When I was a small kid, I used to sit by our oversized kitchen table and help my mother making meatballs. I got to stir the breadcrumbs into the tomato paste, mustard and liquid, and remember being amazed of how she put it away all runny, then five minutes later it had thickened up! Kitchen wonders. My mother always fried up one test meatball first, to make sure the seasoning was just right, and I can still remember the excitement I felt when she took it out of the pan, put it on the cutting board and cut it in two pieces, one for me, and one for her. Getting half the meatball made me feel important, that my opinion on the seasoning was required to make them taste good, and I always tried to give my best advice. A little bit more salt perhaps, or some pepper. I have no idea how much she actually considered my advice, but this whole process is a fond memory of mine.
Never being very happy with bean balls, I knew this year had to be different. Meatballs is a staple on the Swedish Christmas buffet, and now I finally have an awesome vegan version to indulge. The texture is firm yet soft, and has a to me striking resemblance with my childhood memories. This would be wonderful any time of the year, perhaps with some adjustment of the seasoning to suit the occasion. For the holidays, a gentle taste of fried onions goes great with mustard, allspice, cloves and a hint of tomato. I recommend serving these either with boiled potatoes, gravy and lingonberry jam, or with some beet root salad on bread.
Vegan Swedish Christmassy Meatballs
How to:
- Fry the onion in little bit of oil until soft and lightly browned. Purée it with an immersion blender.
- Mix the onion with everything else except the seitan and let sit for about 5 minutes, to thicken up.
- Using a food processor, ground up the seitan until in very small pieces.
- Mix the seitan with the breadcrumb mixture. It will be gooey but not to wet. If it is, add a bit more breadcrumbs.
- Optional: let it sit in the fridge for about one hour, for less mess when handling.
- Use your hands to form small balls and fry in a medium-hot pan until browned on all sides and firmed up.
Never being very happy with bean balls, I knew this year had to be different. Meatballs is a staple on the Swedish Christmas buffet, and now I finally have an awesome vegan version to indulge. The texture is firm yet soft, and has a to me striking resemblance with my childhood memories. This would be wonderful any time of the year, perhaps with some adjustment of the seasoning to suit the occasion. For the holidays, a gentle taste of fried onions goes great with mustard, allspice, cloves and a hint of tomato. I recommend serving these either with boiled potatoes, gravy and lingonberry jam, or with some beet root salad on bread.
Vegan Swedish Christmassy Meatballs
How to:
- Fry the onion in little bit of oil until soft and lightly browned. Purée it with an immersion blender.
- Mix the onion with everything else except the seitan and let sit for about 5 minutes, to thicken up.
- Using a food processor, ground up the seitan until in very small pieces.
- Mix the seitan with the breadcrumb mixture. It will be gooey but not to wet. If it is, add a bit more breadcrumbs.
- Optional: let it sit in the fridge for about one hour, for less mess when handling.
- Use your hands to form small balls and fry in a medium-hot pan until browned on all sides and firmed up.
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