Baked Eggplant with Mushroom and Tomato Sauce, by Cheryl

I needed to use stuff in my fridge in order to fit more food in it. This meal kind of just came together with the ingredients I had on hand. I had an idea in my mind of what I wanted to make with it and then used this recipe to help execute. I would have been fine with this as the main dish, but Jon needs some extra oomph to a meal so I added some pasta on the side. This was super delicious and very easy to put together! Yum! 

Ingredients:

1 peeled eggplant, cut into 1/4 inch slices

1 cup chopped onion

cooking spray

1/2 tsp Italian seasoning

1/4 tsp salt

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 (8-ounce) package of sliced mushrooms

2/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1) Preheat broiler. Arrange eggplant slices on baking sheet and spray with cooking spray. Broil for 3 minutes per side.

2) Preheat oven to 375.

3) Heat a pan with oil and cook the onion and everything through the mushrooms for 7 minutes covered, stirring occasionally. Increase heat to high and cook for 2 minutes or until water evaporates. 

4) Spread half the mixture into the bottom of a baking dish coated with spray. Arrange half the eggplant slices on top. Sprinkle with pepper. Top with 1/2 cup tomato sauce and 1/3 cup mozzarella. Spread remaining mushroom mixture on top. Arrange the rest of the eggplant slices on top. Sprinkle with pepper. Top with remaining tomato sauce.

5) Cover and bake for 1 hour. 

6) Sprinkle with 1/3 mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese. Bake, uncovered, for 5 minutes or until cheese melts. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving. 

Grilled Eggplant, by Cheryl

Ok, so it may seem like a basic thing to cook, but grilled eggplant is actually pretty easy to mess up! But, I think I finally figured it out so they aren't too dried up or too oily. My mistake was that after I drew out the bitterness of the eggplant with salt I was only lightly brushing them with oil. I needed more oil! So I decided to make a yummy marinade that doubles as a dip for bread! This was so good and it's the only way I'm going to grill eggplant from now on. Yum!

Ingredients:

2 eggplants, sliced in circles

1/2 cup olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tbsp parsley, chopped

2 tbsp oregano, chopped

salt and pepper

Directions:

1) Generously salt each slice and put into a colander. Let sit for at least 15 minutes to draw the moisture out. Rinse the eggplant quickly with water and dry with paper towels. 

2) While the eggplant is sitting, combine the rest of the ingredients in a bowl. Place each slice in a dish and flip over so each side is covered. 

3) Grill for about 6 minutes on each side. If they become too dry brush with more oil. 

Roasted Eggplant Dip (Uukkous Al-Badinjan), by Diane

This week a friend and I found a list of all 195 countries and some fun new foods to try to cook from each one. We decided this would be a fun way to “have dinner together” virtually since we live far apart we would cook the same foods and eat together. I ran my finger up and down the list and when she said stop we landed on Bahrain. Having never tasted Bahraini food before, we were intrigued and picked three dishes to make for dinner. This roasted eggplant dip was the first one, and this photo is the only one because I tasted it and promptly tossed it out! I very rarely give up on a dish without trying to fix it, but here we are. The flavors were off in a way I can’t describe even though the ingredient list would make it seem like they easily blended together! My friend’s eggplant blew up in the oven shortly afterwards, so no one had a good report of this dish. But since Cheryl and I made a rule to post everything good or bad, here it is!! The other recipes were MUCH better, thank goodness!!


Ingredients:

3 large eggplants
4 cloves garlic
1/4 tsp cayenne
1 1/2 tsp sweet paprika
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup fresh parsley
1 tsp salt


Directions:

1. Roast the eggplant until softened, and let cool.

2. Scoop out the eggplant and combine in a food processor with remaining ingredients until smooth.

Melanzane A Funghetto (Eggplant cooked like mushrooms), by Cheryl

In Italy I took a cooking class with some friends. This recipe comes from the teacher who shared with us many different Neapolitan recipes. I love eggplant so I decided to whip up this yummy side dish... I'm surprised I never posted it before! Usually this dish is used as a vegetable side, but it's so versatile, you can make it for bruscetta or use it as a sauce for pasta! I made one change though - the Neapolitans love frying the eggplant in oil, which can lead to a greasy consistency if not done right, and can have a ton of hidden calories since eggplant absorbs oil like crazy. I baked my eggplant cubes with oil first and then continued on with the recipe. Yum!

Ingredients:

1 eggplant, cut into 1 inch cubes
salt
EVOO
1 clove garlic, minced
20ish cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup water
1tbsp balsamic vinegar
fresh basil

Directions:

1) Place the cubes of eggplant in a strainer and sprinkle salt generously on top. Mix around. Place a place and something heavy on top in order in order to get out the bitter juices. Leave for at least an hour.

