This is a classic Norwegian dish, and reminds me of childhood memories and the thrill of knowing my mother was going to cook this for dinner. (find the recipe at the end of the article)

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Kjøttkaker i brun saus – Meat cakes in a brown gravy

In Norwegian we call them kjøttkaker, meat cakes. I think it translates better to meatballs in English, so that’s why I use that term. It’s also relatable to Swedish meatballs or Italian meatballs, but of course the Norwegian ones are the best 🙂

It’s a fairly easy dish to make, and to make it even easier for you I made a YouTube-episode taking you step-by-step through how to make the “cakes” and the gravy.

Potatoes & Lingonberry Jam

To be complete, this dish is always served with hard boiled potatoes (aren’t all boiled potatoes hard?)… Well, this is actually an expression here. Hardkokte poteter. And it indicates to use a type of potatoes that does not come apart when you boil them. So, hard boiled potatoes, mushy peas and tyttebær (lingonberry jam). I won’t make the jam in this episode, but I will show you how to make the mushy peas… or pea stew some might call it. For some reason green peas taste better when they are mushy, mixed in with beef broth and butter. Yum!.

Find lingonberry jam online here (amazon)

When you eat the dish, remember to mix all the flavors onto your fork. That’s how we do it in Norway, and you will see how perfectly the sweet flavor of the jam goes together with the salty flavor of the meatballs.

I hope you’ll enjoy this cooking video, and perhaps try to make this dish yourself. You are bound to impress any Norwegian if you put this on the table.

Lykke til! Good luck! Find the recipe below.

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Norwegian kjøttkaker i brun saus – Meatballs in a brown gravy served with lingonberries and mushy peas. YUM!

Recipe Kjøttkaker i brun saus – Meatballs in a brown gravy (2-3 persons)

Meatballs/Kjøttkaker

400 grams/14,1 ounces beef minced meat
1 teaspoon salt 0.25 teaspoon pepper
0.25 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons potato flour/starch
1.5 dl/0,6 cups water or milk (I used water)

Brown sauce/Brun saus

4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons wheat flour
1 liter/33,8 ounces broth (meat broth cube, or “real broth)
0.5 teaspoon salt
0.25 teaspoon pepper

Mushy peas/Ertestuing

1 package of frozen peas (400 grams/14,1 ounces)
1 dl/0,4 cup meat broth ( made with meat broth cube)
1 tablespoon butter
0.25 teaspoon pepper

Use lingonberry jam on the side, but cranberries also work nicely. Hard boiled potatoes (plenty).