Swedish meatballs with pareve brown sauce and mash

Name: Swedish meatballs with pareve brown sauce and mash
Prep time: 45 min
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: world favourites
Ingredients: 200 g Minced beef, freshly minced by the butcher (Beef with 15% fat, minced by the kosher butcher); 120 g Minced veal, freshly minced by the butcher (Minced veal shoulder: the beef and veal mixture replaces the Swedish beef and pork mixture and is more tender than beef alone); 100 g Yellow onions (1 small onion, very finely chopped); 35 g Breadcrumbs (5 tbsp fine breadcrumbs, certified pareve); 320 g Unsweetened plain soya drink (1 litre carton) (Unsweetened, certified pareve: 70 g for the breadcrumbs, 100 g for the sauce, 150 g for the mash); 55 g Eggs (1 egg, without its shell); 1 g Ground allspice (1/2 level tsp, the spice of köttbullar); 0.5 g Whole nutmeg (Freshly grated, about 1/4 tsp); 1 g Ground white pepper (1/3 tsp in the meatball mixture: the pepper used for köttbullar); 0.6 g Ground black pepper (0.3 g for the sauce, 0.3 g for the mash); 17.5 g Fine salt (4 g for the meatball mixture (3/4 level tsp), 10 g in the litre of potato cooking water (2 level tsp; water discarded, about 3 g absorbed), 2 g for the mash, 1.5 g for the cucumber); 600 g Potatoes (Peeled weight, floury variety); 30 g Sunflower oil, for frying or as a neutral oil (5 g for the onion, 10 g for the meatballs, 15 g for the roux; deliberately neutral: olive oil would overpower the brown sauce); 30 g Extra virgin olive oil (3 tbsp, for the mash); 20 g Plain wheat flour (2 level tbsp); 10 g Vegetable stock cubes (1 cube of 10 g, certified pareve; with the soya milk, the sauce weighs 500 g, the amount one cube is intended for); 400 g Water (Boiling, for the stock; excludes the litre of potato cooking water, which is discarded); 10 g Soya sauce (2 tsp, kosher and pareve: gives the sauce colour and depth); 5 g Hot Dijon-style mustard (1 tsp, for the sauce); 200 g Cucumbers (2 Israeli cucumbers, for the pressed cucumber); 25 g White wine vinegar (1 1/2 tbsp); 10 g White sugar (2 heaped tsp); 5 g Fresh dill (A few sprigs); 40 g Lingonberry jam (lingonsylt) (2 tbsp, one per plate; or redcurrant jelly or cranberry jam)

meat world favourites · 3/5 · medium · 60 min, including 45 hands-on

Kosher köttbullar: small beef and veal meatballs with allspice and nutmeg, a creamy brown sauce made with soya milk, olive oil mash, pressed cucumber with dill and lingonberry jam.

Ingredients for two

200 g	Minced beef, freshly minced by the butcher Beef with 15% fat, minced by the kosher butcher
120 g	Minced veal, freshly minced by the butcher Minced veal shoulder: the beef and veal mixture replaces the Swedish beef and pork mixture and is more tender than beef alone
100 g	Yellow onions 1 small onion, very finely chopped
35 g	Breadcrumbs 5 tbsp fine breadcrumbs, certified pareve
320 g	Unsweetened plain soya drink (1 litre carton) Unsweetened, certified pareve: 70 g for the breadcrumbs, 100 g for the sauce, 150 g for the mash
55 g	Eggs 1 egg, without its shell
1 g	Ground allspice 1/2 level tsp, the spice of köttbullar
0.5 g	Whole nutmeg Freshly grated, about 1/4 tsp
1 g	Ground white pepper 1/3 tsp in the meatball mixture: the pepper used for köttbullar
0.6 g	Ground black pepper 0.3 g for the sauce, 0.3 g for the mash
17.5 g	Fine salt 4 g for the meatball mixture (3/4 level tsp), 10 g in the litre of potato cooking water (2 level tsp; water discarded, about 3 g absorbed), 2 g for the mash, 1.5 g for the cucumber
600 g	Potatoes Peeled weight, floury variety
30 g	Sunflower oil, for frying or as a neutral oil 5 g for the onion, 10 g for the meatballs, 15 g for the roux; deliberately neutral: olive oil would overpower the brown sauce
30 g	Extra virgin olive oil 3 tbsp, for the mash
20 g	Plain wheat flour 2 level tbsp
10 g	Vegetable stock cubes 1 cube of 10 g, certified pareve; with the soya milk, the sauce weighs 500 g, the amount one cube is intended for
400 g	Water Boiling, for the stock; excludes the litre of potato cooking water, which is discarded
10 g	Soya sauce 2 tsp, kosher and pareve: gives the sauce colour and depth
5 g	Hot Dijon-style mustard 1 tsp, for the sauce
200 g	Cucumbers 2 Israeli cucumbers, for the pressed cucumber
25 g	White wine vinegar 1 1/2 tbsp
10 g	White sugar 2 heaped tsp
5 g	Fresh dill A few sprigs
40 g	Lingonberry jam (lingonsylt) 2 tbsp, one per plate; or redcurrant jelly or cranberry jam (optional)

