Calabrian eggplant meatballs, the original Calabrian recipe for fried eggplant meatballs, with 0-km ingredients for 100% goodness, from the garden’s eggplants, the long ones are even better, with pecorino cheese, parsley, garlic, nothing should be missing to have the authentic taste of Calabrian eggplant meatballs every time. Fried eggplant meatballs are one of the typical summer recipes in Calabria. I don’t know about you but I often prepare them, accompanied with a fresh tomato salad, seasoned with red Tropea onion, or with garlic and oregano, truly a winning combination. Preparing eggplant meatballs according to the original Calabrian recipe is simple even if in Calabria they are prepared with only home ingredients, from garden-grown long eggplants, to grated pecorino made in the past in almost every home, and those who didn’t make it procured it from local shepherds. The scents are those of the garden, garlic, parsley, although it seems that many also use basil, but not in my kitchen, I prefer them with parsley. Fried eggplant meatballs are a real treat, once you try them you can’t do without them, if you want there’s also a variant, eggplant meatballs with meat
The Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies has included eggplant meatballs in the list of Traditional Agri-food Products of the Calabria region (PAT).
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Very cheap
- Rest time: 1 Hour
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 4 People
- Cooking methods: Boiling, Frying
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients for Eggplant Meatballs
- 2.2 lbs Black oval eggplants (better if long ones)
- 2 Eggs
- 2 slices Stale bread
- 1 tbsp Pecorino cheese (grated)
- 1 tbsp Parmesan cheese (grated)
- 1 tbsp Breadcrumbs (not in the original recipe)
- to taste Parsley (in some places they use basil)
- 1 clove Garlic
- to taste Salt
- to taste Pepper
- to taste Vegetable oil
Tools to Prepare Calabrian Eggplant Meatballs
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Knife
- 1 Colander
- 1 Pot
- 1 Pan
- 1 Fork
Preparation
Place a large pot on the stove, filled halfway with water, one of those large and tall pots needed to cook 2 lbs of pasta.
Meanwhile, as the water comes to a boil, prepare the eggplants, which need to be blanched in boiling water. Wash them, remove the stem, and cut them, skin on, first into slices about half an inch thick and then into strips, keep them in cold water to prevent browning. As soon as the water starts boiling, cook them for 5 to 10 minutes, until they’re soft. Drain and let them cool without rinsing in cold water, so they remain more flavorful.
Soak the stale bread in a bowl. In a separate bowl, place all the ingredients to prepare the eggplant meatballs. Start by squeezing the already boiled eggplants very well, now cold, put them in the bowl, squeeze the bread as well and add it to the eggplants, add the eggs, finely chopped garlic, chopped parsley, black pepper, salt, and cheese, I prefer using both pecorino and parmesan, generally in Calabria more pecorino is used, but then the taste is too strong, better to mix them.
Work the mixture with your hands, and if it’s too soft, adjust the consistency with a bit of breadcrumbs, in some cases, some add a bit of flour, which indeed changes little, so both work, but if you can avoid it, even better.
Now prepare the eggplant meatballs, giving them the classic elongated shape. Squeeze them well, and don’t worry if they seem a bit soft, they don’t need to be as compact as meat meatballs, but it’s important that the mixture binds well.
Fry the meatballs in plenty of oil, in a non-stick pan, they don’t need to be submerged. Turn the meatballs only when they are golden on one side, otherwise they break when you turn them. Let them brown on both sides and absorb excess oil on paper once ready and removed from the oil. Enjoy them hot, or keep them warm in the oven, but they are also delicious cold.
If you prefer a lighter cooking method, you can also prepare them in the oven, but I tell you, they are not the same, the taste changes a lot. A valid alternative for oven cooking is to add some tuna to prepare thus some delicious eggplant and tuna meatballs, so they become tastier.
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