Swedish meatballs

 This is one post I could not resist to share with you, Swedish meatballs, especially since Tonight the Euro vision song contest is not only held in Sweden but is held in Malmo where all my family are from.

I have wanted to share my very very old family recipe for Swedish meatballs for quite sometime but thought that this was the perfect opportunity to do so.

 In Sweden it is not only a family favourite but also a fast food.   Meatballs are served as fast food in kiosks all over the country, after a heavy night out you may be tucking into a greasy burger or kebab whilst Swedes munch on this spherical goodness and are always served in the same format, meatballs, mash, gravy and lingon berry sauce, NOT CHIPS!!!! Sorry to ruin the illusion that the famous furniture flat packer has bestowed upon you but meatballs and mash belong together. Do not think in anyway shape or form that these are any thing like Ikea meatballs, for one thing they are packed with far more flavour and are totally horse free, I kid of course. The thing is about meatballs is that they are not only a celebratory dish or a home cooked meal, they are served cold in sandwiches. It is fair to say that in Sweden the meatball is King. 

 I grew up knowing that as least once or twice a week I would have meatballs and mash for my supper. Such a love has developed for the spherical meaty goodness that the English side of my family demand meatballs must be served alongside the turkey on Christmas day, that’s right my friends, such is the power of the ball that it has found its way onto our table and into our hearts. 

 This recipe is the genuine article, this was my great grandmother’s recipe that has been passed from generation to generation until finally the meaty torch has been passed to me. Fortunately for you I cannot keep a secret. Each person who has come into contact with the holy grail of meatballs has put their own twist on it to make the recipe their own. For instance my mother uses half pork and half beef, my grandmother would sometimes use veal mince, but I prefer all beef and lots of chopped dill, also the way that I make the meatballs is a little less complicated. I do think that this is the quintessential Swedish recipe and is synonymous with Sweden, as well as beautiful blond women, Abba, and naughty videos.  There is absolutely no point in making a small batch, this is a dish to be shared with family and friends and always served with lingon berry sauce.

You will need:

For the meat balls:

1.25kg of beef mince (not lean because you need the fat)

150g of fresh white breadcrumbs

1/2 tsp of all spice

325g of  white onions blended in the food processor 

5 tbsp of freshly chopped dill

2 large eggs

4 tsp of swedish piffi Krydda or 3 tsp of all purpose seasoning

50g of butter

1 tsp of cracked black pepper

1 tsp of dijon mustard

Firstly preheat the oven to 180 degrees c and line a couple of baking trays with foil. Blend the white onions in the food processor until it is almost a paste, place half of the paste into a bowl, and the other half into a frying pan with the butter. Fry the onions in a frying pan with the butter and 5 tbsp of chopped dill, fry until the onions are soft and are starting to colour, set aside to cool. In a very large bowl mix the minced beef, eggs, breadcrumbs, raw onion paste, all spice, black pepper, piffi krydda or all purpose seasoning, dijon and the cooled onion and dill paste, mix by hand until throughly combined.

Roll the meatballs into ping pong sized balls and place onto the prepared baking trays leaving a little space between them. I have found this is the easiest way to cook them whilst retaining all of the flavour. My mother usually fries the meatballs in butter in batches, I find this very time consuming and makes the balls fattier than they have to be. Bake the meat balls for twenty minutes until throughly cooked through. When they are cooked place them to one side.

For the Sauce:

500ml of beef stock (you can use gel stock pots)

300ml of double cream

50g of butter

50g of flour

1 tbsp of worcestershire sauce

3 tbsp of chopped dill

2 tsp of piffi krydda or all purpose seasoning

2 heaped tsp of  white sugar

1 tbsp of honey dijon

maldon sea salt to taste

cracked black pepper to taste

The cooking juice from the meatballs

 On a medium heat melt the butter in a large sauce pan and add the flour, stir it until is becomes a paste and the flour is cooked out and then add the beef stock little by little whisking as you go to create a smooth sauce. When the sauce is smooth add the cream, honey dijon, piffi krydda, sugar, worcestershire sauce, and the cooking juice from the meatballs, whisk together until the sauce is slightly thick and can coat the back of a spoon. Add the dill and then taste the sauce for seasoning, I would at this point season with salt and pepper. Add the cooked meatballs to the large sauce pan and heat through. Simply perfect.

South Indian Coconut Chutney

There is no better Chutney for Samosas, Dosas or Vada (lentil patties) than South Indian coconut chutney. If you love Indian food this is an absolute must to make. At one stage in Kerala I think I was eating more chutney than curry because I became that obsessed with it. There are many variations of coconut chutney, but this is the one that I love, spicy, sour, sweet, creamy and earthy with roast chana dal. Heavenly!

You will need:
(to grind)


50g of roasted chickpeas
2 green chillies
1 1/2 tsp of maldon sea salt
75g of freshly grated coconut
7 tbsp of natural yogurt
1 tsp of sugar

(for the tempering)

1 tbsp of coconut oil
1/2 tsp of asafoetida
1/2 tsp of mustard seed
10 curry leaves
2 dries red chillies split in half

Firstly soak the roasted chickpeas for about an hour and then drain. Combine the chickpeas, coconut, green chillies, sea salt, yogurt and sugar in a food processor and blend until smooth. meanwhile in a sauce pan heat the coconut oil and then add the black mustard seed, curry leaves, asafoetida, and red chillies and cook then together until the mustard seeds pop and the curry leaves begin to infuse the air with their aroma, take it off the heat and then decant the coconut mixture from the processor and combine the tempered oil and yogurt mixture. 

