Swedish “husmanskost” coming your way!

Swedish “husmanskost” or Swedish traditional house cooked food, what is that really? I can’t say that the Swedish cuisine is that rich compared to for instance the Arabic or the Greek kitchen, but there are still some dishes that are very typical Swedish and known worldwide. Does Swedish meatballs with boiled potatoes ring a bell? Yes, most people know this dish from IKEA, but in Sweden we have grown up with this dish, eaten it in school, at home and in general - just so much!

I loved the Swedish meatballs in combination with boiled potatoes, grave and lingon berry jam (weird combo? Try it and you’ll see how perfectly it matches) and today I’m giving you all of that - but vegan!

What to think about when making this dish:

“Moldable” mince - there are different kinds of vegan mince available in store but today you need to choose a mince that is “moldable”; meaning it has to be a mince that you can press together to balls and it doesn’t fall apart.

Potatoes - My personal favorite when making this dish is boiled potatoes. But not peeled though, but with the peel left on. I personally think that is the most delicious and I hated the potato in school where they had boiled potatoes without the peel. You can also serve these vegan meat balls with peeled potatoes, hasselback potatoes, potato wedges, mashed potatoes or other potato to this dish. Don’t go too overboard though, the purpose isn’t to get too disconnected from the typical Swedish dish.

Sides - pickles, lingon berry jam and/ or onion gravy are sides typically served to this dish.

Spices - as you probably know, the Swedish cuisine doesn’t usually have that many exotic spices involved. This doesn’t mean it’s tasteless though, it’s just more neutral but all the sides in combination with the main ingredients, makes it into perfection. In this post I will give you the recipe of rather neutral Swedish meatballs, but if you’d like to add spices like garlic and herbs (for instance basil or thyme) another time, go for it! This recipe is perfect to have as a basic recipe and experiment a bit with.

THIS RECIPE IS:

• Vegan

• Egg Free

• Typical Swedish

• Great everyday food

• Perfect for both families with kids and adults

Vegan Swedish Meatballs with Potato, Gravy and Lingon Berry Jam

Approx 2 servings

INGREDIENTS:

Optional amount of potatoes for approx 4 portions

Vegan Meatballs:

400 g vegan minced meat

1/2 vegetable stock + 2 tbsp water

1/2 yellow onion 

2 tbsp vegan cooking cream

1 tbsp soy 

tbsp bread crumbs

Plenty of black peppar

Gravy:

Vegan butter

2,5 dl vegan cooking cream

1 tbsp soy

1 tsp thyme

Just a little bit of rosemary

Blackpepper

Optional sides like lingon berry jam and pickles

HOW TO MAKE:

• Boil the potatoes in a skillet.

• Grate the onion. That makes the vegan meat balls a lot more moist (I learned that from my grandma).

• Stir the veggie broth with the water thoroughly

• Then combine all ingredients for the vegan meat balls in a bowl. Use your hands and work it all together thoroughly. Preferably let it set in the fridge for at least 10', or for a few hours until you want to fry them.

• Heat up a frying pan with half vegan butter and half oil. Fry your vegan meatballs. They get color quickly so preferably lower the heat a little bit so they also get cooked on the inside. Place on the side.

• Place all ingredients for the sauce in a sauce pan. Heat and let it start simmering. Taste and add for instance more pepper if needed.

• Serve the meatballs with the potatoes, sauce and lingon berry jam.