Swedish meatballs

Step 1: Stir 1 ⅜ oz dried breadcrumbs into ½ cup whole milk in a large bowl and leave for 5 minutes until the crumbs have swollen into a soft paste.

Step 2: Melt a third of ½ oz butter in a frying pan over a low heat and soften 1 onion for 4–5 minutes without browning. Let it cool a little.

Step 3: Add 10 ½ oz beef mince, 7 oz pork mince, 1 egg, ½ tsp ground allspice, 1 tsp salt and ½ tsp ground white pepper and the onion to the soaked crumbs. Mix with your hand for about a minute, just until even and slightly sticky; overmixing makes them rubbery.

Step 4: With wet hands, roll the mixture into walnut-sized balls (about 25 g each, roughly 32 meatballs). Set them on a tray and chill for 15 minutes so they hold their shape.

Step 5: Meanwhile, boil 2 ¼ lb floury potatoes in salted water for 18–20 minutes until a knife slides in easily.

Step 6: Heat the rest of 1 oz butter in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Fry the meatballs in two batches, shaking the pan often, for 8–10 minutes per batch until browned all over. Cut one open: the centre must be cooked through with no pink, or 160°F on a thermometer. Keep them warm on a plate.

Step 7: Pour off all but about 2 tablespoons of fat. Stir 2 tbsp plain flour into the pan over a medium heat and cook for 1 minute, scraping up the browned bits.

Step 8: Whisk in 1 ¼ cups beef stock a little at a time until smooth, then add ¾ cup double cream and 1 tsp soy sauce. Simmer for 4–5 minutes until the gravy coats a spoon. Taste for salt and pepper.

Step 9: Drain the potatoes and mash with 1 ⅜ oz butter and ½ cup whole milk until smooth. Season with salt.

Step 10: Return the meatballs to the gravy and warm through for 2 minutes. Serve with the mash, 4 oz lingonberry jam and ½ cucumber. Leftover meatballs keep 3 days in the fridge or 3 months in the freezer; reheat until piping hot.