Broder Swedish Meatballs

(Serves 6)

A linchpin dish that has vaulted Peter Bro’s Broder to its standing as Portland’s quintessential Scandinavian spot, these delicate, sweet, gently spiced classics come cloaked in a thick sherry-cream sauce. They taste even better at Broder’s newest location, a sunny, clean-lined café inside Southwest Portland’s new Nordia House Scandinavian cultural center.

• 1 medium shallot, diced
• 1 large egg, beaten
• ½ cup panko bread crumbs
• ⅓ cup whole milk
• ½ tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 pinch ground allspice
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tbsp tarragon, roughly chopped
• 2 tbsp flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp salt, plus another tbsp for the sherry cream
• 2 tbsp ground black pepper, plus another 2 tsp for the sherry cream
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 lb ground pork
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 6 tbsp dry sherry wine

MIX Combine all ingredients except beef, pork, cream, and sherry in large bowl and refrigerate for 1 hour. Remove from the fridge, add beef and pork to the mixture, and work with your hands until fully incorporated.

BAKE Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Using cold water to keep your hands moist, form golf ball–size meatballs and place them on a baking pan. Cook the meatballs for 12 minutes, or until their internal temperature reaches 155 degrees.

SAUCE Pour heavy cream into a large, heavy-bottomed pot over low heat. Add sherry, season with salt and pepper, and bring to a simmer. Reduce sauce for about 7 minutes, or until large, thick, bubbles form and cream coats the back of a spoon. Add meatballs to sauce and simmer 2–3 minutes longer before serving. Broder’s Peter Bro recommends serving with lingonberry jam.

Holdfast Braised Pork Coppa with Cabbage & Mustard & Dill Cream Sauce

(Serves 6)

Holdfast’s Will Preisch and Joel Stocks take their Scandinavian inspiration from Preisch’s time cooking at Michelin-starred kitchens like Copenhagen’s Relae and Reykjavík’s Dill. The chefs’ typical mode is modern, but this meltingly tender, cider-braised hunk of pork is as simple and homey as it gets. (Bonus points if you attempt to make a side of blood pudding, a Swedish classic—the recipe’s below.)

• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• 3–4 lbs fresh pork coppa, rolled and tied (available at Tails & Trotters)
• 1 small yellow onion, cut into large chunks
• 2 tart apples such as Granny Smith, cut into large chunks
• 4 whole garlic cloves
• 3 tbsp salt, plus more for seasoning
• 1 tbsp whole juniper
• 1 quart chicken stock
• 2 cups apple cider
• 1 head savoy cabbage, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 stick unsalted butter
• Mustard and dill cream sauce*

BROWN Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Add oil to a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Season coppa liberally with salt and, using tongs, brown in the pot on all sides. Remove coppa from pot and set aside. Add onions, apples, garlic, salt, and juniper to the pot and sauté about 15 minutes, or until soft.

BRAISE Place the coppa back in the pot, add cider, and reduce by half. Add stock and bring to a simmer. Cover pot and transfer to the oven to braise for 3 hours, rotating the meat halfway through. If coppa isn’t quite fork tender after 3 hours, braise for 30 minutes longer. Let meat cool in its cooking liquid for 30 minutes before slicing and serving.

COOK THE CABBAGE While the meat rests, combine cabbage and butter in a separate pot and cook, uncovered, over medium heat for about 20 minutes, or until most of the water has cooked out and cabbage is tender. Season with salt.

Mustard and Dill Cream Sauce

Combine 1 yellow onion (sliced thinly), 4 cloves garlic (sliced thinly), ¼ cup Dijon mustard, and 2 cups heavy cream in a heavy-bottomed pot over low heat and simmer until onions are tender, about 30 minutes. Pour through a fine strainer. Fold ¼ cup whole-grain mustard and 1 bunch fresh dill, roughly chopped, into the sauce and season with 2 tsp salt. Serve alongside the braised coppa and cabbage.

Blood Pudding Sauce

• 1 quart pork blood (available at most Asian markets and specialty butchers)
• 1 cup diced bacon
• 1 cup diced fatback (available at Tails & Trotters)
• 2 yellow onions, diced
• 6 tbsp unsalted butter
• ¼ cup whiskey
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 eggs
• Salt to taste

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Sauté bacon and fatback over medium-low heat until brown. Add onion, thyme, and butter and simmer about 5 minutes, or until onion is tender. Add whiskey and scrape the bottom with a spatula as it deglazes. Set aside and bring to room temperature.

2. Purée egg, blood, cream, and salt in a blender. Add blood mixture to onion mixture.

3. Line a terrine mold or bread pan with cooking spray. Pour blood and onion mixture into the pan and cover with a layer of tinfoil. Place in a larger pan and fill with hot water halfway up the side. Place in the oven and bake for 45 minutes to an hour, or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees with a meat thermometer. Remove from the oven and serve while still warm.