METHOD:

Pressed cucumber:

Prepare the pressed cucumbers first as they need to sit for a couple of hours before serving, i.e. these are best made a little ahead of time.

Slice the cucumber finely, you could use a mandolin for this if you prefer. Place the slices in a shallow bowl and toss with the salt. Cover with a plate small enough to fit inside the bowl and weigh it down with something heavy, like a jar of flour or similar. Leave to press for 30 minutes.

In the meantime make the liquid by combining the remaining ingredients in a glass or bowl, mix well to combine and set aside. Chop the parsley finely. When the 30 minutes are up drain the liquid that’s released from the cucumber and toss the slices with the chopped parsley. Transfer the cucumber to a jar and pour over the liquid. Seal with a lid and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Swedish No-Meatballs:

If cooking them in the oven preheat it to 180 degrees celsius, otherwise skip this step.

Combine the milled flaxseed, water and soy sauce in a small bowl and set aside to gel. It will take roughly 15 minutes for this mixture to look similar to the consistency of an egg.

In the meantime chop your red onion and garlic clove finely. Cut the mushrooms into quarters or sixes depending on their size and transfer them to the bowl of a food processor with an s-blade. Once all the mushrooms have made it into the bowl pulse it until you achieve a crumbly texture reminiscent of vegan mince.

Heat a skillet over medium heat with the oil. Sauté the pulsed mushrooms, onion and garlic until the mushrooms have released their liquid and it has evaporated. This takes about 5-7 minutes. Keep moving them around now and again.

In the meantime pulse the walnuts, oats and tomato paste in the food processor, no need to wash it in between, until they reach a texture similar to bread crumbs. Then add in the drained and rinsed black beans and pulse again until you reach a crumbly texture. Transfer to a mixing bowl.

Once the mushrooms, onion and garlic is nicely cooked with no water remaining in the pan transfer them into the bowl as well along with the gelled flaxseed mixture. Mix to combine and then roll into 25-30 meatballs.

If baking them place on a lined baking tray and bake for 25 minutes, flipping after 15 minutes. If you prefer to fry them do so in a skillet over medium heat in a generous amount of vegan butter or oil. Make sure to keep a close eye on them as to not burn on any side. Use a spatula to flip them and fry for a minute or two on each side.

Mashed Potatoes:

Either you could prepare these before frying the meatballs and keep it hot while you fry or if baking you can make them while the meatballs bake.

Peel and chop the potatoes into inch wide “cubes”. Transfer to a pot and cover with water and add a generous pinch of salt. Bring to a boil and then boil a little softer until the potatoes are soft but not crumbling at all, this will take roughly 10 minutes.

Drain the potatoes and add the remaining ingredients to the pot. Use a fork or potato masher to mash them until you reach your preferred consistency. Be careful not to over mix and don’t use an immersion blender as this will guaranteed result in glue like mash.

Vegan Swedish Gravy:

Again this could be made during the baking of the meatballs and while boiling the potatoes for the mash or made ahead and kept warm as you fry the meatballs. 

Melt the vegan butter in the same skillet as you used to sauté the mushrooms, no need to clean it in between as this will just add more depth of flavour.

Once melted whisk in the corn starch until smooth and then pour in the water and vegan cooking cream as you keep whisking. Season with the soy sauce and shallot concentrate or similar bouillion concentrate and keep stirring as you bring the sauce to a simmer. The sauce will start to thicken and when you are happy with the thickness take it off the heat, it only takes 2-3 minutes usually.

Serve:

Either serve it family style at the table in serving dishes or plate up as in the photos of this post and don’t forget the lingonberry jam or something similarly sweet and tangy to cut through the richness!