Swedish Turkey Meatballs

Text by Bonnie S. Benwick, The Washington Post  (c) 2018, The Washington Post

Here's a simple comfort food recipe that will put dinner on the table and kitchen skills in your back pocket.

Let's start with the meatballs, made traditionally tender with a moistened bread-crumb mixture called a panade. Because we're using pita from the Dinner in Minutes Pantry, it can go right into the pan with sauteed onion and a little broth. The meat for Ikea-type Swedish meatballs is a blend of ground pork and beef; dark-meat ground turkey stands in here instead, and we think that it makes this version even more tender.

Swedish Turkey Meatballs

Ingredients

12 ounces frozen ground turkey, preferably dark meat

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

1 small onion

1/2 whole-wheat pita (6-inch)

1-1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons chicken broth, preferably no-salt-added

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic (aka garlic powder)

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 large egg yolk

2 tablespoons flour

2 teaspoons fish sauce

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1/2 cup sour cream

Handful fresh parsley leaves, for garnish

Steps

Place the ground turkey on a paper towel-lined plate (discard its packaging); microwave on DEFROST, as needed, until the block is no longer solid.

Meanwhile, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cut the onion into small dice and transfer to the skillet; cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until it becomes translucent.

Tear the pita into very small pieces, adding them to the skillet as you work. Add the 2 tablespoons of broth and stir; cook for a minute or two, until the pieces have softened. Transfer the onion-pita mixture to a mixing bowl.

Add the defrosted ground turkey, allspice, garlic powder, salt, pepper and the egg yolk; use your clean hands to gently incorporate. Grease your palms with cooking-oil spray, then use your hands to shape the mixture into about 15 meatballs that are 1-1/4 inches in diameter.

Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in the same skillet, over medium heat. Add half the meatballs and cook for about 8 minutes, turning them as needed so they brown evenly. Transfer them to a plate. Add the remaining meatballs; cook and transfer to the same plate.

Add the remaining tablespoon of butter to the skillet; as soon as it melts, stir in the flour to form a paste (roux). Pour in the 1-1/2 cups of broth, the fish sauce and mustard, stirring constantly, to form a sauce.

Increase the heat to medium-high, so the sauce thickens a bit. Remove from the heat and stir in the sour cream until well blended. Taste, and add more salt and/or pepper, as needed.

Return all the meatballs to the pan and place over medium-low heat; cover and cook so they have warmed and are cooked through.

Coarsely chop the parsley leaves. Scatter them over each portion of meatballs and sauce.

Serve hot.

Feature Image: Tom McCorkle; Food styling: Lisa Cherkasky