From The Kitchen Of Betsy & Norma
Recipe For : Eggplant “Meat” Balls
Ingredients:
Cooking spray for baking sheet
2 Tbsp olive oil for skillet
2 large unpeeled eggplants, cut into 1-inch cube pieces
8-10 Small Garlic cloves ,you can roast ahead for extra flavor **
package and roast in a 350 degree oven for approximately 35-45 minutes.
1 1/2 cups gluten free or regular seasoned Jason Bread Crumbs
2 large eggs
2 ounces of Romano Cheese
1/4 almond coconut milk in lieu of grated romano if you are serving “meatballs” with a meat meal.
2 tbsp of fresh parsley
2 tbsp of chopped fresh basil
1 jar marinara sauce 🥫
1/8 tsp salt and pepper
Olive oil for sautéing eggplant
Directions
Heat the oven to 400F. Spray a large rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray and set aside while you prepare “meatballs”
Place 1/2 tablespoon olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. When hot add the eggplant that you cut up and ½ - ¾ cup water in the skillet. Season with salt and pepper to taste and cook, stirring occasionally until tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to the food processor and pulse a few times. If you are not using parmesan cheese then this is where you would add the almond coconut milk.
Next, transfer eggplant to a bowl with bread crumbs, beaten egg, Romano cheese if you are making this dairy, parsley, garlic and chopped basil. Season with 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/8 teaspoon of pepper. Mix everything together so you can begin to form the balls.
Shape the eggplant mixture into 24 balls about 1 1/8 oz each, rolling tightly and transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Bake until firm and browned, about 20 to 25 minutes. Flip them over ½ way so that both sides can brown.
Heat the sauce in a large deep skillet. Add the meatballs to the sauce and simmer for 5 minutes. Garnish the meatballs with basil leaves .
(Roast Garlic Recipe)
** to roast cloves you can cut an entire bulb in half put on top of a medium size piece of aluminum foil. Drizzle olive oil and sprinkle it with salt and pepper. Twist aluminum foil into a package and roast in a 350 degree oven for approximately 35-45 minutes
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