Eggplant Meatballs

With a base of roasted eggplant, toasted breadcrumbs and lentils, these Vegan Meatballs have a rich and robust flavor, even meat lovers can get behind! Recipe from The Mediterranean Dish. Makes 16-20 meatballs.

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups breadcrumbs

• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil, plus 2 more tablespoons

• 3 tablespoons pureed carrot or sweet potato, (or 1 large egg if not vegan)

• Kosher salt

• 1 globe eggplant

• ⅔ cup cooked lentils, (I used green lentils)

• 2 medium cloves garlic, minced

• ¼ cup roughly chopped basil

• ¼ cup roughly chopped parsley

• ⅓ cup nutritional yeast, (or chickpea flour)

• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper

• ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

• 1 cup grapeseed oil (for frying)

Instructions

1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 300 degrees F.

2. Place the breadcrumbs in a medium bowl and toss with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and ¼ teaspoon salt. Transfer to a rimmed sheet pan and spread in an even layer. Bake until the breadcrumbs are lightly golden (10 minutes or so), stirring midway through. Transfer them to a large plate and set aside.

3. Increase the oven temperature to 375 degrees.

4. Line the sheet pan with aluminum foil and set the eggplant on top. Prick it 3 to 4 times with a fork and roast until a pairing knife easily slips into the center (40 to 50 minutes). It should be very tender throughout. Remove the eggplant from the oven and use scissors to cut an X in the bottom. Transfer it, stem side up, to a colander and set in the sink and let it drain and cool for 20 minutes.

5. Set the eggplant on a cutting board and slice it open lengthwise and scoop out the flesh and place it in the bowl of a food processor. Add the pureed carrot (or egg), lentils, garlic, basil, parsley, and nutritional yeast (or chickpea flour) and ¾ teaspoon of salt, black pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes. Process for 12 one-second pulses to combine. Add the bread crumbs and pulse 2 to 3 times to combine.

6. Scrape the mixture in a medium bowl, cover with plastic wrap flush against the surface, and refrigerate for 20 minutes or overnight.

7. Shape the eggplant mixture into golf ball-size pieces and roll them until they are nice and round.

8. Heat the grapeseed oil and remaining ½ cup of olive oil in a large heavy bottomed skillet over medium-high heat for 2 minutes.

9. Drop one of the balls into the oil, it should immediately sizzle—if not, let the oil heat some more. Add a few more balls to the oil, taking care not to overcrowd the pan. Fry the “meatballs” in batches, browning them on all sides (3 to 5 minutes for each batch).

10. Enjoy!

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