Eggplant Meatballs Giada Food

EGGPLANT "MEATBALLS"

Steps:

• Heat a large high-sided skillet over medium heat. Add the olive oil and saute the garlic in the hot oil until just fragrant and barely starting to lightly brown, about 30 seconds. Add the eggplant and 1/4 cup of water. Lower the heat to low and cover the skillet. Allow the eggplant to steam until soft, about 20 minutes. Allow to cool slightly, if you have time.
• Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with unbleached parchment paper.
• Place the eggplant mixture in a food processor and pulse until well chopped, but not pureed. Or just do this on a cutting board with a knife.
• Transfer the eggplant mixture to a large mixing bowl and add the cheese, parsley, basil, eggs, breadcrumbs, salt, and pepper. Stir the mixture well to combine, using your hands or a wooden spoon. The mixture can be refrigerated at this point, covered for up to a day. It is easier to roll into meatballs when the mixture is cooled down. (If doing so, preheat the oven 30 minutes before baking the meatballs.)
• Roll or scoop the mixture using a 1- to 1 1/2-ounce ice cream scoop into 1 1/2-inch balls and place on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes, or until firm on the outside and light brown underneath.
• Meanwhile, heat the marinara sauce in a large saucepan over low heat until simmering. Transfer the meatballs to the saucepan with marinara sauce. Toss with the sauce and serve.

CALABRESE FRIED EGGPLANT

Steps:

• For the eggplant: Place an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a small baking sheet or a 9-by-13-inch glass or ceramic baking dish with vegetable oil cooking spray. Place the eggplant, cut-side up, on the prepared baking sheet. Make 1/2-inch-deep slits over the surface of the eggplant halves using a paring knife. Drizzle with the olive oil and bake until golden and tender, 40 to 45 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes.
• For the filling: Scoop out 1 cup of flesh from the eggplant, using a spoon, and place in a food processor. Blend until the eggplant is smooth. Add the cheese, breadcrumbs, basil, egg, garlic and parsley. Pulse until the mixture is thick enough to form into balls, adding extra breadcrumbs as needed. Scoop 25 balls of the mixture, each about 2 tablespoons, onto a baking sheet using a small cookie scoop.
• For the sauce: Bring the marinara and red pepper flakes to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Keep warm over low heat until ready to serve.
• For assembly: Pour enough oil into a large heavy-bottomed saucepan to fill the pan about a third of the way. Heat the oil over medium heat until a deep-frying thermometer inserted into the oil reaches 350 degrees F. (If you don't have a thermometer, a cube of bread will brown in about 4 minutes.) In batches, fry the eggplant balls until golden, about 1 minute. Drain on paper towels.
• Serve the fried eggplant warm or cold with marinara sauce and the grated pecorino cheese.

EGGPLANT TIMBALE

Steps:

• Place a grill pan over medium-high heat or pre-heat a gas or charcoal grill. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush the eggplant slices with 1/3 cup olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill the eggplant until tender and colored with grill marks, about 4 minutes per side. Set aside.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta.
• Meanwhile, warm the 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet. Add the onion and saute until tender, about 3 minutes. Add the beef and pork, and brown the meat, breaking it into bite-sized pieces with a wooden spoon, about 5 minutes. Add the Marsala and cook until the liquid has evaporated, about 3 minutes. Turn off the heat. Add the peas and marinara sauce and stir to combine. Add the cheeses, basil, and cooked pasta. Set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line the springform pan with the grilled eggplant. Be sure that the slices overlap and hang over the edge of the pan. Fill the pan with the pasta mixture, pressing down to make sure the pan is filling up evenly. Fold the eggplant slices up over the top of the pasta and add a few more slices on top to completely enclose the timbale. Bake the timbale until warmed through and the cheese has melted, about 30 minutes. Let rest on the counter for 10 minutes to set. To serve, invert the timbale onto a serving plate and remove the springform pan. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese over the top. Slice and serve.

