This recipe is my version of the meatball-egg noodle dish, adapted from recipes from the Fannie Farmer cookbook, The Dirty Dish Club and Food.com. After some initial skepticism, Madeline approved. This one might become a cold-weather staple.

Swedish Meatballs (or, Meatballs with Egg Noodles in a Sour Cream Sauce)

Ingredients:

• 12 oz wide egg noodles
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter, divided into 1 tbsp each for the meatballs, sauce and noodles, plus more as needed for the sauce
• 2 tsp chopped fresh parsley, divided into 1 tsp for the meatballs and 1 tsp for the noodles, plus more for optional garnish
• Meatballs:
  • about 1.25 lb ground beef, pork and veal (sold at our grocery store as “meatloaf mix”)
  • 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
  • 1 egg
  • 1/3 cup minced onion
  • 1/4 cup finely shredded carrot
  • 2 cloves minced garlic
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp sugar
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 1/4 cup flour for dredging
  • 2 tbsp olive oil for frying
• Sauce:
  • 1/2 large onion, minced
  • 1/3 cup flour
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1/2 tsp onion powder
  • 1/2 tsp sugar
  • 1/4 tsp ground ginger
  • 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 1/8 tsp ground cloves
  • 2.5-3 cups beef or vegetable broth
  • 1 cup sour cream

Directions:

1. Meatballs (start the mix several hours ahead or the day before): 
   1. In a large bowl, combine the ground meat, breadcrumbs, egg, onion, carrot, garlic, sugar, salt, pepper, and 1 tsp parsley. Mix well. Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
   2. Form 1-inch meatballs, dredge them in flour to coat all over, and set aside. I spray my hands with a bit of cooking spray to prevent them from getting too sticky.
   3. In a large pan, melt 1 tbsp butter with the olive oil over medium heat. Lightly brown the meatballs on all sides and remove them from the pan with a slotted spoon, leaving the fat in the pan. The meatballs do not need to be cooked through at this point. Unless your pan is very large, this step will probably require working in batches.
2. Sauce:
   1. With the pan on medium-low heat, add the minced onion to the pan and caramelize the onions, about 20 minutes. You can start the noodles while you are waiting.
   2. Combine the flour, paprika, onion powder, sugar, ginger, nutmeg, pepper, and cloves in a small bowl and set aside.
   3. Add 1 tbsp butter to the pain and stir to melt.
   4. Add the flour mixture to the melted fat and onions and stir quickly to form a roux. If the fat seems too scant for the amount of dry ingredients, add more butter. Continue stirring the roux for 2 minutes.
   5. Add the broth, stir well, and bring to a bubble.
   6. Add the meatballs, cover the pan, and reduce the heat, allowing the meatballs to cook through.
   7. Once the meatballs are cooked, turn the heat very low so that the sauce is not bubbling. (High temperature might cause the sour cream to curdle.) Stir in the sour cream and turn off the heat. Continue stirring to mix well.
3. Noodles: Prepare the egg noodles according to their directions. Drain most of the water and return the noodles to their pot. Toss with 1 tbsp butter and 1 tsp parsley.
4. Assembly: Place noodles on serving dish. Spoon sauce and meatballs over the noodles. Garnish with a bit of chopped fresh parsley.