Recipe: Primal Eggplant Rollatini

Long time no see blog followers!

It's been such a busy couple weeks and thankfully Patrick has been stepping up on the cooking front. Finding the time to blog these wonderful meals that have been prepared the last 2 weeks has been difficult!! Finally I have a second to blog about what I made last night: Primal Eggplant Rollatini stuffed with Ricotta and Italian Sausage topped with a home made marinara and a creamy béchamel sauce. Yes my mouth is watering just typing it. Lately we've been continuing with our ketosis phase and being more "primal" than paleo using lots of yummy grassfed creams and cheeses. I can say I miss eating fruit SO MUCH!! This weekend we both caved and ate some frozen grapes and strawberrys that we brought to hold us over at the Mets game. Now we are focusing back on being in ketosis until May 18 so Patrick can make weight for his Jiu Jitsu competition. Then I'm totally eating all the pineapple and water melon in sight..watch out!

Back to the eggplant. We obviously wanted something high in fat and protein that would help kickstart our ketosis phase. With a few ideas in mind I went to the grocery with my list of things needed for the week and stumbled upon the 'reduced price produce' section that had everything I needed for this meal and then some!! Feeling extremely inspired I grabbed some plum tomatoes and onions along with my eggplant to make this dish extremely tasty and 'from scratch'.
Recipe: Primal Eggplant Rollatini

Filling
1/2 lb ground sweet italian sausage
8 oz Ricotta (GF if you can find it)
Shredded Italian cheese blend (parmesan, romano, mozzarella, provolone)
1 egg
2 cloves minced garlic
1 Tbsp basil (fresh) chopped
1 Tbsp oregano (fresh) chopped
Salt/Pepper

Start by sautéing the ground italian sausage in a pan until its almost cooked through (I leave it barely pink inside to allow for 'rest' and baking time). In a mixing bowl mix the Ricotta, cheese, egg, garlic, herbs, and salt/pepper thoroughly. Once the sausage is done I added 1/2 of it into the cheese mix.

Marinara
1 Sweet yellow onion
2-3 cloves minced garlic
GF Butter or Bacon fat (I actually used fat from the italian sausage after cooking it)
15-20 Plum Tomatos
1 Tbsp tomato paste
1/2 Tbsp red pepper flakes

1 Tbsp basil (fresh) chopped
1 Tbsp oregano (fresh) chopped
Italian sausage (cooked from above)

Salt/Pepper

Started off by sautéing the onions and garlic on low heat in the sausage fat until they were near caramelizing. Then I added the tomatos and turned put the lid on it. Checked it maybe 15-20 min later and the tomatos were ready to burst! Using a hand blender ( you could also transfer this to a regular blender) I blended the tomatos to the consistency I wanted. If you like chunky sauce vs well blended sauce its all up to you!! I chose somewhere in between. Then I tossed in half of what was left from the italian sausage above (leaving 1/4 of the cooked amount left over) along with the tomato paste and red pepper flakes. Last I added in the basil and oregano and left the heat very low to simmer as I prepared the rest of the meal.

Rollatini
1 eggplant
Filling from above
Marinara from above
Italian cheese blend
Salt/pepper

Preheat the oven to 350. Using a mandoline (or a very steady hand) slice the eggplant "length wise" in to thin slices. I chose to make my slices extremely thin, about the thickness of a quarter, however if you want a more beefy eggplant flavor feel free to go a little thicker -- not too thick though you want to be able to easily roll it. Using the filling I made above I placed a nice dollop and rolled the eggplant around it. In a baking pan I coated the bottom with a thin layer of the marinara sauce and carefully placed the rolled eggplant into the sauce. Once all of the pan was filled (or the filling ran out) I painted a little more marinara on top of the eggplant and sprinkled with some of the left over italian cheese. Placed in the oven for 15-20 min.

