Eggplant Meatballs

Having a freshly cooked pot of beautiful Rancho Gordo Christmas Lima Beans, I was looking for ways to put it to use right around the same time as I came across a recipe from Mark Bittmans VB6 cookbook for Eggplant Meatballs.

I've adapted it only by substituting the white beans called for in the recipe with the Christmas Lima Beans, and I think it came out really great.  It is basically an eggplant and bean mixture held together by breadcrumbs.  The described cauliflower variation, in place of eggplant, sounds like another option worth trying.

The eggplants at my farmers market was not very big, so I opted to use two.  Beans were cooked the day before and ready to go.

No need to dice the eggplant, the skin adds some texture and color, and besides will get chopped up in the food processor.

Finely diced onion and some fresh parsley.  I also added a dash of red pepper flakes.

Eggplant gets sauteed until tender.  It works best to let the eggplant brown a bit, then add a splash of water, and put the lid on the pan to have it steamed and cooked through. Give it a few stirs and by the time the water has evaporated, the eggplant will be done.

The recipe instructs you to make 12 balls of 2" diameter, but I think smaller balls are better.  Mine was probably just around golf ball size and I would not go bigger.  Since there is no pan frying, as it is oven baked, there is no added oils, and they firmed up well, with a delicate interior and some nicely browned sides.

Half of the balls did not get served and are now happily frozen in a sealed ziplock bag ready and on hand to turn into a no effortless dinner, especially if paired with store bought marinara sauce and fresh pasta that barely takes more than a couple minutes to cook.

I do not see any reason why this would not work well in flat burger patty shapes, and may give that a try at some point.

Here is a link to the recipe: Mark Bittman VB6 Eggplant meatballs