Fiskeboller i hvit saus (Norwegian fish balls in white sauce)
Weekday dinner the way Norwegians remember it: soft, mild fish balls warmed in a smooth white sauce made with the stock from the tin and a grating of nutmeg, with boiled potatoes, plenty of carrots and a shower of chives. Gentle, quick and very child-friendly.
- Time
- 45 min (15 prep + 30 cook)
- Servings
- 4
- Per serving
- 443 kcal
- Protein
- 20 g
Ingredients
White sauce
- 1 tbsp butter
- 3 tbsp all-purpose flour (bleached), plain flour
- 1 cup fish stock, the liquid from the tin
- 1 1/2 cups 1% milk
- 1/2 tsp salt, or to taste, the tin liquid is salty
- a good grating nutmeg
- a pinch white pepper
- 1 large tin fish balls, canned, drained, liquid saved
To serve
- 3 tbsp chopped fresh chives, or parsley
Steps
- Boil the potatoes in salted water until tender, about 20 minutes. Boil the carrots in a separate pot of lightly salted water for 12–15 minutes until soft. Drain both and keep warm.
- Melt the butter in a wide saucepan over medium heat, stir in the flour and cook for a minute without letting it colour.
- Whisk in the tin liquid a little at a time, then the milk, whisking so there are no lumps. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 3–4 minutes, stirring, until smooth and glossy. Season with salt, nutmeg and white pepper, tasting first, because the tin liquid is already salty.
- Add the fish balls, cover and leave over low heat for 5 minutes, until hot through (145°F). Do not boil them, or they turn rubbery.
- Scatter over the chives and serve with the potatoes and carrots. Leftovers keep 2 days in the fridge; reheat them gently.
Good to know
What else can go in the sauce?
A teaspoon of mild curry powder in the roux is a very common Norwegian twist, and crisp bacon on top is another.
Can't get Norwegian fish balls?
Swedish fiskbullar in tins are the same thing; use about 550 g drained. Asian fish balls work, though they are firmer and need only a couple of minutes in the sauce.
Can I use whole milk and more butter?
Yes, it makes a richer sauce: a score of about 68 instead of 72.
Alternative
Per
- Calories
- 64
- Protein
- (18%)
- 3 g
- Fat
- (18%)
- 1 g
- Carbohydrates
- (64%)
- 11 g
- of which sugar
- 2 g
- Fiber
- 1 g
- Sodium
- 187 mg
More meals
Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. How
As written, 1773 kcal goes into the pot and 2802 g of ingredients comes out as about 2770 g of food: 64 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.