Eggplant Meatballs To Die For

When it comes to vegetarian and vegan options, eggplant meatballs are one of the most delicious options. After you cook them for a very short time, they still remain nice and crispy on the outside and firm on the inside. In addition, if you are not a big fan of tofu, eggplants are also an excellent meat substitute.

The main advantage of aubergines is that they provide a soft base that is very easy to digest and that goes well with other ingredients and herbs. So you can make the variations you want and choose which flavor you want to bring out.

Since eggplant is a meaty vegetable, you only need to use a few of them to make it into a dish that will give you satisfaction. And depending on which spices you use, you can make it resemble your favorite meat.

The following eggplant meatball recipe is highly aromatic, yet has a mild flavor. In general, soy sauce and cumin are ingredients that help to largely mimic the taste of meat when it comes to making meatballs or burgers.

Eggplant and spinach meatballs

Ingredients

• 45 gr. breadcrumbs (3 tablespoons)
• 1 average egg
• 1 sprig parsley, chopped
• 3 cloves of fresh garlic
• 1 small onion
• 3 large aubergines
• 10 gr. Spinach

• Spices: salt and black pepper.
• Ground oregano (optional)

Preparing your aubergine meatballs

• Preheat the oven to 200ºC.
• First peel the garlic and cut it into fine pieces.
• Also cut the eggplant into small cubes. Then put them in different batches in the blender to make a kind of aubergine paste.
• Then heat a pan, lightly greased with olive oil, over medium heat.
• Now cut the onion into small pieces as well, as small as you can. Saute this. Once they have become transparent, add a little pepper and garlic.
• When the garlic turns brown, add the spinach and aubergine paste.
• Add salt to taste. Then let everything simmer for about 10 minutes. Keep stirring constantly.

• After 10 minutes, remove the pan from the heat and let everything cool to room temperature.
• Now beat the egg together with the parsley. Then add the aubergine paste and mix it with a mixer.
• Now take a little of this mixture in your hand and shape it into a ball. Then roll it in the breadcrumbs before placing it on the baking sheet.
• It takes about 20 minutes to turn the mix into balls .
• Once you’ve made as many meatballs as you want, pop them in the oven for about 10-15 minutes. You can also fry them in a pan, the choice is yours.

Eggplant meatballs with tomato sauce

Ingredients

• Fresh parsley
• Olive oil
• 1 clove of garlic
• Fresh basil
• 2 tablespoons sugar (30 gr.)
• 4 or 5 aubergines
• 1 average egg
• 150 gr. hard bread
• Spices: salt, black pepper, ground cumin
• 1 large jar of peeled tomatoes (800 gr.)
• ½ cup water (125 ml)

Preparation

• First heat a pan with a dash of olive oil over medium heat.
• Peel a clove of garlic and cut it into small pieces (as small as possible). Then do the same with the parsley and set it aside.
• Now cut the bread into small pieces and soak it briefly in some water, so that it becomes soft.
• Then cut the eggplant into small cubes. It is not necessary to peel these first. Then fry the cubes in a pan.

• Once you’ve done this, put the aubergine in a blender along with the bread, garlic, parsley, a splash of olive oil and a little water. Then mix this until you have a paste.
• Once the paste has a good consistency, put it in a bowl. Otherwise you have to add some water and mix further until it is a smooth paste.
• You then let this mixture stand at room temperature for about 20 minutes, covered with a cloth.

Preparation

• Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200ºC.
• Now beat the egg with a pinch of salt and pepper. Then add this to the aubergine mixture and mix it together.
• Make balls of this mixture in the size you want. Keep in mind that the bigger and thicker the balls are, the longer it will take to cook them. To make sure they don’t stick, grease the baking tray before placing the aubergine meatballs on it.

• Bake them in the oven at 180 C.
• Now pour all the contents of the can of peeled tomatoes, including the juice, into the blender. Add some salt and sugar (optional). Mix this to make a sauce. Finally, add the basil and set it aside.
• Once the meatballs are ready, pour a lot of the tomato sauce over them. You can serve these cold or warm.

Eggplant meatballs are also exquisite with a hint of mozzarella on the inside. If you are a cheese lover, this variant will certainly interest you.

If you want to give the meatball mixture a little more texture, you can also add a little quinoa. When this is prepared, it will become nice and crispy and will simply be delicious!