The authenticity of Finnish and Swedish meatballs

One of my New Year's resolutions is to cook something new from an actual recipe once a week. I didn't start well - nothing new in the first week so I am trying for two this week (counting Sunday when my son comes to dinner).

I have far too many carrots in my fridge - I bought some, my husband bought more and my daughter-in-law gave me her leftovers too. So I thought I would search for something new to do with carrots and came across a recipe for Finnish meatballs in Bert Greene's Greene on Greens. It turned out to look something like the picture above, and it was pretty nice if not overwhelmingly so. A delicate taste, heightened by the dill and maybe the sour cream - there was a slight tang to them. I'll give the recipe at the end should you want to try.

So today I thought I would search the net and find out what made a Swedish (or Finnish), come to that, meatball different from others and, as usual, I have ended up more confused than anything. Usually Bert Greene talks about the origins of his recipes, but for this one he offers nothing - just the name and what the carrots contribute to it:

"Despite (or because of) the carrot's evanescent flavour,its presence may be hard to pinpoint in a dish. For instance in this Scandinavian dish, obviously a first cousin to the Swedish meatball but lighter and more aureate."

So not many clues there as to the origin. Interestingly Beverley Sutherland Smith also has a recipe for meatballs which contain carrot and which she seems to think of as Swedish - well Scandinavian at least.

"In Scandinavian countries grated carrot or cooked beetroot is sometimes added to meatballs. ... Traditionally these are cooked and served in a sauce with some stock and sour cream but they are just as nice served plain."

Her recipe is, in many ways, similar to Bert Greene's, so maybe she knew of it. Anyway when I did my internet surfing I can't say I came up with anything definitive about what makes a meatball, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian or Finnish although there were a few pointers. But none of them with carrots or beetroot.

Lots of argument about what meat - even one - a special Finnish Christmas version (shown above) that included elk mince (substitute venison). These were dry - no sauce - designed to be finger food. So what makes a Scandinavian meatball Scandinavian? When I think about it the main things are breadcrumbs soaked in cream (well maybe buttermilk, maybe stock and maybe not soaked but the liquid added to the mix!), allspice (all four countries argue about who has the allspice and who doesn't - my recipe didn't), nutmeg - ditto and a sauce made with cream and stock. The cream could be sour cream though or a mix of cream and sour cream. Herbs did not feature much - occasionally parsley, occasionally dill. As for the meat - beef, pork, veal or a mix of all three or just two - there really did not seem to be a consensus. But absolutely nowhere was there any mention of carrots - or beetroot for that matter, unless as an accompaniment.

So what I think Bert Greene and Beverley Sutherland Smith - great cooks both of them - have done, is synthesise everything they know about Scandinavian meatballs and Scandinavian food in general come to that, and come up with something that has a Scandinavian aura about it whilst not being particularly authentic. And all power to them. Neither of them used allspice by the way, but both had a touch of nutmeg and Bert Greene also had a tiny, tiny bit of cardamom. And both of them had some fresh herbs - parsley for Beverley, dill for Bert.

So how did it go? Well pretty well with a couple of interesting variations on how I usually make meatballs (so called Italian ones). I was told not to soak the breadcrumbs and to whizz the onions with some stock which was then added to the mix. My mix therefore ended up pretty sloppy - but then I did have slightly less meat than in the recipe. Maybe I should have squeezed the grated carrots of some of their liquid. Nevertheless I was able to shape them into meatballs and they did more or less keep their shape through it all - and they were pretty light as a bonus. Bert Greene's sauce was pure cream - a mix of cream and sour cream with a fair bit of dill added just before serving. In my usual way I was a bit careless reading the recipe and added the dill with the cream, though I tried to compensate by adding a bit more at the end. I also added some white wine in a bid to decrease the cream. But I have to say the sauce was perhaps the best thing about it.

And a final word about IKEA. This is how come we know about Swedish meatballs. They are hugely popular - a bit like a cult movie that is so bad that people go to watch it over and over again. IKEA make 1 billion meatballs every year for their stores worldwide - and to my eyes they look pretty revolting, although maybe that's the big dollop of mash on the side - see below. They serve it with lingonberry sauce - which I saw several other afficionados suggest as a good idea (or cranberry). Maybe if you are doing the cocktail variety on a toothpick. The gravy looks awful.

Meatballs are a comfort food sort of thing and pretty much all of the world has a version. One legend of its Scandinavian origins has the Danish king going to Turkey where he encountered them and was so impressed he brought the recipe back - hence the allspice perhaps.

My husband quite liked them but prefers the pseudo Italian version we have with spaghetti. They have a much more decided taste. Delicate is always in danger of being bland is it not?

FINNISH MEATBALLS

750g ground veal (I used a pork and veal mix)

2 medium carrots, peeled, finely grated

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1 cardamom seed, crushed

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 medium onion, quartered

1/2 cup chicken broth

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, approximately

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 1/2 cups heavy or whipping cream

1/2 cup sour cream

1/3 cup chopped dill

Combine all the ingredients through the pepper in a large bowl.

Place the onion with the chicken broth in the container of a food processor or blender. Process until smooth. Add this to the meat mixture, blend throughly, and form into small meatballs.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the butter with the oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Sauté the meatballs, about ten at a time, or until golden on all sides. Transfer to a medium saucepan and keep warm. Add more butter as needed to sauté the remaining meatballs.

Place the saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the heavy cream and the sour cream to the meatballs. Simmer gently, uncovered 20 minutes. Stir in the dill just before serving. Serve with rice, buttered noodles, or boiled potatoes. Serves 4-6