Swedish Meatballs and Gravy

By TPMay

Ingredients

• For the meatballs:
• 1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium red onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 pound ground chuck or sirloin
• 1/2 pound ground veal
• 1/2 pound ground pork
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 large egg
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• For the sauce:
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup lingonberry preserves (see below)
• 2 tablespoons pickle juice (see below)
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• For the pickled cucumbers:
• 1 English (hothouse) cucumber
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 11/2 cups water
• 1/2 cup white wine vinegar
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 allspice berries
• For the ligonberry preserves:
• 1 cup lingonberries
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 quart water

Preparation

Step 1

Prepare the meatballs: Combine the breadcrumbs and heavy cream in a small bowl, stir in with a fork until all the crumbs are moistened. Set aside.
Heat the oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté for about 5 minutes, until softened. Remove from the heat.
In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, veal, pork, onion, honey, and egg, and mix well with your hands. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the bread crumb-cream mixture and mix well. With wet hands (to keep the mixture from sticking) shape the mixture into meatballs the size of a golf ball, placing them on a plate lightly moistened with water. You should have about 24 meatballs.
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the meatballs, in batches if necessary, and cook, turning frequently, for about 7 minutes, until browned on all sides and cook through. Transfer the meatballs to a plate, and discard all but 1 tablespoon of fat from the skillet.
Prepare the sauce: Return the skillet to the heat, whisk in the stock, cream, preserves, and pickle juice, and bring to a simmer. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the meatballs to the sauce, reduce the heat to medium, and simmer for about 5 minutes, until the sauce thickens slightly and the meatballs are heated through. Top with Quick Picked Cucumbers.
For the pickled cucumbers:
Slice the cucumber as thin as possible (use a mandoline or other vegetable slicer if have one). Put the slices in a colander, toss them with the salt, and let stand for about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine the water, vinegar, sugar, bay leaf, and allspice in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and let cool.
Rinse the salt off the cucumbers, and squeeze out as much moisture as possible. Put the cucumbers in a medium bowl and add the pickling solution: they should be completely covered by the brine. Cover and refrigerate for 3 to 6 hours before serving.
For the ligonberry preserves:
Put in a pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a low flame. Simmer until syrup consistency. Cool and serve.