School has been canceled for the kiddos for the last two days!! On Sunday snow turned to freezing rain, a phenomena I’ve only experience here in NOVA, which made for slick, icy roads on Monday. And today it snowed a few inches, apparently enough for the kids to have another day off and for my hubby to not have to report to work. We’ve been busy little Christmas elves, but I’ve not forgotten about unoriginal Tuesdays. Today I’m featuring Bora Bora Fireballs from Well Fed. These things rock. Seriously. And, they remind me of some place warmer, some place where there are no snow days; where sand is found in between my toes in a good way!
Bora Bora Fireballs {PALEO}
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1/2 teaspoon plus 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon plus 1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
- 1 cup canned crushed pineapple, sugar free and packed in it’s own juice
- 2 Tablespoon coconut aminos
- 1 1/2 teaspoon dried ginger
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3-4 scallions, white and green, very thinly sliced
- 1/2 fresh jalapeño, seeds and ribs removed, finely minced
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 2 pounds ground pork
Directions:
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Prepare your baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper. Done!
- Next you’ll need to toast the coconut. Heat a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Is it warm? Okay, now add the coconut and stand over that stove stirring the coconut often. Use a wooden spoon and watch for the coconut to turn golden brown, when it does remove it from the heat. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt and 3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper to the now toasted coconut and set aside.
- Grab a big bowl and a metal sieve. Dump the canned pineapple into the sieve and drain it. You’ll do this by pressing the coconut into the sieve with a wooden spoon thereby removing the excess moisture. Place the pineapple in a big mixing bowl and make sure to save the pineapple juice.
- To the pineapple add 1/2 teaspoon salt, 3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, the coconut aminos, ginger, garlic, scallions, jalapeño and eggs. Mix until combined then add the pork. Mix everything together with your hands making sure that all the ingredients are incorporated.
- Make balls. (Did you crack a smile? Maybe just a little one?) You’ll want to arrange the toasted coconut, pineapple juice, pork and baking sheet in an assembly line fashion. Take a rounded tablespoon of the pork mixture. Form it into a meatball, just roll it around in your hands. Then dip it into the reserved pineapple juice, a quick douse will do. Place the meatball into the coconut mixture, lightly roll it between your hands to help the coconut adhere. Less is more here, don’t go overboard with the coconut. Lastly, place the meatball on the baking sheet. Repeat the process, placing the meatballs about 1/2 from one another until you’ve formed about 42 meatballs.
- Pop in the oven and cook for 25-30 minutes, until golden and sizzling. Enjoy!
We had a simple Asian flavored broccoli slaw with the meatballs but cauli-rice would make a nice side, as well. Also, while preparing the recipe I realized it would make more than we would eat in one sitting (and might not re-heat so great) so I took about half the meatballs and froze them. I only prepped the “to be frozen” balls through the forming of the ball part. I saved some pineapple juice and toasted coconut. When I made this recipe the second time I just grabbed the frozen meatballs, thawed them, and then did the pineapple juice/toasted coconut dance before baking again. It turned out great!
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