Connect Menu

follow

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Eggplant "Meatballs"


We are not vegan or vegetarian although we sometimes make meatless meals. But we really liked this vegan dish. We both really like eggplant so when I saw this on Skinnytaste, I was intrigued and decided to give it a go once Eric gave me the nod that he would try it (or just eat cereal for dinner if he didn't like it... spoiler... no cereal was had).




Vegan Eggplant Meatballs
from: Skinnytaste, serves 4 (3 meatballs per serving - the meatballs are larger than normal), 260 calories

Ingredients:

- cooking spray
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb unpeeled eggplant cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1/4 cup water
- salt and pepper
- 1 medium onion
- 1 Tbsp minced garlic
- 1 cup canned white beans, drained and rinsed
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs (or regular if you don't have whole wheat)
- pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)
- approx 2 cups of marinara sauce (Trader Joes for the win!)

Heat oven to 375 degrees and spray a large baking sheet with cooking spray. Put 1/2 Tbsp of the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet on medium high heat. Add eggplant, water, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir occasionally for 10-15 minutes. Transfer to food processor bowl.

Add remaining 1/2 Tbsp of olive oil to skillet and add onion and garlic. Cook for 3-5 minutes. Transfer to food processor bowl. Add beans and parsley to the food processor bowl. Pulse until well combined and chopped but not pureed. Combine food processor mixture with breadcrumbs and red pepper (if using) into a large bowl. Form 12 meatballs and place on baking sheet.


Cook for 25 to 30 minutes until browned. Warm the marinara sauce and serve meatballs over some pasta (or on a roll or whatever you prefer). Pretty sure I used wheat linguine noodles because that was what was in the pantry. Throw some parmesan on top if you want (or course this does make it no longer vegan) because who doesn't love cheese... can you tell I'd have a hard time being vegan?



The meatballs were really flavorful and not dry at all! Nobody wants a dry meatball (or non-meat ball in this case). They were great as leftovers too. I haven't tried to make them and freeze them but if anyone does that let me know. Hope you enjoy!

No comments :

Post a Comment

I love your comments and will answer all questions. Note I do approve all comments so it may take up to a few hours before your comment will appear. Thanks for understanding!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...