Slow Cooker Swedish Style Meatballs

These are handy little fellas for a weekday arsenal. I make the double batch as listed below and freeze half. Then I can defrost the leftovers and reheat gently in the pan. A handy way to prep them is to make up the meatballs the day before, then hop them off the pan (two minutes literally) in the morning and leave them on all day. The recipe makes about 35 or so meatballs, large walnut sized, serving four. The original recipe is in BBC Good Food magazine, but I have adapted it a little here, in terms of quantity and the addition of dill plus the slow cooker option.

1 small onion chopped

150g breadcrumbs

400g lean pork mince

400g turkey mince

nutmeg, grated

1 tblsp of chopped flatleaf parsley

1 tblsp of chopped fresh dill

2 tblsp plain flour plus extra to dust the meatballs

2 tblsp butter

500ml beef stock (I used a knorr stock pot)

4 tblsp cream

oil for frying the meatballs

Begin by blitzing the pork, turkey, onion, breadcrumbs, herbs, nutmeg and salt and pepper in a food processor. Pulse until combined but not a paste! Roll into small meatballs (I like to do this on a large piece of parchment paper on my counter to minimise the raw meat spatter everywhere)

Dust with flour (if you are prepping in advance, leave the flour until just before you are browning them in the pan so they don’t get that weird pasty coating in the fridge)

Heat the oil and brown the meatballs in two batches, it will take only a few seconds in a hot pan – this is mostly all aesthetic plus it locks in a little flavour, otherwise they will look as grey as a Monday afternoon in February and entirely unappetising to eat. The first ones will be coloured up nicely by the time you make your way around the pan. Transfer them directly to your slow cooker pot.

Now melt the butter in the pan, adding the flour when it starts to foam, letting it cook for a minute or two.

Slowly add the stock, whisking all the time.

Let it bubble for a few minutes until it thickens, then add in the cream and stir.

Pour over the meatballs and set to low for six hours.

Serve with mash or pasta or rice is lovely too.

 

Smoky Baked Meatballs with Chickpeas

This all started with a jar of (diced) chipotle peppers and another wave of excitement as I discovered that they were available in one of my local supermarket aisles and not just by mail order (I know I know) They are smoky, spicy and make the most delectable dishes, mayos, braised and slow cooked dishes. I just love them. A little goes a long way though! I also used a tin of cherry tomatoes I got in Lidl from the Italiamo range, which were lovely so do try and use them, but tinned tomatoes would work too. This dish serves 4 generously with a salad and maybe some crusty bread. On the night in question, I had some leftover potatoes. I chopped them up and fried them until crispy and served them with some mayo mixed with a squeeze of lemon and chopped fresh herbs (dill, basil and coriander – just what I had in the fridge). Yum 🙂

Meatballs:

400g lean mince beef

1 shallot, minced/finely chopped

1 large clove garlic

3-4 tblsp olive oil

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 egg, beaten

75g breadcrumbs

Sauce:

1 tin cherry tomatoes in juice (or tinned chopped tomatoes)

1 red onion chopped

1 clove garlic, chopped

2 tblsp tomato puree

1 tblsp brown sugar

1 tsp chipotle paste

1 tblsp balsamic vinegar

250ml beef stock

1 tin chickpeas, drained

100g grated cheddar

Preheat the oven to 180C. Heat 1 tblsp oil in a wide frying pan and gently fry the shallot and garlic for five minutes, until soft, not coloured. Stir in the paprika. Fry gently for one more minute and remove to a large bowl, leaving to cool for a few minutes. Add in the breadcrumbs, egg and mince and mix well. Roll into walnut size balls – I got 23-24. Heat 1 tblsp oil in the pan and fry the meatballs (in batches if necessary) – until nicely browned – it’s not necessary to cook all the way through and set aside in a large ovenproof casserole.

Wipe out the pan and heat another spoon of the oil. Fry the red onion and garlic gently for a couple of minutes, then add in the tin tomatoes, vinegar, chipotle, puree, sugar, beef stock and chickpeas, bring to a simmer and let bubble for 6-7 minutes or until slightly reduced and looking a little glossy. Gently decant into the casserole dish over the meatballs and sprinkle the cheddar over the top. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until golden and bubbly.