Swedish plant balls (Köttbullar-INSPIRED)
🥖🤔 Did you know that 35% of all CO2 emissions are produced during the entire bread-making process? An estimated 40% of bread produced every year is wasted in the home, which means that for every loaf of bread eaten, half a loaf is thrown away. By making small changes at home like Grandma Sita, turning bread surplus into edible and nutritious plant-based bites will keep ourselves and the planet healthy.
🌱🇸🇪 Annike joined A Grandchild in My Kitchen, Grandma Sita’s plant-based cooking challenge, and they cook delicious Swedish-style veggieballs made from leftover bread like most traditional food the ingredients are simple but the outcome is wonderful.
🧆😋 This easy plant-based recipe is inspired by the popular Köttbullar which is a classic Swedish dish. There is no standard recipe, each Swedish family adjusts the recipe and twitches it a bit according to their taste buds.
INGREDIENTS
1 small broccoli, grated
2 small aubergines, chopped
2 bell peppers, chopped
1 tray of mushrooms, chopped
1 bunch of spring onion, chopped
1 bunch of parsley, chopped (optional)
Salt and pepper
2 half rye bread, soaked
*In Scandinavia, it is relatively cold, so grain-like rye is much better suited for the climate. So that means we commonly use rye flour, most commonly in bread.
FOR THE SALAD
2 apples, chopped
2 carrots, grated
1 cucumber, chopped
1 fennel, chopped
Balsamic dressing (optional)
Salt and pepper
METHOD
1. Wash all vegetables well. Chop aubergines, bell peppers, mushrooms, spring onion, and parsley. Grate the flowering head of the broccoli (couscous-sized granules), and peel chop the stalk.
2. Cut the rye bread into cubes and soak them in an oat drink.
3. Heat vegetable oil in a pot. Sauté the chopped veggies until soft, then add the soaked rye bread. Mix until well combined. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Pour the mix into a bowl, add chopped parsley (optional), and roll into small balls, with a diameter of about 2 or 3 centimeters. Coat them with breadcrumbs, for an added crunch (optional).
5. Lay the veggie balls on a baking tray and bake them for about 20 minutes/200C.
6. Optional step: Heat a tablespoon of vegetable oil in a skillet on medium heat. Add the baked veggie balls and fry on both sides for about 3 minutes each, until brown.
7. Serve delicious veggie balls with salad, mashed potatoes, or anything else you like, and Bon appetite!
👵💚 Grandma Sita’s tips:
*Leftover bread can be soaked in some liquid (oat drink) and puffs up when cooked, making these veggie balls extra soft and juicy. It has just the right consistency, and an amazing taste and will be loved by adults and children alike!
*You can change the recipe according to your taste, so have fun experimenting, but don’t forget to cook up some complementary plant-based food like salad or mashed potatoes.
📗Traditionally, Köttbullar (meatballs) are served with potatoes or pasta and rårörda lingon (lingonberry jam). Sometimes a pickled vegetable such as cucumber, or pressgurka (pressed cucumber) may be added on the side. As for the occasion, Swedish meatballs may be considered a festive food; you’ll surely find it on any Swedish table during a holiday or a celebration. There’s even a Christmas version of meatballs called julköttbullar, and you’d bake these rather than fry them.
🌎 Globally, almost 900,000 tonnes of bread are wasted annually, that’s around 24 million slices every day. Let’s not add to that statistic by making delicious veggie balls made from leftover bread that will keep ourselves and the planet healthy.