This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure.
These little eggplant meatballs were the hit of the Girls Night In a couple weeks ago. I wish I could take credit for them, but my friend brought and everyone just loved them. We just could not stop eating them….even with all the desserts, these were the first to go.
The eggplant “meatballs” are vegetarian and would be perfect in spaghetti, as an appetizer, or maybe even a sandwich. They were light and fluffy and wonderful dipped in a little marinara sauce. I usually have a hard time figuring out to do with the eggplant that comes in my co-op basket or that friends have grown….not anymore….this is now going to be my go-to eggplant recipe.
Eggplant “Meatballs”
3 tbls extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 eggplant peeled and diced
1 to 2 tbls water
1 1/4 cup Panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup minced parsley leaves
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
1/4 cup minced oregano leaves
2 large eggs slightly beaten
1/2 cup freshly grated Pecorino (Romano) cheese
1/4 cup vegetable oil
Heat oil in a saucepan and slowly cook the garlic over medium heat until golden. Add the eggplant and 1 tbl of water. Cover and steam the eggplant over low heat until very soft, about 10 minutes. Add the remaining water only if the eggplant begins to stick to the skillet. Stir the eggplant occasionally while it cooks. Set the eggplant aside to let it cool.
Combine the bread crumbs, parsley, salt, oregano, eggs and cheese in a large bowl. (I do this step in the food processor on pulse.) Stir in the eggplant, and let it stand for 20 minutes. Scoop small amounts of the mixture into your hands and form meatballs. Heat the vegetable oil in a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Fry the balls, turning them occasionally so they brown evenly or bake them in casserole dish in a preheated oven until browned, 20 to 25 minutes.
For the appetizers shown: Add a grape tomato, marinated mozzarella ball, basil leaf, and eggplant ball to a skewer. Serve with marinara sauce.
OMGosh! These were SO yummy!
Oh my goodness. This looks really beautiful. This would be great for our Foodie Friday Blog Hop!
I’m your newest follower and host from Mom Blog Monday Blog Hop. When you have a chance, please come and meet us over at voiceBoks.com. It is a great site that allows women to engage and really connect with each other. You won’t find the same unpromising atmosphere that you normally do elsewhere. Our site allows you to gain INSTANT followers (yes, they really do follow, you’ll see), INCREASE YOUR TRAFFIC, and have a chance to connect with some great women. The traffic we generate for our members is usually VERY good considering we’re a fairly new site. In just 1 month after our relaunch, we accumulated over 18,000 posts and 365,500 page visits! Please come take a look and I guarantee you will be impressed with the results.You may also check out these sites for testimonials of our site:
Best Social Network of the Year
A Great Blogging Community for Moms
and… Top 10 Blogs for Work at Home MomsHope to see you there!Sincerely,Lexie Lanewww.voiceboks.com
this looks like my kinda eating! thanks for sharing…definitely bookmarking this recipe!
These sound so good and I just picked up an eggplant this morning and wondered why! I must have sensed this one coming…. I’ll let you know how it turns out. Thanks.
Michelle
http://michellesdinnerbell.blogspot.com/
I love eggplants…and meatballs, I should try these out!
Whirlwind of Surprises
These look great and I don’t even like eggplant! I forwarded this recipe to my mom – she LOVES eggplant, but needed some new ideas. Thanks for sharing!
Looks yummy and really fun to serve for company!
These sound delicious. I am excited I finally have eggplant to harvest from my garden, so I am going to make these.
These sound delicious! I haven’t had eggplant in forever!
these look great and I am so hungry right now.