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A white bowl filled with seven Finnish meatballs, sauce, and topped with lingonberry jam.
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4.80 / 5 votes

Finnish Meatballs

This is so Finnish and probably one of the dishes that really remains in my mind from my childhood.
Prep Time35 minutes
Cook Time45 minutes
Total Time1 hour 20 minutes
Course: Mains
Cuisine: Finnish
Servings: 4 to 6 servings
Calories: 1043

Ingredients

  • 3 slices white bread, crusts removed
  • 2/3 cup milk
  • 2 1/4 pounds ground pork and beef
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 red onion, finely chopped
  • 2 teaspoons ground allspice
  • 4 1/2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • Lingonberry or cranberry jam (homemade or store-bought), for serving

Instructions

  • Soak the bread in the milk in a large bowl for about 30 minutes or until it has absorbed all the milk and is very soft. Add the ground pork and beef, egg, onion, and allspice and season with salt and pepper. Knead together well with your hands, then form into small balls about the size of walnuts, rolling them between your palms so that they are compact and won't fall apart when cooking.
  • Heat 2 1/2 tablespoons butter with the olive oil in a nonstick skillet. Fry the meatballs in batches, turning them once during cooking. (You will have to work quite quickly and take care not to burn the butter and oil. If necessary, wipe out the skillet between batches and start again with a little less butter and oil.) Transfer the cooked meatballs to a heavy-based saucepan with any onion that is on the bottom of the skillet and continue with the next batch.
  • Sprinkle the flour into the skillet and mix with a wooden spoon until it is smooth. Add the remaining butter and let it melt. Continue cooking, stirring almost continuously, until it is a golden color. Remove the pan from the heat and very slowly pour in 2 cups hot water, standing back a bit. Mix in quickly, then return the pan to the heat. Stir in the sour cream and mix well, then carefully pour over the meatballs. Season lightly with salt and pepper and cook, covered, over very low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, until you have a thick creamy sauce with soft meatballs to serve with berry jam and boiled potatoes.

Nutrition

Serving: 1portion | Calories: 1043kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 51g | Fat: 84g | Saturated Fat: 35g | Monounsaturated Fat: 34g | Trans Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 297mg | Sodium: 315mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 6g