Eggplant Balls - Mariooch's Kitchen

These days we are eating less and less meat, so these eggplant balls come in very handy for a snack or served over some pasta, and they taste amazing! These are similar to the Broccoli Bites on my blog, and the Cauliflower Fritters in my cookbook, Food From My Heart & Home. I typically avoid egg so my son can eat them, but you can dip these in flour, then egg instead of milk, and then dredge in breadcrumbs. These are delicious, so you may want to double or triple this recipe.

Here are the directions.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Peel one large eggplant, and dice into tiny bite-sized pieces and set this aside. Next, finely dice 1 small onion and 3-4 cloves garlic. Then drizzle a little olive oil in a large frying pan and add onions and garlic. Let these cook about 3 minutes until translucent.

Then you can add the diced eggplant to the pan. You may also add in a chopped mushrooms to add an earthy flavor to these meatballs as well as some ground sea salt. I like Cremini mushrooms also known as baby bella mushrooms. Drizzle in more olive oil and let this cook down until they the eggplant is translucent, roughly 10-15 minutes. Keep on medium-low heat. Once they break down, add in about 2 teaspoons crushed Italian seasonings. Once cooled, transfer to the blender.

Blend the eggplant mixture (with mushrooms if you added) for 30 seconds just to break up chunks, but not long enough to make it completely smooth. Next, place in a colander or strainer.

An extra step: put the colander or strainer into a bowl, leaving at least 2 inches of space between the colander and the bowl. Place a weight over the eggplant and refrigerate for a few hours to remove as much liquid as possible.

If you skipped the prior step, one obstacle you may face with the eggplant mixture is that it’s very moist and hard to create a meatball. The eggplant tends to hold a lot of moisture if you don’t strain it out. Just squeeze out the moisture as best as possible as you make each meatball. Have a small bowl close by for that. Either way works! It may also help to lightly salt the eggplant after dicing. The salt will draw out the moisture as well.

Now, in a clean blender add in the oats and pulse until they become a fine powder-like consistency. Add about 3 tablespoons of the oat flour to the eggplant mixture and mix well. Depending on the size of the eggplant, you may need slightly more. Add in about 3-4 tablespoons of finely chopped fresh parsley (may use dried parsley as well) and 1/2 cup Pecorino Romano cheese. Mix well.

Set up three bowls: remaining pulsed oats, 1/2 cup milk (or egg), and panko Italian style breadcrumbs. Season the oat flour with dried parsley flakes and sea salt. Next, pack each meatball tightly, releasing as much moisture as possible, then roll in the ground oat flour, milk (or egg), then dredge into breadcrumbs.

Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place in oven for 35 minutes or longer until the outside is browned. Next, transfer to a small frying pan with a good drizzle olive oil and heat on medium-high heat for 6-8 minutes or until the sides are all browned and crunchy. Drain on a paper towel.

Enjoy with your favorite sauce alongside a bowl of pasta or a salad!