Margarita's International Recipes

Finland

Lihapyorykoita Finnish Meatballs I've been cooking for a long time, and I even took a class on sauces once, but I will admit that this recipe surprised me. These Finnish meatballs are basically cooked in a very simple gravy. Yet, the sauce would fool you into believing is more complex. It's definitely delicious. Finnish meatballs will definitely remind you of Sweedish meatballs. I haven't made those yet, so I can't tell if they're actually different. I followed this recipe to the letter. And really, don't deviate from it even if you don't trust it. My only recommendation is to chop the onion very finely. I used 15% fat ground beef and there weren't too many pan drippings. I wouldn't use beef that is any leaner. I served them with traditional mashed potatoes. Finnish Meatballs Ingredients 1 lb ground beef 1 cup plain bread crumbs 1 onion, finely chopped 1 egg 1 cup cream, divided 2 tsp. salt 1 tsp. ground allspice 4 Tbsp. butter 2 Tbsp. flour 2 cups milk Instructions Mix together the ground beef, bread crumbs, chopped onion, egg, 1/2 cup cream, salt and allspice. Form into 1" meatballs with your hand. Melt the butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add half the meatballs and brown on all sides, approximate 6 minutes total. Remove with a slotted spoon, set aside, and repeat with the other half. Remove with a slotted spoon as well. With the pan still over medium heat, sift the flour onto the beef drippngs. Whisk together and then slowly poor in the milk, whisking constantly. Whisk in the remaining half-cup of cream. Bring heat down to low, return the meatballs to the pan, turn to cover with sauce, and then simmer over low heat for about 20 minutes - turning from time to time to coat the meatballs. Adapted from G Lehtimaki's recipe at AllRecipes.com Finnish Recipes | Margarita's International Recipes | Marga's Food Blog | E-mail