Name: Swedish Meatballs in Cream Sauce
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 400 g ground beef; 1.5 tsp salt; 0.75 tsp pepper; 2 tbsp ice cold water; 2 tbsp margarine; 3 dl heavy cream; 1 tbsp coarse-grain mustard; 1 tbsp honey; 4 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, chopped; 1 pcs lemon zest; 10 pcs almond potato; 2 dl milk; 100 g butter; 200 g frozen pea

UntrainedChef

Tips from the kitchen

The ice cold water in the meatball mix keeps them tender, so don't skip it and don't let it warm up before you blend it in. Work the mince just until it holds together.
Fry the meatballs hot first to get color on them, then drop the heat to medium. If you keep it screaming hot the whole time they'll brown outside before the middle is cooked.
When you pour the cream into the same pan, scrape up all the browned bits from frying. That's where the flavor lives, and it stirs straight into the sauce.
Don't boil the potatoes too hard. Medium heat for around 15 minutes, and you want them just starting to fall apart when you poke them. Letting them steam dry in the pot before mashing keeps the mash from going gluey.
Add the parsley and lemon zest right before serving, not in the simmering sauce. The zest goes flat if it cooks.

Ways to vary it

If you like a little more bite, a teaspoon of Dijon alongside the coarse-grain mustard sharpens the sauce.
A spoonful of lingonberry jam on the side is the traditional Swedish move and works nicely against the creamy sauce.
You can swap the buttered peas for buttered green beans if that's what's in the freezer.

Storage & leftovers

The meatballs and sauce keep 3 days in the fridge in a sealed container. Reheat them gently in a pan over low heat with a splash of cream or milk, since the sauce thickens as it sits. The mash freezes fine, but I'd eat the sauce within those few days rather than freeze it, as cream sauces can split when thawed.