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
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Ingredients
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1/2 pound
grass-fed ground beef
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1/2 pound
best quality ground pork
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1
egg, slightly beaten
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1/2 cup
stale sourdough bread slices, cubed
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1 ounce
Akvavit
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1 ounce
milk
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1/2 cup
homemade or panko bread crumbs
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3/4 teaspoon
kosher salt
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1/4 teaspoon
ground white pepper
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1/2 teaspoon
toasted caraway seeds, ground
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2 tablespoons
shallots, finely minced
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1 teaspoon
garlic, finely chopped
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3 tablespoons
unsalted butter
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2 tablespoons
flour for thickening
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1 tablespoon
Akvavit
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3/4 cup
free range chicken broth
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3/4 cup
organic sour cream
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1/3 cup
lingonberry jam (red currant or pomegranate can be substitutes)
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2 tablespoons
fresh dill
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2 tablespoons
fresh flat leaf parsley
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1/2 cup
rose wine
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dollops of organic sour cream and lingonberry jam for garnish
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fresh dill and parsley for garnish
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your favorite pasta, such as egg, red wine or beet noodles
Directions
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Combine the beef, pork and egg in a bowl.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Next stir in the remaining chicken broth, 1 tbl. Akvavit, and rose wine, up to 1/2 cup; simmer and reduce.
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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).
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Serve with your favorite pasta. Garnish with additional sour cream, jam, and fresh herbs.
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