Being quarantined doesn’t have to mean giving up your favorite foods.
Ikea shared a recipe for Swedish meatballs and cream sauce so we can all make the popular dish from home during the coronavirus pandemic.
The retailer published the recipe on its U.K. Twitter account Monday, sharing the ingredients and steps in an Ikea diagram reminiscent of its furniture assembly instructions.
“Missing your IKEA meatball fix? We’ve created a recipe for you to re-create this delicious dish in the comfort of your own home,” the company wrote along with the diagram.
Although this recipe isn’t the exact version of the one used in Ikea stores around the world, it’s still the perfect alternative for those missing the food from the furniture store.
“Our ‘real’ meatballs and Swedish cream sauce recipe remains a closely guarded secret, known only to a select few. However, in good conscience we couldn’t deprive the nation from missing out on their meatball fix, so we’ve made an almost-as-delicious alternative that can be easily made at home! We hope that it fills a gap until we can meet again. Until then, stay home and stay safe,” Lorena Lourido, country food manager at Ikea U.K. and Ireland, said in a statement to TODAY Food.
Ikea meatballs have been around since 1985 and were developed with the help of the store’s founder, Ingvar Kamprad, who was “highly involved in creating the taste and the texture of this classic dish,” an Ikea spokesperson told TODAY Food.
“The IKEA meatballs, served in over 430 Ikea stores globally, are a true Ikea icon, just as known as the BILLY bookshelf or the KLIPPAN sofa and every year more than one billion meatballs are served at IKEA,” the spokesperson said.
The meatballs are usually served hot in the store’s café or available to purchase frozen in the Swedish Food Market.
While the traditional meatball recipe looks tasty, some fans were quick to ask for the vegetarian version of the dish, which Ikea announced last year.
In May 2019, the furniture company said it was working on "the development of a new meatball that looks and tastes like meat but is made from plant based alternative proteins."
This new dish will reportedly begin showing up on Ikea store menus in Europe this August.
“It is a really exciting industry! Looking at the quality of the products that we have been tasting I am looking forward to serving a delicious plant-based meatball made from alternative protein at IKEA. I hope that the many meatball lovers out there will like it as well,” Michael La Cour, managing director at IKEA Food Services AB, said in a press release.
Ikea isn’t the first company to share a popular recipe with people during the current global health crisis.
Disney has been releasing recipes for some of its most popular park treats on the Disney Parks Blog, including a grilled three-cheese sandwich, churro bites, cookie fries and a Dole Whip-inspired frozen pineapple treat.
Here's Ikea's recipe for meatballs:
Ingredients for meatballs
- 500 grams beef mince (about 1 pound ground beef)
- 250 grams pork mince (1/2 pound ground pork)
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 1 clove of garlic (crushed or minced)
- 100 grams breadcrumbs
- 1 egg
- 5 tablespoons whole milk
- Generous salt and pepper
Ingredients for cream sauce
- Dash of oil
- 40 grams butter (2 ½ tablespoons butter)
- 40 grams plain flour (1/3 cup flour)
- 150 milliliters vegetable stock (2/3 cup vegetable stock)
- 150 milliliters beef stock (2/3 cup beef stock)
- 150 milliliters thick double cream (2/3 cup double cream or whipping cream)
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Preparation
- Meatballs: Combine beef and pork mince and mix with your fingers to break up any lumps. Add finely chopped onion, garlic, breadcrumbs, egg and mix. Add milk and season well with salt and pepper.
- Shape mixture into small, round balls. Place on a clean plate, cover and store in the fridge for two hours (this will help them hold their shape while cooking).
- In a frying pan, heat oil on medium heat. When hot, gently add meatballs and brown on all sides.
- When browned, add to an ovenproof dish and cover. Place in a hot oven (180 degrees Celsius conventional — about 356 degrees Fahrenheit — or 160 degrees Celsius fan, or 320 degrees Fahrenheit) and cook for an additional 30 minutes.
- Iconic Swedish cream sauce: Melt 40 grams of butter in a pan. Whisk in 40 grams of plain flour and stir for two minutes. Add 150 milliliters of vegetable stock and 150 milliliters of beef stock and continue to stir. Add 150 milliliters double cream, 2 teaspoons of soy sauce and 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard. Bring it to a simmer and allow the sauce to thicken.
- When ready to eat, serve with your favorite potatoes — either creamy mash or mini new boiled potatoes. Enjoy!