As you know, there are very few recipes that I make more than once. But I’d recreate these eggplant meatballs at the drop of a hat, especially if company’s coming.
Why? Because the dish is fairly simple to assemble and utterly delicious. (Martha Stewart must agree – she regrammed my photo of the meal.) For best results, use good ingredients and start the process at least a few hours before you plan to eat.
After you form the eggplant meatballs, you’ll want to let them chill in the fridge; skip this step and they’ll likely fall apart when cooked. (Don’t panic if they do – the finished product will still taste great, I’m sure.)
Next, all you have to do is prepare a simple tomato sauce, nestle in the pan-fried morsels and then bake everything briefly. Finally, top the eggplant meatballs with mozzarella and stick the pan under the broiler until the cheese is bubbly. That’s it – easy peasy!
Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart.
- 1 large eggplant, cut lengthwise into ¾"-thick pieces
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1⅓ cups fresh bread crumbs (see notes)
- 5 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- ½ cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese
- 1 garlic clove, minced + 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 1 egg white
- ¼ cup plain bread crumbs
- 1 28 oz. can whole peeled tomatoes
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon dried chili flakes
- 4 bocconcini (small mozzarella balls), each cut lengthwise into 4 pieces
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Place eggplant on a wire rack set over a baking sheet; sprinkle with salt and let sit for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, place fresh bread crumbs on a separate baking sheet and spread in a single layer. Bake until lightly golden and crispy, 5-10 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.
- Pat eggplant with a paper towel, removing as much liquid as you can. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a 10-inch fry pan over medium-high heat. Add 2 pieces of eggplant to pan and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side or until tender. Remove from pan and set aside. Repeat with remaining eggplant. Let cool slightly and then transfer to a food processor and pulse a few times to break up the eggplant.
- In a large bowl, combine the toasted bread crumbs, Pecorino Romano cheese, minced garlic, egg white and cooked eggplant. Season with salt and pepper and stir to combine. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
- Form eggplant mixture into 16 1½" balls, coat with plain bread crumbs and arrange on a baking sheet. Chill in the refrigerator until firm, about 1 hour or overnight.
- In the same fry pan used to cook the eggplant, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add eggplant meatballs and cook, turning occasionally, until browned all over, 6-7 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.
- Increase oven temperature to 425 degrees.
- In the same fry pan, heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Add sliced garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Add tomatoes with juice, crushing with your hands as you add them, oregano, chili flakes and ½ teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil.
- Nestle browned eggplant meatballs in sauce and bake for 18 minutes.
- Gently turn over meatballs and top each with a piece of mozzarella. Broil until cheese is bubbly, 2-3 minutes.
