I grew up with the traditional Swedish dish fish balls. My mother used to sell fish when I was a child so my childhood was filled with delicious fish dishes, made with freshly caught fish straight from the ocean. I managed to avoid the processed fish sticks and tasteless fish balls from the store until I started school. And the love for home-cooked fish has stayed with me since I was a kid! These traditional fish balls are one of my favorites.

Instructions:

Stir-fry onions in butter until soft.
Put breadcrumbs, eggs, and milk in a bowl and let the mix swell.
Cut the fish into smaller pieces and mix them with a blender.
Put the fish into the breadcrumb mix, add the onions, salt and vegetable powder. You can use any kind of vegetable salt you have at home of course, and replace the powder with vegetable stock.

Make balls from the fish batter, put the balls in a hot pan with butter and rapeseed oil. Flatten the balls slightly and fry them until golden brown on both sides. Put the fish balls on an oven tray and keep it in the oven on low heat before you serve them.

Potatoes are the go-to side to this dish, but we often skip it and use other vegetables instead. For example a salad. I served the fish balls with cabbage leaves cooked in wine in the picture above. You can also serve it with a nice sauce with creme fraiche and blended pea shoots or herbs from the garden.

Enjoy!

Recipe: Sara Bäckmo
Photo: Maria Strömberg Bååth