Königsberger Klopse with Caper Sauce

Ingredients

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• 1 day-old bread roll
• 100 ml (3.4 fl oz) milk
• 1 small onion
• 500 g (1.1 lb) ground beef and pork mix
• 1 egg
• 2 anchovy fillets finely chopped (optional)
• 1 tsp salt
• pepper and nutmeg to taste
• 1 l (4 1/4 cup) water
• 1 onion halved
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 allspice berries
• 1 tsp salt
• 40 g (1.4 oz) butter
• 40 g (1.4 oz) all-purpose flour
• 500 ml (2 cup) cooking broth from the meatballs
• 100 ml (3.4 fl oz) heavy cream
• 3 tbsp capers
• 2 tbsp caper brine from the jar
• 0.5 lemon juice
• salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Soak the roll in the warm milk and squeeze it out well after 10 minutes. Chop the onion very finely.
2. Knead the ground meat, squeezed roll, onion, egg, anchovies, salt, pepper and nutmeg thoroughly together and shape into 12 equal meatballs.
3. Bring the water with the onion half, bay leaves, allspice and salt to a boil, then reduce the heat until the water barely simmers. Add the meatballs and let them cook gently for 15 to 20 minutes, without boiling.
4. Lift the meatballs out with a slotted spoon and keep them warm. Pour the broth through a sieve and measure out 500 ml (about 2 cups).
5. For the sauce, melt the butter in a pot, stir in the flour and cook it for 2 minutes, stirring, until pale. Gradually stir in the broth until the sauce is smooth, and simmer for 5 minutes.
6. Stir in the cream, capers, caper brine and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Warm the meatballs briefly in the sauce and serve with boiled potatoes or rice.

Tip: Cook the ground meat all the way through: the meatballs are done when no pink is left in the center and the core reaches at least 160 °F (70 °C).

Tip: If the sauce is too salty, leave out the caper brine and use more cream.