Swedish Meatballs & Egg Noodles

OK… You want to make this. You need to make this.

I saw this Rachael Ray recipe and thought I’d give it a try. It’s a pretty authentic tasting Swedish meatball recipe. It’s such a strange combination with the grape jelly & ginger cookies, but they come together perfectly. You’ll feel like you’re eating your grandma’s home cooking… or like you are at the café in Ikea? Anyway, here is the original recipe. Oh, & since there are so many ingredients, to make it easier on yourself, prep all of your ingredients before you start cooking.

Swedish Meatballs & Egg Noodles

4 tablespoons butter, divided

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 tablespoons flour

1 cup beef stock

1 cup chicken stock

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/2 pound ground beef

1/2 pound ground pork

1/2 pound ground veal

1 egg

2 slices white bread, torn, soaked briefly in about 1/4 cup milk and squeezed of excess liquid

1 teaspoon allspice

5 gingersnap cookies, ground up in the food processor

2 tablespoons currant, lingonberry or grape jelly

2 tablespoons sour cream

1 pound egg noodles

1/2 cup Italian parsley (about 2 handfuls), chopped

2 dill pickles, chopped

Place a large pot of salted water over high heat and bring it up to a boil.

Place a large pan over medium-high heat and melt 2 tablespoons butter. Add the onion to the pan and cook until the onion is tender, 5-6 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the pan, stirring to incorporate, and cook for about 1 minute. Whisk the chicken and beef stock into the pan and bring the liquid up to a bubble to thicken it slightly -- it won’t get too thick, you want a thinner gravy for this dish.

Once the liquids come up to a bubble, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, turn the heat down to low and simmer while you prepare the meatballs.

In a medium-size mixing bowl, combine the ground meats, egg, milk-soaked bread and allspice. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and mix everything up with your hands to evenly combine.

Using a spoon, small ice cream scoop or your hands, portion the meat mixture into walnut-sized balls. As you shape them, drop the meatballs into the pan of simmering gravy. Once all of them are in the pan, increase the heat to medium and simmer the meatballs in the gravy, stirring occasionally, until cooked through, about 10 minutes.

When the meatballs are cooked through, drop the egg noodles into the boiling water and cook to al dente according to package directions.

Stir the ground-up ginger snaps into the gravy with the meatballs, and cook to thicken up, about 1 minute. Stir the 2 tablespoons of the jelly and the sour cream into the gravy and keep warm over low heat until the noodles are done.

Once the noodles are finished cooking, drain them and return them to the pot they were cooked in. Add the remaining two tablespoons butter and parsley to the pot and stir to melt the butter and evenly coat the noodles.

To serve, spoon some noodles into a serving dish and top them off with a scoop of meatballs and gravy. Sprinkle a handful of chopped pickles over the top and serve with your favorite salad alongside.