Parippu vada (lentil Patties)

 Train journeys throughout India are not for the faint hearted, if you are expecting air conditioned plush carriages you will be sadly dissapointed. I know that british trains are very comfortable and clean but in all honesty I would prefer to be on an Indian train any day of the week, yes they are hot, smoggy, terribly dirty, and a western face usually attracts a crowd of deep brown eyes to become fixated on you, but the food is possibly some of the best indian food I have ever tasted, whats more is that it costs pence.

 On British trains you are lucky if you get a half filled undercooked bacon sandwich, so to get a full meal and snacks, and an amazing tasting meal at that on an Indian train was over whelming. I travelled from Goa to Cochin in Kerala and feeling particularly peckish I bought some snacks, I was given a newspaper parcel which costed 10p, when I opened the parcel I saw what looked like six large fritters, I had never seen them before or heard of them but I will never forget the taste as long as I live, lightly spiced lentil patties with a crisp sandy crumb and smooth fragrant interior. If this is the quality of food you can get on an Indian train that quite frankly didn't even have toilet paper, then why cant British trains pull their fingers out and get some decent food onboard? This is the perfect picnic snack, and tastes far more complicated than it actually is to make. I urge you to try it. Serve with my coconut chutney

You will need:

100g split chana dal
1 finely diced red onion
3 chopped green chillies (birds eye will be perfect)
1 1/2 tbsp of finely chopped ginger
1/2 tsp of asafetida
1 1/4 tsp of maldon sea salt
10 finely chopped fresh curry leaves (don't even think about using dried)
1/2 tsp of fennel seed
Vegetable oil for deep frying

Soak the dal in cold water for at least 2 hours. Drain the soaked dal onto kitchen paper and dry it as much as possible. Place the Dal in a food processor and blend until it is a course paste, not a smooth paste. Remove the blended dal from the processor and decant it into a bowl, add all of the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Form the dough into five patties or ten small patties and then deep fry until golden brown. Drain onto kitchen paper and serve immediately.

Osso Bucco (with a twist)

  

                           

Like most italian food Osso Bucco is simple to prepare, complex in its flavour. I love the philosophy behind Italian food, if you use great quality, fantastically fresh produce then why do you need to mess about with it? Italian food and indian food for me share something in common, the ability to extract maximum flavour from so few ingredients.
 This is a true milanese speciality, Osso Bucco means bone with a hole (a lovely marrow filled bone), this refers to the cross section of the veal shank that is traditionally used in the dish, which is slow braised with celery, carrots, onions, herbs, garlic, tomatoes and white wine.

 Now I have called this Osso bucco with a twist, I have not veered too left field of the classic in fear that I may have some very angry italians to answer to, I have however used beef shin instead of veal, purely because it much easier to source, also I have asked the butcher to give me the Shank whole, only because a whole shank is a show stopper and also because I love long strands of slow braised meat, it's irresistible to me.          

Traditionally Osso Bucco is served with risotto alla Milanese with is a saffron based risotto, I have decided to serve mine with wet polenta, I have to say it worked really well, the absolute kicker for this whole dish was the gremolata, this for me is what brings the dish to life, finely chopped raw garlic, lemon zest and parsley added just for that last minute touch, it brings all the flavours together.  We are not as fortunate as italians in the respect that english tomatoes are pretty tasteless at this time of year so I have added a little sugar to my Osso Bucco, if you can source lovely sweet tomatoes then just omit the sugar. I urge you to try this for your next dinner party, trust me silent guests is a good sign.

Buon appetito!

For the Osso bucco you will need:
a 2kg piece of shin of beef
4 sticks of celery (diced)
1 very large carrot of two smaller carrots (peeled and diced)
1 very large red onion(diced)
1 fennel bulb (diced)
2 tbsp of olive oil
100g of chopped pancetta

25g of butter
2 tbsp of flour seasoned with salt and pepper
50g chopped garlic
1 rosemary sprig
3 sprigs of fresh oregano
2 sprigs of thyme
2 bay leaves
600g of fresh tomatoes (quartered and deseeded)
300ml of white wine
400ml of water
1x tin of chopped tomatoes (400g)
1 tbsp of sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons of maldon sea salt
2 tsp of  cracked black pepper

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees c. Dry the shin of beef and then coat it in the seasoned flour. Place a large casserole pan (preferably cast iron) onto a high heat and begin to melt the butter and olive oil together, brown the meat on all sides in the pan and then remove it and set it aside for later.

 In the same pan add all of the diced vegetables, garlic and pancetta and cook until they are all translucent. Add the herbs, fresh tomatoes, and wine and begin to scrape all the good stuff of the bottom of the pan. Add the tinned tomatoes, salt, pepper, sugar and water to the pan and stir well until combined, then add the beef back into the pan and place in the oven for 4 1/2 hours to 5 hours, you should be able to pull the meat off the bone with ease. 

For the wet Polenta you will need:

700ml of whole milk
200ml of water
250g of polenta (fine is best)
1 tbsp of salt
2 tsp of chicken stock powder
50g of butter
100g of grated parmesan
1 tsp of sugar
1 tsp of  freshly grated nutmeg
1 tsp of cracked black pepper

In a large saucepan place the milk, salt, nutmeg, water, stock powder, sugar Polenta and black pepper onto the heat. Using a whisk, whisk the polenta until it begins to thicken , this should take no more than five minutes with quick cook polenta, when the polenta texture is as runny and a Yorkshire pudding batter remove it from the heat because it will continue to thicken, add the butter and parmesan and continue to whisk like crazy until smooth and as thick as loose mash potato.

Gremolata

2 Large garlic cloves 
a handful of flat leaf parsley
the zest of a large lemon

All of the above needs to be finely chopped together and sprinkled over the plated dish.