Seriously ugly looking food

Ok, now don't be put off by the look of this beef casserole. It's lack of beauty is made up for in taste, honestly!  It's a traditional Swedish dish but actually has an English name. Kalops comes from collops which is the plural word for collop or slice of meat.

My paternal Grandmother would invite our family of seven and my Aunts family of six for dinner in her beautiful flat in Gothenburg. It was a very stately affair and all five of us kids would be dressed up and well behaved, at least during dinner. I remember the smell when entering her flat and this is exactly what our house smelled like yesterday when I cooked Kalops. Ritz crackers with various cheese for starters, then kalops with perfectly cooked potatoes as main. I had to think a bit about dessert, by that time the kids had probably been excused.  We  would find our way into my father's old room to look at his toys. I remember thinking of him as a little boy lying in his bed or doing his homework at his desk. This dish is a small homage to my Grandmother, the woman who raised my beloved and deeply missed Dad. 

Kalops

Ingredients
400 g chuck steak in 2 cm pieces
1 tbsp butter

2 carrots

2 parsnips

1 onion
1 tsp salt

1 bay leaf

10 allspice berries

1 tsp white peppercorns
water to cover
extra salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

Peel and cut the carrots, parsnips and onions into large pieces. Heat the butter in a pan and brown the meat on all sides. Then remove the meat and add the carrots, parsnips and onion for a few minutes. Place the meat, carrots, parsnips and onion in a casserole, add the salt, bay leaf, allspice berries, white pepper. Add enough water to cover everything. Cover with a lid and cook for 1,5-2 hours. The meat should be very tender and almost fall to pieces when you cut it.

Remove the meat, some of vegetables and bay leaf. Whiz the remaining vegetables into a sauce and thin with water if desired. Add back the meat and vegetables, heat if necessary. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

The kids and husband ate with good appetite and it is a dead easy dish to prepare but as I said, not a looker!

Italian meatballs with tomato sauce

Yet another really simple dish. I bought these very sweet plum tomatoes at the farmers market on Sunday so I thought I would make a tomato sauce to go along with italian meatballs. As with the fish fingers these are also stocked in the freezer for baby lunches and quick dinners. This time they are italian, next time they might be the original swedish ones served with mash and lingonberries or just mixed with left-over pesto. So many variations, so many recipes to post here.

Meatballs

Ingredients (for our dinner and a good batch to freeze)
Preheat oven to 200ºC
800 g minced beef
1 1/2 dl breadcrumbs
1 onion, finely chopped or grated
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped or grated
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
2 tbsp veal stock (or beef)
1 egg
3 dl of milk
1 dl grated parmesan
zest of 1 lemon
25 g of chopped parsley

Preparation
In a large bowl mix the milk and breadcrumbs, leave to soak for 5 mins. Meanwhile, chop or slice the onion and garlic, grate the parmesan and lemon.

Add all other ingredients to the milk and breadcrumbs and mix thoroughly. Shape into balls with wet hands. Place the meatballs in a roasting tray and bake in the oven for 15 mins. In the meantime, prepare the tomato sauce.

Tomato sauce
Ingredients
5 small cloves of garlic
2 cans of chopped tomatoes (or fresh tomatoes of course)
1 tbsp of honey (add to your taste)
1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

Finely chop or grate the garlic. Heat a little bit of olive oil in a frying pan and cook the garlic just until it gets a little bit of colour, then add the tomatoes, honey and balsamic vinegar. Allow to simmer for a few minutes, season with salt and pepper.

Spoon over the meatballs and serve with pasta and a green leafy salad or steamed broccoli for the kids.

Beef Rydberg

Beef Rydberg is a Swedish dish named after a gentleman called Abraham Rydberg, who very kindly donated money to build a hotel in Stockholm called Hotel Rydberg. Here is the recipe for 2 people:

Ingredients:

300g beef fillet

1 yellow onion, finely chopped

4 medium sized potatoes

butter and oil for frying

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 egg yolk still in its shells

large leef parsly

3 tsp dijon mustard 

4 tbsp creme fraiche

1-2 tsp honey

Peel the potatoes and cut them in 1 1/2 cm cubes, rinse with cold water. Cut the beef in same size cubes. 

Heat some butter and oil in a large frying pan and cook the onions until softened but not browned. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from pan but keep warm. 

Cook the potatoes in the same pan until golden, season, remove and keep warm. 

Brown the beef on high temperature so that it gets a nice colour, season. 

Mix onions, potatoes and beef in a serving dish. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and put an egg yolk in its shell on top. 

Serve with a sauce made of the creme fraiche, mustard and honey. Serve with blanched green beans and maybe a tomato salad.