AI-generated image
Fiskeboller i hvit saus (fish balls in white sauce)
12m+ · Soft homemade Norwegian fish balls in a mild white sauce with carrots and potatoes
Fiskeboller i hvit saus, pale, pillowy fish balls in a white sauce with carrots and boiled potatoes, is the gentle midweek dinner of Norwegian childhood. Making the fish balls at home means you control the salt and can be sure every bone is out: they are just white fish, milk, potato starch and a little nutmeg, poached until soft and springy. It contains fish, milk and gluten (wheat flour in the sauce). Chef's tip: keep the fish and milk cold while blending, and the fish balls come out light rather than rubbery.
- Total time
- 45 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Baby & toddler safety
- Age: from 12 months+.
- Allergens: contains milk, gluten (wheat, barley, rye or oats), fish. Offer one new allergen at a time, in the morning, so you can watch for a reaction.
- Texture and choking: purée or mash smoothly for 6–9 months, then soft, finger-sized pieces that squash between your fingers. Cut round foods such as grapes and cherry tomatoes into quarters lengthways, never give whole nuts, and always stay with your child while they eat.
- Under 1: no honey, no added salt or stock cubes, and no added sugar.
Every child is different. If you are unsure, especially about allergies, check with your health visitor or paediatrician.
Ingredients
For the fish balls
- 14 oz skinless white fish filletshaddock, cod or pollock, cold
- 1 ½ tbsp potato starch
- 1 pinch ground nutmeg
- ½ cup whole milkcold
For the vegetables and sauce
- 1 ⅛ lb small potatoespeeled
- 3 carrotssliced
- ⅞ oz unsalted butter
- ⅞ oz plain flour
- 1 ½ cups whole milkfor the sauce
- 1 tbsp chives (optional)finely chopped
Shop this recipe on Amazon
What you'll need
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (5)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/8 doneStep 1: Run your fingers firmly along 14 oz skinless white fish fillets to find any pin bones and pull them out with tweezers. Cut it into chunks. For children every bone must go; this is the step not to rush.
5 minStep 2: Blend the fish with 1 ½ tbsp potato starch and 1 pinch ground nutmeg in a food processor until smooth, then, with the motor running, pour in ½ cup whole milk slowly until you have a soft, sticky paste.
2 minStep 3: Boil 1 ⅛ lb small potatoes for 20 minutes and 3 carrots for 10–12 minutes in separate pans of unsalted water, until tender. Keep 200 ml of the carrot water.
20 minStep 4: Bring a wide pan of water to a bare simmer. With two wet teaspoons, shape the paste into small balls and slide them in. Poach for 5–6 minutes, without boiling, until they are opaque all the way through and spring back when pressed. A hard boil is the common mistake: it makes them tough.
6 minStep 5: Melt ⅞ oz unsalted butter in a saucepan, stir in ⅞ oz plain flour and cook for 1 minute. Gradually whisk in 1 ½ cups whole milk and the reserved carrot water, and simmer for 3–4 minutes, whisking, until smooth and thick enough to coat a spoon.
5 minStep 6: Lift the fish balls into the sauce with a slotted spoon, add 1 tbsp chives, if using, and warm through for 1 minute.
1 minStep 7: Serve with the potatoes and carrots. For a toddler, cut the fish balls in half, mash the potato into the sauce and cool until warm.
Step 8: Cool leftovers quickly, cover and keep in the fridge for up to 2 days, or freeze the fish balls in sauce for up to a month. Reheat gently until piping hot, then cool before serving.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 330 kcal
- Protein
- 24 g
- Carbs
- 36 g
- Fat
- 9 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does fiskeboller i hvit saus (fish balls in white sauce) take?
- About 45 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- What can I use instead of whole milk?
- Semi-skimmed milk with 1 tbsp cream per 240ml (1 cup).
- What can I use instead of small potatoes?
- Sweet potato, same weight (sweeter, cooks a little faster).
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Moreton Bay bugsSlipper lobster with garlic butter
Moreton Bay bugs are the flat, shovel-nosed slipper lobsters caught off the Queensland coast around Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast, and for Queenslanders they are a summer treat, split and grilled at the beach house. The tail meat is sweet and rich, somewhere between lobster and prawn. Buy them raw, frozen or fresh, from a fishmonger and ask them to halve them if you like. A common mistake is overcooking, which makes the meat rubbery; it is ready the moment it turns white. Chef's tip: grill flesh side down first to mark it, then turn and baste in the shell.
Australian
All i pebreEel and potato paprika stew
In El Palmar and the other villages around the Albufera lagoon south of Valencia, the restaurants that are famous for paella serve something older first: all i pebre, "garlic and pepper", a brick-red stew of lagoon eel and potatoes thickened with a pounded almond and fried-bread picada. It is rich, garlicky and gently hot, eaten with bread to mop up the sauce. Ask your fishmonger to skin and cut the eel, and handle it with gloves: raw eel blood is irritating, though harmless once cooked. If you can't find eel, monkfish or hake works well. A common mistake is letting the paprika burn; it turns bitter in seconds, so add it off the heat. Chef's tip: break the potatoes with a knife instead of cutting cleanly; the rough edges release starch and thicken the sauce.
Spanish
Midia saganakiMussels with tomato and feta
Thessaloniki is Greece's mussel capital, with farms in the Thermaic Gulf a few kilometres from the seafront ouzeries where this two-handled pan arrives, still bubbling, at the table. Mussels steam open in a quick sauce of peppers, tomato and chilli, and crumbled feta melts into the juices at the end. Bread is essential. The classic version adds a splash of ouzo; this one is alcohol-free, using a pinch of fennel seed for that aniseed note (add 2 tbsp ouzo with the tomatoes if you like). Common mistake: overcooking — take the pan off the heat as soon as the shells open. Chef's tip: buy mussels on the day and keep them in the fridge in a bowl covered with a damp cloth, never in water.
Greek