Stockholm Recipes

Svenska Köttbullar (Swedish Meatballs)

Smaller than the Italian version, these hearty little meatballs are traditionally served with gravy, boiled potatoes, and lingonberry jam. This recipe is from the 1959 Swedish cookbook Vår Kokbok (Our Cookbook).

Ingredients:

14 ounces ground beef
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon shredded onion or chopped, fried onion
1 teaspoon salt
1 pinch of white pepper
Allspice (optional)
1 egg

Directions:

Mix bread crumbs and milk. Let rise 30 minutes; otherwise it will taste like bread.

Knead the ground beef together with salt, and then add the bread crumb mix. Knead it again, adding onion, pepper, and, if desired, allspice.

Shape the mix into balls and place on a watered board. Melt plenty of margarine in the skillet, and then fry the meatballs to a nice shade of brown. Decrease the heat and continue frying for about five minutes. Don’t cook too many meatballs at once, thin down the mix with water, or cover the skillet.

Servings: Serves four.

Swedish Pancakes

Swedish pancakes are a thinner, lighter version of the typical U.S. flapjack. Delicious when served plain or top with strawberry jam, butter, syrup, or whipped cream.

Ingredients:

2 cups milk
1 cup white flour
3 1/2 tablespoons wholemeal flour
3 eggs
pinch of salt

Directions:

Mix flour, wholemeal flour, and salt. Add half of the milk and stir well. Add eggs and the remaining milk, and stir. Make thin pancakes on medium heat. Serve warm.

Servings: Makes eight to ten pancakes.

Gubbröra

This traditional appetizer can be served cold on hard Swedish crispbread or spread between two pieces of toast and fried in skillet. Either way, it’s preferably eaten in the archipelago on the deck of a boat or on the patio of someone’s summer cabin.

Ingredients:

1 large onion
3 hard-boiled eggs
1 small tin of anchovies
6 tablespoons dill
1 tablespoon French mustard
butter

Directions:

Fine-chop the onion and soften it in butter in frying pan. Chop eggs and anchovies and mix in separate bowl. Add chopped dill, onion, and mustard and blend well.

Servings: Serves four.