Swedish Meatballs with Linguine

The nearest Ikea is about an hour's drive from our new flat and we've been there 3 times since we moved in (which was only a month ago). The first time was to get a dining table and of course we bought various other home 'essentials'. A tv stand was our main motive the second time but again we ended up buying other bits and bobs. The third time was to collect our flatmate's bedframe - not a surprise - we bought more stuff and we didn't even get the bedframe because one part was not in stock. The shopping aside, Ikea serves the best meatballs - tender and flavourful. Shopping after indulging in a plate of scrumptious meatballs served with cream sauce and lingonberry sauce...umm....what more do you expect?

Ingredients: serves 4

Meatballs:

• 250g Minced Beef
• 250g Minced Pork
• 100ml Double cream
• 100ml Milk
• 1/2 cup Onion - finely chopped
• 50g Breadcrumbs
• 2 medium size Potatoes - peeled and cut into large cubes
• 1 Egg
• 1/2 tsp Nutmeg - grated
• Salt
• Pepper

Tomato sauce for pasta:

• 1 tbs Olive oil
• 1 large Onion - diced
• 2 Carrots - diced
• 2 cups Mushrooms - sliced
• ½ bulb Garlic – crushed
• 2 cans Canned tomatoes
• 2 tbs Concentrate tomato puree
• 1 tbs Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup Red wine
• 3-4 Bay leaves
• 1 handful of fresh Parsley - chopped
• 1 handful of fresh Basil - chopped
• ~1-2 tbs Brown Sugar
• 1/2 tbs Chicken powder
• Salt
• Black pepper

Directions:

Meatballs:

• Boil potatoes, leave to cool and mashed.
• Sweat onions until soft.
• Moisten breadcrumbs with milk.
• Combine all ingredients in a mixer and beat until well combined.
• Scoop out meatballs using an ice-cream scoop.
• Fry in a pan with olive oil until golden brown.
• Transfer all the meatballs into a baking tray and place in a 180°C oven until cooked (~15-20 mins).

Tomato sauce for pasta:

• Sauté onions and carrots with olive oil until tender.
• Add in garlic and fry until fragrant.
• Mix in all other ingredients (except basil) and bring to boil.
• Reduce heat to simmer for about 20 mins.
• Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Stir in basil, remove bay leaves and serve.