Slowcooked Paleo Meatballs

Meatballs must be the ultimate in comfort food – ‘Just like mamma used to make!’  I love them, but usually, when you eat them in a restaurant,  they use breadcrumbs to bind them. The breadcrumbs help the meatballs to hold together during cooking but unfortunately, it means I can’t usually have these little balls of deliciousness.  If I want them, I’ve got to cook them myself!  Luckily, I found you can get pretty much the same result using almond flour so these are my breadcrumb-free, Slowcooked Paleo Meatballs.

To start, you first need to make the meatballs.  Peel and dice the onion and crush the garlic.  Add the onion and garlic to a mixing bowl with the minced pork, minced beef, dried oregano, eggs and ground almonds.  Season well with salt and pepper and mix everything together.

Then, roll portions of the mixture into balls (about golf-ball sized) and arrange on a platter.  If possible, chill in the fridge for a couple of hours to allow them to firm up. (You can skip this step if you don’t have time but it really does help them not fall apart during cooking).

While the meatballs are chilling in the fridge, you can begin making the tomato sauce.  Start by heating the olive oil in a saucepan over a medium heat.  Then, peel and dice the onions and crush the garlic.  Add the onions and garlic to the pan and soften them in the olive oil until they become translucent but not browned.  Then, add the tinned tomatoes, passata, water and tomato puree.  Season the sauce well with salt and pepper and leave it to cook over a low heat until you are ready to add the meatballs to it later on.

Next up you need to fry the meatballs,  This browns and caramelises the outside so that they look and taste much more attractive in the final dish.  It is a bit of a faff and I would say don’t bother if it didn’t make such a difference to the look and flavour.

So you need to heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium/high heat.  Take the meatballs out of the fridge and add a few of them to the pan.  Fry them in batches, turning occasionally so that they brown all over. Take care not to overcrowd the pan or they won’t brown as well.

While they are browning, turn the slow cooker on high and add the tomato sauce it.  Add the browned meatballs and make sure to push them as much under the sauce as you can so that they can cook in it.  Cook for at least 2-4 hours, longer if possible.  I think that slow-cooking them this way makes the meatballs much more tender.

Finally, serve the meatballs and sauce spooned over courgetti spaghetti (zucchini noodles – zoodles) or pasta, topped with some parmesan cheese and chopped parsley or basil for garnish.

And there you have it – delicious Italian meatballs.  You wouldn’t know the difference and they hold together perfectly and don’t fall apart while cooking, yet they’re so tender!  I like to serve these with my Grain-free focaccia and a fresh, green salad.

Slowcooked Paleo Meatballs

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 2 hours hrs

Total Time 2 hours hrs 20 minutes mins

Course Main Dish

Cuisine Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, Grain-Free, Italian, Low Carb, Paleo, Primal, Refined Sugar-Free, SCD

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

  

For the Tomato Sauce

• 2 small onions
• 2 cloves garlic
• 400 g chopped tinned tomatoes (2 tins)
• 400 ml passata
• 1 tbsps tomato puree
• 100 ml water
• 1 tbps olive oil
• salt and black pepper

For the Meatballs

• 400 g minced beef
• 400 g minced pork
• 1 small onions
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 egg
• 50 g ground almonds (almond flour)
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 2 tbsps olive oil
• salt & black pepper

Instructions

 

To make the meatballs

• Peel and dice the onion and crush the garlic.
• Add them to a mixing bowl with the minced pork, minced beef, dried oregano, eggs and ground almonds.
• Season well with salt and pepper and mix everything together.
• Roll portions of the mixture into balls (about golf-ball sized) and arrange on a platter.
• If possible, chill in the fridge for a couple of hours to allow them to firm up. (You can skip this step if you don't have time).

To make the Tomato Sauce

• Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over a medium heat.
• Peel and dice the onions and crush the garlic.
• Soften the onions and garlic in the olive oil until they become translucent but not browned.
• Then, add the tinned tomatoes, passata, water and tomato puree.
• Season well with salt and pepper and allow to cook over a low heat until you are ready to add the meatballs

Frying the meatballs

• Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium/high heat.
• Add a few of the meatballs and fry in batches, turning occasionally so that they brown all over. Take care not to overcrowd the pan or they won't brown as well.
• Turn the slow cooker on high and add the browned meatballs and the tomato sauce it.
• Cook for at least 2-4 hours, longer if possible.
• Serve the meatballs and sauce spooned over courgetti spaghetti or pasta, topped with some parmesan cheese and parsley or basil for garnish.

Dietary & Allergy Information for Slowcooked Paleo Meatballs

This recipe is Grain-Free, Gluten-Free, Refined-Sugar Free & Dairy-Free.  It is also suitable for Paleo, Primal, Specific Carbohydrate Diet – SCD & Low Carb Diets.

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