Swedish Potato Sausage (Korv) with Rotmos — Almost as Good as Mamma’s

Mamma fell again. Not badly — her knee buckled on the front steps and she went down on one hip, the same hip she bruised last summer. Erik found her when he came for his Thursday visit. She was sitting on the bottom step, not crying, not calling for help, just sitting, because Ingrid Johansson does not call for help. She waits. Help arrives or it doesn't. She sits. Erik called me from her house. "She's fine," he said first, because he knows that's what I need to hear first. "But she fell." I drove to Fifth Street. Mamma was on the couch with a bag of frozen peas on her hip — the same hip, the same couch, the same frozen peas as last year — and she looked at me with the expression of a woman who has been caught doing something she shouldn't, which in this case was being eighty-six and mortal. I examined her. The hip was bruised, not broken. Her range of motion was good. She was alert, sharp, angry. "I tripped on the step, Linda. The same step I've been walking up since 1962." I said, "Maybe we should look at the step." She said, "The step is fine. I'm fine." The step is actually slightly uneven — it's settled over fifty-five years — and I'm going to have Erik fix it whether Mamma approves or not. Two falls in fourteen months. I know the statistics. I know that falls in the elderly are often the beginning of a cascade — first a fall, then a restriction of movement, then a fear of falling, then a further restriction, and the world gets smaller and smaller until the person who used to garden and bake and walk to church is sitting in a chair all day and the chair becomes the world. I will not let that happen to Mamma. I will repair the step. I will check her house for tripping hazards. I will suggest — gently, diplomatically, with all the subtlety of a Scandinavian daughter who knows that direct confrontation with Ingrid Johansson is suicide — that she consider a cane. I did not suggest the cane this week. I'll work up to it. I made Mamma's favorite dinner and brought it to her house: korv, the potato sausage, with boiled potatoes and lingonberry jam and a side of rotmos because she likes the combination and because feeding Mamma the food she taught me to make is the closest thing to a hug that this family allows. She ate everything. She said, "The korv is good. Almost as good as mine." Almost. Forty years of trying and I'm at almost. I'll take almost. Almost is the closest any of us will get. I drove home and told Paul. He said, "Your mother is the toughest woman in Duluth." I said, "She's the toughest woman in Minnesota." He said, "She's the toughest woman." He's right. But tough doesn't mean unbreakable. Nothing is unbreakable. I know this better than most.

After I got home from Mamma’s house that night, I wrote down the recipe. Not because I don’t know it by heart — I’ve been making her korv for forty years and I’m still at “almost” — but because I wanted it here, in ink, the way she taught it to me. The potato sausage with rotmos on the side is the meal I bring when someone I love needs feeding, and feeding is the thing I can do when fixing the actual problem isn’t mine to fix yet. If you’ve got someone tough who won’t ask for help, make them this. They’ll eat everything and tell you it’s almost as good as theirs.

Swedish Potato Sausage (Korv) with Rotmos

Prep Time: 45 minutes | Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes | Total Time: 2 hours | Servings: 8

For the Potato Sausage (Korv)

• 2 pounds ground pork (not lean — you want some fat)
• 1 pound ground beef
• 4 medium russet potatoes, peeled and grated (about 3 cups)
• 1 medium yellow onion, finely grated
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 cup whole milk
• Natural hog casings (about 4 feet), rinsed and soaked in cold water

For the Rotmos (Rutabaga Mash)

• 1 large rutabaga (about 2 pounds), peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 2 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup heavy cream, warmed
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
• Pinch of ground nutmeg

For Serving

• Lingonberry jam
• Boiled small potatoes (optional, if you want both)

Instructions

1. Prepare the sausage filling. In a large bowl, combine the ground pork, ground beef, grated potatoes, and grated onion. Add the salt, allspice, pepper, ginger, and nutmeg. Pour in the milk and mix thoroughly with your hands until the mixture is uniform and slightly sticky. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes to let the flavors meld.
2. Stuff the casings. Thread soaked casings onto a sausage stuffer or a wide funnel. Tie one end with kitchen twine. Fill the casings loosely — the potatoes will expand during cooking, so leave room. Twist or tie into 6-inch links. Prick each link in two or three places with a pin to prevent bursting.
3. Cook the sausage. Place the sausage links in a large pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat — do not boil, or the casings will split. Simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the sausages feel firm and an internal temperature reads 160°F. Remove to a plate.
4. Brown the sausage (optional but recommended). Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a skillet over medium heat. Brown the simmered sausages on all sides, about 2 minutes per side, until the casings are golden and slightly crisp.
5. Make the rotmos. While the sausage simmers, place the rutabaga cubes in a large pot of salted water. Bring to a boil and cook for 10 minutes, then add the quartered potatoes. Continue boiling until both are completely tender, about 20 more minutes. Drain well.
6. Mash. Return the rutabaga and potatoes to the pot over low heat for 1 minute to dry out excess moisture. Add butter, warm cream, salt, white pepper, and nutmeg. Mash until smooth but still slightly textured. Taste and adjust seasoning.
7. Serve. Plate the korv alongside a generous scoop of rotmos and a spoonful of lingonberry jam. Serve with boiled potatoes if that’s how your mamma does it.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 485 | Protein: 28g | Fat: 29g | Carbs: 30g | Fiber: 4g | Sodium: 890mg