Swedish Meatballs With Cream Gravy & Pickled Cucumbers

Serves 6 to 8

Pickled cucumbers

2 English cucumbers 2 teaspoons kosher salt ½ cup unseasoned rice vinegar (white vinegar can be substituted) 1 bunch curly parsley, finely chopped Freshly ground white pepper, to taste

Meatballs

4 tablespoons butter, divided 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped 2 large eggs 1 cup heavy cream or half-and-half 1 cup panko bread crumbs 2 tablespoons kosher salt 2 teaspoons ground white pepper Pinch ground allspice Pinch ground nutmeg 2 pounds ground meat (half ground beef and half fatty ground pork belly, or equal parts ground beef, pork and veal) 2 tablespoons olive oil + more as needed

Gravy

1 cup beef stock 1 cup heavy cream Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper Mashed potatoes, for serving (optional) Lingonberry jam, for serving (optional)

To make the cucumbers: Peel the cucumbers and slice paper thin on a mandolin or with a sharp knife. Place in a medium bowl, sprinkle with the salt and toss to coat. Transfer to the refrigerator and refrigerate for 1 hour. After an hour, the cucumber will be wilted. Use your hands to gently squeeze any excess water from the cucumbers, then transfer to a clean bowl and add the vinegar and parsley and stir to combine. Season to taste with white pepper. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

To make the meatballs: In a medium frying pan over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until cooked through but not browned, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and cool to room temperature.

In a large bowl, combine the eggs, cream, breadcrumbs, salt and spices and mix well, then let stand 10 minutes.

Stir in the cooled onion, then add the ground meat and mix thoroughly with a rubber spatula or spoon until the mixture is slightly sticky and clinging to the bowl.

“You need to stir the mixture by hand,” cautions Terje, “not in a food processor, which will just shred the meat.” And when you roll the meatballs, says Terje, do it with dry hands. “Some recipes will suggest you wet your hands so you can roll smoother meatballs,” Terje says. “But you want a rough exterior so you get lots of browned bits that fall off into the pan when you fry the meatballs. Those browned bits make the best gravy.”

Heat a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons butter and the oil. Roll one meatball, about 1½ inches in diameter.

Add the meatball to the pan and cook, turning with a spoon, until cooked through and lightly browned on all sides, about 4 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and taste the cooked meatball for seasoning. Adjust the seasoning of the remaining meat mixture accordingly, adding more salt, pepper, allspice or nutmeg as desired.

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Roll the remaining meat mixture into 1½-inch balls and place on a rimmed baking sheet. Return the frying pan to medium heat and add some of the meatballs to the pan, spacing them about ½ inch apart. Cook, turning with a spoon, until cooked through and lightly browned on all sides.

“You’re essentially shallow-frying the meatballs, but you want to do it gently enough that they cook through without browning too deeply on the exterior. You want color, but not crust,” says Terje.

Transfer the cooked meatballs to a rimmed baking sheet and keep warm in the oven. Fry the remaining meatballs as described above, adding more oil or butter to the pan as necessary. Keep the meatballs warm in the oven while you prepare the gravy.

To make the gravy: Pour off any accumulated fat from the pan you used to cook the meatballs and return the empty pan to the burner over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add the beef stock and, with a wooden spoon, scrape the pan to release all of the browned bits. Add the cream, bring to a simmer, and cook until the gravy is reduced by half and thick enough to coat a spoon, about 8 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve the meatballs, accompanied by the gravy and cucumber salad, with mashed potatoes and lingonberry jam, if desired.

If you’re looking for lingonberry jam (or other Swedish ingredients), Terje’s go-to spot is Berkeley’s Nordic House (2709 San Pablo Ave., Berkeley. (510) 705-1932, nordichouse.com). Otherwise, he says a decent lingonberry jam can also be purchased at — where else? — Ikea.

Per serving: 442 calories, 24 g fat (11 g saturated), 182 mg cholesterol, 2,224 mg sodium, 16 g carbohydrates, 1 g fiber, 38 g protein.