EGGPLANT MEATBALLS WITH MARINARA SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and place the eggplant on top. Use a fork to prick the eggplant 4 times, then place the eggplant in the oven and roast it until it has completely collapsed and a paring knife easily slips into the center, 40 to 50 minutes. Cool the eggplant 20 minutes. Leave the oven on.
• Slice the eggplant in half lengthwise and use a spoon to scoop out the flesh (discard the skin). Place the roasted eggplant in a medium bowl and stir in the egg and beans. Add the garlic, basil, parmesan, 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and stir to combine, then mix in the breadcrumbs.
• Again, line the rimmed baking sheet with a clean sheet of foil and lightly mist it with spray. Shape the eggplant mixture into balls about the size of a golf ball (2 tablespoons per ball; you should get about 16). Place them on the prepared baking sheet and lightly mist the top of the balls with spray. Bake the eggplant balls until they are golden brown and firm, about 20 minutes.
• While the meatballs cook, warm the marinara sauce in a small saucepan. Remove the meatballs from the oven, sprinkle with a little extra parmesan and serve with the marinara sauce.

EGGPLANT (AUBERGINE) MEATBALLS

Steps:

• Slice eggplant and sprinkle with salt.
• Let sit 10 minutes to draw out water.
• Rinse and pat dry.
• Saute on stovetop with a splash of olive oil and about 1/4 cup water until eggplant is soft.
• Remove and chop finely.
• Mix everything but the breadcrumbs when eggplant is cool.
• Then add breadcrumbs and mix until you get the consistency you want to form the balls.
• Place in a generously olive oiled pan about l inch apart and bake at 400 degrees until golden brown, about 40 60 minutes.
• Turn halfway through baking to ensure even browning.

EGGPLANT MEATBALLS

Steps:

• For the meatballs: Boil the chopped eggplant in salted boiling water for 4 minutes. Drain well and let cool. Squeeze out any excess water from the eggplant.
• In a bowl, add the bread and milk. Allow the bread to sit and absorb the milk for a few minutes. Squeeze out as much of the milk from the bread as possible.
• In another mixing bowl, add the eggplant and break up the bread into the bowl. Add the eggs, Pecorino, Parmigiano cheese, and salt. Then add the bread crumbs and flour. Cook's Note: If your mixture has a lot of moisture you may need to add more bread crumbs and flour. Mix well until all the ingredients are evenly distributed. With your hands, shape the meatballs into the size of golf balls. Dredge the meatballs in the flour.
• For the tomato sauce: In a large saucepan heat up olive oil. Saute the onions and add the tomato puree and salt. Bring the mixture to a light boil, then turn the heat to medium. Add the meatballs to the sauce and allow to cook for approximately 15 minutes. Plate and add the Parmigiano cheese.

EGGPLANT PARMESAN MEATLOAF

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• For the meatloaf: In a large bowl, mix together the ground beef, basil, Parmesan, tomato-basil sauce, breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, garlic, eggs and onions until combined. Press the mixture onto the bottom of a nonstick baking sheet. Bake until cooked through or when an instant read thermometer registers 160 degrees F when inserted into the meatloaf, 20 to 25 minutes.
• For the eggplant: In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. In batches, add the eggplant slices and cook until lightly browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn the slices over and season with the salt and pepper. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes longer.
• Arrange the eggplant slices on top of the meatloaf in a single layer. Spoon 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons of the tomato-basil sauce into the center of each eggplant slice. Top with the mozzarella and bake until the cheese is just melted, an additional 5 minutes.
• Cut into 6 to 8 squares and serve with additional tomato-basil sauce.

ITALIAN EGGPLANT BALLS (USE JUST LIKE MEATBALLS) FRY OR BAKE

Steps:

• In food processor, prepare the ingredients that need to be minced or diced mentioned above.
• In a large saucepan, heat oil & gently sauté garlic until golden brown.
• Add diced eggplant & water - then cover & simmer under low heat until eggplant is VERY soft. Drain if watery when done then transfer to large bowl.
• Combine eggplant, breadcrumbs, parsley, eggs and cheese in large bowl. Let stand for 20 minutes.
• Form into balls (same size as you prefer your meatballs to be) and fry in olive oil in large pan or bake in over for 30-35 minute at 325º or until brown.