Swedish Meatballs

I think it's fair to say that you can take anything edible, roll it into a ball and folks will get excited about it.  Maybe I think this because I'm a big fan of chocolate truffles and my husband is a huge fan of spaghetti and meatballs.  I think I could come home everyday and say, "Honey, we are going to have spaghetti and meatballs again," and he'd get excited about dinner. 

So tonight's meal in ball form was Swedish meatballs.  But, these were not the traditional as I used Chicken instead of beef or pork.  I also used rye bread for the bread crumbs which added another dimension.  What is consistent with the traditional recipe is the sauce made with sour cream and chicken broth, but I added peas for brightness and color and served it over spinach noodles.

Meatballs:

• 2 slices Rye bread (approx 2 oz)
• 1 lb skinless Chicken breast
• 1/2 t Kosher Salt
• 1/4 t freshly ground Nutmeg
• 1/4 t freshly ground Pepper
• 1 Egg White, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Cover sheet pan with foil, fit inside a cooling rack and spray liberally with cooking oil.  Set aside while you assemble the meatballs.

Tear the Rye bread slices into pieces and use your food processor to pulverize into crumbs.  Remove from food processor and set aside in a medium mixing bowl. 

Add chicken to food processor and pulse to grind.  Do not mince to a paste as that would be way gross.  Chicken is naturally sticky business, so medium grind is fine.  If you happen to have a meat grinder, totally break that out.  I'd like one, an attachment to my kitchen aid stand mixer, someday.

Combine chicken, bread crumbs, and the rest of the ingredients and mix thoroughly.  I used latex gloves because, well, you know... meat squishing between my fingers is kinda not a special feeling.  The result is tasty, but the process...  If only I could imagine it was play-doh!

Portion chicken into inch and a half balls.  I got 24 balls from this recipe.  I used a small cookie scoop to keep the balls a consistent size for even cooking.  Place onto the baking rack, into the oven for 20 minutes or until cooked through.  Don't over cook as these little balls will get tough.

The Sauce:

• 2 t Canola Oil
• 1 T All Purpose Flour
• 1 C Chicken Broth
• 8 oz Sour Cream
• 2 C Frozen Peas, thawed
• Fresh Parsley
• Salt & Pepper & Nutmeg to taste

Add oil to a large saucepan over medium heat, mine might have been too large.  Sprinkle in the flour and whisk to combine.  Allow the mixture to bubble up and add in the Chicken Broth.  Whisk thoroughly and bring to a boil.  This mixture should thicken slightly.  Add in the Sour Cream, whisking to evenly distribute.  Add in the peas as well as the meatballs and cover allowing mixture to simmer for 10 minutes or so.  Add in seasonings to taste.  Toss with the parsley.

The Pasta:

• 1/2 lb Pasta of choice
• Lots of boiling salted water

I used a spinach noodle.  You could use an egg noodle instead.  The sauce is not as heavy as an Alfredo, so I'd stick with the lighter noodles over a semolina variety.  Cook according to package instructions to al dente.  Drain, reserving some of the seasoned pasta water.

Add the noodles to the sauce.  If the mixture is too thick, thin with some of the pasta water. 

Enjoy!