2) Preheat oven to 430. Rinse the eggplant and dry thoroughly.

3) Put the eggplant in an oven dish with a few tablespoons of olive oil and mix well. Roast for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4) Meanwhile, add some olive oil to a pan over medium heat and add the garlic for a couple of minutes. Add the tomatoes and squash the tomatoes to release the juices. Cook for five minutes, stirring.

5) Add the eggplant, water, and balsamic vinegar. Cook for around 5 minutes. Cool before serving.

6) Garnish with fresh basil.

Roasted Eggplant and Tomato Pasta, by Cheryl

Ugh, another night of what to make for dinner? I'm in a rut! Help me!!! Anyway, I had eggplant, tomatoes, and pasta so I put together this together. I used this recipe as a guide to help with some of the sauce making. The sauce came out really well and was tasty. I ended up adding a teaspoon of baking soda to take out the acidity of the tomatoes and it worked! This is a great meal to whip up when you have no idea what to make for dinner!

Ingredients:

1 eggplant, cut into 1 inch cubes
olive oil
2 ripe heirloom tomatoes, cut in half
2 garlic cloves
2 tbsp unsalted butter
pasta of choice.. something like farfalle or radiatore would be good

Directions:

1) Heat oven to 450. Toss eggplant with some olive oil and salt. Roast about 30 minutes.

2) Meanwhile, cook pasta until about 1 minute shy of al dente.

3) Grate tomatoes (until you get to the tomato skin) over a skillet using the large holes of box grater. Add garlic and 1 tbsp of olive oil and bring to a simmer. Simmer until pulp is reduced by half, then season with salt. This is where I added a teaspoon of baking soda and some cherry tomatoes to cut the acidity and add some chunk to it.

4) Add the butter and pasta and toss together. Bring to a simmer and cook until pasta is cooked through. Add eggplant.

5) Serve pasta with a little more olive oil and Parmesan cheese if using.

Eggplant pizzas, by Cheryl

These mini pizzas are really quick to whip up and are delicious! You can put whatever toppings you want on them - the picture here shows a pulled pork topping, a hot soppresatta topping, a veggie (spinach and sweet potato) topping, and a regular topping of just cheese. We paired this with a delicious salad, Autumn Glow, which I'll post soon. Yum!

Ingredients:

1 large eggplant
tomato sauce
cheese
olive oil
assortment of toppings

Directions:

1) Preheat the oven to 350.

2) Slice eggplant into circles. Arrange in a colander and sprinkle with salt. Let sit for an hour to let the juices come out. Pat with paper towel.

3) Spray a baking pan with olive oil. Arrange the eggplant on the pan and brush some olive oil on top. Bake for about 10 minutes.

4) Add a spoonful of tomato sauce to each eggplant. Add various toppings, then add cheese. Bake for about 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Red Quinoa with Roasted Vegetables, by Cheryl

This is a Cheryl original! It's a super easy recipe that is healthy and ensures that you get your dose of delicious veggies and some yummy quinoa. It's in a white wine and butter sauce with an onion and garlic base. I wasn't in the mood for meat the night I made it, but I added some shredded boiled chicken to the mix for Jon and it tasted great. Yum!

Ingredients:

1 cup quinoa
water to cook quinoa
1 eggplant
1 red pepper (I would use more next time)
1 zucchini
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup wine
olive oil
salt

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 400.

2) Cut up all the veggies into one inch pieces. Spread out on onto baking sheets, cover lightly with oil and salt. Bake for 30 minutes or until tender.

3) Cook quinoa according to package directions.

4) Saute onions and garlic in butter until softened. Pour in wine and simmer until reduced, about 15 minutes. Mix quinoa into pan and cover with sauce.

5) Mix quinoa and veggies together and enjoy!

Vegan Queso, by Diane

This was my third and final dip for our mystery ingredient bookclub. I was very skeptical about this recipe because the list of ingredients, along with a cheese-less queso dip, sounded highly suspect. This queso also doesn't use cashews, as many vegan cheesy things do, but instead uses eggplant. Finally, the vegan aspect comes from nutritional yeast instead of cheese and almond milk instead of milk. So needless to say, I didn't have very high hopes for this one.

However, as it turns out, this was the fave dish of the evening. It was also the first thing I ate this morning, cold out of the fridge, with chips. No one even missed the cheese aspect, and even though my queso had a brown tinge because I ran out of time and couldn't get the skins of the eggplant off, everyone still wanted the recipe. The flavors of this dip are incredible.

