Swedish Meatballs with Potato Salad

Ah, the infamous Swedish meatballs. I always pick a packet of frozen Swedish meatballs when I’m in Ikea but they are also quite easy to make at home. The only tricky thing is finding Lingonberries in Scotland, which are used traditionally to make the sauce that goes with the meatballs. I used cranberries instead as they are similar in taste and also widely available and easy to find in winter.

Swedish Meatballs with Potato Salad

 

 

 

Prep time & cooking: 45 minutes;

Serves: 3-4;

Difficulty: Easy;

Perfect for: A simple midweek meal;

Ingredients

• 120 ml double (or single) cream;
• 3 tbsp breadcrumbs;
• 1 tsp ground black pepper;
• A pinch ground allspice;
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard;
• 500g beef mince;
• 1 tbsp butter or olive oil;
• 1/2 onion – finely chopped;
• 500g beef mince;
• 1 egg;
• 2 tbsp olive oil.

For the potato salad

• 500g potatoes;
• 1/2 red onion – diced;
•  2 tbsp parsley – finely chopped;
• 1 tsp wholegrain mustard;
• 1 tbsp white wine vinegar;
• 2 tbsp sunflower oil.

For the sauce

• 200g lingonberries or cranberries (fresh or frozen);
• 1 tbsp caster sugar;
• 2 tbsp red wine.

Method

1. Mix the cream with the breadcrumbs, black pepper, allspice and dijon mustard and leave for about 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile,  melt the butter in a medium/large pan and cook the onion until soft. Leave to cool slightly.
3. Mix the mince with the cream mix, the egg, onion and salt to taste. Form small meatballs, about the size of a walnut. Cover and leave to chill in the fridge for about 10 minutes while you boil the potatoes.
4. Heat the oven to 180C (Fan). While the potatoes are boiling, heat the oil in the same pan you cooked the onion. When the oil is hot, brown the meatballs for a few minutes on each side (they don’t have to be cooked through). You might have to do this in batches. Transfer the browned meatballs to a shallow baking tray and bake for 10 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, make the sauce. Mix half the lingonberries (cranberries) with the sugar and wine and cook on medium heat for 3-4 minutes, stirring all the time. If you are using lingonberries, take off the heat, add the remaining berries and mix well. If you are using cranberries, add the remaining berries and cook for 2 more minutes while stirring. Take off the heat and keep warm.
6. When the potatoes are boiled, take off the heat and cool slightly. Peel the potatoes while still warm. Roughly chop the potatoes and mix with the remaining salad ingredients.
7. Serve the meatballs with the warm potato salad and the lingonberry sauce.

This recipe has been adapted from the Bulgarian magazine “Menu”, issue from January 2013. The original recipe (in Bulgarian) is available here.