Polpette di Melanzane - Eggplant Meatballs
Ingredients:
- 4 Eggplants, about 3.5lb total
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 100g of panko or breadcrumbs
- 40-50g of all purpose flour
- 1 handful of freshly chopped Parsley
- 30g Grated Parmigiano DOP (or Vegan alternative)
- Vegetable oil
- Salt and Pepper
Wash the eggplants thoroughly and prick holes all around with a skewer to facilitate the passage of heat. Preheat your oven at 395F and bake the eggplants for 40/45 min, or till they become soft throughout.
Let the eggplants cool till they are easily handled, peel and filet with a knife. The eggplants will be so soft that the procedure can be done completely by hand. Eliminate the bigger seeds from the filets and then drain them by pressing the strips to the bottom of a colander.
Place the well drained filets in a bowl and add the flour, parsley, grated cheese, grated garlic and salt&pepper to taste.
Mix the ingredients till a level of firmness that allows handling and shaping to a ball. If the mixture is still too loose, add flour and continue mixing. The meatballs should still retain some moisture and “stickiness”. To make the meatballs, roll about a tbsp of mixture at a time.
Bread the meatballs and fry in abundant, piping hot vegetable oil. Fry till golden brown (takes about 10min) by turning them from time to time.
Let the meatballs rest and drain some oil on a plate topped with kitchen paper for a couple minutes and serve!