So lesson learned, sometimes vegan things can be as good as (if not better!) than the real thing. I'll absolutely be making this again!

One note is that the method described in the recipe for easy eggplant skin removal didn't work, so next time I'll just remove the skin before baking. And there are a lot of unnecessary steps that I removed below. Also, it's just as good served cold!


Ingredients:


7-9 rounds of eggplant, sliced 1/2-inch thick (~half of a medium eggplant)
Olive oil
Sea salt
1.5-2 cups unsweetened original almond milk (I used whole milk bc it's what I had on hand)
2-3 Tbsp nutritional yeast
1/4 tsp finely minced fresh garlic
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
2 tsp cornstarch
110-ounce can of Rotel original diced tomatoes and green chilies, drained

Directions:

1. Sprinkle both sides of the eggplant round with a little sea salt and arrange in a colander to help draw out some of the moisture and bitterness. Let set for 10-15 minutes, then transfer to a greased baking tray.
2. Preheat oven to high broil and place an oven rack near the top of the oven. Drizzle both sides of the eggplant with a little olive oil.
3. Broil on high for 4-5 minutes on each side, watching carefully as to not let them burn. Flip at the halfway point to ensure even cooking. Once the eggplant appears tender and both sides have golden brown color, remove from the oven and wrap loosely in foil to steam.
4. After a few minutes, unwrap and peel the eggplant skin away. 
5. Place eggplant in a blender with the 1.5 cups (to start) milk, 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast, minced garlic, cumin, chili powder and cornstarch and blend on high until smooth and creamy. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.
6. Transfer to a small saucepan, add the drained can of rotel, and warm over medium to medium heat until slightly thickened and bubbly – about 5 minutes.

Eggplant and Mushroom Polenta Bake, by Cheryl

On my quest to find easy and healthy weeknight meals I came across this recipe. This was anything but easy! Let me rephrase that. It was technically easy, meaning that all of the steps were easy to accomplish, but it just took an effing long time! Between the chopping, all of the steps, and ingredients it took two hours to prepare. If I'm going to prepare something that takes two hours of my time (especially on a weeknight) the main ingredient better have had parents when it was alive. To boot, the dish was just so-so. I thought it was a little flat tasting and could use some more zing to it. It was reasonably good, but in my opinion it wasn't worth the effort. The recipe is from here. Yum?

Ingredients (filling):

olive oil
1.5 pounds Japanese eggplant, largely diced
1 pound cremini mushrooms, stems trimmed and mushrooms quartered
1/3 cup dry red wine
1/2 large yellow onion, diced
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp red pepper flakes
kosher salt
5 medium garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup green olives, pitted and coarsely chopped
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 cup water
ground pepper

Polenta ingredients:

3 cups water, plus more as needed,
2 cups whole milk
2 tsp kosher salt
1.5 cups polenta
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1.5 cups shredded fontina cheese

Directions:

1) Preheat the oven to 350 and arrange a rack in the middle. Place a large, well seasoned or enameled cast iron skillet in the oven while it's heating.

2) Once the oven is heated, drizzle 1 tbsp olive oil in the hot skillet and let it heat up for 1-2 minutes. Add the eggplant to the skillet and arrange it in an even layer. Roast until tender and starting to brown, stirring halfway through, about 25 minutes. Carefully remove the hot skillet from the oven and place on the stovetop. Using a spoon, transfer the eggplant to a bowl and set aside.

3) Add 1 tbsp olive oil to the skillet and place over high heat until shimmering. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring rarely, until browned, about 8 minutes. Add the wine, stir to combine, and cook until the liquid has completely evaporated. Reduce the heat to medium low and using a spoon, transfer the mushrooms to the eggplant bowl.

4) Add 1 tbsp olive oil to the skillet and heat. Add the onion, oregano, red pepper flakes, and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion has softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring often, about 1 minute.

5) Add the olives and reserved eggplant and mushrooms, along with any accumulated juices in the bowl and stir to combine. Add the tomatoes and water, season with salt and pepper, and stir to combine. Bring the mixture to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, being making the polenta. (Remove mixture from heat when done, season with salt and pepper, and keep warm until polenta is ready).

6) POLENTA: Place the measured water, milk, and salt in a large saucepan and bring to a simmer over high heat. Reduce the heat to low, and whisking constantly, slowly pour the polenta in a thin, steady stream until all of it is incorporated and there are no lumps.

7) Cook, whisking or stirring with a spoon every few minutes, until the polenta pulls away from the sides of the pan and the grains have softened, about 20 minutes. Add water if it gets too thick. Stir in the Parmesan cheese and set aside. Heat the oven to broil.

