Polpette di Melanzane (fried eggplant balls with tomato sauce)

COOK TIME
75 mins

TOTAL TIME
75 mins

Ingredients

Directions

1. 1

   Clean and wash the aubergines and cut them into slices about 1 1⁄2 cm thick. Put them into a large pot with boiling salted water, bring to the boil again and cook covered for about 6 minutes. Lift out with a skimmer and drain well between two layers of kitchen paper and let cool down.

2. 2

   Peel onions and garlic and dice very finely. Wash and coarsely dice the tomatoes. Wash basil and mint, shake dry and pluck off the leaves. Press out the remaining moisture from the aubergines carefully with kitchen paper.

3. 3

   Dice the aubergines.

4. 4

   Put aubergines, mint, half basil, 1 egg, ricotta, half garlic, 1 1⁄2 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper in a mixing bowl and blend coarsely with a hand blender. Stir in 100 g breadcrumbs. Let the mixture swell for about 15 minutes.

5. 5

   Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a wide saucepan. Fry the onions and the rest of the garlic for about 2 minutes. Add tomato paste and sweat briefly. Add the tomatoes. Add 150 ml water. Season with salt, pepper, sugar and paprika.

6. 6

   Bring to the boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes while stirring. Season to taste again.

7. 7

   Whisk 2 eggs in a deep dish. Mix 80 g breadcrumbs, salt and pepper. Shape the eggplant mixture into about 16 balls of the same size (the mixture is a bit mushy). Carefully turn the balls into egg first and then into breadcrumbs.

8. 8

   Heat 4 tablespoons of olive oil in a large frying pan. Fry the balls in it until golden brown all around. Take them out of the pan and let them drip off a little on kitchen paper.

9. 9

   Add the balls to the tomato sauce and heat up again briefly. Wash parsley, shake dry. Chop parsley and remaining basil and stir into the sauce. Serve.

Nutrition Facts

KCAL
470 kcal

CARBS
44 g

FATS
24 g

PROTEINS
16 g