Rootitoot Swedish Meatballs

Ingredients:

1 cup dry bread crumbs (Panko)
1/3 cup warm milk
about 3 Tbsp butter
1 1/2 cups finely diced onion
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp brandy (optional)
2 eggs
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
Pinch of ground cloves
1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground pork
2 cups beef or chicken broth
1/2 - 3/4 cup heavy cream or sour cream
1 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch
3 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley and/or dill

Directions:

Soak the bread crumbs in the warm milk while you start on the onions and meatballs.

Press Saute on the Instant Pot and when the display says Hot, add 1 Tbsp of the butter, the onions and a pinch of salt. Saute a few minutes until golden brown. Transfer half these onions to a large bowl. Add the brandy (if using) to the onions still in the pot. Saute a few minutes to reduce the brandy, then press Cancel.

To the large bowl with the onions, add the bread crumbs/milk, 1 teaspoon salt, eggs, garlic and spices. Mix well and then combine with the beef and pork. Roll into 1” balls.

This recipe makes a lot of meatballs. You can brown them in batches with butter in the Instant Pot, but this can take quite a while. If you do choose this method, be sure to remove the brandied onions first.

You may prefer browning the whole batch of meatballs at once in the oven. Line a baking sheet with tin foil and spray it with baking spray. Bake the meatballs at 400 F degrees for 12-15 minutes, until lightly browned. When you remove them from the oven, let them cool for 5 or 10 minutes and then tilt the pan a bit and blot up any excess fat with paper towels.

Add the broth to the onions/brandy mixture in the Instant Pot while the meatballs are browning in the oven. Deglaze it by scraping any bits of onion up off the bottom. This prevents the dreaded Burn warning. Transfer the browned meatballs and any brown bits from the baking sheet to the Instant Pot.

Close the pot and set the valve to Sealing. Push Pressure Cook (or Manual) and adjust time using the + and - buttons to get to 5 minutes. When it beeps that it's done, press Cancel and flip the valve to Venting for a quick release.

When the pin drops, open the pot. Press Saute and add the cream and mustard. **Note: if using sour cream, use a ladle to scoop out a little of the broth and whisk it with the sour cream first. Otherwise, the sour cream can be a little lumpy.

Stir together the cornstarch and water until smooth and add about half of it to the meatballs. Stir and bring it to a boil to thicken. If you want it a little thicker, add more cornstarch slurry.

Add the chopped parsley or dill. Serve over rice or egg noodles.