce:

• 200 ml chicken stock (or water)
• 100 g sour cream
• 100 g cranberry (berry) sauce
• 1–2 tsp wheat flour

First make the meatballs. Finely chop the onion and fry it in vegetable oil or butter until translucent (sweat it).

Mix the breadcrumbs with the cream and the lightly beaten egg.

Combine the minced beef and pork, the onion and the breadcrumb mixture.

Add the ground allspice, salt and black pepper. Mix thoroughly by hand. Cover the mince with cling film and leave in the fridge for a couple of hours. Shape the meatballs (about 40, 20 g each). Arrange them on a plate so they don't touch. Leave at room temperature for 15–20 minutes.

Roll the meatballs in flour.

Fry them in vegetable oil (exactly like the cottage cheese doughnuts) on all sides for about 3–6 minutes (until they colour). Dry the meatballs on a paper towel and move them to a plate.

The meatballs are ready. In principle they can be frozen, and when you fancy a Swedish dish — defrosted and finished :).

Now the berry sauce. Dissolve the honey in the water, bring the mixture to the boil and add the berries. Cook until it thickens (about 8–10 minutes).

Turn the berry sauce into the sour cream sauce. Bring the chicken stock to the boil, dissolve the flour in it and cook until slightly thickened, stirring constantly. Add the sour cream and the berry sauce. Cook, stirring, for about 5–7 minutes.

Add sugar, pepper and salt to taste. Drop the meatballs into the sauce and cook over a low heat for 15–20 minutes.

Serve hot. With fried potatoes on the side, for example.

Bon appétit!

p.S

You can experiment both with the berries for the sauce and with the amount of pepper and salt when making it. The finished sour cream sauce can also be blitzed in a blender before the meatballs are cooked in it.