Swedish Meatballs

TheseNovelThoughts

Swedish Meatballs (2)

Believe it or not, I have never set foot in an Ikea. Despite this, I have still heard of famed Ikea meatballs. I decided to recreate them (if such a thing is possible, having not had them) as a Monday treat for my husband, with a creamy sauce and a side of frites.

Meatballs are very easy to put together. It seriously is just a case of mixing the meat and herbs (plus one or two little extras), frying and then making a simple cream sauce. I love the flavour of dill in these Swedish style meatballs – I love Swedish food fullstop. The dill is a perfect complement to the lamb and tastes very comforting.

I did actually make a very similar dish for my first ever blog post – however, I’m so embarrassed by the poor photography that I can’t bear to share the link! If you want to see it, you’re going to have to find it yourself!

This dish will serve 4-5 (with frites on the side) and takes 25 minutes to make.

Swedish Meatballs (1)

Swedish Meatballs

800g lamb mince

1 large bunch fresh dill

1 large bunch flat leaf parsley

60g breadcrumbs

1 egg

2 tbsps olive oil

1 onion

2 tbsps plain flour

1 small glass brandy

300ml water

50ml double cream

1. To make your meatballs, tip the mince into a large bowl. Add the egg, breadcrumbs, some salt and pepper, and half of the chopped parsley and dill. Mix together well with your fingertips. Add more breadcrumbs if the mixture is very sticky and wet.

2. Roll the meat into small balls, about the size of a golf ball. Heat the oil in a large saute pan and add the meat balls. Fry over a medium heat for 10-15 minutes, turning often, until golden brown.

3. Remove the meatballs from the frying pan and add the chopped onion. Stir in the flour, then pour in the brandy. Once all of the brandy is absorbed, gradually add the water a little at a time, stirring often. Then pour in the double cream and remaining parsley and dill. Return the meatballs to the pan and heat through – and you’re done!

Advertisement

33 thoughts on “Swedish Meatballs”

  1. MikeG February 16, 2015 / 7:12 pm

    Swedish meatballs are always a favorite of mine. Thanks for sharing your recipe and I wouldn’t worry about your photography of the past; the stuff you show now looks fantastic!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  2. nancysotka February 16, 2015 / 7:12 pm

    Beautiful photography! You even captured the steam!

    Like

    Reply
  4. Lety C February 16, 2015 / 8:31 pm

    I’ve never tried the so famus Ikea meatballs either! I bet your recipe is much better! sounds delicious! And beautiful images 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  5. Next Step to Nirvana February 16, 2015 / 8:42 pm

    We visited Scandinavia a few months and my son is obsessed with Swedish meatballs. This recipe will come in handy! Thanks 🙂

    Like

    Reply
      • Next Step to Nirvana February 24, 2015 / 5:16 pm

        Hey, we tried it a couple of nights. We quartered the recipe since only two were eating. We served it with egg noodles, mashed potatoes, and steamed broccoli. They both liked the lamb variation. Next we would double up on the sauce (just personal preference, Ikea serves it like you do) and reduce the dill (again personal preference, I love dill and my son doesn’t). Thanks for posting the recipe 🙂

        Like

        Reply
  6. aranislandgirl February 16, 2015 / 9:26 pm

    We raise our own goats for milk and meats. I have bribed and bartered with many a bag of the mince meat. If you ever have the opportunity don’t dare pass it up. It is the best meatloaf and burgers I have ever, ever had. And I am so excited about trying this recipe! Sounds just divine, I’m drooling….
    And btw, I just had to refollow you on Twitter, sorry about that, I am new to it and flubbed up somewhere. Ah well, thanks for your awesomeness and I will let you know when I get around to this recipe. Just ate our last bit of meat so it might be a month or more before we refill the freezer.

    Like

    Reply
    • harrietyoung38 February 16, 2015 / 10:02 pm

      I don’t think I’ve ever tried goat meat – but now I’m desperate to! I will keep my eye out for it! No worries about Twitter – I am always messing it up too x

      Like

      Reply
  7. varinaj February 16, 2015 / 9:34 pm

    God, I love those ikea meatballs SO much that I didn’t think they could be improved…until now. I want to eat these! Also, how do you make meatballs look appetizing? Your photography – killing it!

    Like

    Reply
    • harrietyoung38 February 16, 2015 / 10:03 pm

      Thank you so much! The camera is doing all the hard work on the photos – hubby got me a macro lens for my birthday and it is fantastic!

      Like

      Reply
  8. Just Lovely London February 16, 2015 / 10:14 pm

    Yummy! I can’t wait to try it! Thanks for sharing! 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  11. tannachtonfarm February 17, 2015 / 2:16 am

    oh, this looks just incredible – out of lamb right now, though – won’t be until spring and just picked up our beef today, so may try it with our grassfinished beef to start. Thank you!

    Like

    Reply
  13. Jennifer M. February 17, 2015 / 1:45 pm

    I have enjoyed Ikea’s Swedish meatballs more times than I can say. And I always order them with French fries and then proceed to dip the fries in the cream gravy. But your recipe looks like a delicious improvement on a guilty pleasure – can’t wait to try it!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  14. xoamys February 17, 2015 / 3:06 pm

    HI! Being from Finland, you have got to love swedish meatballs. The key idea is to serve them with sweet lingonberry jam! So delicious =)

    xxx Hanna

    http://xoamys.com/

    Like

    Reply
  16. Pingback: Swedish Meatballs |
  17. Feast Wisely February 18, 2015 / 10:43 pm

    I always resort to making lamb meatballs with spices like cumin and coriander so great to see a new recipe – the dill must make them really unique!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  18. Domonique February 19, 2015 / 12:50 pm

    This looks yummy! I was just telling a classmate that we should get Ikea meatballs when we make a trip there this weekend.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  19. What Lisa Cooked February 19, 2015 / 4:23 pm

    Although I’ve been to Ikea I’ve never tried their meatballs. I have made my own though and I would say that Swedish meatballs are now my favourite type of meatball! These look fab.

    I must admit I don’t link back to my earlier posts, my blog has definitely evolved a bit since then (I hope!)

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • harrietyoung38 February 19, 2015 / 4:59 pm

      Thanks Lisa – Swedish meatballs are wonderful aren’t they!

      Like

      Reply

Leave a comment

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s