This German classic reminds me of my childhood. It comes with sour, savory, and sweet elements (did I tell you that I love capers?) which makes it so special. I chose a spiced puree made from pumpkin and parsnips as a side. Alternatively, steamed sweet potatoes or “false fried potatoes” made from parsnips are also suitable.
If you wonder about the “rock salt” I use: this type of salt is retrieved in Germany (and other regions) and stems from the ancient ocean. Usually, it contains less environmental waste compared to sea salt.
This recipe was created by Franziska Mickley (from “Genuss and Glück“, which can be translated to “Pleasure and Happiness”) for A Squirrel in the Kitchen. You can find Franziska on Facebook and Instagram as well.
Ingredients
Method
Cook the vegetables:
- Preheat the oven to 200° C / 400° F.
- Cut the squash in half and remove the seeds. Peel the squash if is a butternut squash. You can prepare (and consume) Hokkaido squash including the peel. Cut the squash into approximately 3 cm / 1-inch pieces.
- Peel and dice the parsnips. The pieces should be slightly smaller than the pieces of squash.
- Transfer the vegetables to a baking dish, season with salt and top with small pieces of coconut oil.
- Close the dish with a lid. If you don't have a lid, you can use aluminum foil instead.
- Bake the vegetables until tender, about 30 to 35 minutes.
Shape the meatballs:
- Chop the onion very finely and mash the anchovy fillets with a fork.
- In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients for the meatballs into a smooth meat mixture. Shape the meatballs with your hands.
Cook the meatballs in the broth:
- Roughly chop the onion. Bring the bone broth with the salt to a boil over high heat.
- Reduce the heat to medium. Add the onion and other spices to the broth and let the meatballs sink into the broth one by one. The meatballs should now simmer in the broth for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, remove the bay leaf from the broth, turn off the heat and let the meatballs soak in the hot broth for another 10 minutes.
- Take the meatballs out of the broth and keep them warm (for example, place them covered in the oven when the vegetables are done baking).
- Take 1 cup of the remaining broth (without garlic or onion pieces) and transfer to a small container. Set aside. You will use this later to make the caper sauce.
Complete the pumpkin and parsnip puree:
- Take the vegetables out of the oven and transfer to a blender or food processor. Add the olive oil.
- Process on high until the vegetables turn to a smooth puree. Season with mace.
Prepare the caper sauce:
- Melt the coconut oil in a small saucepan over low heat. Turn off the heat completely for the next steps.
- Add the arrowroot flour to the coconut oil, one teaspoon at a time, while stirring with a whisk, making sure there are no clumps.
- Gradually add the cup of broth you had set aside to this coconut oil/arrowroot paste, stirring vigorously to obtain a creamy sauce.
- Turn the heat back on over medium setting to gently warm up the sauce.
- Add the capers and coconut milk to the sauce. The sauce should no longer cook at this point. Reduce the heat if necessary.
- Season the sauce with lemon juice and salt.
- Divide the meatballs and vegetable puree between 4 plates and drizzle with a generous portion of caper sauce. Garnish with fresh parsley. Enjoy!
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
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