8) Pour the polenta over the eggplant and mushroom mixture and spread it into a smooth even layer. Evenly sprinkle the fontina onto the polenta. Place the skillet in the oven and broil until the cheese is browned and bubbling, about 4 minutes. Remove from the oven to a wire rack and let sit for 5 minutes.

Vegetable Stuffed Eggplant Rollatini, by Cheryl

What a healthy and light dish! This is a great meal to have for lunch or if you want a light dinner. I made some changes to the original recipe. The original recipe has sliced celery in the mix as the only veggie (besides the eggplant). I replaced the celery with spinach and carrots (actually carrot pulp from juicing!) and it turned out really well! I made my own tomato mix instead of using the canned diced tomatoes. I also added fresh mozzarella to vegetable mix. I'll be making this again. Yum!

Ingredients:

2 medium eggplants
1 diced onion
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups spinach
Carrot pulp from 5 carrots (or just a few diced carrots)
1 can diced tomatoes (or your own tomato mix)
1/3 cup parsley, chopped
fresh mozzarella
olive oil
salt and pepper

Directions:

1) Cut the two ends off the eggplant and slice lengthwise into ¼ inch slices. Salt the slices to help remove excess moisture and any bitterness from the eggplants and place in a colander. Set aside for about 15 minutes.

2) In a medium pan over medium heat, heat 5 tablespoons of oil. Add the onion, garlic, carrots and cook for about 3 minutes or until the onion begins to turn translucent. Add the spinach and cook until wilted. Add the tomatoes and parsley and continue to cook for 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

3) Rinse the salt off the eggplant with cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Preheat the grill to medium or heat a grill pan on the stove top over medium-high heat. Make sure it's hot before beginning. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush both sides of each slice of eggplant with the olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill on both sides until you have nice grill marks and the eggplant is pliable, about 1-2 minutes on each side.

4) Preheat oven to 375 F. Spray a 9 by 13-inch baking dish with nonstick spray. Spread an even layer of the vegetable filling onto the eggplant slices leaving a little space around the edges (1 heaping tablespoon of the filling on each slice). Place some mozzarella in and on the mixture. Starting at the short end, roll up slices and place seam side down in a baking dish. Top with remaining vegetable mixture and bake uncovered for 20 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove from oven and let it rest for a few minutes. Enjoy!

Melanzane Sott'olio (Marinated Eggplant), by Cheryl

This is a staple of Neapolitan cuisine. Melanzane Sott'olio literally means "eggplant under oil", which is exactly what it is! It is marinated eggplant that sits in a jar for two to three weeks soaking up the flavors around it. My neighbors would often bring us jars of these to keep in the house for a couple of weeks in order to snack on later. Other friends would bring their finished product to our house as an appetizer before dinner or as a snack for parties. Since we always had this in our house from other people I never actually made it myself, though I do have my friend's recipe. I found my stack of recipes from her, translated it, and made this a few weeks ago. We just opened it last weekend and it was so good! Just like Italy :)

Ingredients (measurements are converted from grams):

2 large eggplant, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1/2 cup salt
2 cups white wine vinegar
1/2 cup water
4 cups olive oil (or less depending on how big the jar is)
5 cloves garlic
red pepper flakes, or halved hot pepper - crushed
1 quart glass jar with lid

Directions:

1) Peel and slice the eggplant into strips. Place layer of eggplant strips in large colander and sprinkle with a portion of salt. Repeat process until colander is full and all eggplant has been salted. Cover the eggplant with a weighted plate for 2-3 hours - this helps to remove the bitter juices.

2) Combine vinegar and water in a pot and bring to a boil for two minutes. Add some of the eggplant to water and blanch for two minutes. Remove eggplant with strainer, place in a colander, and let cool. Continue this process until all eggplants have been blanched.

3) Take a sterile jar and sprinkle garlic, oregano, and hot pepper on layer on cooled eggplant. Repeat layering until 1 inch from the top of the jar. Add enough oil to cover the eggplant. Store for 2-3 weeks.

4) Make sure to use clean utensils when retrieving mixture. Add oil to keep vegetables covered as necessary.

Eggplant Lasagna (no noodles), by Cheryl

This meal was fantastic! I absolutely love eggplant and this recipe is a healthy way to get your dose of veggies in without all of the extra carbs from the noodles. Sweet, savory, and filling, this eggplant lasagna was a big hit in our house! Yum!

Recipe taken from Real Simple

Ingredients:

1/2 pound plum tomatoes, halved
1 clove garlic
4 tbsp olive oil
kosher salt and black pepper
2 eggplants, sliced lengthwise 1/4 inch thick
1 cup ricotta
1 large egg
1/2 cup fresh basil
1/4 cup grated Asiago or Parmesan

Directions:

1) Heat broiler. In a food processor, puree the tomatoes, garlic, 1 tbsp olive oil, 1/4 tsp each of salt and pepper.

