Broiled Peaches with Ground Lamb and Mint
Peach halves broiled until the cut faces caramelize, served with hard-browned ground lamb, garlic, and a shower of mint and lemon for a plate that is sweet and savory at once.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
Late in the summer, when the peaches on the counter are going soft faster than anyone can eat them, this is where two of them go. Broiling a peach takes about seven minutes and changes it completely, and the lamb browning in the pan beside it takes about the same. I make it on a slow Sunday and I double the lamb on purpose, because that is the part that reheats well and turns into a second breakfast on Tuesday. If you have been eating savory plates for six weeks straight and want something sweet that is still a real meal, this is the one I would point you toward.
Two things matter here and the rest is easy. The peaches have to be firm-ripe rather than soft, because a soft peach collapses into liquid under the broiler and never gets the dark rim at the edge that makes this worth doing. And the lamb needs a properly hot pan and four undisturbed minutes before you touch it, so a crust forms. Lamb gives up a good amount of fat as it browns and I leave most of it in, since that fat is what carries the garlic and the cinnamon through the meat. A quarter teaspoon of cinnamon is enough to smell and not enough to taste, which is exactly where it belongs with lamb.
Lamb and peach is an old pairing and it works because the fruit is acidic enough to stand up to a rich meat. The mint goes on at the very end, off the heat, in a quantity that looks like too much in the bowl and is not once it hits the plate. Lemon zest goes on with it. What arrives is a breakfast with real protein in the lamb, real sweetness in the fruit, and enough brightness that you finish it rather than pushing it around. Chopped together cold, the leftovers are one of the better things you can put in a lunch container the next day.
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 lb ground lamb
- 4 large firm-ripe peaches (about 1 1/3 lb), halved and pitted
- 2 shallots, finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/3 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice, plus the zest of 1 lemon
- 2 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 1 tsp honey
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp fine sea salt, divided
Instructions
- Heat the broiler and prep the fruit: Set an oven rack about 6 inches under the broiler and turn it to high. Halve the peaches and twist out the pits. Line a sheet pan with foil, toss the halves with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and the honey, and set them cut side up in a single layer.
- Brown the lamb: Heat a large skillet over medium-high with the remaining tablespoon of oil. Add the lamb in large clumps with half a teaspoon of the salt and leave it completely alone for 4 minutes so a crust forms, then break it up and cook 4 minutes more until no pink remains.
- Add the aromatics: Stir in the shallots and cook for 3 minutes, until they soften and turn translucent at the edges. Add the garlic and the cinnamon and cook 45 seconds more, just until the garlic smells sweet rather than raw. Spoon off some of the fat if there is more than you want.
- Broil the peaches: Slide the pan under the broiler for 6 to 8 minutes, until the juice bubbles in the hollows and the cut edges have blackened in spots. Watch them from about the 5 minute mark, since they go from caramel to burnt in under a minute.
- Finish the lamb: Take the skillet off the heat, add the lemon juice and the remaining salt, and stir in half of the mint. Scrape the bottom once so the browned bits come up into the meat, and taste for salt.
- Plate it: Set two peach halves on each plate and spoon the lamb around them and into the hollows where the pits were. Scatter the rest of the mint and the lemon zest over the top and serve while the fruit is still hot.
Variations
- Apricots or plums: Halved apricots or plums broil the same way in about 5 minutes and land tarter against the meat.
- Nectarine and rosemary: Use nectarines and swap the mint for chopped rosemary when you want the plate more savory than sweet.
- Beef or bison: Ground beef or bison works at the same weight, though both are milder, so add an extra clove of garlic.
- Greens folded in: Wilt a few large handfuls of spinach into the lamb at the end so there is something dark green in every bite.
- Grilled version: Grill the peach halves cut side down over high heat for 3 minutes and cook the lamb in a skillet on the grate beside them.
Storage & Leftovers
Keep the lamb in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days and the peaches for 2, stored separately so the fruit juice does not thin the meat. Cool both uncovered for about 20 minutes before the lids go on, or the steam softens the peach edges you worked for.
Reheat the lamb in a dry skillet over medium-high for 3 to 4 minutes, spread out and left alone at first so it picks its edges back up. The peaches are good cold or barely warmed for 30 seconds. Do not put them back under the broiler, since the second round turns them to pulp.
The lamb freezes well for up to 3 months, portioned flat in bags and thawed overnight in the refrigerator. The peaches do not, so broil fresh ones when you pull the meat out. Two peaches and a hot broiler is a seven minute job on any morning.
Notes & Tips
- Buy the peaches firm: Fruit that dents under your thumb will slump on the pan. You want peaches that smell sweet at the stem and still feel solid in your hand.
- Line the sheet pan: Peach juice caramelizes onto bare metal and turns black under a broiler. Foil takes 10 seconds and saves the pan.
- Leave the lamb alone: Stirring ground meat the moment it hits the skillet is why so much of it comes out gray. Four still minutes builds the crust the plate rests on.
- Keep the cinnamon quiet: A quarter teaspoon reads as warmth rather than as spice. A whole teaspoon turns the lamb into something that tastes like a dessert.
- Stand at the oven: The last two minutes under a broiler are the whole difference. Pull the pan when the edges darken, not when the timer says so.
- Mint goes on off the heat: Fresh mint stirred into a hot pan turns dull and brownish in seconds. Add it once the skillet is off the burner and again at the plate.
Nutrition & Mindful Eating
- Lamb and peach make a better pair than people expect. The meat brings the richness and the body, the fruit brings sweetness and a little fiber, and the mint and lemon over the top pull the two together so the plate eats as one thing.
- Ground lamb carries iron in the form the body takes up most readily, along with zinc and B12, and it is the reason a plate with fruit on it still eats like a full meal rather than like a snack.
- Peaches turn softer, sweeter, and more concentrated under a broiler than they ever are raw, and their golden flesh is where the beta carotene comes from, along with a bit of vitamin C that survives the short blast of heat.
- Garlic and shallots soften into the lamb fat and turn sweet rather than sharp, and they bring the kind of fiber that feeds the bacteria in your gut. Cooking them this thoroughly also makes them gentle on stomachs that find raw onion difficult.
- Mint, lemon, and a quarter teaspoon of cinnamon are the whole seasoning. The cinnamon sits underneath as warmth you smell more than taste, and the acid from the lemon is what stops rich meat from flattening out on the palate.
- As you eat, take the first bite as peach and lamb together rather than one and then the other, and notice how far the fruit has traveled from raw before you reach for the next forkful.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use frozen or canned peaches?
Frozen halves work if you thaw them fully and pat them very dry, though they will soften more and char less, so skip the honey and give them 5 minutes rather than 8. Canned peaches in juice are too soft to broil and turn to pulp under that heat.
Is ground lamb too rich for the morning?
It is richer than most breakfast meats, which is why the lemon and mint go on at the end. If you want it lighter, spoon off half the rendered fat after the shallots go in, or use ground turkey and add an extra tablespoon of olive oil to the pan.
What if I do not have a broiler?
Sear the peach halves cut side down in a hot dry cast iron skillet for 4 minutes, or roast them at 425°F (220°C) for about 20 minutes. Both get you the caramelized face, though the skillet gives you the darkest color and the oven gives you the softest fruit.
Does this fit an AIP elimination phase?
It does. There are no grains, legumes, dairy, eggs, nuts, seeds, or nightshades here, and cinnamon is one of the few dried spices that stays in during elimination. Everything else is garlic, shallot, mint, and lemon, which is where the flavor is coming from anyway.