Ikea style. Swedish pork meatballs, seasoned with fennel seeds and cooked in a creamy sauce.  Ultimate comfort food.

Swedish Meatballs with Fennel Seeds

Swedish meatballs, seasoned with fennel seeds and cooked in a creamy sauce.  Ultimate comfort food.

Ikea style Swedish pork meatballs, seasoned with fennel seeds and cooked in a creamy sauce.  Ultimate comfort food.

If you’ve had a hard day and you’re feeling a little bit tired and emotional, in this house you get fed.  Comforting words, a hug (several actually) and a dinner that may or may not make you feel like a little nap afterwards.

This Swedish meatballs recipe is a blanket-around-the-shoulders type of dish.  A salute to autumn with  its blazing sunsets and lightening speed darkness. 

I serve it with French fries and a dollop of homemade savoury fruit jelly with a respectful nod to that well-known Swedish furniture shop as the combination works brilliantly.  It’s also a dish that I can make in stages throughout the day and have at hand for emergency healing and kind words otherwise known as dinner.

These Swedish meatballs are also good served with mashed potatoes or rice so it’s an all rounder of a dish.  I like that in a dinner.

Ikea style Swedish pork meatballs, seasoned with fennel seeds and cooked in a creamy sauce.  Ultimate comfort food.

Ikea style. Swedish pork meatballs, seasoned with fennel seeds and cooked in a creamy sauce.  Ultimate comfort food.

Swedish Meatballs

For the meatballs:

1 small onion, finely chopped

2 slices bread, without the crusts, made into breadcrumbs in the food processor

500g pork mince

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 egg Oil for frying

For the sauce:

1 small onion

2 garlic cloves, crushed

300ml tin cider, or thereabouts

100ml double cream

2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 chicken stock cube, crumbled

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

½ teaspoon brown sugar (optional)

Salt and pepper

Fresh parsley, finely chopped

Crush the fennel seeds until broken up and add these along with remaining meatball ingredients and mix until everything is well distributed.

Take some of the mixture and shape into 5cm balls and roll around your hands until smooth.  You don’t need to make too smooth but together enough to ensure it doesn’t come apart while it’s cooking.  Place each ball on a large tray and place in the fridge for minimum 30 minutes or longer if you want to get ahead.

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large deep frying pan and turn down to medium and add the meatballs from the fridge.  Keep turning until nicely browned all over. Remove from the pan and place back on the tray you used before while you make the sauce. In the same pan, fry the onion and garlic until softened.  Add the cider and bring to a boil.  Keep at this heat for around 5 minutes so the alcohol cooks off and you remain with the cider flavour only. Turn down the heat to medium and add the cream.  mustard, stock cube and Worcestershire sauce. 

Sprinkle over the sugar (optional) and stir.  Season to taste and return the meatballs to the pan. Cook for 15 minutes so the meatballs are well cooked and serve with either fries, mashed potatoes or rice. Scatter over freshly chopped parsley.

 

Ikea style Swedish pork meatballs, seasoned with fennel seeds and cooked in a creamy sauce.  Ultimate comfort food.

Ikea style Swedish pork meatballs, seasoned with fennel seeds and cooked in a creamy sauce.  Ultimate comfort food.

Ikea style Swedish pork meatballs, seasoned with fennel seeds and cooked in a creamy sauce.  Ultimate comfort food.

9 Comments

  • Reply Margaret 3rd October 2017 at 6:13 pm

    I agree, there’s nothing like a meatball hug. I love meatballs, any kind, and this recipe looks really delicious, especially the sauce. It looks so tasty, I’ll be making it soon. Thanks for the recipe!

    • Reply Elinor Hill aka Beach Hut Cook 3rd October 2017 at 7:33 pm

      Meatball hug – love that!

  • Reply Milena | Craft Beering 3rd October 2017 at 8:14 pm

    Pork meatballs are my favorite, no other ground meat can do what ground pork can do:) and I love that you used fennel seeds. I bet the flavor these beauties deliver is quite memorable. Beautiful pictures!

    • Reply Elinor Hill aka Beach Hut Cook 3rd October 2017 at 11:15 pm

      Thanks, the fennel works so well with the rich sauce x

  • Reply Anna King 6th October 2017 at 9:55 am

    I love cooking meatballs, everyone enjoys eating them. I am going to give this lovely recipe a try. My Swedish step mum serves meatballs with boiled waxy potatoes, boiled with a huge bunch of dill. I was e first time I saw her cook them as she put so much dill in. It worked though, they are delicious that way.

  • Reply Eb Gargano | Easy Peasy Foodie 10th October 2017 at 9:32 pm

    Oooh yum! These look absolutely gorgeous…I always wondered what people were going on about regarding those meatballs from a certain Swedish furniture shop…and then I tried them…now totally addicted! So I love the thought of making them at home too – now all I need it a recipe for that lovely lingonberry jam! Eb x

  • Reply Jo Allison / Jo's Kitchen Larder 11th October 2017 at 10:11 am

    Swedish meatballs are high up there for me when it comes to ultimate comfort foods. Yours look absolutely divine. I have never tried these with fennel seeds added (it’s always been dill for me) but I bet they taste amazing. Will need to give fennel a go next time. Perfection! x

    • Reply Elinor Hill aka Beach Hut Cook 11th October 2017 at 4:26 pm

      Dill sounds delicious. I love how the herbs give the meal a fresh taste.

  • Reply What’s in my kitchen? – The Wanna Be Norwegian 10th February 2019 at 12:52 pm

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