Hult’s Swedish Meatballs
Serves 4 INGREDIENTS
1 tablespoon vegetable oil ½ yellow onion, finely diced 1 pound ground beef (or a mixture of beef and pork) ¾ cup panko breadcrumbs ¼ cup heavy cream 1 egg Pinch cayenne pepper (or go traditional with a pinch each of white pepper and allspice instead) Salt and pepper, to taste Butter, for frying
DIRECTIONS
Warm the vegetable oil in a small saute pan set over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until caramelized to a golden brown, about 10 minutes. Let cool. In a large mixing bowl, combine ground beef, panko, cream, egg, the cooled onions, cayenne and salt and pepper. Mix everything together until well blended. Form into 20 meatballs of 1½ ounces each, and place on a plate or sheet pan. You can either cook immediately or chill, covered lightly, until ready to cook. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add a tablespoon of butter and add meatballs, being careful not to crowd them in the pan. (You may need to do this in batches.) Sear meatballs on all sides until nicely browned. Keep cooked meatballs warm in a 200-degree oven. Serve meatballs with mashed potatoes, spooning mushroom gravy (recipe below) over both and reserving any extra gravy for passing at the table. At Hult’s, the Swedish meatballs — or köttbuller — are served with gravy and a dollop of lingonberry jam, which is sold at Ikea and European markets. You can use sour cherry jam, instead.