Ikea has released the recipe for its iconic meatballs

All the joy of the meatballs, without any of the stresses of Ikea

Arguably as famous as their flatpack furniture and blue and yellow colour scheme, the Ikea meatballs are the stuff of legend.

Often acting as the much-earned reward for dealing with a trip round Ikea, they're a key part of the shopping experience (so I hear, I've actually never had them).

And back in 2020, when not many people were visiting Ikea because of Covid-19, the Swedish chain decided to treat the world to its meatball recipe, so people could recreate them at home.

But you don't need a pandemic as an excuse to make these beauties, so in case you missed it first time round, here it is again, all clearly written down for you.

First up then, the ingredients. To make 16-20 meatballs, you will need:

• 500g beef mince
• 250g pork mince
• 1 onion finely chopped
• 1 clove of garlic (crushed or minced)
• 100g breadcrumbs
• 1 egg
• 5 tablespoons of whole milk
• salt and pepper to taste

Meanwhile, for the Swedish cream sauce, you'll need:

• dash of oil
• 40g butter
• 40g plain flour
• 150ml vegetable stock
• 150ml beef stock
• 150ml thick double cream
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Now, the steps. For the meatballs:

1. Combine beef and pork mince and mix thoroughly to break up any lumps. Add finely chopped onion, garlic, breadcrumbs, egg and mix. Add milk and season well with salt and pepper.
2. Shape mixture into small, round balls. Place on a clean plate, cover and store in the fridge for 2 hours (to help them hold their shape whilst cooking).
3. In a frying pan, heat oil on medium heat. When hot, gently add your meatballs and brown on all sides.
4. When browned, add to an ovenproof dish and cover. Place in a hot oven (180°C or 160°C fan) and cook for a further 30 minutes.

And for the cream sauce:

1. In frying pan, melt 40g of butter. Whisk in 40g of plain and continue cooking, stirring continuously, for 2 minutes, allowing the flour to cook through. Add 150ml of vegetable stock and 150ml of beef stock and continue to stir. Add 150ml thick double cream, 2 teaspoons of soy sauce and 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard. Bring to a simmer and allow the sauce to thicken. Continue to stir.
2. When ready to eat, serve with your favourite potatoes - either creamy mash or mini new boiled potatoes.

So there you go, now you can enjoy the much-loved meatballs without having to traipse around Ikea looking at flatpack furniture.

Or maybe that's part of the meatball experience for you, and they actually only taste as good as they do because of the effort and struggle that has gone into earning them.

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