Swedish Meatballs with Lingonberry Sauce

Here is another easy to make dinner. It seems that I am only interested in easy and quick meals these days. I think it has something to do with my bum knee.

Anyway. This is a favorite in our house. I use 2% or less milk, Lactaid milk for those of you who are milk intolerant. I had just purchased Light Butter a few weeks ago and it is good. So I used that as well as Egg Beaters instead of a real egg. And of course, I used fat free sour cream, which is why I added it off the heat! I did use Lingonberry jam which I get at Ikea. Instead of pork I used chicken. So adjust the meat in any way you want. Just make it lean ground meat. Turkey as well as veal would both work too. I think it is the dill and the caraway that makes this dish.

Cooking the meatballs on a very low fire for a longer time makes them very succulent and tasty so don’t be afraid to use your slow cooker for this dish.

1 cup fresh bread crumbs, dried out

1/3 cup milk

3 tablespoons butter

cook spray

4 minced shallots

2 minced garlic cloves

1 ½ teaspoons toasted and ground caraway seeds

Kosher salt and freshly ground white pepper

1 pound ground beef

1 pound ground pork

1 large egg

1 handful fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped, plus more for garnish

1 handful fresh dill, chopped

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 ½ cups chicken broth

¾ cup sour cream

¼ cup lingonberry or red currant jam, plus more for serving

In a small bowl, soak bread crumbs in the milk.

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a skillet sprayed with cook spray. Add shallots, garlic and caraway; season with salt and pepper. Sauté until softened but not browned about 2 mins and set aside to cool.

Put the ground beef and pork in a large bowl. Add the soaked bread crumbs, the cooled shallot mixture, beaten egg, parsley, and dill and season with salt and pepper and mix well with a fork.

Form into 1” balls and set aside.

Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a large skillet sprayed with cook spray, over moderate heat. Sauté the meatballs batches without crowding the pan until lightly browned all over. Remove to a platter lined with paper towels as they are done.

Add the remaining butter to the skillet and melt. Sprinkle the flour in the skillet stirring with a wooden spoon. Pour in the chicken broth, and stir with a wooden spoon, whisk makes this an easier job, to loosen any browned and stuck bits from the bottom of the pan. Simmer and stir until the liquid comes to a boil. Stir in 1/4 cup of the lingonberry jam until combined. Check the seasoning. Place the meatballs in the sauce lower the heat and simmer until the sauce thickens slightly and the meatballs are cooked through, about 15 to 20 minutes. Turn off heat, remove the meatballs to a serving platter, add the sour cream to the sauce and mix well. Pour the sauce over the meatballs, sprinkle with chopped parsley. Serve with additional lingonberry jam on the side.

I like to serve this meal over lightly buttered broad noodles sprinkled with about ½ teaspoon of toasted caraway seeds and a mixture of very finely chopped parsley and dill.

Hot crusty bread with butter is always great on the side and don’t forget to serve a couple of vegetables on the side.

Serves 4 to 6