Traditional Norwegian Vegetable Soup with Meatballs / Grønnsaksuppe med Kjøttboller

An old Norwegian soup recipe found on matprat.no

Ground pork, a few vegetables and a bouillon cube or broth are all the ingredients you need to fill your plate with  this delicious, hot soup. Quick and easy.

Christmasy Norwegian Meatballs / Julefine Kjøttboller

A recipe for spicy meatballs found on kiwi.no

Serve these meatballs as a separate dish or as a part
of many on the Christmas buffet or at the Christmas lunch!

Juicy Skillet Cheese Meatballs / Saftig Ostekjøttboller i Panne

A modern take on the classic Norwegian meatballs
found on gilde.no

Here you have a delicious contemporary take on the classic
Norwegian meatballs.

Saté Pentul – Indonesian Minced Pork Saté / Indonesisk Saté av Malt Svinekjøtt

An Asian specuality found in “Robert Carrier’s Kitchen
Cook Book” published in 1980

This recipe comes from Bali, though there are variations of it on nearby islands. On Lombok, for example, they make it with beef. The minced meatballs may split when you push them on to the bamboo skewers unless you take the precautions described in the recipe. You can prepare this saté and refrigerate it for up to 24 hours before cooking.

Swedish Meat Balls / Svenske kjøttboller

A starter/snacks recipe found in “The Skillet Cook Book”
published by Wesson Oil & Snowdrift Sales Co. in1958

Hot, meaty tidbits in a creamy dunking sauce. So good, guests never know when to stop eating! To make Swedish Meat Balls in a chafing dish, brown balls and make sauce in blazer over direct heat. To keep hot, set blazer over boiling water.

The Truth About the Norwegian Meatballs

If you are not a Norwegian you might think that what you see on the picture above is a relatively simple traditional Norwegian dinner. I admit that it looks innocent enough, but it is far from. The dish above is the yardstick with which every newlywed woman in Norway is measured.

Her reputation as a housewife is placed on the scales the first time she makes meatballs for her husband. What sort of mince meat is she useing, what sort of spices. Does she serve them with stewed cabbage or stewed peas. With just the fat from the frying pan or a propper sauce. And most important around here, does she serve it with propper cranberry jam or just fresh cranberries stirred with sugar.

The worst thing for the young woman is that she has no way of knowing how to get it right, because what it all comes down to is, does her husband say when he taste them; “They are not as good as my mother’s” or “These were delicious, luv.”

Her reputation is as you now understand in the hands of her mother-in-law’s cooking. And worst is, said mother-in-law may be the crappiest cook for miles around, her devoted son will love her crappy meatballs anyway.

Traditional food is no joking matter around this
neck of the woods I can tell you

Ted

Oven Barbecued Meatballs / Ovnsgrillede Kjøttboller

A dinner recipe found in “Crisco’s Good Cooking Made Easy
Cook Book” published by Procter & Gamble Co in 1978

Crisco is a brand of shortening produced by The J.M. Smucker Company popular in the United States. Introduced in June 1911 by Procter & Gamble, it was the first shortening to be made entirely of vegetable oil. Additional products marketed by Smucker under the Crisco brand include a cooking spray, various olive oils, and other cooking oils, including canola, corn, peanut, olive, sunflower, vegetable and blended oils.

If you’re living outside the US you can get hold of Crisco at My American Market if you want to try it in a typical American recipe – Ted

Albondigas – Mexican Soup / Meksikansk Suppe

A healthy soup recipe found in “Rethink School Lunch –
Cooking With California Food” an E-book published
by Center for Ecoliteracy

This is a classic version of the popular Mexican soup. The meatballs provide protein, while rice adds whole grains to this healthful dish. If desired, you can use all beef instead of half beef and half pork.

If you would like to download
‘Rethink School Lunch – Cooking With California Food’
click the title above

Russian Meatballs / Russiske Kjøttboller

A Russian recipe found in “Internasjoale Familie Favoritter”
(International Family Favourites) published in 1976

If you love recipes with a lot of ingredients this recipe will really
make your day. That is a promise – Ted  😉