Delicious Buffalo and Broccoli Served with Endive and Baked Plantain

If you’re a busy person (like me), then the thought of cooking after a long day of work is a daunting task to say the least. I’m not going to sugar coat it (no pun intended), cooking big meals takes some time… especially when you first start out on switching over to whole foods diets like SCD, Paleo or WAPF.

Most people don’t realize that “cooking” is actually 4 skills…

• Shopping
• Prep and kitchen skills
• Cooking
• Cleaning and plating the food

It’s one of the reasons why beginner cooks can feel very overwhelmed. I know that it took me many months to really start to grasp these different areas.

When I was first starting, I had food spoiling on me, half of my food would be cold by the time I got the rest ready and I struggled to cook more than two things at once. Luckily, as long as you give yourself some grace and keep trying, the skills will develop.

I promise!

Brent is one of our amazing team members, and he’s really talented in the kitchen.  I asked him to come up with a diverse meal that didn’t demand a bunch of fresh ingredients.

He delivered with this delicious meal. Not to mention, he detailed it so that you can see step-by-step how he worked around the kitchen to make sure everything was ready to eat at the same time. If you’ve never eaten Endive… you are missing out, trust me.

Enjoy!

[Enter Brent]

Ingredients:

• 2 Lbs of Ground Buffalo
• 2 Lbs of Frozen, Organic Broccoli (2 bunches of fresh if you have them)
• 1 Bunch of Endive
• 3 Large, Preferably Ripe Plantain (I figure 3 to a pan)
• Sea Salt
• Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
• Ghee
• Olive Oil

Note: I encourage you to substitute for any of these ingredients. In fact, if you’re just starting out, then we highly recommend removing the plantain, it’s a starch and technically isn’t SCD legal.

Utensils:

• Sharp Knife
• Cutting Board
• Large Spoon
• Tongues
• Spatula
• Scissors
• Large Rinsing Bowl
• Large, Deep Frying Pan
• Large Pot and Lid
• Medium Pot and Lid
• 1 or 2 Large Baking Sheets (depending on how many plantain you go for)
• Parchment Paper (preferably from a sustainable source)

Cooking Prep and Directions:

Step 1: Fill a large bowl with filtered water to rinse your endive.

Step 2: While your bowl is filling, add 1 to 2 Tbsp of ghee and 2 Tbsp coconut oil to your large pot, and turn on one of your front burners to low-medium heat. Once the oil has warmed up, using scissors, open your frozen, organic broccoli and add to pot. Sprinkle a little sea salt evenly.

Caution: While I add the frozen broccoli right to the pot as the oil is heating up, be advised there are safer ways of doing this (and more recommended.) If you choose to do it this way, be sure to cover right away and do NOT add to hot oil.

Cover and stir occasionally to ensure broccoli doesn’t burn and stick to bottom of pot. Keep at low-medium heat.

Step 3: Time to prep your endive! Using your sharp knife and cutting board, cut the end of the endive off. That’s right, we’ve got those plantain on deck.

In your medium pot, add a few Tbsps of olive oil and place next to the sink. Thoroughly hand wash your endive in the large bowl of filtered water, getting rid of dirt and debris. As you clean, break the leaves of endive in half and fill the pot as you go.

Note: Don’t try to wash the entire bunch of endive all at once – trust me it’ll be a mess and take longer to clean.

Once you’ve finished cleaning, place the pot on one of the back burners at medium heat.

Step 4: Preheat your oven to 325-350°F. Then, grab your parchment paper and tear off a piece to cover the entire surface of your baking sheet. Pour some olive oil (or any healthy fat) on the parchment paper. Next, peel the plantain, like I did in the picture here. Remove the ends and cut the peel lengthwise – if you’re lucky, the peel will come off in one piece.

Slice your plantain to desired thickness (I like about 3/8”… not too thick or thin). Place your slices on the baking sheet and sprinkle a little sea salt on top. Put your plantain in the oven for 20 mins and flip when they begin to slightly brown.

Step 5: Put your large frying pan on your other front burner on medium heat, and add approximately 2 Tbsps of coconut oil and 1 Tbsp of ghee. Once your fat has warmed up, add your 2 lbs of ground buffalo to the frying pan. Using your spatula, chop up the meat and add sea salt to taste as you brown the beef to desired level of doneness.

Once the buffalo is browned, transfer the cooked broccoli from the large pot to the frying pan. Turn your burner to warm-low heat and occasionally stir with your spatula. Keep an eye on the endive and flip using your tongs.

Step 6: Depending on your timing of everything, you might be waiting a little on the plantain (they typically take a total of 25-30 mins), so use your time to set the table and/or clean the large bowl, cutting board, knife, large pot, and anything else you won’t be using anymore. Once you get done with that, the plantain should be nice and golden brown like these…

Step 7: Everything will be nice and hot and ready to plate at this point. Remember to turn off your burners and oven and most importantly enjoy a delicious meal that you’ll have plenty of leftovers of.

You can mix it up and substitute for pretty much every ingredient, and simply use this process as a template for creating meal after mouth-watering meal.

Enjoy, in good health!

-Brent

Let us know what you thought of the meal and if you came up with your own variations. We’d love to hear about your creations.

-Steve

P.S. – If you want even more help with your meal planning, check out our other free recipe ideas and our ready-for-you meal plans.