Swedish Meatballs

As promised, here’s my favorite thing (so far) to serve with those delicious egg noodles I wrote about last week. I love Swedish meatballs, and this version is the best one I’ve ever tried. I’ve never been to IKEA (the closest one is two hours away), so I don’t know how these compare to the version they’re supposed to emulate. But they are amazingly delicious, and that’s all I really cared about.

I loved the balance of flavor in these. The allspice added that wonderful spicy flavor and aroma, and the white pepper added the perfect amount of heat to balance it out. And the gravy – oh my word, the gravy. Next time, I’m doubling it.

Incidentally, I didn’t have allspice in my pantry, so I googled it to see if there was anything I could use in place of it, which led me here. The combination of nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves really did provide a flavor very similar to allspice.

Swedish Meatballs
from Food Network Magazine via Carrie’s Sweet Life

For the meatballs:

1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup minced white onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
Salt and white pepper
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground pork
1 large egg plus 1 egg white, beaten

For the gravy:

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cups beef broth
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup heavy cream
Salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Put the breadcrumbs in a large bowl. Heat the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, allspice, 2 teaspoons salt and 1/4 teaspoon white pepper and cook, stirring, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the milk and Worcestershire sauce and bring to a simmer. Pour the milk mixture over the breadcrumbs and stir to make a thick paste; let cool. Add the beef, pork, egg and egg white to the bowl and mix until combined.

3. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Roll the meat into 1-inch balls and arrange on the prepared baking sheet. Bake the meatballs until cooked through, about 20 minutes.

4. To make the gravy, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the flour and cook, whisking, until smooth. Whisk in the beef broth and Worcestershire sauce and bring to a simmer. Add the cream and meatballs. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer until the gravy thickens, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper.