vegetarian
norwegian meatballs
in a sour cream and dill pan sauce
Vegetarian Norwegian Meatballs
in a Sour Cream and Dill Pan Sauce
I love Scandinavian cooking, probably a result of my years living in Norway, and that includes Norwegian meatballs, simmered in a dilly sour cream sauce, and served with a garnish of lingonberry preserves.
This presents two problems, both of which should be kind of obvious to regular readers of this website…
They’re not suitable for the half of my family that eats a strictly vegetarian diet.
They’re not kosher! Jewish dietary laws forbid mixing meat and dairy in the same meal.
One, very simple, way of solving the problem is to replace the meat in the dish with a plant-based substitute, such as Beyond or Impossible burger. That would work for any dish that’s ordinarily made with ground beef, and that’s a definite possibility for these meat balls (click here for that recipe) but I’m going to take it in another direction tonight.
Part of the purpose of an entrée in traditional cooking is to put a protein at the center of the plate. It’s not that hard to creatively re-invent a menu that’s been centered around an animal-based dish and make it suitable for vegetarians, but oftentimes it’s the protein in the original that gets lost—and that’s not acceptable for growing grandchildren who need their protein. For example, flattened, breaded, and fried, hearts of palm cutlets are a lovely center-of-the-plate menu item, especially if they’re well sauced. But, if this is your entrée, you’ll need to make sure that there’s a protein-based side dish if you want to serve a balanced meal.
These “meatballs” solve all of these dilemmas with grace and aplomb. The combination of walnuts, legumes, and whole grain rice are a healthy and delicious perfect and complete protein that melds nicely with the sour cream dill sauce. Traditionally, they’d be served with buttered boiled potatoes and a vegetable, but tonight I’m serving them as part of our Dinner in the Sukkah with my Seven Jeweled Yerushelami Kugel.
Whether I’m using meat or any ground beef substitute, I never add raw onion into the mix. Something about the way the onion cooks with the other ingredients does not sit well with me. I always sauté my onions first, which eliminates this issue for me and adds a deeper flavor. But, feel free to eliminate this step if you don’t want to bother.
Brown lentils are my least favorite lentil, because they turn to mush in the time you can scratch your nose. And that’s what makes them perfect here.
The No-Beef bouillon adds a beefy taste to the meatballs.
Back in the old country (which ever old country your folks hail from), bread was added to ground meat so that less meat could serve more people. And then, there was an amazing discovery…adding an egg and some soaked bread or breadcrumbs to ground meat produces fluffy, light, and delicate meatballs. Leave those out, and what you’ve got is basically a seasoned burger.
We’re not making burgers. We’re making Norwegian Meatballs.
If you have a food processor, this is a quick and easy recipe, suitable for a celebratory meal or a weeknight supper, especially if you prepare the “meat” mix in advance. The pan sauce comes together in minutes.
Adjust the seasonings to suit your taste. The amount of salt you need will depend upon the saltiness of your no-beef bullion.
Vegetarian Norwegian Meatballs in a Sour Cream and Dill Pan Sauce
For the Meatballs
Ingredients:
A glug of good olive oil
1 cup diced onion
2—3 cloves fresh peeled garlic, chopped
½ cup cooked brown rice
½ cup cooked brown lentils
2 cups walnut pieces
1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs, regular or panko
1 egg
½ teaspoon “no-beef” bullion or Better than Bullion
½—¾ teaspoon ground ginger
½—¾ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
¼—½ teaspoon ground cardamom
(1 tsp. kosher salt)
1/2 tsp. black pepper
¼—½ cup ice cold water
Neutral Oil and butter as needed for frying
Method:
Preheat the oven to 350°.
First, let’s prep all of our ingredients. Put up the lentils and the brown rice to cook according to the directions on their packaging. Spread the walnuts out on a baking sheet and toast them in the preheated oven for about 5 minutes, just until they begin to smell fragrant. Set them all to cool. (This can be done in advance.)
Warm the oil in a large skillet, then add the onion and sauté over low-medium heat until they turn golden. Then, add the garlic and stir for 30 seconds. Remove the skillet from the heat. You’ll use the skillet again later; no need to wash it.
Put the onions and garlic into the work bowl of a food processor with the walnuts, lentils, and brown rice. Add the bullion, the spices, and the salt and pepper. Go light on the spices; you can add more later if you think it’s needed.
Pulse the mixture until a chunky paste is achieved. You want it to be smooth enough to hold together in a ball, but still retain some texture.
Transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl. Add the egg and the breadcrumbs and mix it all together with a fork. The mixture will be fairly stiff.
Pour in a little of the ice water and work it in with your hands. Keep adding water, a little at a time, until the mixture feels soft and light, but is still firm enough to hold together in balls. Allow the meatball mix to rest for 15 minutes (or more—you can do this up to a day in advance and keep it covered in the fridge) so that the breadcrumbs can soak up all the liquid.
Give the bowl a good sniff. Place just a bit of the mixture on your tongue. Does it want more salt? Does it want more spice? If your answer is yes, stir in a little more.
Once your meatball mix is ready, start rolling walnut-sized balls. I like to use a 1 ½ “ cookie scoop. I set the rolled meatballs on a sheet of parchment paper, laid out over a baking pan.
Fry your meatballs. Into the same skillet you used for the onion, add a little bit of butter and neutral oil—just enough to keep your meatballs from sticking. Heat the oil and butter and start adding your meatballs to the pan. You’ll probably need to do this in batches. Don’t overcrowd the pan or it will be difficult to turn them. For each batch, you may need to add a little more fat.
Sauté the meatballs until they’re golden all around. Use a spatula or tongs, or just roll the pan around—whatever works best for you. Don’t worry about them cooking all the way through. They’ll cook further in the sauce, later.
When all the meatballs have been fried, it’s time to start the sauce.
For the Sour Cream and Dill Pan Sauce
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups no-beef broth (can use vegetable broth but the flavor won’t be as rich)
A couple of shakes each of ground ginger and ground nutmeg
¼—½ cup full-fat sour cream
1 bunch dill, chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
lingonberry preserves for serving
Method:
When the meatballs are all fried, wipe out the skillet with a paper towel. (Make sure the pan has cooled—don’t burn yourself!)
Heat the butter until it’s melted and add the flour. Cook over low-ish heat, stirring constantly, for about 2–3 minutes, until the flour turns golden. You don’t want the flour to be raw, but we’re also not doing a Cajun gumbo here. Don’t let it get too dark.
Slowly pour in the stock, stirring all the while, until it’s well incorporated and the sauce has just started to thicken. Stir in the spices and cook, still stirring, for another minute or so.
Stir in the sour cream and cook for another minute or so until all is well combined.
Taste for seasoning.Add the meatballs back into the pan and gently stir so that all the meatballs are coated with the sauce.
Add the dill.
Simmer for about five minutes, stirring occasionally. If the sauce gets too thick, stir in a little more stock or a bit of water.
Serve with lingonberry preserves on the side. If you don’t have lingonberries, whole berry cranberry sauce can take the roll.
Norwegian meatballs are most often served with small-ish boiled potatoes that have been peeled either before or after cooking and then dressed with butter and chopped parsley. Sweet and Sour Red Cabbage is also a traditional side for this dish.