It’s our Christmas Eve Swedish feast. It’s a special night around here—why should we be any different from anyone else? We do Christmas Eve Swedish style, a nod to E’s maternal-side heritage. It’s a traditional Swedish smorgasbord, complete with sliced cheeses, lingonberry jam, pickled herring, and of course, Swedish meatballs, that creamy, meaty, saucy confection the younger ones look forward to all year. But because we don’t eat red meat, turkey is the order of the day. Ground turkey, that is.

Because turkey can be a bit more bland than beef, I take an additional step to up the robustness quotient—I use reduced vegetable broth instead of beef broth (See note below). And I add a surprise ingredient, fennel, for another subtle layer of flavor. Toasted fennel seeds, which are ground fine with a mortar and pestle.

It’s a family favorite. You owe it to yourself to try this one.

SWEDISH MEATBALLS

Ingredients:

• 20 ounces ground turkey, 93/7
• 1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1 tablespoon parsley chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon toasted fennel seeds, ground
• ¼ cup onion finely chopped
• ½ teaspoon granulated garlic
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
• ⅛ teaspoon fine-ground white pepper
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 5 tbsp. butter
• 3 tbsp. flour
• 4 cups vegetable broth, reduced by half (2 cups needed for the recipe)
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
• additional salt and black pepper, to taste

Preparation:

• In a small saucepan, bring the vegetable broth to a boil, turn the heat down to medium-low, and simmer until reduced by half.
• In a medium-sized bowl combine ground turkey, panko, parsley, allspice, nutmeg, fennel, onion, garlic powder, pepper, salt, and egg. Mix until combined.
• Roll into 20 small meatballs. In a large skillet heat olive oil and 1 Tablespoon butter. Add the meatballs and cook, turning continuously until brown on each side and cooked throughout. Transfer to a plate and cover with foil.
• Add 4 Tablespoons butter and flour to the skillet and whisk until it turns brown. Slowly stir in broth and heavy cream. Add Worcestershire sauce and Dijon mustard and bring to a simmer until sauce starts to thicken. Salt and pepper to taste.
• Add the meatballs back to the skillet and simmer for another 1-2 minutes. Serve over egg noodles or rice.

• NOTE: if you’re a fan of the “Better Than…” products, make your vegetable stock from 4 cups water and two tablespoons of their roasted vegetable base, then reduce by half