Method

Start with the pressed cucumber: slice the cucumbers very thinly (2 mm) and mix in a bowl with the vinegar, sugar, 1.5 g salt and chopped dill. Cover with a saucer, place a weight on top (a full jar) and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes: the slices soften and sit in their sweet-and-sour juices.
Chop the onion very finely. Mix the breadcrumbs with 70 g soya milk and leave to swell for 5 minutes. Soften the onion in the 28 cm sauté pan with 5 g sunflower oil over a medium-low heat for 6 minutes without browning: it should be translucent and tender. Spread on a plate to cool until lukewarm.
Peel the potatoes, cut into 2 cm cubes and put in the 20 cm saucepan with 1 litre cold water and 10 g salt (2 level tsp): the water should cover them by 2 cm. Do not turn on the heat yet: they will cook alongside the meatballs.
In a mixing bowl, use your fingertips to combine the minced beef and veal, cooled onion, soaked breadcrumbs, egg (cracked separately into a bowl and checked for blood spots), allspice, nutmeg, white pepper and 4 g salt, without kneading for long. Fry a hazelnut-sized piece of the mixture in the sauté pan for 1 minute and taste: adjust the salt or allspice before shaping. With lightly wetted palms, form 24 meatballs, 3 cm across (about 24 g each): smooth, with no cracks.
Put the potato saucepan over a high heat; once boiling, lower the heat and cook at a gentle boil for 15–18 minutes. Heat 10 g sunflower oil in the sauté pan over a medium heat, arrange the meatballs in a single layer with a finger's width between them, and brown for 7–8 minutes, rolling them with a spatula: they should be brown on all sides. Transfer to a plate; they will finish cooking in the sauce. While they brown, dissolve the stock cube in 400 g boiling water.
Lower the heat to medium-low and add 15 g sunflower oil and the flour to the browned juices in the sauté pan. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring with a whisk, until light hazelnut brown and smelling of biscuits; do not let it blacken. Pour in the hot stock in three additions, whisking and loosening the browned juices: the sauce thickens without lumps. Add the soy sauce and mustard: it turns caramel-coloured.
Return the meatballs and their juices to the sauce and simmer over a low heat, uncovered, for 8 minutes, turning them once. Pour in 100 g soya milk, stir and simmer for another 2 minutes: the sauce should coat a spoon, smooth and light brown. Cut a meatball open: there should be no pink in the centre and the juices should run clear. Taste the sauce before adding any salt (the stock cube and soy sauce already provide salt) and finish with 0.3 g pepper.
The potatoes are ready when a cube crushes under a fork; if they are ready before the sauce, drain immediately and keep covered off the heat. Drain and dry in the saucepan over a low heat for 1 minute, shaking it. Heat 150 g soya milk (1 minute in the microwave). Mash with a potato masher, then use a spatula to fold in 30 g olive oil, the hot soya milk a little at a time, 2 g salt and 0.3 g pepper: the mash should be soft but hold in mounds. Serve twelve meatballs per person, generously coated with sauce, with the mash, a spoonful of lingonberry jam and the drained pressed cucumber alongside.

Lighter version

Sunflower oil, for frying or as a neutral oil : 15 g
Extra virgin olive oil : 20 g
Potatoes : 500 g
Unsweetened plain soya drink (1 litre carton) : 295 g

At step 5, do not brown in the pan: bake the meatballs for 12 minutes in an oven preheated to 200°C, on a tray lined with baking paper; they should be golden on top. Add them and their juices to the sauce at step 7.

At step 6, make the roux in the sauté pan with 10 g sunflower oil; it turns golden in 2–3 minutes, stirring constantly.

At step 8, mash 500 g potatoes with 20 g olive oil and 125 g hot soya milk.

Oven-baked meatballs without oil and lighter mash; the sauce, cucumber and lingonberries stay the same.

On your plate

Recipe

1175 kcal · protein 52 g · carbs 95 g · fat 62 g

Quantities per person

100 g Minced beef, freshly minced by the butcher
60 g Minced veal, freshly minced by the butcher
50 g Yellow onions
17.5 g Breadcrumbs
160 g Unsweetened plain soya drink (1 litre carton)
27.5 g Eggs
0.5 g Ground allspice
0.25 g Whole nutmeg
0.5 g Ground white pepper
0.3 g Ground black pepper
8.75 g Fine salt
300 g Potatoes
15 g Sunflower oil, for frying or as a neutral oil
15 g Extra virgin olive oil
10 g Plain wheat flour
5 g Vegetable stock cubes
200 g Water
5 g Soya sauce
2.5 g Hot Dijon-style mustard
100 g Cucumbers
12.5 g White wine vinegar
5 g White sugar
2.5 g Fresh dill
20 g Lingonberry jam (lingonsylt)

Cooking tips

Soaked breadcrumbs and a lightly handled mixture keep the meatballs tender; tasting a small fried piece before shaping prevents bland meatballs. Taste the sauce before salting: the cube and soy sauce already add salt. Pressed cucumber and lingonberries are essential to the Swedish plate, rather than a mere garnish: they make you want to eat the sauce. The meatballs taste even better gently reheated in their sauce, covered, with 2 tbsp water: make them the day before and warm on the Shabbat hotplate; loosen the mash with a little hot soya milk. Pressed cucumber keeps for 3 days in the fridge.

Equipment : 28 cm sauté pan, 20 cm saucepan, Potato masher, Whisk, Bowl, saucer and a weight for the cucumber

Köttbullar, a Swedish family dish: meatballs with nutmeg and allspice, creamy brown sauce (gräddsås), mash, lingonberries and pressed cucumber; beef and veal replace beef and pork, and soya milk and oil replace cream and butter to comply with kashrut.

Swedish meatballs with pareve brown sauce and mash

Method

On your plate

Recipe

Cooking tips

Starters to serve with this dish

Three recipes to try next

Comments and reviews

Share your experience