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Frikadeller
-- Danish Meatballs
by Edward Stave Boitano
A Bite of History The meatball is an iconic food item known throughout the world. The ancient Roman cookbook Apicius included many meatball-type recipes, but today they are known in Italy as polpette. In Greece, fried meatballs are called keftédes, usually served over rice; while in Indonesia, meatballs are referred to as bakso, used in soup. The other Scandinavian versions in Norway (gehaktbal) and Sweden (köttbullar) are most often made with beef. My grandmother's meatballs, known in Denmark as Frikadeller, are made with pork, generally served with mashed potatoes and gravy (which my grandmother referred to as ‘the goodness.’) I was in comfort food heaven long before the term existed. On a recent trip to Copenhagen, I couldn’t wait to sample this sublime but simple dish on its home ground. And sample I did; having them with mashed potatoes, sliced on open-faced bread (smørrebrød), and even carrying a bag around as a snack. Now I know why the Danes are reportedly the happiest people on the globe. Frikadeller are typically fried, and made out of ground pork, onions, eggs, salt and pepper. They are then formed into balls and flattened somewhat, so they are pan ready.
Ingredients:
Frikadeller can also be served with boiled skinned potatoes with brown gravy, or with cold potato salad. God appetit!
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grew
up eating meatballs – but this was not due to having a grandmother
hailing from Italy. On the contrary, it was the result of having a Danish/Swedish
grandmother on my mother’s side of the family. My Grandmother Stave
had a knack for making anything taste good. I’m sure this had something
to do with raising six kids during the height of the Great Depression.
Her specialty was comfort food. She could make the cheapest roast from
the market as tender as butter. Her secret was to bake and baste for
sometimes up to 24 hours. Her mashed potatoes were a thing of wonder;
fortunately a culinary gift that was passed on to my mother -- of course,
doesn’t everyone’s mother make the best mashed potatoes. My
favorite dish of hers, though, was her meatballs -- a legacy handled
down to her from her Danish ancestors.
