Breakfast Idea

Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Aubergine Lasagne

This is probably one of my favourite Whole30 meals I've had so far. It doesn't take too long to make, so I'm probably going to make this again this week (double sized).

Ingredients:
500g beef mince (preferably not lean since there is no dairy fat being added)
2 handfuls of baby tomatoes and 1 tsp tomato paste (instead of making your own 'passata', you can use some from a can too)
1 onion, chopped finely
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
2- 3 aubergines, sliced length-ways and fried in olive oil
A handful of olives, roughly chopped
Some thyme and oreganum
Salt
Pepper

Method:
Fry the chopped onion in some oil on a medium-low heat until translucent.
Add the beef (if it's not yet defrosted you have to continuously keep scraping off the cooked bits to make sure it doesn't make one giant meatball) and fry it until browned. This might take some time and can be done on high heat. Add extra oil if it starts sticking to the pan.
Once the meat is browned, add the garlic and season with salt.
In a separate pan I sautéed the tomatoes until soft and then I used a blender to make a  sort of soup (or 'passata'). I added tomato paste to add extra flavour.
Then, add your tomato mixture to the beef and make sure that any extra liquid is reduced away. Now the beef is ready to be ladled into a casserole dish and topped with some chopped olives (for flavour). Start with about a third of the beef and use half the olives.
Next, layer the aubergine on top (about half of them / enough to fit your casserole dish dimensions). 
Repeat the beef layer, the olives and then the aubergines again. It might be a good idea to end with another layer of beef if possible because my aubergines dried out a bit.

Put your casserole dish in the oven at 180'C for 30 minutes and then it's ready!

Tip (from an olive-lover): The olives add a lot to the flavour so don't leave them out! If you're not an "olive-person", don't worry because you can't really taste them :P

Pot Au Feu

This French beef stew is eaten by both the rich and the poor as a comfort food.  Literally the name translates to "pot on the fire". It is relatively easy and cost-effective to make.

If you use marrow bones, the cooked marrow can be eaten on toast, the broth can be served separately as a soup and the vegetables and meat can be served on their own as a stew (one meal, three ways). If you live in the Meadowridge area, in Cape Town, The Fat German can supply you with super marrow bones for R25/kg (and other very tempting things).

Simple, deliciously comforting and cost-effective, this recipe is one of my favourites (especially the broth).

Ingredients:
500g beef blade (you can also use beef shank, chuck, ribs)
500g large beef marrowbones
2 whole cloves
1 large white onion, peeled, halved
1 bouquet garni (something like 3 sprigs of thyme, parsley)
1 small cinnamon stick
1 tsp black peppercorns 
1 tbsp coarse sea salt
2 bay leaves
5 stalks celery, cut into large pieces
4 medium carrots, peeled and quartered
6 small turnips, peeled and quartered
500g new potatoes 
2 baby cabbages, optional

Method:
Place all the ingredients except for the last four (the vegetables) into the stockpot and pour enough cold water into the stockpot to cover the ingredients.

Bring this to boil and then turn it the heat down to a low simmer (just below boiling) for 2 1/2 hours. Add water, if needed, to keep the meat and marrowbones covered. 

After 2 1/2 hours, add the carrots, celery and turnips. Simmer these for 20 minutes. Add the baby potatoes and simmer for a further 20 minutes. 

Remove the vegetables and meat which should now be tender and cook the cabbages for ten minutes. When it's cooked through you can take the cabbage out and just reduce the broth.

To serve, spread the marrow onto toasted baguette and enjoy with gherkins, mustard, horseradish and sea salt. You can serve the broth also with some toasted baguette, and the stew can be eaten as is with the afore-mentioned condiments.