Beef

Lingonberries for Lucy

by:
August 11, 2010
0
0 Ratings
Lingonberries for Lucy
  • Serves 4-6
Author Notes

My oldest niece, who married a Swede a few years ago, just gave birth to Lucy this April. Since they as a young new family all now live in London, I have yet to meet baby Lucy. But I dedicate this recipe to her and hope to visit soon. By the way, if anyone lives near an IKEA, they sell a great lingonberry jam. Take care not to overdo the caraway spicing with this. I am trying to have layers hit you in a subtle way both through the ground spice and the spirits. And to Anna and Peter, when I visit, I offer to make you this meal with marvelous "Scandopolitans" by "deensiebat" (on this site) if you like, then babysit so you can go out to the theater! This is a recipe dedicated to blending traditions in our family, about our past and our future....maybe this is more about keeping those northern traditions alive. —Sagegreen

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 1/2 pound grass-fed ground beef
  • 1/2 pound best quality ground pork
  • 1 egg, slightly beaten
  • 1/2 cup stale sourdough bread slices, cubed
  • 1 ounce Akvavit
  • 1 ounce milk
  • 1/2 cup homemade or panko bread crumbs
  • 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon toasted caraway seeds, ground
  • 2 tablespoons shallots, finely minced
  • 1 teaspoon garlic, finely chopped
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2 tablespoons flour for thickening
  • 1 tablespoon Akvavit
  • 3/4 cup free range chicken broth
  • 3/4 cup organic sour cream
  • 1/3 cup lingonberry jam (red currant or pomegranate can be substitutes)
  • 2 tablespoons fresh dill
  • 2 tablespoons fresh flat leaf parsley
  • 1/2 cup rose wine
  • dollops of organic sour cream and lingonberry jam for garnish
  • fresh dill and parsley for garnish
  • your favorite pasta, such as egg, red wine or beet noodles
Directions
  1. Combine the beef, pork and egg in a bowl.
  2. Pour 1 oz. of the Akvavit (caraway spirits) over the stale bread crumbs. Add the milk and homemade or panko bread crumbs to this mixture and then gently add to the meat mixture.
  3. Melt 1 tbl. of the butter in a heavy skillet before adding the shallots, garlic, caraway, salt and pepper to cook for about 1 minute. Mix these in with the other ingredients in the bowl. Roll into about 20 one inch balls.
  4. Wipe the pan clean. Using grapeseed oil brown the meatballs evenly and quickly. Do not cook through. Then remove the meatballs to drain on paper towels.
  5. Wipe the pan clean. Add and melt two tbl. of butter in the pan. Mix 1 tbl. of cool broth with your choice of flour to make a paste. Add this to the melted butter for a roux.
  6. Next stir in the remaining chicken broth, 1 tbl. Akvavit, and rose wine, up to 1/2 cup; simmer and reduce.
  7. Stir in the sour cream. Whisk in the jam and simmer. Add the meatballs to the sauce and simmer slowly until tender and until you have your desired sauce thickness (for @20-25 minutes).
  8. Serve with your favorite pasta. Garnish with additional sour cream, jam, and fresh herbs.
Tags:
Contest Entries

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • thirschfeld
    thirschfeld
  • lapadia
    lapadia
  • Sagegreen
    Sagegreen
  • adamnsvetcooking
    adamnsvetcooking

Popular on Food52

10 Reviews

thirschfeld
thirschfeld August 12, 2010
I love ligonberry jam. I worked for an Austrian chef who used to serve it with his veal schnitzel. It was a great pairing and I have since used it for many thing including braised red cabbage. This looks like another great one from you. Thanks for posting.
 
Sagegreen
Sagegreen August 12, 2010
Thank you! One of my grandfathers hailed from Bohemia region of Austria. I know many do not care for the heaviness of sour cream sauces, but I just had to play with this anyway.
 
thirschfeld
thirschfeld August 12, 2010
we also used to make a simple ligonberry sauce for duck. It was butter, brandy and ligonberries. Also really good was the sauce minus the duck on a croissant, which we call line cooks dinner.
 
Sagegreen
Sagegreen August 12, 2010
I missed my calling as a line cook; that dinner sounds pretty persuasive. For just under a year I cooked for a family near Salzburg, but just as a rank amateur.
 
adamnsvetcooking
adamnsvetcooking August 12, 2010
She is so cute!!! and your recipe looks amazing. Sometime when I have a day off from work and the lab I like to sneak over to Ikea and have the meatballs with lingonberries jam and lingonberries soda ( it is a guilty pleasure)
 
adamnsvetcooking
adamnsvetcooking August 12, 2010
You must be exited to see Lucy
 
Sagegreen
Sagegreen August 12, 2010
I always have their salmon with lemon and never have tried their meatballs! Thanks.
 
Sagegreen
Sagegreen August 12, 2010
Guilty pleasures are so good! Lucy is such a cute baby. I mailed some homemade finger puppets earlier, but just thought to create a Scandinavian-inspired recipe, too.
 
adamnsvetcooking
adamnsvetcooking August 12, 2010
I am sure that she is going to enjoy and play a lot with the finger puppets, she is lucky to have sweet "great aunt" as you.
 
lapadia
lapadia August 12, 2010
Cute picture, and what a "great aunt" you are, I am sure they are looking forward to your visit!