So it’s been a minute and I apologize. It’s not that the area of Scandinavia has taken me weeks to dive into, engulfing every waking hour with learning the history, going to battle in the kitchen to perfect every nuance. But it has been a couple weeks since I’ve been able to post anything and that’s not due to these beautiful countries. If you don’t follow my instagram account (which is @thepandemicpassport by the way), then you don’t know that I’ve been tied up with my current full time job, which I now realize I have not really reported on on here. A real dream come true for me in every sense, I am currently an Adjunct Culinary Educator. I’m working at a wonderful Culinary Academy in Higher Education and doing what I have always wanted to do, and what lies truly at the motivation behind this blog and that’s to teach.
With that being said, I’ve been lucky enough to have the opportunity to build a class from the ground up including organizing the Syllabus, set up the daily curriculum and lay the ground work for a new class. It’s an amazing opportunity that has taught me a lot, but that has always had me tied up in any free time with laying out daily lectures and setting up daily production work. So the Blog here has taken a back seat. Thankfully, that class started up today and now the recipes can return! With that being said, thank you for your patience and understanding. I can’t wait to move forward and get some more delicious goodies up here!
So most people here in America here the word “Sweden” and immediately think of one of two things: Ikea and Meatballs. And more often then not, they are thought of together. If you are not familiar or have never had the experience of going, Ikea is basically a home goods theme park of decor, art, appliances, linens and more that are affordably priced brought to us from the good people of Sweden. Most stores are even decked out in the Country’s colors, blue and yellow. And what’s a Swedish based store without it’s dish that rolls right off the tongue, Swedish Meatballs. They sell them there… like, everywhere. Pretty sure there was once a freeze with them set up in the bedding department.
The meatballs themselves have become somewhat of an icon, a part of the experience of going to this amusement park of adulting and they are the souvenir. Proof that you went to Ikea and that you as a grown adult not only scored a new comforter for $30 bucks but managed to pick up dinner as well. Now they not only have the traditional beef based variety, but turkey and vegetarian options too!
Truth be told, I’ve never had the Ikea meatballs. Call me picky or whatever, but there’s just something about getting your meat based products at a furniture store. Or maybe it’s the memory of my middle Brother, Ron, doubled up on his couch on Christmas Eve with stomach pain and stating that the infamous decor store meatballs had “Friggin wood chips” in them. Who’s to say that if that was what his stomach pain was from. Plenty of people have these easy to make balls of fun and don’t get sick. But it still makes me laugh thinking about it.
Knowing that most people think of these Swedish Meatballs when they hear that, I knew that I had to continue with our healthier country theme and make a lighter take on these infamously heavier dishes. As I’ve mentioned in the past, I myself also can not eat red meat so I head more towards white meat and pork. Therefore, I opted to use ground turkey and ground pork for my mix.
Mix your onions, parsley and a little bit of panko breadcrumbs in a bowl with your salt, pepper, allspice and nutmeg. Sounds weird to put in there, but it’s a classic ingredient in almost all Swedish meatballs. Add your ground turkey and ground pork meat into it and give it a good mix.
Once everything is good and incorporated, you can start shaping your meatballs.
Once everything is made up, you want to give them a good sear in a pan. This will help lock in moisture while giving an additional bit of texture with a little big of crunch.
After they are seared, slide them into a 350 degree oven and cook for about 10 minutes or until they reach a 165 degree internal temperature.
While the meatballs are cooking, let’s make up the sauce.
In the same pan that you seared the meat in, add your butter and melt. Make a small roux by adding in 3 tablespoons of flour and cook until slightly browned. You should be able to smell a bit of a nutty aroma coming from it. That’s a great sign that it’s done.
Slowly whisk in a bit of beef stock/broth until it starts to thicken nicely. Remove from the heat and stir in your stone ground Dijon Mustard and a little bit of sour cream.
Once the sauce has come together and the meatballs are finished, toss the meatballs in the sauce and serve over eggs noodles or mashed potatoes.
Enjoy this lighter take on a traditionally heavier dish that will be filling but not guilt ridden.
Turkey and Pork Swedish Meatballs
Serves 4
- 1 pound ground turkey, fat quantity of your choice
- 1/2 pound ground pork
- 1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
- 1 tablespoon parsley chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 cup onion finely chopped
- ⅛ teaspoon Pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
Swedish Sauce
- 2 tbsp. butter
- 3 tbsp. flour
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 tbsp Stone Ground Dijon mustard
- salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 350 degree oven.
In a medium sized bowl, combine ground turkey and ground pork, panko, parsley, allspice, nutmeg, onion, pepper, salt and egg. Mix until combined.
Roll into 20 large meatballs or 30 small meatballs.
In a large skillet heat a bit of olive oil. Add the meatballs and cook turning continuously until brown on each side. Transfer to a sheet pan and finish cooking in the oven for 10 minutes or until 165 degrees internal temperature.
Add 2 Tablespoons butter and flour to skillet and whisk until it turns brown. Slowly stir in chicken broth. Cook until everything is incorporated.
Remove from heat and stir in Dijon mustard and sour cream. Add Salt and pepper to taste.
Add the meatballs back to the skillet with the sauce and simmer for another 1-2 minutes. Serve over egg noodles or mashed potatoes.