| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 1 hr 20 min |
| Prep: | 15 min |
| Inactive: | 10 min |
| Cook: | 55 min |
| Yield: | 4 to 6 servings |
Ingredients
- Vegetable oil cooking spray
- One 1-pound eggplant, ends trimmed, halved lengthwise
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 cup grated pecorino cheese
- 1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs, plus extra, as needed
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 2 cups jarred marinara or tomato-basil sauce
- 3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- Vegetable oil, for frying
- 1/2 cup grated pecorino cheese
Instructions
- For the eggplant: Place an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a small baking sheet or a 9-by-13-inch glass or ceramic baking dish with vegetable oil cooking spray. Place the eggplant, cut-side up, on the prepared baking sheet. Make 1/2-inch-deep slits over the surface of the eggplant halves using a paring knife. Drizzle with the olive oil and bake until golden and tender, 40 to 45 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes.
- For the filling: Scoop out 1 cup of flesh from the eggplant, using a spoon, and place in a food processor. Blend until the eggplant is smooth. Add the cheese, breadcrumbs, basil, egg, garlic and parsley. Pulse until the mixture is thick enough to form into balls, adding extra breadcrumbs as needed. Scoop 25 balls of the mixture, each about 2 tablespoons, onto a baking sheet using a small cookie scoop.
- For the sauce: Bring the marinara and red pepper flakes to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Keep warm over low heat until ready to serve.
- For assembly: Pour enough oil into a large heavy-bottomed saucepan to fill the pan about a third of the way. Heat the oil over medium heat until a deep-frying thermometer inserted into the oil reaches 350 degrees F. (If you don’t have a thermometer, a cube of bread will brown in about 4 minutes.) In batches, fry the eggplant balls until golden, about 1 minute. Drain on paper towels.
- Serve the fried eggplant warm or cold with marinara sauce and the grated pecorino cheese.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 6 servings |
| Calories | 544 |
| Total Fat | 46 g |
| Saturated Fat | 9 g |
| Carbohydrates | 18 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 4 g |
| Sugar | 8 g |
| Protein | 15 g |
| Cholesterol | 67 mg |
| Sodium | 922 mg |
Reviews
These are amazing!!!!! I make them often as my adult children love them. I have made them with pasta, in sandwiches with fresh mozzarella and basil on a roll, and smashed to patty size on a bun. Each variation is equally delicious and fun. I fry or bake depending how I serve them. frying holds up better when serving on pasta with the sauce. I also change it around a little adding onion to the meatless balls, and mushrooms to the sauce. Thank you Giada for another great recipe. Giada fans, if you like this, you have to try the butternut squash lasagna!!!!
Baked as previously reviewed. Came out great. Crispy out and creamy in. Makes a great appetizer for any time. Great use of eggplant. I am going to freeze some.
My husband hates eggplant and he thought these were delicious! We ate the whole batch 🙂 Based on other reviews, I chose to bake these instead of frying them. I sprayed them lightly with olive oil cooking spray and cooked them at 375 degrees for about 40 minutes, turning them half way through. They turned out crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Really good and easy to make!
These took a longer time to make, probably because of baking the eggplant first. The balls were very difficult to roll. I had to add a huge amount of extra bread crumbs to make the balls hold together. The taste was a bit bland ( a problem I’ve found with several of Giada’s recipes), but good. If I make them again, I’ll probably steam the eggplant and add some more spice.
I’m Southern Italian and I have always made these little meat “less” balls.I basically use the same ingredients but leave out the basil and add raisins. I steam the eggplant rather than bake it. I also shallow fry them instead of deep frying. Great with a pesto sauce for dipping or the traditional marinara. This is comfort food to me.
Made these tonight. Omitted the egg, since my BF is not a fan of eggs. I also made homemade bread crumbs. I baked them instead of frying for a healthier version and they came out great! The dough seemed very wet, but was much easier to handle after refrigerating for about an hour. I flipped them half way through baking and they were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. I made mini eggplant sandwiches with marinara and mozzarella. Will definitely make these again.
I have only made these once, but plan to make them again tomorrow. I LOVE THIS RECIPE! Such an interesting way to prepare it and different than just making eggplant parmigiana all the time.
I did not like this recipe it was a waste of time and money. Like another reviewer said it tasted to salty for my palate and it was more like a mush ball. I fried it till it was golden brown about 1 min, and it was too mushy inside.
This was fantastic, I did add more breadcrumbs plus a little corn meal and served it with mango chutney!!!
Well all I have to say is YUMMY!! I am not an eggplant person and well thought I would try again and even my kids loved it as well! Awesome! Thanks Giada!