This authentic and hearty Swedish dish is a baked casserole of seasoned ground beef layered with sauteed, lightly sweetened cabbage. It’s a simple variation of meatloaf, Swedish style. Legend has it that kålpudding’s origins lie in the cabbage dolmas that Swedish soldiers encountered in the Ottoman Empire while battling Russians.
Kålpudding is particularly comforting husmanskost, or home cooking, for cold and dark Swedish winter evenings, and it’s easy enough to turn into a quick weekday meal. The traditional accompaniments to the casserole are lingonberries and boiled or roasted potatoes. If you don’t have lingonberry jam (or an IKEA near you!), cranberry sauce is an excellent substitute.
To support the natural sweetness of the cabbage, Swedes use a light golden syrup made from sugar beets called ljus sirap. British treacle or American molasses work fine as substitutes. The syrup gives the dish a rich, complex flavor and a dark, caramelized hue.
Ground beef or a mix of ground beef and ground pork both work well for this dish. As a matter of fact, you can make kålpudding your own by using your favorite meatloaf recipe. However, I would advise my fellow Americans to leave out the ketchup!
By the way, the letter å makes roughly the “oh” sound in Swedish, so the dish is pronounced “KOHL-pudding”, instead of “KAWL-pudding.” Directly translated, it means cabbage pudding, with pudding in the British sense of seasoned ground meat or sausage.
Kålpudding
Course: MeatsCuisine: Sweden
This authentic and hearty Swedish dish is a baked casserole of seasoned ground beef layered with sauteed, lightly sweetened cabbage.
Ingredients
- For the cabbage
Butter — 2 tablespoons
Cabbage, finely chopped or shredded — 1 head, or about 3 pounds
Golden syrup, treacle or molasses — 1/4 cup
Vinegar — 1 tablespoon
Caraway seeds — 2 teaspoons
Parsley, chopped — 2 tablespoons
Salt and pepper — to taste
- For the meatloaf (or use your own recipe for 1 pound of meat)
Ground beef — 1/2 pound
Ground pork — 1/2 pound
Breadcrumbs — 1/3 cup
Milk or cream — 1/4 cup
Medium onion, grated — 1/2
Salt and pepper — to season
Beef or chicken stock, or water — 1/2 cup
Directions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Melt the butter in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium flame. Add the cabbage and saute, stirring until it collapses down. Stir in the golden syrup or molasses, vinegar and caraway seeds and reduce the heat to low. Simmer the cabbage slowly until it is thoroughly wilted and slightly caramelized, about 20 to 25 minutes. Stir in the parsley and season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Gently break the beef and pork into chunks into a large mixing bowl. In a separate small bowl, mix the breadcrumbs and milk or cream. Set aside to let the breadcrumbs soak up the liquid.
- To the bowl with the meat, add about one third of the sauteed cabbage, along with the soaked breadcrumbs, grated onion and salt and pepper. Mix gently yet thoroughly with clean hands.
- Butter or grease a standard casserole dish or cast-iron pan. Spread half of the remaining sauteed cabbage over the bottom of the dish or pan. Spread the meatloaf mix evenly over the cabbage and press down gently to get it to all areas of the dish or pan. Then top the meat evenly with the remaining cabbage. Pour the stock or water over everything to moisten it.
- Bake uncovered on the middle rack of your oven for about 40 to 45 minutes. Once the casserole is removed from the oven, let it rest for another 10 to 15 minutes before slicing and serving.
- Serve with lingonberry jam and boiled, roasted or mashed potatoes. Worcestershire sauce is a great condiment for diners to season their portion with as they like.
Kålpudding Notes and Variations
- For the cabbage: Add some finely chopped onions and minced garlic to the cabbage as you saute it.
- For the meatloaf: Season your meatloaf with a splash of soy sauce or Worcestershire sauce. Give it a good grinding of allspice. Some Swedes use cooked rice or barley flakes in their meatloaf mix instead of breadcrumbs.
- For an extra-thick layer of cabbage topping: Instead of mixing one-third of the cabbage into the meat mixture, layer 1/3 of the cabbage on the bottom of the dish and then use the full remaining two-thirds of the cabbage to top the middle meat layer.
- Sauce for kålpudding: If you have a fair amount of liquid in your pot after sauteing the cabbage, drain it off and simmer it with some heavy cream and a little beef stock to make a heavenly sauce to pour over everything.
- Finnish kaalilaatikko: Finns use cooked rice or pearl barley in their version of the meatloaf, and they boil the cabbage instead of sauteing it.
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