Eggplant balls (Polpette di melanzane)

Just looking in the meat replacement section at the local supermarket, I found this interesting product:

Eggplant balls from store

 WOW! Eggplant is one of my favorite veggies. I have never thought about making balls with it. The price was quite expensive for what it was. So I decided to make them at home. 

I found a good recipe online here. I veganized it and this is my version:

Ingredients:

• 1 medium eggplant 
• 1 1/4 cup bread crumbs (keep 1/4 cup for rolling) 
• 2 cloves of minced garlic 
• 1/4 cup grated vegan Parmesan (such as Parma!)
• 2 TB fresh chopped parsley 
• Flax egg (1 TB flax seed meal + 2.5 TB water) 
• olive oil spray

Directions:

For the flax egg: add flaxseed meal and water to a dish and stir. Let rest for 5 minutes to thicken. Add to recipes in place of 1 egg.

Cut the eggplant in cubes and steam it. Leave the skins on, sprinkle a bit of salt on top it. Let steam for about 10 minutes or until is tender.

Remove eggplant, drain, and pat dry, letting them cool.
 
Put eggplant in large mixing bowl and add bread crumbs, garlic, cheese, parsley, flax egg, and mix well. If the mixture is too moist, add more bread crumbs.

Shape into balls and then roll balls in breadcrumbs.
 
Instead of frying them, I sprayed a bit of olive oil in a small pan and cooked them in the over at 350F for about 30 minutes or so. 

Eggplant balls

Enjoy!