A healthier spin on a family favourite. By using yummy eggplant as an alternative to chicken schnitzel and adding extra veggies to the Bolognese sauce, this heavy meat dish is transformed into a dish packed with nutritional value from 8 different vegetables. Making the Bolognese sauce from scratch not only tastes better, but also reduces salt and sugar found in ready made sauces.
Preparations time: 30 mins
Cooking time: 60-90 mins
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
1 Large eggplant
1-2 eggs
2-3 cups of almond meal
500g mince beef
1 garlic clove
1 brown onion
1 carrot
1 zucchini
6 mushrooms
2 cups of spinach
1 red capsicum
4 tomatoes
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 cup Red wine
2 tbs of Tomato paste salt reduced
1 tbs Smoked paprika
1tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Nutmeg
6-8 rashes of smoked bacon
Tasty cheese shredded
1. Preheat oven at 180C.
2. Slice the eggplant long ways in 1-1.5cm thickness and salt and set aside for 10mins
3. Lightly oil a frying pan with olive oil. Dice the onions and add to the pan, cook until softened.
4. Dice the capsicum, tomato and slice the mushrooms and spinach. Grate the zucchini and carrot.
5. To the pan add the minced meat and 1 crushed garlic clove and begin to brown.
6. Add remaining vegetables along with the canned tomato, tomato paste and red wine and smoked paprika and allow to simmer until cooked.
7. Whilst cooking the Bolognese sauce, wash the eggplant and hand whisk the eggs.
8. Lightly coat the eggplant with egg and then crumb with almond meal.
9. Place the eggplant in the oven and cook till soft and golden turning the eggplant over at 15mins. This can take up to 30mins.
10. Once the sauce is cooked and has reduce add the cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste.
11. Once the egg plant is golden and a slice of bacon on top of the eggplant and add back to the oven for 5mins – 10mins or until bacon start to brown.
12. Take eggplant out of the oven and top with Bolognese sauce and sprinkle with tasy cheese.
13. Add back to the over until cheese is golden
14. Serve on a bed of rocket lightly drizzled with olive oil and lemon juice.
FODMAP friendly alternatives – omit the garlic, onion and mushroom. Replace almond meal with LSA, chia meal, quinoa flour or buckwheat flour.
Nut Free Option – Chia meal, quinoa flour or buckwheat flour.
Vegetarian and Vegan alternatives – omit the mince meat and add more veggies with the aim to make a ratatouille or instead.
GAPS Alternative – replace pistachios with walnuts or sunflower seeds
Dairy/Lactose Free version – do not use cheese as topping.
Download the full recipe in PDF format
Created by Melbourne Naturopath Bianca Potenta
© The Health & Wellbeing Studio 2018
