Finnish Meatball Tacos

For a few weeks now I've been craving Finnish meatballs, which for me is a rare thing. But once a craving takes hold, it rarely goes away, so I had no choice but to succumb to the whims of my taste buds. I wanted meatballs, but I didn't want the usual heaviness that accompanies a traditional Finnish meatball and potatoes dish. I wanted something lighter, something with colour and a bit of crunch, along with some tang and finally, I wanted something that was easy to prepare. Unfortunately I didn’t quite hit the mark with this final point. This dish is not hard to prepare, but it is time consuming. However, if you want to spend a slow day in the kitchen, listening to your favourite playlist, drinking tea or maybe something a little stronger, this is a fun dish to make and share. So gather a few friends together and spend the day eating drinking and making merriment!

Finnish meatballs are something I grew up with, but in adulthood, they are something that rarely graces our table. I’m not sure why this is, as I actually quite like them. They’re little, easy to eat perfectly savoury bites! The only thing I can think of that might deter me from making them, is that I find making them quite tedious. I only ever really like rolling anything into balls if it contains chocolate. Mince meat, on the other hand, is much less appealing. Probably because our diet is mostly vegetable based. Not that we don’t like meat, or eat it, it’s just I find I can be a lot more creative with vegetables. There are more colours to inspire and textures to play with, and you don’t necessarily have to cook vegetables to enjoy them. However, if you have the patience to make the meat balls, roll out and cook the taco, and put other bits and bobs together, your time will be greatly rewarded. The dish perfectly balances savoury, tangy and sweet. With a little heat from the chilli to crank it up a notch.

I love Mexican food. The flavours, the fun! I’ve not yet had to chance to travel to Mexico and I can’t wait to see the country, experience the sights and sounds and sample all the amazing street food. Until then, I’ll stuff my face with these until I can afford a ticket and can miraculously manage to grab a few weeks off. Probably won’t happen any time soon so I guess I’ll be eating a lot of these! Mixing these two national food staples, meatballs and tacos, seemed like a no brainer. What could be better than meatballs encased in a soft taco with a few of your favourite things thrown in? For me, this is a combo made in heaven! I love the colours and the different textures and the fact that you can build your own taco to suit your tastes. So if you don’t like all the ingredients here, simply substitute for those you find more appealing to your tastebuds. But this is my Finnish/Mexican food adventure.

To have your own, invite your friends over, crank up your favourite music and spend the day making, sipping, nibbling and bopping!

Love and light!

Susanna xo