Vegan Dream Dinner

MATTHEW0 COMMENTSFROM THE LUNCH BOX, RECIPES

MAR12

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Swedish Bean Balls with Spätzle

When it came to writing this new blog post, I was struck by how unappealingthe idea of recommending you cook “Swedish Bean Balls” sounded. Is that an entrée? Is it a game of hacky-sack? I was a little stumped myself about how to make this read as appealing as the resulting meal is.

Back in, what–like 1991?–I was leafing through the Sunday paper. You know, back when people used to get newspapers delivered to your door on Sunday mornings(!) And in it was a vegan’s dream dinner. Its comprised of cooked beans mashed into a traditional meatball with fresh and dried herbs and burbled in a traditional brown and yeasty gravy.

So today is a blast from the past: I give you the Washington Posts’ recipe for:

Swedish Bean Balls
(Serves 4)
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time:20 minutes (10 minutes for the meatballs; 10 minutes for the gravy)

Vegan Lunch Fully Realized

Ingredients
1 1/2 c cooked beans
1 c medium onion, finely chopped
1 bay leaf
2 T olive oil
1 t lemon zest
2 t lemon juice
1 slice whole wheat bread, soaked in milk
1 egg, beaten
1/4 t thyme
3/4 t salt
1/4 c dry whole wheat bread crumbs
dash of nutmeg
dash of cardamom

For the gravy
1/3 c whole-wheat flour
1/4 t ground black pepper
2 c milk (use the leftover milk from the bread you soaked earlier)
1 cwater

Baking Away

Instructions

1. Set oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Mash the beans, set aside.
3. Sauté onion and bay leaf in oil until golden.
4. Remove about 1/4 c of the oinion with a slotted spoon and add it to the beans along with the zest.  Slowly drizzle in the lemon juice as needed for consistency. The lemon juice can give this dish a lot of zip, so be careful. You can add, but you cannot take away.
5. Squeeze all of the milk out of the bread (save that milk for the gravy) work the bread into the beans along with the thyme, spices and 1/4 t salt. As you work the mixture, drizzle in egg as needed, so you get a nice consistency.  This may get very sticky, so work slowly with the liquid-y elements.
6. Chill the mixture (I have chilled this overnight, and it bakes up nicely the next day).
7. Shape the balls when cold into 1″ or 1 1/2″ balls
8. Grease or oil a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees.
9. Make the gravy: stir flour into remaining onions and cook, stirring, until the flour starts to brown. Add remaining salt and pepper, milk and water. Cook over medium-high flame until it begins to thicken. reduce to a simmer for about 8 minutes. Combine cooked bean balls into the finished gravy.

Spaetzel Boiling Away

Cooking Tips

1. The Bean Balls: Let me begin by saying that this meal benefits by using fresh, finely chopped parsley and chives in the bean balls.  I would recommend adding about 2 T each.  I always let them sit in the fridge for at least an hour before baking.  Shaping the bean balls can be tricky if you use too much egg and lemon juice, so drip in a mixture of the lemon and the egg separately as you go, rather than all at once in the bean “batter.”
2. The Gravy: I have suffered through this gravy and never found it satisfying. I instead use 1 medium onion finely diced and fried in 1 T butter/1 T olive oil, then several tablespoon (3-4 T) of Williams-Sonoma Demi-Glace. It’s what really gives the sauce body.  Ground pepper as you go, so you get a little bite, and a splash of red or white wine (3-4 T). Add in enough flour dissolved in water to thicken the 2 c milk.  I do not make 3 full cups of milk. And the way they have written the gravy recipe, it seems like it’s little more than coagulated watered down milk. Another choice is to find Lawry’s brown sauce in a packet. It’s nice and yeasty and if you add a little wine and 1/2 medium onion finely diced and fried ahead of time, it’s got a nice flair that you would otherwise not get by just using the packet.
3. Serve with spätzle or some other terrific noodle, like buttered noodles.

Delish!