Norwegian meatballs and gravy recipe

Signe Johansen
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Who doesn’t love meatballs? Try Scandi writer Signe Johansen's Norwegian offering.

"Although I maintain that Scandinavia has much more to offer than the humble herring and mighty meatball, I secretly crave both these dishes. My American grandfather famously ate 40 of them at my parents’ wedding in Norway."

"While I don’t recommend eating quite that many at once, they’re great as a main course, as a midnight snack or as leftovers the next day on buttered toast with – whisper it – dollops of tomato ketchup."

"If you can’t find lamb or veal mince, substitute beef or pork mince. I like to serve this with mashed swede and potato and spiced lingonberry cabbage, garnished with fresh dill or parsley."

Ingredients

1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 tbsp ground allspice
1 tsp ground nutmeg
0.5 tsp ground ginger
225 ml whole milk, mixed with 1 tbsp yoghurt
3 slices (c. 110g) stale white bread, preferably sourdough
500 g veal mince
500 g lamb mince
1 large egg yolk
1.5 tsp salt
0.75 black pepper

For the gravy

1 l good veal or beef stock
100 ml brandy
300 ml crème fraiche
100 g ekte geitost (Norwegian brown goat's cheese), grated
2 tbsp grated cacao

Details

Cuisine: Norwegian
Recipe Type: Main
Difficulty: Easy
Preparation Time: 25 mins
Cooking Time: 55 mins
Serves: 6

Step-by-step

Preheat the grill to medium-high (unless you are making these in advance). Heat the oil in a pan and cook the onion over a low heat for 8-10 minutes until soft. As the onion goes translucent, add the spices and fry for a minute, then set aside to cool.
In a shallow bowl, pour the yoghurt-milk mixture over the bread, making sure it's all moistened, and leave until the liquid has been absorbed.
In a larger bowl, combine the mince, cooked onion, egg yolk and seasoning. Add the milk-soaked bread, then using your hands, mix everything together.
Fry a spoonful of the mixture in a little butter and oil and, once cooked, taste it to check that you are happy with the seasoning. Then, taking a teaspoonful of mixture at a time, lightly roll between your palms to form meatballs.
Grill straight away or, if you're making these in advance, set aside on a sheet covered with cling-film and keep refrigerated until you're ready. Grill the meatballs for 10-15 minutes until golden brown, turning them once halfway through.
For the gravy: Bring the stock to the boil, simmer until reduced by half and then add the brandy. Simmer for a further minute or so until you can't smell any alcohol, then add the crème fraiche, brown cheese and cacao. Season to taste. Add the grilled meatballs to this sauce and simmer for 20 minutes.