So on Sunday nights, we have bolognaise. My boys have gluten free spaghetti, I make sure there is enough left overs for my youngest for his daycare meals for the week, & I make my husband & I this paleo (ish) low carb bake. It's sort of like Mousaka, but I don't use lamb & there is no potatoes, and my béchamel (or white sauce) is made of cauliflower (so it's dairy free).I say "ish" because sometimes I add cheese. It's not necessary but we are not strictly or obsessively paleo & we both tolerate dairy well so I'm comfortable using good quality, full fat dairy in small doses.
I do use my Thermomix to make the béchamel. Generally I try not to hype on about my Thermomix. Most people don't have one & while I ADORE mine, & wouldn't be without it, you could do this with a steamer & a food processor or stick blender.
In regards to the bolognaise sauce, I make mine using 500g grass fed beef (or in this case beefalo) mince, 1 large zucchini and 2 large carrots which I grind in the Thermomix (you could just grate them on a fine grate), I brown the mince, I add the vegetables and then I use a jar of Jensen's Organic Bolognaise pasta sauce. So sue me. I'm a very busy, working mother. If you want to, make it from scratch. I don't have time. I let the sauce simmer on the stove for at least an hour (& often 2 or 3). I then mix half with the pasta for the boys & use the rest for our Eggplant Lasagne. So here is the recipe:
Slice a large eggplant into 1/2 a centimetre slices, lengthways. Melt 1 tbs ghee or grass fed lard & brush onto both sides of the slices.
Place onto a wire rack & bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes, turning half way through. You should be left with lovely char marks on the slices (but it doesn't matter if you don't, they'll be covered in sauce soon!).
While the eggplants are baking, break half a cauliflower into florets & steam them until soft. I steam mine in the Thermomix in the rice basket but of course a stove steamer is fine. When the florets are soft, drain water from the Thermomix bowl, put florets inside & process for about 20 seconds on speed 4. Or use a stick blender to blend it into a paste if you don't have a Thermomix. Add about half a cup of water & 6 raw cashews. Also add a tablespoon of home made Thermomix vegetable stock paste (or half a stock cube if you don't make your own vege stock paste). Process on Speed 10 for 1 minute until it is a thick smooth paste that resembles white sauce. If you don't have Thermomix or a high speed blender of any kind (eg Vitamix), use almond milk instead of water & leave out the cashews. At this point you should have a thick sauce resembling béchamel. If it's too runny, add a tablespoon of tapioca starch (you could add cornflour if you're not too strict with paleo) and cook, stirring, until it thickens & resembles the sauce. Add a grating of nutmeg, and you will be surprised at how much like authentic béchamel the sauce tastes.
Now to assemble. In a lasagne dish, lay out about half (or just under) the bolognaise sauce. It shouldn't completely cover the base, just scatter it over. Layer on one layer of eggplant, then add the rest of the bolognaise sauce, and half of your lovely béchamel. Add the rest of the eggplant, and top with the remaining béchamel. If you are strictly paleo, bake it as is.
We are not super strictly paleo, so I like to scatter some feta over the top. A couple of times, when I've had it (& felt really naughty!) I have sprinkled grated mozzarella over the top. Bake in a 180 degree Celsius oven for around 20 minutes.
This makes 2 enormous serves, but remember, it's mostly vegetables and only contains the quantity of meat which would be used for two serves of pasta, so don't feel an ounce of guilt for eating it all!
I hope this was helpful. Enjoy!
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