There are times that I just cannot fathom eating another piece of meat. After I've made the dinner round of beef, chicken, pork and seafood each week, I'm just plain tired of anything with a face.
I don't have alot of vegetarian recipes in my repertoire ~ something that I need desperately to change, but rest assured this fabulous recipe for Provolone Stuffed Eggplant "Meatballs" will be immediately filed away as a must-always-have-in-the-freezer vegetarian menu option. I found this recipe when I stumbled across Lauren's blog, Healthy. Delicious, a few weeks ago and the blog has been duly bookmarked for some great new menu ideas.
As much as I love eggplant Parmesan, there was no question as to whether I'd like these or not. They were very easy to put together and I love the fact that they are freezable so I can pull a portion out whenever I want. My eggplant weighed about 2-1/2 pounds and I had a couple of small zucchini in the fridge that needed to be used, so I added them to make up the difference. I also used mozzarella cheese in place of the provolone, again because it was on-hand. A couple of my "meatballs" blew a cheese gasket during baking but I was able to form them back into the semblance of a ball while they were still warm. You could serve these as a toasted "meatball" sub sandwich or with pasta.
Quick. Easy. Delicious. Satisfying.
Provolone Stuffed Eggplant "Meatballs"
recipe by Lauren of Healthy. Delicious
Ingredients
2 Globe Eggplants (about 3 pounds total)
1/2 cup Italian Seasoned Breadcrumbs
1/4 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 Egg, slightly beaten
1/8 pound Provolone
Directions
Preheat oven to 350.
Peel the eggplant, then use the coarse side of a box grater to shred it. Toss the shredded eggplant with 1 tsp kosher salt. Use your hands to squeeze out as much moisture as you can.
Discard the liquid and add the shredded eggplant to a bowl with the breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, and egg. Use your hands to mix the ingredients together. The mixture should be moist, but not too soggy - add more bread crumbs if needed.
Arrange the provolone into a stack, then cut it into 12 cubes.
Divide the eggplant mixture into 12 equal portions. Form each portion into a ball. Use your thumb to make an indentation in each ball and tuck a portion of the provolone inside. Roll the balls to seal the provolone inside.
Place the eggplant balls on a baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the bottoms have turned golden brown. Turn the eggplant balls and bake for an additional 10 minutes to brown the other side.
Serve with your favorite pasta sauce.
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