There are several ways you can prepare the eggplants for this recipe. Boiled, stir fried or roasted. I stir fried them with some sliced onions until soft. You can prepare the eggplants the day before and refrigerate them until needed. The balls can be fried or baked. Also if you skip the rolling in the breadcrumbs you can steam them the same way as dumplings. These may be served hot or cold, in a tomato sauce as a side dish or if you make them smaller you can add them to soups.
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ingredients (about 20 balls)
to prepare eggplants
olive oil
1 chopped onion
3 large eggplants
to prepare balls
eggplant mixture
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
chopped parsley and basil
2 or 3 eggs depending on size
3 garlic cloves crushed
salt and pepper to taste
dry bread crumbs for rolling balls before baking
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Preheat oven to 350*
Clean the eggplants, peel them and slice them into strips
Stir fry the onion until translucent, add the eggplants and cook until soft
When cool, chop the eggplant in a food processor or mash with a fork
In a bowl combine the eggplant mixture with the parmesan cheese, garlic, basil, parsley, eggs and season with salt and pepper
Wet your hands with a little water and shape the eggplant mixture into balls
Roll them in the breadcrumbs
Place them on a non-stick oven tray and bake them for 25 minutes until deep golden brown and slightly crusty
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