Baked Swedish Meatballs

Way back in my recipe archives I have a recipe for what I used to think were Swedish Meatballs. (I cringe when I see some of those recipes now, although they did taste pretty good.) Then in January I shared Phase One Dinner Ideas for South Beach Recipes of the Week, and one of them was the recipe for Oven-Baked Swedish Meatballs from Anne's Food. When I saw Anne's recipe, I realized I'd never tasted anything remotely like authentic Swedish Meatballs containing things like ginger, cardamom, and allspice. Since Anne's in Sweden, I trust her on this recipe. I decided I had to try them, and despite the fact that they weren't terribly photogenic, what a great flavor with all those lovely spices. I loved this recipe, and the fact that they're baked instead of fried was a nice bonus.

Be sure the onion is very finely minced so it can be well-distributed through the meat. I used a food processor to chop the onion, which worked well.

Because I used a mixture of low-fat pork sausage and beef, I baked the meatballs on this rack which allowed the fat to drip out. I misted it with olive oil so the meatballs wouldn't stick.

Oven-Baked Swedish Meatballs

(Makes 36 meatballs, recipe originally from Anne's Food, slightly adapted by Kalyn.)

1 lb. very lean ground beef (less than 10% fat)
1 pkg. (12 oz.) low-fat pork sausage (I used Jimmy Dean 50% less fat sausage)
1 onion, diced very small
1 T garlic puree (also called ground garlic)
1/2 tsp. Veg-Sal or 1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. white pepper
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
1/2 tsp. ground allspice
(Anne's recipe had cinnamon which I was out of)

Preheat oven to 400 F. Use food processor to finely chop onion. Put meat in mixing bowl and allow to come to room temperature, then mix in onions, garlic, salt, pepper, ginger, cardamom, and allspice. Mix with your hands until spices are well distributed and pork and beef are well combined.

Mist pan or grilling rack with olive oil. Use a tablespoon to measure out meat, forming small meatballs by rolling with your hands and placing them on the rack as you go. Bake until meatballs are slightly browned and cooked through, 20-30 minutes. (It took longer than I thought it would to get them cooked through. Maybe I made mine a little too big.) Serve hot.

South Beach Suggestions:
With low-fat ground beef and low-fat sausage, this is a good dish for all phases of the South Beach Diet. It would taste great with Many Peppers Greek Salad or Arugula and Gorgonzola Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette for phase one. For phase two or three, add something like Barley with Dried and Fresh Mushrooms.

More Blog-worthy Meatballs You Might Like
Celia Barbour's Finnish Meatballs from The Wednesday Chef
Buffalo Porcini Meatballs from Stephen Cooks
Pomegranate Meatballs from Toast
Dagmar's Spicy Meatballs from Nami-Nami
Sweet and Sour Okara Meatballs from Just Hungry
Swedish Meatballs from Seriously Good
Aubergine Meatballs from Lucullian Delights
How to Make Mini Meatballs from Coconut and Lime

Reminders:
The host for Weekend Herb Blogging this week will be Kate from Thyme for Cooking. Send your entries to kate DOT zeller AT wanadoo DOT fr. Here are the Rules for Weekend Herb Blogging if you might like to join in.

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Food Recipes Cooking South Beach Diet Recipes
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