Meatballs in Sticky Peach Sauce

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My mom always used to reminisce about her childhood growing up in Montreal. Cold winters were spent playing outdoors in the snow, eating crepes for what seemed to me like every morning (lucky girl!), and coming inside for a “stick-to-your-ribs” dinner at sunset.

Growing up in Florida, the last thing you want at any time of the year is for your food to stick anywhere. We eat lightly year-round down in the sunshine state, and it’s one of the reasons why no matter what climate I live in, I eat salad and mangoes in the dead of winter! But I do recognize that the majority of the country is plowing, quite literally, through the snowiest and coldest time of the year right now!

Soups and stews are incredible choices right now, especially if following a gut-healing diet, but sometimes it’s nice to break out of our soup binge, is it not? These meatballs will not only stick to your ribs but to your hands, face… hey they may even stick your hands to your face if you’re not careful. Subtle sweetness is counterbalanced with savory bone broth, rosemary, and thyme, and a quick broil turns these meatballs into caramelized gooeyness that your kids and spouse will rave over! My favorite way to serve them is over a simple root vegetable puree (parsnips or Japanese yam are the best) with a side salad.

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If you cannot find an AIP-friendly peach preserves at your grocer (I get mine at a local specialty store), it is very easy to make your own with whatever fruit is easily sourced in your neck of the woods right now! It’s just a matter of boiling and reducing chopped fruit in a saucepan, mashing or pureeing to desired chunkiness, and you have homemade preserve/jam that will work very well in this recipe! Here’s are some of the AIP community’s recipes for AIP Raspberry Jam, Lavender Peach Butter, and Cherry Ginger Fruit Butter to get you started!

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4.5 from 2 reviews
Meatballs in Sticky Peach Sauce
 
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Author:
Serves: 4 to 6 servings
Ingredients
  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1 pound ground pork
  • 3 tbsp no-sugar-added peach preserves (homemade or store-bought)
  • 1 tbsp minced fresh rosemary
  • 1 tsp dried thyme leaves
  • ¾ tsp fine sea salt
Instructions
  1. Combine all meatball ingredients together in a large mixing bowl with your hands until evenly distributed.
  2. Form 2-tablepoon-sized meatballs and place directly in a large skillet set over the stovetop. You will be able to fit the most meatballs if you place them in a concentric pattern.
  3. Once all the meatballs have been placed in the skillet, turn the heat to medium-high. Cook for 6 minutes until browned on the bottom, turn over with a spoon and cook an additional 5 to 6 minutes until slightly pink in the center. Turn off the heat and stir the meatballs to coat them in the pan juices.
  4. Spoon the Sticky Peach Sauce (recipe below) on top of the meatballs. Broil for 4 to 5 minutes until the sauce has caramelized. Serve warm over mashed parsnips or white sweet potatoes with the sauce spooned on top!

 
4.5 from 2 reviews
Sticky Peach Sauce
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Serves: ½ cup
Ingredients
  • ½ cup no-sugar-added peach preserves (homemade or store-bought)
  • ⅓ cup chicken broth
  • 3 tablespoons fresh-squeezed orange juice
  • ½ teaspoon orange zest
  • 3 large Medjool dates, pitted
  • Pinch sea salt
  • 2 teaspoons arrowroot starch
  • 1 tablespoon cold water
Instructions
  1. Combine the preserves, broth, juice, and zest in a small saucepan over medium-high heat.
  2. While you wait for the mixture to come to a boil, cover dates in a small dish with water and microwave for 30 to 60 seconds until softened. Drain the water and mash the dates into a paste using a fork.
  3. Once the mixture has been boiling and reducing down for 5 to 7 minutes until thickened, whisk in the date paste and sea salt until well combined. Remove from heat.
  4. Whisk together the arrowroot and cold water in a small dish and then pour directly into the saucepan. Whisk continuously for 1 minute to thicken the sauce. It will lighten up in color and thicken to a sticky sauce.

 

About Alaena Haber

Alaena Haber is the recipe creator and blabber, err… blogger, behind Grazed and Enthused, an Autoimmune Protocol diet and lifestyle blog. Alaena initially began blogging in 2014 to re-spark her passion for cooking while on the elimination phase of the Autoimmune Protocol, which she uses to address Hashimoto’s and leaky gut symptoms. Enthused by her rapid health progression, she decided it was time to help others by devoting more (okay, all) of her spare time to the autoimmune community. Alaena has three requirements for her recipes: they must be creative, accessible, and make others excited about nutritional healing. You can find her on Facebook and Instagram where she shares both tiny and victorious moments in her healing journey.

16 comments

  • Erin says

    Alaena, this sounds ridiculously tasty. And I still have plenty of my lavender peach butter that I put up this summer! Yay!! Totally trying these balls. 🙂

  • The Bacon Kid is gonna loooooove these!

  • Rebecca says

    This sounds perfect for an Ottawa winter too! I will be trying these this weekend.

  • Analisa says

    I wonder if you could do this with only ground beef? Or would it change the flavor?

  • joslyne decker says

    I made this tonight for my third night on AIP. Not only was this my first AIP recipe that actually turned out, but everyone loved it! My 7 year-old declared it her new favorite meal. We had it over zoodles and it was AH-MAZE-ING! I will definitely make a huge batch and freeze freeze freeze. This recipe gives me hope that I can do this! Thank you!!

  • Jacque says

    Hello, I’m new to AIP. I have made jam with no pectin but not without sugar. Do you have a recipe or a store brand that is good?

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  • Alison says

    Day 5 on AIP dinner. Substituted ground turkey for beef/pork (not a fan of beef) and substituted apricot preserves for peach. Too dry with lean turkey. Will try again with a pork/turkey combo and I will make sure the turkey I buy has more fat in it. Apricot preserves were great. The sauce was amazing. I served this in romaine lettuce leave for lettuce wraps. My husband added basmati brown rice to his. Another comment would be it would be nice to have some small chunks of the fruit mixed into the meatballs. My preserves weren’t chunky enough.

  • Kum says

    Can you sub tapioca starch for arrowroot in this recipe?

  • kackack says

    I just don’t like using stovetops, meat never comes out right for me unless I park it in the oven. Can you bake this in the oven? 20 minutes at 400? Or………?

  • Cynthia says

    What would you recommend using as a substitute for the orange juice/zest if oranges happen to flare your rosacea? :'(

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