IKEA-Style Meatballs and Sauce

If you like to visit a certain Swedish flatpack store once a month, or even once every six months, then it is really worth a visit to their restaurant. They do meatballs with a delicious gravy and lingoberry sauce.

Here is my version of the same thing.

It is easy to make your own meatballs. You will need:

500g lamb or beef mince (to feed a family of four - add more or less asccording to the numbers)

onion

garlic

1 beaten egg

chopped fresh or dried herbs such as parsley or thyme depending on what your family like.

For the gravy:

onion

1/4 pint beef stock (stock cubes or even gravy mix is fine)

small amount of double cream

1 tablespoon Light Soy Sauce

1 teaspoon flour to thicken

1 tablespoon water

To serve: Mashed potatoes and peas

Method

Using a food processor, blitz the mince, onion, garlic, egg and herbs until well-blended. Use the mixture to form small round balls and place on a baking tray.

Put them in the oven at 190 degrees C, Gas Mark 5-6 for about 20-30 minutes until cooked through.

Peel and cook the potatoes for 15 minutes in boiling, lightly salted water. Bring water to the boil for the frozen peas and add them when it is ready.

Soften the onion for the gravy in a frying pan in some olive oil. Add the flour and stir for a moment, coating the onion, then add the beef stock and soy sauce. Stir the sauce while it thickens. To make the sauce thicker, add more flour, to make it more runny then add a little water. Adding a little at a time will enable you to get it right for your family.

Once the sauce is bubbling, take it off the heat and stir in a little cream. It is then ready to serve.

You can choose to add herbs as well as butter and milk to your mashed potato. Often I add onion, but there is already plenty in this dish!

Serve your mash, peas and meatballs and pour the sauce over the top for a delicious supper.

Photo Credit: Photo of lamb meatballs and link to another recipe on Flickr by sweet mustache

Recipe for Quiche

Quiche is one of the easiest family meals that you can make, and you can use the shortcrust pastry that you learned how to make last time.

I use wholemeal flour for my quiche pastry - it adds a nutty flavour.

Ingredients:

wholemeal or white flour shortcrust pastry made with 4oz flour to 2 oz cooking margerine or butter (see previous recipe)

four eggs

bacon, tomatoes, onion, mushrooms or any other filling you wish to use to flavour the quiche. For this purpose I am going to use bacon and cheese.

2 oz cheddar, medium or mature adds a nice flavour

Method:

Make the pastry. Lightly wipe sunflower oil over the dish to grease it using kitchen roll then line it with the pastry.

Cut the bacon into pieces and fry it in a little oil until crispy. Add on top of the pastry.

Grate the cheese into the dish.

Beat the four eggs and tip into the dish. Make sure that they cover all corners of the quiche pastry.

Put in the oven at temperature 190 degrees C or gas mark 6 for about 20 minutes. The eggs should have risen and filled out the pastry case.

This easy recipe can be served with boiled potatoes and peas or salad for a healthy family meal.

Enjoy.