Swedish meatballs

Okay, what can I say, I don't have a story as such to go with this recipe. Normally when I share a recipe I explain how it came about, or a sentimental memory behind it. 
But here is the thing, "Swedish meatballs", how can I possibly say that I am writing a blog about Swedish (and some English) home cooking, and not include meatballs? 
Yes, we do eat a lot of meatballs in Sweden, it's not a PR stunt by IKEA's all over the world. We eat them for Christmas, Easter, midsummer and most likely once a fortnight the rest of the year. And we do love them! And any one who's had a proper "meatball meal" cooked for them would know why. It is comfort food at the highest level.
And this is how you make them!

 Swedish meatballs
 (enough for 4 people)

ingredients

• 300gr minced beef
• 300gr minced pork
• 5 tablespoons fine breadcrumbs
• 1 egg
• 1 yellow onion
• 3 tablespoons of water
• salt and pepper for seasoning

Chop the onion finely and sweat in a frying pan until softened. Put to the side to cool.
Add the egg to the breadcrumbs and allow to swell for about 10 min.
Mix together the onion, breadcrumb mixture and the mince. Pour in the water and season.
Work the mince mixture thoroughly with your hands.
Now, with damp hands form the meatballs to even sized balls approximately 3 cm across.
Fry in a fairly hot pan until golden brown all around. Then finish them of in the oven till all your meatballs are fried. Cut one in half to make sure they are cooked through.

Cream sauce

• 150ml cream
• 100ml beef stock
• 2tsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon of plain flour
• salt and pepper to taste

Swirl out the pan with the beef stock. Strain the hot liquid and add the cream and the soy sauce.
Thicken with the flour and season to taste

Serve your meatballs with boiled potatoes or mash, cream sauce, lingonberry jam (can be bought in specialist Swedish shops or IKEA) but if you can't get hold of it, cranberry sauce is nice too. And pickle gherkins are a nice addition as well.

Enjoy!

Oven roasted beetroot with shallots

So that was the summer over and done with.. We have really enjoyed our new big garden, even though it has involved a lot of hard work. It has been a definite case of trial and error, as we have declared ourselves "hobby gardeners" for the first time in our lives. The potatoes turned out great, we planted Desiree's this year, a red skinned variety. We ate them as mash, wedges and chips, and they were delicious! Our runner beans didn't do very well though, they dried up completely. So I'll know next year not to plant them in a wooden trough, but maybe have them climbing next to the potatoes, just like my green thumbed neighbour. But I have to say that our number one family favorite has with out a doubt been the beetroots. We mainly oven roasted them together with shallots. This is dead easy to do, and makes an exceptionally lovely addition to your steak (or sausage) this time of year.

All you need to do is:

Oven roasted beetroot with shallots

• Peel the beetroots
• Cut in half (or if quite big, in quarters)
• Peel the shallots, and leave whole
• Put in an oven proof dish on drizzle with olive oil
• Bake in the oven on a high temperature 225C for 20 min
• Add a couple of sprigs of rosemary and season with course sea salt
• Back in the oven again for a further 10 min, or until the beetroot is soft enough, check with a sharp knife.
• Crumble some feta cheese and sprinkle over whilst still hot.

No need for measurements, just bung in the oven and ENJOY!!

Swedish strawberry cream cake

If you asked a Swede what the most Swedish of cakes would be, I would bet you that 9 out of 10 times the answer would be strawberry cream cake. Well "jordgubbs tarta" to be more precise, but this is not a Swedish lesson. Simply an introduction to the lovely world of Scandinavian food.
This cake is summer personified and will be baked through out our outstretch country for Midsummer celebrations, exam parties, birthday parties and the list goes on..
And even though the answer might be fairly unanimous, the fillings and recipes would vary endlessly.
This is how I make it:

Strawberry cream cake

Light sponge

• 3 eggs
• 2 dl sugar
• 1dl hot water
• 2dl plain flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp vanilla extract (or 2tsp if vanilla sugar )

Heat the oven to 175C.
Grease a round baking tin (app 2 litres).
Whisk the sugar and eggs until light and fluffy. Slowly add the hot water and the vanilla at the end of the whisking.
Carefully add the flour and the baking powder to the mixture.
Pour into your baking tin and bake for app. 40 min. Check to make sure the cake is cooked through.
When the cake has cooled you can slice it on the height twice to leave you with 3 "cake discs".
And now for the filling.

Filling

• 1dl whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons of good lemon curd
• 3 tablespoons of raspberry jam

Spread the raspberry jam on the first disc and place the second cake disc on top.
Whisk the cream and mix with the lemon curd, spread this tangy cream on top and put the last disc on top of that.
And now the fun part. Decorating!!

Decoration

• 5dl whipping cream
• 1 punnet of strawberries

Whisk the cream and cover the cake completely with it. If you want to make it extra pretty, use a pipping bag.
Decorate with strawberries. I usually cut mine in to quarters, because I think it looks neater, and it also makes it easier to eat.

Other suggestions for fillings

• mix a little bit of custard with whipped cream
• mashed banana with cocoa powder
• strawberry jam

Enjoy!

Cinnamon buns

Not many things smells as Swedish and homely to me as newly baked cinnamon buns.
This is the smell that used to greet me when I came home from school, many cold winter afternoons. Quite often with a trail of friends. The ultimate drink with these buns is a glass of cold milk, but coffee is a close second.
Swedes are amongst the biggest coffee drinkers in the world, and to "fika" (coffee with a pastry of some sort) is a very important part of everyday life in Sweden.

Cinnamon buns (app 46)

For the dough

50g live yeast
150g butter
500ml milk
1/2 tsp salt
100ml sugar
1.5 litres plain flour
If you like you can add 1-2 tsp of ground cardamom (very nice!!)

Crumble the yeast into a bowl.
Melt the butter, and add the milk. Heat till app 37C (finger temp).
Mix the yeast with a little bit of  the milk until smooth, and add the rest of the liquid, salt, sugar, cardamom and most of the flour. Work the dough hard  until smooth. Let rest under a tea towel for about 30 min.
Work the dough again and roll out with rolling pin to make a big flat cake approximately 1/2cm (this could be easier done if you divide the dough in two first).

For the filling

Softened butter

sugar
cinnamon
(chopped nuts)

Spread softened butter to cover the whole "cake", sprinkle generously with sugar and cinnamon.
Roll up the cake and slice it across, making 46 pieces.
Or you could make them into a knot just like my mums on the picture.
Place the buns onto a greased baking tray (or use paper cake cups) and let rest again for a further 30 min.
Give them an egg wash and sprinkle with sugar or chopped nuts (or both). Bake for about 10 min in 225C.
Let cool slightly before eating.
The buns are also great for freezing.

Enjoy!