Swedish Meatballs!

Ingredients

 400g lean pork mince
 1 egg, beaten
1 small onion, finely chopped or grated
85g fresh white breadcrumbs
1 tbsp finely chopped dill, plus extra to serve
1 tbsp each olive oil and butter
 2 tbsp plain flour
 400ml hot beef stock (from a cube is fine)

 Method: In a bowl, mix the mince with the egg, onion, breadcrumbs, dill and seasoning. Form into small meatballs about the size of walnuts – you should get about 20. Heat the olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan and brown the meatballs. You may have to do this in 2 batches. Remove from pan, melt the butter, then sprinkle over the flour and stir well. Cook for 2 mins, then slowly whisk in the stock. Keep whisking until it is a thick gravy, then return the meatballs to the pan and heat through. Sprinkle with dill and serve with cranberry jelly, greens and mash.

 Note: I transfered the Meatballs to a large saucepan whilst frying the next lot. I then covered them all with the gravy and cooked them for awhile as they weren't cooked all the way through after frying them. I also used turkey mince rather than pork and doubled the recipe! The double recipe fed four adults for dinner, James and Jesse for lunch and I still had a portion large enough for me or Jes to put in the freezer. It was delicious!

Dinner from the fridge and cupboards

I was going to cook the duck which I had taken from Nina's fridge when I emptied in.  However, I looked at the use by date and discovered that it had been in Nina's freezer since 2005 so I thought better of it.  However, I do have pork mince in the refrigerator and I have found this recipe from Nigel Slater that sounds interesting.  I have decided not to tell anyone about the ingredients until after they have eaten it.  Read ahead and you may understand why!

Pork meatballs with anchovies

Ingredients

• couple of good handfuls of pork mince (about 500g/17½oz)
• good handful fresh white breadcrumbs
• 1 lemon, zest only
• small handful freshly grated parmesan
• handful flatleaf parsley, roughly chopped
• handful thyme, leaves only
• 8-10 canned anchovies, drained, chopped
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• few good glugs of fruity olive oil
• enough hot chicken or vegetable stock to come halfway up the patties
• Swiss chard leaves, to serve

Preparation method

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
   
2. Mix together the pork mince and breadcrumbs in a mixing bowl with the lemon zest and parmesan. Add the herbs and the anchovies, season with a little salt then more generously with freshly ground black pepper.
   
3. Using your hands, mix together well and then form the mixture into 6-8 large patties.
   
4. Heat the oil in a large frying pan, then fry the patties until brown on both sides. Place in a shallow ovenproof dish and cover with enough stock to come halfway up the pork patties. Cook in the oven for 20 minutes. They will have crisp tops but be deliciously moist underneath.
   
5. Serve them in a shallow bowl with some steamed Swiss chard with some of the stock they were cooked in.