These Swedish meatballs are better than Ikea’s

Turkey replaces pork-beef blend for tender dish

Here’s a simple comfort-food recipe that will put dinner on the table and kitchen skills in your back pocket.

Let’s start with the meatballs, made traditionally tender with a moistened bread-crumb mixture called a panade. Because we’re using pita from the pantry, it can go right into the pan with sautéed onion and a little broth. The meat for Ikea-type Swedish meatballs is a blend of ground pork and beef; dark-meat ground turkey stands in here instead, and we think that it makes this version even more tender.

Allspice seems to be the required element for classic Swedish meatballs, and we learned in testing that a little of it is all you need. Egg yolk goes in, but not its egg white; save it to create a foamy cocktail or spiced nuts. Be sure to brown those meatballs on all sides because what they leave behind in the skillet will affect the sauce, which comes next.

Stir flour into the melted butter and browned bits in the pan (called the fond), then broth, and you have formed a roux; the added fish sauce and mustard lend an instant and enhancing flavor boost. Sour cream stirred in off the heat completes the creamy sauce, which you should taste and re-season so it’s just right.

Cut open one of the meatballs before you return them to the pan. If it seems a little undercooked, know that they will have a chance to finish in the sauce.

Serve with wide ribbons of zucchini and squash, or egg noodles. And if you’re a regular at the Ikea cafeteria, top with a dollop of lingonberry jam.