SWEDISH MEATBALL SANDWICH MADE VEGAN | VEGANSK KÖTTBULLEMACKA

I am taking a break in unpacking all of our things into our new home to write and post this Swedish Christmas classic. Before we get into the deliciousness that is the Swedish meatball sandwich or köttbullemacka as we call it I need to address the fact that we now have a home to call our own. Those of you who have been following along on Instagram or YouTube for a while probably know that Rob and I have been without a steady home since June and we are so happy to have moved into our new flat in Malmö just a few days ago. We are still looking for our dream home in the countryside but for now we are kicking it city style for a while. It feels a little strange to be back in a city but we are going to make the most of it as we continue our search. And! I look forward to creating more to share with you now that we have a more stable living situation.

But enough about that for now, let’s talk about veganised Swedish meatballs and creamy beetroot salad all wrapped up in the vehicle of an open faced sandwich. This combination is something most Swedes enjoy around this time of year and I though you might want to try it too! At Christmas Swedes traditionally eat our celebratory meal buffet style and we call it “julbord”. Swedish meatballs are a favourite among many during this meal but somehow there is still always leftovers. The beetroot salad is also a must on the “julbord” and of course that’s never finished on the first sitting either. This is why the köttbullemacka was born. To create a delicious way to make sure nothing went to waste after the Christmas meal. However as I’m writing this I suddenly got worried I just made this up so don’t take my word for it. Any fellow Swedes out there who know if I’m right?

Anyhow, I love this sandwich whether it’s made from leftovers or not. I used to order it at cafes as a youth and would do it again if there were vegan ones to order. Since there isn’t I make my own and now you guys can try your hand at it too. You could also make the “meatballs” and use them in any other way you like. Maybe Swedish style with mashed potato, creamy gravy and lingonberry jam or why not with tomato pasta!

I hope you enjoy this taste of Swedish holiday food and before I go I just want to let you know that this will be my last post and recipe for this year. With that said I wish you all happy holidays, a merry Christmas and a very happy new year!

Malin x

VEGAN SWEDISH MEATBALL SANDWICH  | VEGANSK KÖTTBULLEMACKA

Makes 6 open face sandwiches.

INGREDIENTS:

For the beetroot salad:
250 grams sliced pickled beetroot, cut into small pieces

1 red apple, chopped into equally small pieces

0,5 red onion, finely chopped

100 ml vegan mayonnaise

100 ml vegan creme fraiche or sour cream

1 tbsp semi-grainy mustard (but use what you have on hand)

Salt and black pepper, to taste

For the “meatballs”:

450 g mouldable soy mince
0,5 – 1 brown onion, chopped
1 tbsp mustard
0,5 tbsp steak seasoning (grillkrydda in Swedish)
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

For the sandwiches:

6 slices of rustic bread or any bread you like

Vegan butter, optional

6 handfuls of baby leafy greens

Parsley, to garnish

Sliced pickles sweet cucumbers, optional

METHOD:

Place all the ingredients for the creamy beetroot salad in a medium sized mixing bowl. Mix until well combined and set aside.

Make your meatball mixture by combining all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl.  Use your hands to mix all the ingredients until well combined and sticky.

Shape roughly 25 balls using your hands and place on a plate or cutting board as you go.

Heat a skillet over medium high heat and add some oil to the pan. Once hot place your meatballs in the pan one by one. I could do all of mine in one go but it will depend on the size of your skillet. If they don’t all fit at once, simply cook them in two batches.

As they cook I like to first just shake the pan to flip them and then towards the end use a spatula to make sure they brown on all sides. Cooking the meatballs should take about 6-8 minutes.

Once the meatballs are browned you can set them aside on a plate to cool a little while you prepare the sandwiches. Traditionally the meatballs will be cold on the sandwich but I like them a little warm personally, it’s up to you.

Spread some vegan butter or margarine on your bread and then place a handful of greens on each slice. Add a generous scoop of the beetroot salad on top of the greens and then add halved “meatballs”. I used about five halves on each sandwich but you might choose to use more or less, follow your intuition! And finally garnish with some parsley and maybe some sliced pickled cucumbers.

christmas jul köttbullar meatballs sandwich swedish vegan veganska
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