We’ve reimagined five classic dishes for a tastier tomorrow
Three years ago, we introduced the world to Tomorrow’s Meatball — a visual rethinking of IKEA’s iconic meatball using alternative ingredients such as insects, algae, and lab-grown meat.
Since then we’ve been developing a wider selection of dishes that showcase the kind of food we could one day be eating. Of course, they’re fresh from our test kitchen—so don’t expect to see them on IKEA’s menu.
At SPACE10, our research is rooted in an important principle. Dishes shouldn’t just be healthy or sustainable. They must be delicious, too.
To change people’s minds about food, to inspire them to try new ingredients, we can’t just appeal to the intellect — we have to titillate their taste buds.
Which is why we’ve been working with our chef-in-residence to come up with dishes that look good, taste good, and are good for people and planet.
It’s time, then, to put some of those dishes on the menu — starting with a playful take on our favourite fast-food.
The Dogless Hotdog
Our twist on the classic snack shows that healthy and sustainable food need not be bland.
It’s made with dried and glazed baby carrots, beet and berry ketchup, mustard and turmeric cream, roasted onions, cucumber salad, and a herb salad mix.
But the star of the show — and what gives the Dogless Hotdog its eye-catching looks — is the bun itself.
That’s because it’s made with spirulina — the micro-algae that contains more beta carotene than carrots, more chlorophyll than wheatgrass, and 50 times more iron than spinach.
Oh, and more protein than a “real” hotdog.
The UN called spirulina “the most ideal food for mankind” — and we’re inclined to agree.
The Bug Burger
To show that insects can taste good, we took one of “tomorrow’s meatballs” — the Crispy Bug Ball — and cranked up the volume.
Say hello to the Bug Burger.
Each patty contains 100g of beetroot, 50g of parsnip, 50g of potatoes, and 50g of mealworms — the larval form of a darkling beetle.
(Feeling bugged out? Then you probably don’t want to know what’s really in your beef burger, chicken nugget or pork sausage…)
The Bug Burger comes on a delicious white-flour bun, topped with relish, beetroot and blackcurrant ketchup, chive spread, hydroponic salad mix.
One bite, and we believe you’ll be crawling back for more.
The Neatball
Our latest take on the IKEA meatball, the Neatball is designed to get people thinking about reducing their meat consumption, using local produce and trying alternative proteins.
We’ve developed two kinds of Neatball — one made with mealworms (“Bug Balls, anyone?”), the other with root vegetables such as carrots, parsnips and beets.
And for a true Swedish experience, we like to serve them with mashed potatoes, gravy, and lingonberry sauce.
Pretty neat, huh?
LOKAL Salad
We like a balanced diet — which means eating plenty of greens with all those bugs. And it’s why we’ve started growing literally tons of microgreens in our basement.
That’s right, our basement — all thanks to hydroponics, or the art of growing crops without soil. Instead, they’re grown in water that contains the perfect amount of nutrients.
With hydroponics we can serve delicious, locally produced food, more sustainably — giving us the perfect spring day, every day.
In fact, all of the greens in our LOKAL salad bar are grown hydroponically. We’ve developed three combinations of microgreens, sprouts and herbs: red veined sorrel, broccoli and tarragon; pea sprouts, pink stem radish and thyme; and borage, red frill mustard and lemon balm.
Each one is served with homemade dressing — made with basil, tarragon or lemon balm — while to minimise food waste, all the crunchy toppings are made with day-old bread.
Who says salads are boring?
Microgreen Ice Cream
Time to wrap up this healthy and sustainable meal — which means enjoying an ice cream made using some of those nutritious herbs and microgreens grown hydroponically.
Take your pick from a choice of fennel, coriander, basil and mint — or try combining flavours for added green goodness.
Better still, the base is made with just 60g of sugar (for a 600g batch), with additional sweetness coming from a mix of apple juice, apples and lemon juice.
Then there’s our take on the Popsicle, made with a choice of hydroponically grown herbs including woodruff, coriander, Spanish chervil and sorrel.
It may just be the coolest thing on the menu — in more ways than one.
This article first appeared on the Space10’s Medium site. Hungry for more?
Learn about SPACE10’s culinary adventures here.