From the first day I ate Swedish meatballs at IKEA, it was love at first bite - those juicy, nutmeg flavored meatballs covered in a slightly sweet and savory cream sauce with a side of lingonberry jam - was something I always looked forward to in between bargain shopping at IKEA.
Ever since I stated eating 30/40/30, I knew that IKEA Swedish meatballs would now be reserved for special occasions, so I needed to somehow create the flavors and still eat in my macros. So, after some extensive research, I've been able to create this recipe - and it's absolutely delicious!
Adapted from Chef John's recipe from AllRecipes.com, I replaced the pork with two kinds of ground turkey - 93/7 and 99% fat free - to still have that balance in richness and juiciness without having the meatballs dry out. Also, rather than using heavy cream, I substituted evaporated milk, which still gave the dish an overall sheen and gloss to the dish without the sauce feeling flat. And finally, I threw in Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Grain bread crumbs - not just to give this dish extra fiber, but also because I still had leftover slices of bread in my fridge that needed to be used before they went bad. :-)
There you have it - Swedish meatballs! Hopefully these will tide you over the next time you crave IKEA meatballs...:-)
(makes 8 servings)
For the meatballs:
1/2 large onion, chopped (or 6 oz. with refuse)
3 tbsp. olive oil
10.4 oz. 93/7 ground turkey (or 1/2 container)
10.4 oz. 99% fat free ground turkey (or 1/2 container)
1/2 can (or 6 oz.) evaporated milk
3 slices Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Grain, toasted
1 extra large egg
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ground allspice
1/2 tsp. pepper
3/4 tsp. salt
For the sauce:
2 tbsp. corn starch
1 1/2 cans (or 18 oz.) evaporated milk
1 cube Knorr beef bouillon
1 package Stevia
Salt & pepper to taste
1/2 package of brown rice pasta
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large pot, cook pasta until desired firmness. Drain and set aside.
3. In a large skillet under medium high heat, heat 1/2 tbsp. of olive oil and add onions. Cook onions for about 7-10 minutes, stirring constantly, until onions are caramelized. Add to a large mixing bowl.
4. Toast Ezekiel bread for 15 minutes until hard (like a dry sponge). Add to a food processor and pulse until the bread turns into fine crumbs.
5. In the mixing bowl, add ground turkey, bread crumbs, caramelized onions, evaporated milk, egg, and spices. Mix until all ingredients are well-combined.
6. Place bowl in the refrigerator for about an hour for mixture to firm up.
7. After one hour, remove mixture from refrigerator and shape into 16 meatballs (2 meatballs per serving).
8. In a large skillet under medium heat, add remaining olive oil and saute meatballs, turning over every few minutes, until all surface area has been browned.
9. Add meatballs in a baking pan and cook for 25 minutes, until meatballs have cooked through.
10. In the same skillet that was used to cook the meatballs (under low heat), add remaining evaporated milk, corn starch, beef bouillon, stevia and spices. Stir mixture constantly until mixture has thickened and can cover the back of a spoon.
11. Combine meatballs, sauce and pasta and serve.
Labels: allspice, beef bouillon, bread, corn starch, egg, evaporated milk, ground turkey, nutmeg, olive oil, onion, recipe, swedish
