They’ve shared the kind of assembly instructions that won’t cause arguments…
Enjoying a trip to IKEA every now and then is one of the many perks of London life. You plan exactly which items you want to buy, before throwing caution to the wind and going absolutely wild in the plant section when you finally get there. But the real highlight? Gorging on their iconic Swedish meatballs doused in cream sauce, followed by 50p hotdogs and all the Daim cake you can squeeze in.
And now, the flat-pack specialists have revealed their secret recipe so we can recreate the tasty little balls of joy at home. In the most IKEA way possible, the instructions come in the form of an assembly manual, alike to those you’ll find in their furniture, and not only does it feature a super simple recipe that anyone can follow, but it also includes the delicious recipe for their cream sauce to complete the meal.
Here’s everything you need for the IKEA meatballs:
- 500g beef mince
- 250g pork mince
- 1x finely chopped onion
- 1x crushed garlic clove
- 100g breadcrumbs
- 1x egg
- 5x tablespoons of whole milk
- a generous dash of salt and pepper
And here’s the simple method:
- Combine the beef and pork mince and mix together in a bowl using your fingers. Break up any lumps, before adding in the onion, garlic, breadcrumbs, egg and mixing together.
- Add in the milk, along with salt and pepper and mix in.
- Shape into small, round balls and place on a clean plate. When all of the mix is used up, cover the plate and store in the fridge for two hours.
- After two hours, heat some oil on medium heat in a frying pan, and once hot, chuck in the meatballs.
- Cook until browned.
- Once browned, pop the meatballs in an ovenproof dish and cook through for a further 30 minutes in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees, or 160 degrees if you have a fan oven.
Here’s everything you need for the cream sauce:
- A dash of oil
- 40g of butter
- 40g of plain flour
- 150ml of vegetable stock
- 150ml of beef stock
- 150ml of thick double cream
- 2x teaspoons of soy sauce
- 1x teaspoon of Dijon mustard
And here’s the method:
- Melt the butter in a pan.
- Once melted, whisk in 40g of plain flour and stir for two minutes.
- Add in the 150ml of vegetable stock, along with the 150ml of beef stock.
- Continue to stir, before adding in the thick double cream, soy sauce, and Dijon mustard.
- Stir all the ingredients together, then bring to a simmer and allow it to simmer.
- Once thickened, pour over your meatballs and enjoy!
It’s not just the IKEA meatballs that are making lockdown a little easier, either – the chain has also opened their Swedish food markets for elderly and vulnerable customers, and have turned IKEA Wembley into a huge coronavirus testing site for NHS workers!