After a particularly disappointing Ikea trip, I took to my stove and whipped up these incredibly tasty – yet horrendously unphotogenic – Swedish meatballs.

meatballs

I went to Ikea a few weeks ago. There were a couple of things I needed, including a bath mat and a toilet brush – but the only thing on my mind as I entered that big blue box was the delicious Swedish meatballs in the cafe. Unfortunately, they didn’t have any.

I was still thinking about this tragedy a few weeks later, and decided to take matters into my own hands. I fired up my iPhone, navigated to BBC Good Food, and found their recipe. The photo above shows what about 45 minutes of cooking produced.

First off, let’s talk aesthetics. These homemade Swedish meatballs are about the ugliest thing I’ve ever concocted in my kitchen. The gravy has a really vomit-y vibe about it. When I sent my sister a photo, she replied: “Why are they in a puddle?”

But if you’re brave enough to take a bite, you’ll be glad you did. The pork balls and beef gravy are a match made in heaven, and – here’s the best bit – the recipe only cost about £4 and made enough meatballs for three meals.

Swedish meatballs: terrific taste, great value, horrendous photos.