Very good, but here's what I did differently the second time I made this dish. I skinned the Eggplant, cubed it, and marinated it in Soy Sauce for 20 minutes. I used more than 8 cloves of Garlic ( 12 ). I used a store bought variety of seasoned Bread Crumbs ( Italian ) and found that mashing the cooked Eggplant aided in the mixing of the ingredients. Excellent!!!
Very tasty and wonderful texture. I am not always a big eggplant fan but I couldn't get enough of these. We served them with spaghetti. I prepared the mixture and then froze them in balls before baking. I took them out when I needed them, baked them and they were very good.
Words can not explain this creation. My favorite veggie is eggplant - these absolutely deserve 5 stars. I test froze one cooked patty - still excellent. Next time I will cut the eggplant a tad bigger - maybe a little bigger then the size of dice - I also added chopped banana pepper & jalopeno to the rest of the batch (I made double right off the bat). I made patties and fried them in a LITTLE olive oil in a skillet on the stove. This is a great base to make your own veggie burgers - I will be adding waterchestnuts chopped onion shredded carrots. Can't wait until I make meatballs. This recipe is going to be a big hit at family gatherings!
If you like lots of flavor and spice - consider my variation on this theme: I jazzed up this dish by adding 2 extra cloves of garlic, 1 tsp of crushed red pepper flakes, 2 tbsp of balsamic vinegar and 4 tbsp white wine while steaming the eggplant. I left out the egg. I formed the mashed eggplant into 1/4" patties and baked on a lightly greased cookie sheet per the original instructions. They are incredible! Far more than I hoped for and we'll be making this dish often. Served with a side of pasta and marinara sauce. Leftovers, if there are any, would be great cold in a pita sandwich.
Thank you, Aunt Mary! These were ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC! i didn't even have the time to refrigerate them at all, but agree that it would only make for an improvement if i had. i peeled the skin off, because of preference, and mashed them after steaming (you need to stir them every few minutes) and only baked them for twenty minutes because i finshed cooking them in my pot of sauce. My husband and his male friends (sorry to be stereotypical) preferred them to my meatballs! I can't wait to make them into a veggie burger, too!! This recipe will live on in my family.
This is somewhat similar to a family recipe of mine very yummy...even my brother who hates eggplants will eat this way!!! Just a suggestion after baking or frying these add them into a pasta sauce and let them absorb the sauce it will give them a different flavour!!!
A little messy to make into balls at first but with my trusty ice cream scooper it got a whole lot easier! This is a great substitute for meat balls. Very hearty and filling not to mentiond delicious!
Being an eggplant lover I find this recipe just wonderful. My wife however detests eggplants but was successfully fooled when I made her these. She loved them too! These also work well as an alternative falafel. Lastly I agree with other reviews concerning adding seasonings and mashing as you saute.
i changed the recipe - to have 3 cups of eggplant (peeled) and 1 cup fresh mushrooms -- it was yummy.
I didn't notice a lot of flavor with this recipe but my husband enjoyed them. I increased the breadcrumbs and also the chill time. I did enjoy the crispiness the balls took on from baking. I will try them again but modify the recipe somewhat by straining the eggplant before mixing in the other ingredients.
