Eggplant Meatballs Over Zucchini Pasta Recipe 445

EGGPLANT "MEATBALLS"

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 375°F. Spray a large rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray.
• Place 1/2 tablespoon olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. When hot add the eggplant and 1/4 cup water. Season with salt and pepper to taste and cook, stirring occasionally until tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times.
• Transfer to a bowl and add bread crumbs, beaten egg, Romano cheese, parsley, garlic and chopped basil into the eggplant. Season with 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/8 teaspoon of pepper.
• Form the eggplant mixture into 24 balls about 1 1/8 oz each, rolling tightly and transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Bake until firm and browned, about 20 to 25 minutes.
• Heat the sauce in a large deep skillet to warm the sauce. Add the meatballs to the sauce and simmer for 5 minutes. Garnish the meatballs with basil leaves and serve with ricotta cheese if desired.

EGGPLANT 'MEATBALLS' OVER ZUCCHINI PASTA RECIPE - (4.4/5)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Using a peeler, peel the skin off of the eggplant. Cut the eggplant into thick rounds (about an inch) and then into chunks. In a medium/large pan, add a drizzle of olive oil over medium heat. Add 2 teaspoons of minced garlic to the pan (leave the rest for later), and sauté for about a minute. Add the chopped up eggplant to the pan and mix through the garlic and oil. Add two tablespoons of water to the pan, cover, and reduce heat to low. Steam the eggplant for 10 minutes. In a food processor or high speech blender, add the oats and blend into flour-like consistency. When the eggplant is fork tender, drain and excess water from the pan and add the eggplant to the processor, along with the egg, basil, parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes, dried parsley, sea salt, and pepper. Process until a sticky mixture is formed. *If you used a really large eggplant, you may need to add more oats until the mixture sticks together. It's ok if the remaining oats do not get blended finely. Evenly coat a baking sheet with olive oil. With slightly damp hands, scoop out the eggplant mixture, roll into balls and place them on a baking sheet. I found I needed to rinse my hands multiple times in-between; however make sure you're hands aren't too wet. Bake for the eggplant 'meatballs' for 10 minutes, then flip the meatballs over and bake for an additional 15 minutes (25 total). While the meatballs are baking, spiralize your zucchini/yellow squash. Squeeze any excess liquid from your zucchini pasta with a paper towel. Flash fry the zucchini pasta over medium heat, by adding a teaspoon of olive oil to your pan and sautéing until heated through. (*You can cook for longer, I just don't like them to get soggy). Warm your sauce. Place the zucchini pasta on a plate, top with meatballs your favorite sauce, and additional fresh chopped basil.

PASTA WITH EGGPLANT AND ZUCCHINI

Steps:

• Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a saucepan and add the garlic. Cook and stir without browning. Add the tomatoes, parsley, oregano, pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Stir to blend, bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile cut off the ends of the eggplant and peel. Cut it into 1-inch cubes.
• Cut the ends off the zucchini and slice into 1-inch thick slices.
• Heat the remaining olive oil in a large skillet. When the oil is very hot, add the eggplant, zucchini, salt and pepper. Cook, tossing, until nicely browned and tender. Add to the tomato sauce. Mix well and cook for 15 minutes.
• Drop the pasta into salted boiling water and cook to the desired degree of doneness. Drain and reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid.
• Return the pasta to the pot, add the reserved cooking liquid, the vegetable and sauce mixture, basil and Parmesan cheese. Toss and serve hot.

EGGPLANT AND ZUCCHINI PASTA WITH FETA AND DILL

Steps:

• Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add eggplant, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden and tender, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
• Add 2 tablespoons oil and zucchini to skillet and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender but not mushy, about 5 minutes.
• While the vegetables cook, boil the pasta in a pot of salted water until al dente. Reserve 1 1/2 cups cooking water and drain pasta. Return pasta and reserved cooking water to pot over medium heat. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil and 1 cup of cheese and cook, stirring, until the cheese melts and forms a sauce, about 2 minutes. Stir in zucchini, eggplant and dill; season with salt and pepper.
• Serve pasta in bowls and top with remaining cheese.

EGGPLANT MEATBALLS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Grease foil with olive oil.
• Arrange eggplant halves cut-sides-down onto the prepared baking sheet. Pierce skin of eggplant several times with a fork.
• Roast eggplant in preheated oven until soft, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool completely.
• Scoop the flesh from the eggplant halves onto a cutting board; chop into small chunks and put into a large mixing bowl.
• Mix ground turkey, carrot, onion, Parmesan cheese, egg, garlic, basil, parsley, oregano, sea salt, and black pepper with the eggplant chunks until ingredients are somewhat evenly mixed together. Gently mix almond flour into the eggplant mixture; scoop with an ice cream scoop onto the prepared baking sheet.
• Reduce oven heat to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and bake meatballs in oven for 15 minutes, flip the meatballs, and bake until browned and no longer pink in the center, about 10 minutes more.
• While the meatballs bake, heat marinara sauce in saucepan over medium-low heat until hot; add baked meatballs to the sauce and stir to coat.