Kalvefrikadeller med Dildsmor

May brings the dill. Not the tired bunches that sit in supermarkets all winter, but the real thing: bright, feathery, so fragrant it scents your hands before you've even started chopping. This is when kalvefrikadeller make sense.

Pork frikadeller are the weeknight standard, the one every Dane learns first. But when the season turns and the markets fill with young herbs and the evenings stay light past nine, there's a version that belongs to spring. Veal is leaner and more delicate than pork, and it takes the dill differently: quietly, without competing. The meatballs come out softer, paler, with a golden crust that shatters into something tender underneath. And then you put the dill butter on top and let it melt.

Pay attention to two things. First, the sparkling water. It sounds strange but it's the technique that makes these light instead of dense. The bubbles create air pockets that survive the pan, and you'll taste the difference on the first bite. Second, the resting time. The mixture needs twenty minutes in the fridge before you shape it. That patience is what holds everything together. You'll know when it's right: the patties will hold their shape on the spoon and release cleanly into the hot butter. After that, the dill butter does the rest.