Lammefrikadeller med Dildsovs

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large heavy frying pan
• •Medium saucepan for the sauce
• •Whisk
• •Fork for mixing the lamb

Instructions

1. 1

   Mix the lamb mixture

   Put the ground lamb in a large bowl. Add the grated onion, egg, flour, salt, white pepper, and cumin. Pour in the cold sparkling water. Now mix it with a fork, working in one direction, until the mixture becomes cohesive and slightly sticky. This takes a minute or two. The sparkling water does something that still water can't: the bubbles create tiny air pockets inside the mixture, and those pockets survive the frying, giving you frikadeller that are lighter than they have any right to be. Let the mixture rest in the fridge for fifteen minutes. Cold mixture holds its shape in the pan.

   Grate the onion, don't dice it. Grated onion dissolves into the mixture and gives you flavor without chunks that burn on the surface.
2. 2

   Shape the frikadeller

   Wet your hands with cold water. Take a generous tablespoon of the mixture and shape it into an oval patty, about the size of a small egg, then flatten it slightly. You're not making round meatballs. Danish frikadeller are oval and a little flat, which gives you more surface in contact with the pan and more of that golden crust where the flavor concentrates. You should get about sixteen pieces.

   Keep wetting your hands between each one. The mixture is sticky by design. The moisture on your palms is what lets you shape it cleanly.
3. 3

   Fry the frikadeller

   Heat the butter and oil together in a large, heavy frying pan over medium heat. Butter alone burns before the centers cook through. Oil alone tastes like nothing. Together they give you the golden crust and the nutty richness that makes these taste right. When the butter foams and the foam begins to subside, lay the frikadeller in the pan without crowding them. You may need to work in two batches. Cook for three to four minutes on each side. Don't move them once they're down. Let the heat do its work. When you flip them, the underside should be deep golden brown and firm enough to turn without breaking. The lamb fat will render into the pan and the kitchen will smell like spring.

   Resist the urge to press down on the frikadeller with the spatula. That squeezes out the juices you've spent all this effort keeping inside.
4. 4

   Start the dill sauce

   In a separate saucepan, melt the 40g of butter over medium heat. Add the flour and stir continuously for two minutes. This is a roux, and the reason you cook it is to get rid of the raw flour taste that would otherwise haunt the finished sauce. The roux should turn a shade paler and smell biscuity, not toasted. You're not browning it. You want a blonde roux that will keep the sauce pale and clean.

5. 5

   Build the sauce

   Pour in the stock in a slow, steady stream, whisking constantly. The whisk matters. A spoon leaves lumps. A whisk breaks them apart before they form. Once all the stock is in and the sauce is smooth, add the milk. Bring everything to a gentle simmer and let it cook for eight to ten minutes, stirring often, until the sauce has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon. It should be the consistency of single cream, not thick paste. If it goes too thick, add a splash more milk.

   If lumps do form, don't panic. Take the pan off the heat and whisk hard for thirty seconds. They will come out. If they won't, pour the sauce through a fine sieve and carry on.
6. 6

   Finish with dill

   Take the sauce off the heat. Stir in the chopped dill and the white wine vinegar. The vinegar is quiet but essential: it lifts the richness of the butter and milk and gives the sauce a brightness that keeps it from feeling heavy. Season with salt and white pepper. Taste it. The sauce should taste of dill first, cream second, and a gentle acidity underneath that pulls everything together. Be generous with the dill. More than you think. That green running through the white sauce is half the beauty of this dish.

7. 7

   Bring it together

   Nestle the fried frikadeller into the warm sauce, spooning it gently over the top so each one is half-coated. Let them sit for two or three minutes in the sauce over the lowest heat. This is not more cooking. This is the moment when the lamb and the dill and the cream find each other and become one dish instead of two. Serve in the pan or on a warm plate with boiled new potatoes alongside. A spoonful of the sauce over the potatoes is not optional. That's how it's done. Tak for mad.

Chef Tips

• •Use sparkling water in the mixture, not still. It sounds strange, but it makes the frikadeller lighter. The bubbles create tiny air pockets that survive the frying. This is something you learn by watching, not by reading, and now you've read it anyway.
• •Don't buy lamb that's too lean. You need the fat for flavor and for keeping the frikadeller moist. If your butcher offers shoulder mince, take it. It has the right fat content without you having to think about it.
• •A half-teaspoon of cumin in the lamb mixture is not traditional, but it's a quiet trick I picked up during a summer in Jutland. It sits underneath the lamb flavor and makes it taste more like itself. Nobody will identify it, but everyone will notice something.
• •Make the sauce while the frikadeller rest after frying. The resting lets the juices redistribute, and the timing works perfectly: by the time the sauce is finished, the frikadeller are ready to go back in.

Advance Preparation

• •The lamb mixture can be made up to a day ahead and kept covered in the fridge. Cold mixture is actually easier to shape, so this is an advantage, not a compromise.
• •The dill sauce is best made fresh. If you must make it ahead, reheat gently and stir in the dill and vinegar only at the last moment. Dill loses its brightness if it sits in hot liquid for too long.
• •Fried frikadeller without the sauce keep well in the fridge for two days. Reheat them gently in the fresh sauce when you're ready to serve.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 320g)