Swedish Meatballs with Sourdough Noodles
When I first started writing our blog, I was deeply into learning more about my family tree and my ancestral heritage. It all started during my first pregnancy. I wanted to learn more about where I came from so that I could pass along that information to my son one day. Now I have almost three children, which still baffles me! I decided to try taking an Ancestry DNA test about seven years ago, and since then my DNA story has become more diverse and pinpointed over time as they learn more about figuring out where our ancestors were located. I can remember being so excited to learn that I was Scottish, spouting my love of the Outlander books to the world and claiming the clans Morton, Fleming, and O’Grady to our family tree. Now that my DNA story has become more distinguished, I was fascinated to learn that one of largest estimates was Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and the Baltics claiming 32% with Scotland dropping down to 2% and my English ancestry bumping up to 18%.
Each time I begin looking into my family’s ethnical journey, I want to learn more about the culture that make up the people of those regions. I decided this year to tackle some of the traditional recipes from those handful of regions and share them here on the blog. I thought it might be a fun way to not only educate myself but also to share something fun and different. As always, I love to make recipes that feel as if they stepped out of a 19th century grandma’s kitchen so that will still be incorporated.
This month I am focusing on Swedish recipes! I am fully aware that what I come up with is not strictly traditional, especially considering I was born and raised in the United States and was not cooked any traditional foods growing up. These are simply inspired by what I have been researching and experimenting with myself in the kitchen. I hope that you enjoy them!
ingredients & recipe:
SOURDOUGH NOODLES:
1/2 cup sourdough starter discard
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
1 tbsp olive oil
1-2 tsp water (optional)
FOR THE MEATBALLS:
1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground pork
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1 large egg
2 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
CREAMY MUSTARD SAUCE:
1/4 cup salted butter
6 tbsp all-purpose flour
2 cups chicken broth
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
DIRECTIONS:
Make the noodles. In the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine all of the ingredients for the noodles. Knead on high until a soft and stiff dough comes together, about 8-10 minutes. Wrap in plastic and let rest on the countertop for about 1 hour.
Divide the noodle dough into 4 sections. In a pasta machine or attachment, begin to roll out the noodles. I like to do this one layer at time, but you can also roll them out ahead of time. I use a kitchenaid pasta attachment and prefer my noodles rolled out to size 5 - if you are using something different, they should be thin enough to just see your hand through the dough. Cut into any size noodle width that you like. Boil the noodles until al dente, about 7-8 minutes. Cover and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients for the meatballs until well mixed together. Shape into about 24 meatballs, each about 2 tbsp large. Space evenly on the baking sheet and bake for about 20-25 minutes or until cooked through. Set aside.
Make the sauce. In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Whisk in the flour until a thick roux forms, or the flour and butter become a thick paste that turns lightly brown and smells nutty. Slowly pour in the broth, bring to a boil, and whisk until the mixture thickens. Add the mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and heavy cream. Lower the heat and simmer until the sauce thickens, about 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and season with the fresh parsley and salt and pepper to taste.
Serve by plating the noodles and meatballs together and covering in a light layer of sauce. Top with fresh parsley.
These meatballs are so good! My secret ingredient for super juicy and tender meatballs is always mayonnaise. It helps so much! I love that Swedish meatballs are different from other versions due to their use of spices such as allspice and cloves as well as the pairing of beef and pork. I have always made meatballs with beef and pork, so I did not realize this was a customary mixture for a Swedish meatball! Kind of fun.
Along with our blog, I am also sharing Swedish inspired recipes and video tutorials to our Patreone you can watch 2 narrated video tutorials on cooking, gardening, DIY, etc, receive a copy of our mini e-cookbook, get monthly mood boards, homestead updates and more for only $3 per month. It’s been a super fun little community! Click here to check out our Patreon.
xoxo Kayla