Béchamel Sauce
1 stick GF Butter
1-2 Tbsp coconut flower
2 Tbsp cooking wine
GF Heavy cream
Minced Garlic (to taste)
salt/pepper

While the eggplant is in the oven I melted some butter in a sauce pan. Add the coconut flower and stir around until its a golden brown color (making a roux) Pour in the cooking wine and Add enough heavy cream to get the consistency of the sauce you want. I added some minced garlic and salt/pepper to it for enhanced flavor.

Final Product
Once you take the eggplant out of the oven, I plated the rollatini on some marinara and topped it with the béchamel sauce. I sprinkled the remaining sausage over top of the rollatini along with some fresh herbs for extra flavor.

Hope you guys enjoy!!!

Kim

30 Days complete and Easter Brisket

Hi!

Wow..the past 2 weeks have been a whirlwind! Im finally able to sit down for a blog update! It was nice going home to visit family and friends but definitely nice to get back home into the swing of things. Another fun update is that Patrick and I have officially made it to our first "no cheating" 30 day paleo challenge. I was so excited that I made this commitment and stuck to it. I feel like with a lot of 'diets' it's so easy to break for the oreos in the break room or the starbucks white peppermint mocha during my cold walk to work in the city, but I did it! I think for a number of reasons I was able to be successful -- First and foremost my blog partner in crime Patrick. Honestly having someone to check in with on a daily basis and make meals with and just get excited about food with makes life MUCH easier when it comes to sticking to eating right. Next -- this blog. I feel like even though I may be talking to absolutely no one other than my mom or dad (hi mom and dad) I feel like if I cheated before day 30 I would be cheating on everyone! So thanks for keeping me in check :) The last major reason I feel like I stuck to my paleo lifestyle the past 30 days is because I believe in it. I believe in the science behind it and I can truly say I FEEL better in every way!

After day 30 I of course had a cheat meal or 2 and when I came back from NC Patrick and I chose our 'cheat' meal to have together. I'm not even going to talk about what we had so that I don't torture anyone who may be also doing some type of diet challenge, but after the couple of days...I felt slower, bloated, and just plain gross. So Patrick and I jumped right back in to our diet. This time we're trying a more Primal approach. Both Patrick and I have some fun recipes to share soon for sure! I've already seen a preview of some of the things he's cooked or planned to cook.

Meanwhile I figured I would share the Paleo Easter I prepared for my family. I really feel like when I went home I wanted to prove that "paleo food" tastes just as good as "normal food". The funny thing about this is Paleo food IS normal food. Its just better ingredient, less processed, more from scratch, which has the potential for better flavors! One of my favorite things to cook for my family holidays is Brisket. I'm half jewish and though I've always celebrated the Christian holidays with my family I always like to bring a recipe that my dad is proud of especially since we didn't celebrate passover.
Paleo Easter Brisket Recipe
4 lbs Beef Brisket (not corned)
2 Sweet Yellow Onions (thin Sliced)
5 cloves minced garlic
2 Tbsp Paleo Ketchup (tomato paste + red wine vinegar salt/pepper)
1 Tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
1 Tbsp. pure maple syrup
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper

Place onions in bottom of slow cooker. Add the brisket (fat side up) on top of onions. Rub garlic on top of the brisket. Combine ketchup, vinegar, and maple syrup in small bowl and then rub into beef. Add enough water to coat the bottom of the cooker. Cover crockpot and cook on Low 8-10 hours. The meat literally falls apart and melts in your mouth ughhh!

Once its done I took the broth and used arrow root to make the gravy. The steps were taking a sauce pan add 2 Tbsp Grass-fed butter melted and then added arrow root -- enough to make a roux. Once it was golden brown i started adding the leftover broth from the crock pot until it was the consistency I wanted. I added some salt pepper and rosemary to finish it. 

The final dish was Brisket with a side of Roasted Green beans (with garlic) and super creamy and garlicy cauliflower mash !!

 -Kim