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
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