CREAMY Vegan Swedish Meatballs!

Everyone loves Swedish meatballs but did you know that you can easily make them vegan too without losing that wonderful, creamy sauce? I show you how to make delicious vegan or plant based "meatballs" and the delicious gravy that goes with them!

I was so excited when I was testing this recipe out that I made so many lots of meatballs. Originally I was asked to develop this recipe for Swedish meatballs by the Beyond Meat team as they have some new plant-based meatballs out. I was so delighted at how the sauce turned out that I had to share it and I also developed a recipe for vegan meatballs too!

What are Coconut Aminos? You can buy Coconut Aminos in the health food section of the supermarket. Some people are allergic to the soy in soya sauce so it is a vegan, soy and gluten free alternative. I find coconut aminos quite sweet and syrupy. I find it closer to a version of Worcestershire sauce which has anchovy or fish sauce added so it isn't vegan.

Serve these Swedish meatballs with: boiled potatoes or rice and lingonberry jam! Seriously, there's nothing better that matches with these. You can buy lingonberry jam in the Ikea food section. If you can't find lingonberry jam use cranberry sauce (strawberry and raspberry jam are too sweet).

These Swedish meatballs came at just right time and we got a few nights of dinners out of it. Having something so comforting and delicious also made lockdown a lot more bearable. We are now in our third week of Lockdown 2.0 in Sydney and as far as lockdown goes, it's more like a forced staycation order and not super strict like say Victoria's lockdown. Because Mr NQN and I have such different personality types, we've been trying to be more considerate of each other especially as we live in a small apartment.

I love being with people so my preferred interaction time is 80% together time 20% solitude. When I told Mr NQN he looked horrified at the mere thought and told me that he preferred the opposite: 20% interaction, 80% solitude. But he has been trying to accommodate my needs by sitting next to me at night while I watch tv in bed. He watches the Tour de France on his device and Teddy naps between the two of us and I love having us all together. I try not to interrupt his tv viewing but sometimes I can't help myself.

"Hey so would you date someone that said EX-presso martini?" I asked him. He looked up from his screen and said drily, "I'm already married you know. To a lunatic."

Then, "Have you ever killed anyone?"

And then later, "OMG we should do a dance-off!!"

It's like I can't help myself and I just feel compelled to ask random questions because it struck me at that moment that after so many years together I have never actually asked him if he has ever killed anyone. So lockdown 2.0 is going ok for me but if you asked Mr NQN he might tell you that he'd like a bit more solitude and quiet!

So tell me Dear Reader, are you in lockdown at the moment and how are you coping? What is your ideal percentage for interaction and solitude?

Plant Based Swedish Meatballs

An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Serves: 4

For vegetarian meatballs (makes 24 meatballs)

• 1 onion, peeled and quartered
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and quartered
• 3/4 cup/80g/3ozs. toasted walnuts
• 400g/14oz tin black beans, drained
• 1 cup/80g/2.8ozs. vegan parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup/20g/0.7ozs. fresh breadcrumbs
• 1/2 cup/50g/1.7ozs. rolled oats
• 3 tablespoons coconut aminos
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

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• Oil for frying

• 4 tablespoons vegan “butter”

• 4 tablespoons plain all purpose flour

• 2 cups/500ml/17flozs. vegetable stock, hot

• 4 tablespoons coconut aminos

• 2 teaspoons onion powder

• 2 teaspoons garlic powder

• 2 teaspoons mustard

• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

• 1 cup/250ml/8.8flozs. coconut cream

• Salt and pepper to season

• Boiled potatoes and lingonberry jam to serve.

Step 1 - Line a baking tray with parchment and preheat oven to 180C/350F or you can fry these meatballs in a saucepan. Place the onions, garlic and walnut in a food processor and blitz until very fine. Then add the drained beans, cheese, breadcrumbs and oats and process until fine. Add the coconut aminos, cumin, smoked paprika and cayenne pepper and process until combined. Scoop into balls using a small ice cream scoop and roll into balls. Brush with oil and bake for 20 minutes or pan fry for 8-10 minutes on medium heat.

Step 2 - To make the sauce add the vegan butter into the skillet (you can use the same one as you used to fry the meatballs) and melt. Add the flour and cook for 30 seconds or so, then add the stock in 5-6 lots stirring constantly so that it combines. Add the coconut aminos, onion powder, garlic powder, mustard and nutmeg and then add the coconut cream and stir to combine. It will become a thick, creamy sauce. Season with salt and pepper.

Step 3 - Place the meatballs on a serving plate with potatoes and lingonberry jam and then pour sauce over the meatballs.