“I associate so many fond memories with food. On that damp evening, alone in a tiny restaurant smelling of mildew and lobster, I was 1,600 miles from everyone I knew and loved. After one bite of the pie, I closed my eyes, and taste transported me back to the warm, familiar comfort of my grandmother's kitchen. She always had a pie sitting on the kitchen counter, ready to serve, and a fresh pot of coffee brewing.”― Debi Tolbert Duggar
There is a lot to be said for comfort food. It is what we want when we are feeling low, need an internal hug or are just simply exhausted. It is that plate of food which warrants a sigh of sheer delight and surrender as you sit down before it. It literally does transport us to a time and place when life was simpler and we were in our "happy place". That first fork full is the epitome of a "perfect moment" and it slows time. I have a few "comfort foods" and every single one of them takes me back to my mom. Meals I had the pleasure of enjoying as a kid, tween, teen and adult. Nothing fancy, just good wholesome and delicious food, made with love by the one person that loved me more than any other.
Many years ago, I took a blank book and gave it to my mom. I asked her to start writing her recipes in it for me. We swapped the book several times over the years... she would keep it for a few weeks, adding her hand written recipes and then give it back to me and I would add some of my own, or cut outs from magazines. I am not really big on recipes in general... but having my mom's recipes was important to me. I am glad I did that.
There are a handful of her best recipes which sadly I never got my hands on such as her waterblommetjie bredie and her steak and kidney stew... but I did get many and for that, I am eternally grateful.
One of those plates of comfort food, and a meal which she made often was frikkadels, mash and veg. Just over a month ago I decided to offer that to my dad for dinner. WELL! The reaction was like a thousand "yes pleases" wrapped into one single declaration... "YES! "I have not had frikkadels in YEARS!" he exclaimed - yeah... no doubt, since my mom and him got divorced which was a life time ago - 35 years to be precise lol. So... Frikkadels it was!
For those of you not familiar with that South African term... a frikkadel is essentially a meatball, but better! I suppose everyone has there own "rendition" but I love my moms! Oh, and on that South African note - for those confused by the word "lekker" in the title - it is Afrikaans for "good, great, nice, awesome". Right, with the translation lesson done and dusted...
Frikkin' Lekker Frikkadels!
There really is not much spectacular about the compilation of a frikkadel, but I can promise you that the end result is nothing short of moreish! So, I generally roughly chop an onion, a handful of fresh parsley, one red bell pepper - add one egg, soak a slice of bread in a little milk and then add that, a tablespoon of vinegar, salt, pepper and a little bit of chicken spice. Throw all of the above into a mixing bowl along with a pack of beef mince.
Sometimes, I like to spice it up a little and will add things like freshly chopped coriander, but I did it pretty traditionally this time around. I generally use chicken spice or chicken stock even for beef, because I find the beef spices and stocks a little too rich and often result in a flavour profile which is a little too "heavy" for my liking. The only other thing which I added to this round of frikkadels was a dollop of Mrs Balls Original Chutney! Mrs. Balls changes everything for the better :)
WASH YOUR HANDS lol and then mix that all up!!! There is nothing more satisfying than working with food by hand - it is therapy I tell you... therapy!
Many people make the mistake of getting the flour involved at this stage of the game, trying to roll and flour each ball one by one... and then they end up with gooey, sticky hands that actually cant achieve anything at all... the meatballs don't roll and essentially you just end up with a big fat mess! Leave the flour for the moment! - Firstly, tightly roll all your frikkadels. Rolling them between palms of your hands but also simultaneously compressing them as you roll. When you have done this, set them one side.
Something I often used to do as well, when I was not wanting to cook all the meatballs on that particular occasion (which was not very often... because left over frikkadels are like left over wine - non existent, lol) was to put a few of them on a separate tray and shove them in a freezer drawer for about 20 minutes. They won't be fully frozen, but will be firm enough to remove from the freezer, throw into a freezer bag and freeze for another day.... thanks mom.
Over the years, and for "healthy eating" reasons I will mostly bake frikkadels, but as this was a plate of comfort food which I was making with my dad in mind - I did them the way my mom always did and that was deep fried!!!! But before we get to that, NOW is the time to coat them in flour... you know, when your hands are not full of wet mince, lol! I generally like to season the flour a little too - nothing grand, just a little salt and pepper. So pour some general purpose flour onto a plate, roll the frikkadels in it and set them aside once again.
If you are working with an electrical stove, it would be wise to put a deep pan on the heat filled about half way up with cooking oil for about 15 to 20 minutes before putting the meatballs into the oil. I was working on a gas stove so that heating time was reduced to about 5 minutes. The point is that when you drop the frikkadels into the oil, it SIZZLES! You do NOT want them to just SIT in the oil for any length of time, because they will soak it all up and this will NOT give you a pleasant end result. This is easy enough to test by pinching off a teeny tiny little piece from one of the frikkadels and dropping it into the oil. If it sizzles ferociously, the oil is ready. If not, wait a little longer - because the frikkadels are larger in size and with each one that you add to the oil, it will reduce the temperature, thus lowering the rate of sizzle!
Cooking the frikkadels is pretty much a "wing it" art because everyone will roll them into different sizes - but a total of 7 odd minutes per side is probably a good gauge. Essentially you just need to look at when they are nice and golden, but the secret is to turn them VERY frequently, like every minute. That way they cook through evenly, don't burn on any particular side and you end up with a perfect end result.
On that particular night, I decided to serve the frikkadels with some blanched patty pans (which are part of the squash family), green beans and the second star of the show... MASHED POTATO!!!! Delicious mashed potato is also an art... I should do a post on that because I have been told by many that my mash is the best they have ever had... thanks mom :)
I keep veg pretty simple nowadays. I blanch them, drain and just add a little olive oil, salt and pepper. Sometimes I go my moms route and pop a little butter in there... because, well - BUTTER! But mostly, I do try to stick to the olive oil. As a mom, those are habits I would prefer to instill in my son. Things like patty pans or baby gem squash I will leave as is - no salt, pepper or even olive oil. They have a completely unique flavour, one which I find enjoyable all on it's own - juicy and delicious without any assitance!
Simple foods are probably the most enjoyable - well, I have grown up with that perspective and experience at any rate. You do not need a trolley load of over priced crap to make a delicious and nutritious meal for your family. As for this particular round... I don't think I have heard that many "mmmmm's" come from my dads mouth in a 20 minute period, lol! I should probably offer to make them again :)
...Thanks Mom! ❤
My grandmother used to make the most incredible chicken divan, and my mom has carried out that tradition. It's my comfort food. It's amazing how you can almost taste the memories with a dish like that! And the more leftovers, the better. - Tessa Virtue
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Until next time...
Much Love from Cape Town, South Africa xxx
Jaynielea
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