Swedish Meatballs with Pasta

This was our dinner last night and I humbly to say we finished with all plates cleaned. Swedish meatballs popularized by one famous Swedish furniture store Ikea, but this dish is prepared in the same manner like any other cultures. The ingredients distinction defines the tastes and originated from.

Swedish meatball identifies the taste of nutmeg and cardamom, which are the basic spices. Crumbed bread and milk or cream added to give a soft and juicy texture of meat. This recipe traditionally serves
with mashed potato, but here instead I omitted to pasta as carbohydrate.

Ingredients:

300 grams Trottole noodles

1 lb. ground beef, 80% lean, 20% fat

3 pieces dinner roll, crumbled

2 pieces eggs, beaten

¼ cup half & half

3 cloves garlic, grated

1 red onion, minced- separate the half for sauce

1 teaspoon ground white pepper

½ teaspoon nutmeg powder

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon cardamom powder

1 teaspoon garlic salt with parsley

Sauce:

2 tablespoon salted butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

minced onion

2 cups half & half

1 cup sour cream

1 tablespoon garlic salt parsley

1 teaspoon nutmeg powder

salt

few sprigs of fresh parsley for garnish, chopped

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Combine the listed ingredients above except noodles in a large mixing bowl. Use your clean hand to mash to incorporate ingredients.

3. Roll the mixture in your hand to form a ball, meatballs size should be like a golf ball.

4. Arrange them in a flat baking pan and bake for 15-20 minutes. Turning once to brown the top sides. Once done, set aside.

5. Boil the pasta until al dente. I always cook pasta with salt and oil so the noodle won’t get sticky and mushy.

6. In another hand, melt butter and heat olive oil, sauté onion until translucent.

7. Slowly pour in the half & half and add sour cream, season it with all spices. Simmer for 5 minutes over low-medium heat.

8. Throw in slowly the baked meatballs and simmer for few minutes.

9. Place the cooked pasta on a serving plate and pour the sauce with meatballs.

10. Garnish with fresh parsley, and serve. Have a lingonberry jam on sides, taste blend so well.

Spicy Bacon Spaghetti

This dish has a very promising taste; you will love the smoky, tangy, and spicy flavor.

I have cooked this dish several times since I learned from an Italian friend about the recipe. It is the absolute perfect menu for dinner, especially if you have a visitor or on a special occasion. I love having this pasta with red wine and grilled steak. This was our dinner last night actually and I matched it with baked mussels. Try this pasta and you will be thankful for heaven once you taste it. Let me know if you did! Ciao!

Ingredients:

1 lb. spaghetti noodles

16 oz. bacon, slice into small pieces

6 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups fresh parsley, finely chopped

3 tsp. pepper flakes (you can adjust according to your taste)

½ cup red wine vinegar, good quality

salt, and pepper to taste

 Procedure:

1. Cook the noodles according to the package direction, set aside.

2. Brown the bacon in a large saucepan set aside the fried bacon and removes some of the fat. You can omit fat to olive oil if you choose to.

3. Sauté the garlic until fragrant.

4. Put back in the bacon and pour in the red wine vinegar to glaze, sprinkle it with red pepper flakes.

5. Throw in the chopped parsley and the noodles. Stir and season to taste with salt and pepper.

6. Ecco! Enjoy the delicious spicy bacon pasta.