Eggplant and Mushroom Vegan Meatlessballs
I love eggplant and I am always looking for ways to use it. When I began roasting it I realized it is easy to cook, it has a great smokey flavor, and ends up to be a nice solid but soft consistency.
For my Vegan Passover guests which there were a few, I developed this delicious vegetable Meatlessball. A hearty crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside Vegan dish. As a binder I made an egg substitute and used a mix of vegetable oil, baking powder and water. Which when mixed together becomes the consistency of an egg. I also used matzoh meal because it was Passover, but it could be switched out with Panko or corn flake crumbs. The sauce is a light tangy tomato sauce, goes great over pasta or zucchini linguine. This is a great dish to make ahead and freeze.
Ingredients for Vegan Meatlessballs:
2 medium sized eggplants 10-12"
2 medium white onions chopped fine about 2 cups
5 cloves garlic grated
10 ounces baby Bella Mushrooms about 1 1/2 cups
3/4 cup Matzoh meal or Panko, or Corn flake crumbs
1/2 cup fresh basil chopped
1/2 cup fresh parsley chopped
Egg Substitute: Whisk together 2 tablespoons water, 1 teaspoon vegetable oil and 2 teaspoons baking powder
salt and pepper
Vegetable or cottonseed oil for frying
Ingredients for the sauce:
You will use 1/2 of the sauteed onions and garlic from the Vegan Meatlessballs
28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
28 ounce can whole tomatoes roughly crushed
1/2 cup fresh parsley chopped
1/2 cup fresh basil chiffonade or ribboned
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 375°.
Start cooking:
Grease 2 cookie sheets.On one sheet scatter the cleaned mushrooms, on the other sheet place the two eggplants with the skin pricked with a fork.
Roast mushrooms for 15 minutes till they are tender but not mushy. Roast eggplants for 30 minutes or until they are wrinkly and soft.
Chop mushrooms into 1/4" pieces and transfer them to a paper towel so some of the moisture drains out.Let the eggplants cool cut off the tops and peel the skin off. Transfer to a colander let stand for 10 minutes and gently press on the roasted eggplant in the colander to get as much liquid out as possible. Mash the drained eggplant with a fork.
In a pan over medium heat a three tablespoons of olive oil and add the chopped onions and grated garlic, saute' till onions are limp and translucent. Take 1/2 of the mixture out and put it in a large mixing bowl. Put other half in a large covered sauce pan to use for the sauce. You do not need to clean the saute pan, you will use it to fry the Veggie Meatlessballs.
Make the egg substitute:
In a small bowl mix together 2 tablespoons water,one teaspoon vegetable oil and two teaspoons baking powder, stir till combined.
In the large mixing bowl with the sauteed onions and garlic add the mashed eggplant, chopped mushrooms, egg substitute, matzoh meal or panko, parsley, basil, salt and pepper. Mix ingredients together. I like to use a 1 1/2" melon baller so they all look uniform and cook evenly.
In the saute pan heat 1/2" deep of cottonseed oil over medium high heat. Place 5 or 6 meatless balls in the pan at a time, so the pan is not overcrowded. The balls are delicate so you want to have room in the pan to turn them. Let them brown on all the sides. Take out of the pan and set on a stack of paper towels. Add next batch to pan. This recipe should make 35-37 Veggie balls.
If you are freezing them place them in a tin in a single layer and cover them tightly with foil. Freeze the sauce separately.
Making the Sauce:
In the large covered sauce pan with the sauteed onions and garlic add the can of crushed tomatoes and the can of whole tomatoes, and roughly break them up so there is still some big pieces. Then add the parsley, basil, dried oregano, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. Let simmer covered over low-medium heat for 30 minutes.
