Swedish Meatballs, with Cranberry Jam

This is another really good recipe the original recipe said to use half and half mince/ground (beef and pork) but I used bacon instead of the pork, I finely chopped it but in retrospect I would probably have been better off if I had whizzed it in the food processor, not until it was mush, but so that it was more of a mince/ground consistency. These turned out to be the best meatballs I have ever made. I very nearly didn’t put the cranberry jelly on it. I am glad I did though because it really makes the dish. I served it with roast potatoes, green veggies and cauliflower. It would have been perfect had I served it with mashed potato I think, with the meatballs and sauce on top.

Swedish Meatballs

For the meatballs

Handful of mixed herbs

300g bacon, finely chopped  (or whizzed)

300g minced/ground beef

1 large egg

75g dried breadcrumbs

1tsp ground allspice

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Olive oil

For the sauce

Juice of half a lemon or a dash of concentrate

300ml beef stock

1tbsp flour

60ml double cream

 cranberry jelly/jam

1. Put some of the herbs to one side and the rest into a large bowl along with all of the meatball ingredients bar the oil. Using your clean hands (because I love using my hands in squelchy stuff) mix and squeeze until it is well combined, if you feel the mixture is a little dry add a little milk. Roll the mixture into little balls and put them on a lined tray into the fridge to firm up for about 30 minutes.
2. Heat a large skillet, add the oil and cook the meatballs gently for 10-15 minutes, tossing once in a while until they are cooked through.
3. Transfer the meatballs to kitchen paper to drain. In the same pan you used to cook the meatballs, add the lemon juice, some of the stock, the flour and cream, season with salt and pepper, bring to a boil and then reduce the heat; you want a thick consistency that will stick to the meatballs. Return the meatballs to the pan and stir to coat them in the sauce add the remaining herbs. Serve with potatoes, or rice and vegetables with a dollop of cranberry jelly/jam on top.  

Perfect roasties

Roast potatoes are basic, I suppose. Lots of people make them and everybody has a different recipe/method in which to do them, I knew someone who would coat them in flour and I know of people, myself included at times, that roll them in marmite too. I’ve been searching though for the perfect roast potato recipe, one that is golden and crispy on the outside and soft and fluffy in the middle. I have often gotten close but until I tried this recipe I had never really managed the ‘perfect’ roast potato, clearly I am very fussy! This is I will admit a rather time consuming recipe and short cuts don’t work, I have tried. They are really worth the effort though, assuming you have the time.

Perfect Roasties

Enough large maris piper potatoes (about 200/230g per person)

Olive oil or goose fat if you prefer

8 cloves garlic

1tsp dried rosemary

1tsp thyme

Salt and pepper to taste

1.       Preheat the oven to 180˚C/350˚F. Peel the potatoes and cut into quarters, then let them run under cold running water for about 5 minutes, giving them a few shakes during the process, to get rid of as much of the starch as you can.

2.       Cook the potatoes until they are very soft in boiling salted water, once they have finished cooking, carefully drain them, leaving them to cool in the sieve.

3.       In a roasting tray big enough to hold all the potatoes with a little space let over, put enough oil/fat so that it is about ½cm deep and heat it in the oven for about 15 minutes, so it is really hot, then add the garlic and the potatoes carefully spoon some of the hot fat over the potatoes and then place them in the oven to roast, taking them out every 20 minutes to turn. When you have been roasting them for an hour, add the Rosemary and Thyme and bake for a further 20minutes until they are golden and crispy. Drain the potatoes on kitchen paper, season with salt and pepper and serve.