Eggplant Meatballs: A Delicious Vegan Lunch Recipe
If you have chosen to start a healthier diet in harmony with nature, then you should know the recipe for eggplant meatballs. In fact, this recipe is very simple to prepare and comes out with a delicious sauce that everyone will surely love.
Another advantage of this vegan recipe is that you do not need to use too many ingredients, so its preparation is economical. Below we will explain in a series of steps how to make it.
Eggplant meatballs ingredients
1.2 kg of aubergines or three large aubergines. (Make sure the aubergines are not too heavy, as this means they have too many seeds).
A medium-sized onion.
3 garlic.
Half a teaspoon of ground cumin (optional).
A few sprigs of parsley.
2 eggs.
100 grams of breadcrumbs.
A little wheat flour.
Olive oil, necessary amount.
Salt to taste.
Freshly ground black pepper, as needed
400 grams of homemade fried tomato.
Steps for the preparation of eggplant meatballs
Preparation of dressings and aubergines
Cut the onions and cut it into very small pieces. You can do this with a knife, or with a food processor. Reserve them.
Likewise, peel the garlic and cut it into very small pieces, or place it directly in a food processor. Reserve them.
Cut the eggplants. To do this, the first thing you should do is remove the green part, followed by the skin. You can do this with a knife or with a cutter.
Once you have the peeled aubergines, cut them into medium squares. Reserve them in a separate container.
Cooking the aubergines
In a large enough skillet, pour 3 tablespoons of olive oil and place over medium heat.
Add the minced onion and garlic to the pan once the oil is hot and sauté until golden brown. Then sprinkle a little salt to taste. The process of sautéing the onions can take 5-7 minutes.
Add the aubergine pieces to the pan to start cooking.
Mix the aubergine with the fried onion and garlic. To do this, you can use a palette.
Let the eggplant cook covered at medium heat and stirring every 3 to 5 minutes, to ensure that all the pieces are cooked throughout.
Sprinkle a little salt to taste on the aubergines and while the aubergines are cooking and when you notice that they are tender, crush them a bit.
After 20 to 25 minutes of cooking, turn off the heat on the stove.
Transfer the cooked aubergines to a separate plate and let them rest to cool slightly.
Preparation of the meatball dough
Mince the remaining garlic and place it in a mortar. Next, chop the parsley and also place it in the mortar, together with a little salt.
Crush the contents of the mortar until you get a paste.
Then, place the pasta in a large bowl where you will make the dough and add the eggplant, followed by a little ground black pepper to taste.
Crack two eggs and add one egg and one yolk from the second egg to a separate bowl. Later, beat them very well and add them to the bowl with the mixture.
With the help of a spatula, mix very well to integrate all the ingredients.
Add 4 tablespoons of ground bread to the dough and proceed to mix everything very well. If you notice that the mixture is too wet, add one to two more tablespoons of breadcrumbs, to continue mixing.
Fry the meatballs
Place the flour on a plate, right next to the bowl with the eggplant dough. Next to the flour, place a plate or tray where you will place the cooked meatballs.
Take a tablespoon of the mixture dough and form a ball with your hands. Then, pass the meatballs through flour and leave them on the tray.
Repeat the previous step until you run out of the meatball mixture.
Fry the meatballs
Put enough oil in a pan and wait for it to heat up.
Once the oil is very hot, place the meatballs on the heat and let them fry. Move them around as they cook, so they cook evenly on all sides.
When they are golden, remove the meatballs from the pan and place them on a plate with absorbent paper.
Cooking the meatballs in the sauce
Place a wide saucepan over medium heat and add the fried tomato.
Add 200 milliliters of water to the pot and mix constantly until it begins to boil.
Once it starts to boil, adjust the sauce with salt and pepper if necessary and add a little.
Add the meatballs to the pan with the tomato sauce and move it around a bit.
Let the sauce and meatballs cook with the casserole covered for 10 to 15 minutes. During this process, move the contents of the pan a little so that the cooking is more homogeneous.
Chop a few branches of parsley and sprinkle a little when it is about to finish cooking.
When the cooking is finished, simply serve them, accompanied by the contour of your preference.
Conclusions of the eggplant meatballs
As you may have noticed, the eggplant meatballs are very simple to make, but during the cooking process you must be careful not to break them. For this reason, it is recommended that you move the pan, instead of turning the meatballs individually.
Once you finish cooking them, when you try them you will notice that their flavor is very similar to meat, but soft and juicy. That is why we urge you to try to make this recipe at home and surprise all your family or friends with them.
In fact, we assure you that you and your family will not notice the difference between meatballs and eggplant ones.