Enjoy a delightful summer dish with these eggplant meatballs — polpette — cooked to perfection in a pan and simmered in a simple tomato sauce. It is delicious as a second course on its own, and also makes a wonderful pasta condiment, a vegetarian spaghetti with meatballs. Similar to a popular Calabrian recipe, this version is lighter because the polpette are not not deep-fried.

The instructions below use a food-processor, but if you do not have one you can refer to the alternative instructions provided at the end of the page.

Serving Size: 4
Preparation Time: 40/50 minutes
Equipment: Nonstick pan, saucepan, knife, cheese grater, chopping board. Optional: food-processor.

Ingredients:

For the eggplants Dough:

• Eggplants: 13 oz (1 large eggplant)
• Breadcrumbs: 3 oz
• Stale bread slice: 1
• All-purpose flour: 4 oz
• Egg: 1
• Grated Parmigiano Cheese (or mixed with Grana Padano or Provolone): 2 oz
• Minced Garlic: 1 clove
• Parsley: 1 small sprig
• Extra virgin olive oil: 2 tablespoons
• Salt and ground pepper

For the Sauce:

• Tomato puree: 18 oz
• Half onion
• Extra virgin olive oil: 1 tablespoon
• Salt
• Fresh basil leaves: 3 or 4

Instructions:

1. Begin with the tomato sauce. Finely chop the half onion, heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a saucepan, add the chopped onion, and cook until brown. Pour in the tomato puree and 3 oz of water, season with salt, and cook over low heat with the lid on for 20 minutes. Add basil.

2. Wash the eggplants and cut them into small cubes (around 1/4 inch or 5 mm).

3. In a non-stick pan, heat 1 tablespoon of oil, add the diced eggplants, 2 oz of water, and salt. Brown the eggplants over high heat for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Once soft and colored, turn off the heat.

4. If you have a food-processor, use it to grate the cheese first. Chop the cheese(s) into small cubes and put them into the processor. Add the slice of bread, garlic, parsley, egg, a pinch of salt and pepper, and mix. Finally, add breadcrumbs and the cooked eggplants, blending just a few seconds until you have a nice dough. Adjust with more breadcrumbs if the dough is too soft. If you do not have a food-processor, chop the ingredients in a bowl using a knife (see alternative explanation below).

5. Shape the dough into egg-sized balls, press the meatballs on both sides, and coat them with flour (moisten your hands with water to make this step easier). Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in the same pan used for the eggplants and place the meatballs, browning them for about 5 minutes while gently turning them on all sides.

6. Once the meatballs are evenly browned, add the tomato sauce and cook for another 10 minutes.

7. Garnish with basil leaves and serve your eggplant meatballs with the sauce.

Tips:

• Instead of parsley, you can use fresh basil or fresh mint leaves for the eggplant dough.
• If you don’t have a food-processor, you can chop all the ingredients using a knife, then place them in a bowl and mash the mixture with your hands. You can also skip chopping the cooked eggplants.
• Panko can be used as a substitute for breadcrumbs.
• Stale bread leftovers work perfectly in this recipe, as they quickly absorb the eggplant’s moisture. Put them in a mixer and gradually add them to your dough.

References

ChatGPT Information retrieved on July 31st, 2023.

GialloZafferano. (n.d.). Polpette di melanzane al sugo. Ricette Di Cucina – Le Ricette Di GialloZafferano.it. Retrieved July 31, 2023, from https://ricette.giallozafferano.it/Polpette-di-melanzane-al-sugo.html

quattrocalici.it. (n.d.). Melanzane farcite alla mozzarella. Quattrocalici. Retrieved July 31, 2023, from https://www.quattrocalici.it/ricette/melanzane-farcite-alla-mozzarella/