Küchenlatein

Hi,

I'm writing this in English since my German is a little bit rusty. I wonder were Ulrike Westphal picked up this recipe? I'm born and raised in Sweden and never have I encountered meat balls cooked in that way with those ingredients! We Swedes get a little touchy when our "national" dish is done in this way. :-)
So how is it supposed to be done? Well I'm borrowing a recipe from Sweden.se "The official gateway to Sweden".
Innkeeper Emeritus Carl Jan Granqvist selected the recipe and Journalist and author Lena Katarina Swanberg wrote the text.
"Köttbullar or Swedish meatballs must be prepared, above all, with love. This is why “Mom’s meatballs” are a widespread concept in Sweden, and there are many different favorite recipes. Some people feel there should be grated onion in the meatball mixture itself, while others prefer to dice the onion and fry it separately. Some people feel that their meatballs should be served with thick brown gravy, while others prefer it with a thin meat juice. As part of a smörgåsbord buffet, it is better to skip the gravy altogether.

In southern Sweden many people prefer their ground meat with a little more fat, but the further north you go, the less pork you will find in the meatball mixture. However, bread or rusk crumbs allowed to swell in milk are as important as the lingonberries on the side. They give Swedish meatballs their special soft consistency."

Ingredients
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4–6 servings

500 g (18 oz) ground (minced) beef/pork mixture
250 ml (1¼ cup) milk
75 g (¾ cup) white breadcrumbs
1 egg
1 onion
salt, white pepper
ground allspice

Preparation

Finely dice the onion and sauté gently in a little butter without browning. Soak the breadcrumbs in milk. Blend the ground meat, preferably in a food processor, with the onion, egg, milk/breadcrumb mixture and the spices to the proper consistency and taste. Add a little water if the mixture feels too firm. Check the taste by test-frying one meatball. Then shape small meatballs with the aid of two spoons and place on water-rinsed plates. Brown a generous pat of butter in a frying pan, and when it “goes quiet” place the meatballs in the pan and let them brown on all sides. Shake the frying pan often. Serve with potato purée or boiled potatoes and raw stirred lingonberries.

Well, it's not directly slow food but it's delicious and it's our Swedish Meat Balls!
Thank you for a very intyeresting blog. I have been following you for some time now and will continue with that, meat balls or not! :-)
Best regards,
Anders
from
Sweden

Die etwas "grieselige" Optik der Köttbullar (sorry an ganz Schweden für die Bezeichnung ;-) hat mir auch nicht wirklich gefallen. Aber den Zauberstab in die Sauce halten ging ja auch nicht - oder erst, nachdem man Pilze und Bällchen rausgefischt hat. Aber das macht dann soviel Arbeit, dass man die Bällchen auch vorab anbraten kann - das habe ich beim nächsten Mal auch vor.