Everyday Swedish Meatball Stew

1/2 cup crumbled crackers

1 cup whole milk

1 large egg

1 pound ground beef (not more than 15 percent fat)

salt

freshly ground black pepper

freshly ground white pepper

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 1/2 pounds boiling potatoes, peeled and cubed

3 cups beef bouillon (homemade or from a concentrated cube) or canned low-sodium beef broth

1 teaspoon paprika

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley leaves

Soak the crackers for 10 minutes in the milk in a small bowl. Squeeze the milk out of the crackers. Place the egg in a food processor and run for 15 seconds. Add the crackers, beef, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper and 1/4 teaspoon white pepper and process until pasty. Alternatively, everything can be mixed by hand in a bowl, but the meatballs will be more coarsely textured. Make as many meatballs, 1-inch in diameter, as you can. Set aside.

In a large casserole or skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Brown the meatballs with the potatoes until light golden on all sides, about 4 minutes. Pour in the beef bouillon and season to taste with salt; add pepper to taste and the paprika. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for 30 minutes. Uncover, raise the heat to medium, and cook until the potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes.

Sprinkle with parsley 5 minutes before the stew is done, and serve immediately.

Makes 4 to 5 servings