Seriously.

Somebody please remind my kids that someday they will be longing for food like mom used to make.

söndag 8 juli 2012

Brown sauce with goat cheese and lingonberries


Meatballs with brown sauce and potatoes is a surefire winner at my house. The toddler eats potatoes like there is no tomorrow, and the big girl will eat meatballs until they are gone. So today, I went with a variation on that theme. Pannbiffar are basically glorified Swedish meatballs, albeit on a larger scale. They are also popular in Norway, called Kjøttkaker. As an exhausted parent of small children, I went with meat patties from the freezer section, but if you are feeling ambitious, homemade ones are probably the way to go.

My parents were recently here for a visit, after a trip to Norway visiting relatives. They somehow amassed large amounts of Norwegian brown cheese, which they left in my refrigerator, not being able or willing to risk smuggling it into the US. That leaves me with another quandary. What do I do with all this cheese? I recalled the meat patties and brown sauce I was once served while in Norway, the sauce being flavored with brown cheese. And so a meal was born. Here is the offending cheese, of which three packages are taking up space in my refrigerator:

Picture taken by my mom upon opening it. This particular brown cheese is from the region of Heidal, although any brown Norwegian cheese will do. 
Not being able to find an actual recipe for the authentic Norwegian version, I made my own up as a permutation of your regular old Swedish brown sauce.

Brown cheese should be sliced with a Scandinavian cheese slicer, since it is quite hard and compact.

Shallots


Browning the roux.

I love freshly cracked pepper.

I served it with an easy salad of cucumber slices, tiny heritage tomatoes, and dressed with a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

A good thing I took a picture. It was the kind of meal where if you blinked, you would have missed it.

Brown sauce with goat cheese and lingonberries

2 minced shallots
4 T butter
4 T flour
1 beef bouillion cube
3 1/4 c. water
1/4 tsp. black peppercorns, coarsely ground
2 tsp. tomato paste
1 T. soy sauce
salt to taste
3 T. cream
8 slices of Norwegian brown cheese
1 T. lingonberry preserves

In a medium sauce pan, heat butter on medium heat. Let it turn a little golden brown, then add shallots and sauté for 1 minute. Add flour and stir, creating a roux. Let it deepen in color a bit, then add water and bouillion (or beef broth instead). Season with pepper and salt, add tomato paste and soy sauce. Gently boil for about 5 minutes, until it thickens a bit. Then add cream, cheese and lingonberry preserves, stirring until the cheese is fully melted. Serve with boiled potatoes, lingonberry preserves and meat patties or meatballs. Serves 6.

Swedish meat patties

From Leif Mannerström's recipe, which looks like it would be good, even though I am lazy and buy frozen ones since I can. 

600 g (1 1/4 lbs.) ground beef and pork, combined
2 medium yellow onions
Butter to brown them 
3 boiled potatoes
scant 1/3 c milk
1/3 c. cream
1 egg
1/2 c. dry bread crumbs
1/3 c beef broth
1 T soy sauce
salt
pepper

Peel onions. Shred one and chop the other. Brown them in butter. Mash the potatoes with a fork. Mix cream, milk, egg, browned onion, potato, breadcrumbs, and broth in a large bowl. Let rest a while. Add drippings and soy. Add salt and pepper to taste, then stir in ground meat. Form patties (four large or more smaller) and brown them slowly in butter, 4-5 minutes per side. 

We were all members of the clean plate club tonight, although the toddler was just an honorary member since she napped through dinner. She would have eaten a ton if she had been in attendance.

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