2) In 2 batches, arrange the eggplant slices on a broiler proof baking sheet, brush with two tbsp olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Broil until charred and tender, 3-4 minutes on each side.

3) Meanwhile in a small bowl, combine the ricotta, egg, basil, and 1/4 tsp salt and pepper.

4) Spread some tomato sauce at the bottom of an 8-inch baking dish. On top of it, layer a third of the eggplant slices, half of the ricotta mixture, and some sauce. Repeat with the remaining eggplant, ricotta, and sauce, topping with the Asiago or Parmesan.

5) Reduce oven to 400. Bake the lasagna until bubbling, 15-20 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Zaalouk (Moroccan Eggplant and Tomato Salad), by Diane

This is one of my favorite appetizers to order at a Moroccan restaurant, and its surprisingly easy to recreate! It works great as a side dish, snack, or a dip for pita/bread. It is served cold, but you can eat it warmed as well. It's packed with a load of nutrients as well, including vitamins A, C, and K, iron, fiber, potassium, lycopene, and many antioxidants.

I would like to thank my fellow blogger Cheryl, who taught me that it is easy to peel tomatoes if you make a slit in the skin and drop them into boiling water for a minute. :)

Recipe from: http://moroccanfood.about.com/od/saladsandsidedishes/r/Zaalouk_Recipe.htm (I doubled the eggplant!)

Ingredients:

1 large eggplant
4 large tomatoes, peeled seeded and chopped
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped or pressed
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro and parsley, mixed
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
1/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup water
small wedge of lemon (optional)

Directions:

1. Slice the eggplant lengthwise and place it skin-side-up under a broiler. Leave it to roast for about 15 minutes, or until the skin is scorched and and the eggplant is very tender. Scoop out the roasted eggplant from the skin, and puree it with a vegetable masher.

2. Mix all ingredients in a large, deep skillet or pot. Cover and simmer over medium to medium-high heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Adjust the heat if necessary to avoid burning the zaalouk.

3. Use a spoon or potato masher to crush and blend the tomatoes and eggplant. If you like, a small wedge of lemon can be added to the pan at this time. Continue simmering, uncovered, for 10 minutes or until the liquids are reduced and the zaalouk can be stirred into a heap in the center of the pan.

Ratatouille with Goat Cheese Polenta, by Diane

This week I made an awesome dinner- filling, delicious, and full of veggies! Served with a side of grilled chicken seasoned with italian herbs, it was the perfect pairing. Ratatouille is a french dish but this recipe had an italian flair. It consists of layered summer veggies with lots of fresh herbs, and looks very similar to a lasagna at the end:

Using fresh tomato sauce is key for this recipe! As for the polenta, it comes together quickly and pairs perfectly with the sauce and veggies. My only suggestion is to increase the cooking time on the ratatouille to around an hour, unless you like your veggies with a little crunch (I did, family did not).

Recipe is from: http://skinnyms.com/ratatouille-with-goat-cheese-polenta/

Ingredients

Ratatouille:

1 medium eggplant
1 medium zucchini
1 medium summer squash
1 medium red bell pepper
3 cups prepared marinara sauce
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Goat Cheese Polenta:

3 cups water or vegetable stock
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups medium grind cornmeal
1/4 cup low fat milk
1 teaspoon butter
4 ounces fresh goat cheese, crumbled
Fresh basil leaves, slivered, for garnish


Directions:

Make the Ratatouille: 

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Slice all the vegetables as thin as possible using either a sharp knife or mandolin slicer, doing your best to slice them as uniformly as possible. Layer them in a 9x9 casserole dish one vegetable at a time, seasoning with salt and fresh ground pepper between each layer, until you run out of vegetables.

3. Pour the marinara sauce overtop of the veggies, covering well, and drizzle with the extra virgin olive oil. 

4. Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes.

About 10 minutes before the ratatouille is done, make the polenta:

1. Put the water, garlic, and salt in a medium pot and bring to a boil. Slowly add the cornmeal to the pot, turn down the heat to medium low, and stir with a whisk until liquid is absorbed and no clumps remain. 

2. Stir continuously for about 5 minutes and then add the milk, butter, and half of the goat cheese. Stir until well combined and turn off the heat.

3. To serve, top the polenta with the baked vegetables, and top with a sprinkling of goat cheese crumbles and a few slivers of fresh basil. 

Pizzette alla Melanzane (Fried eggplant balls), by Cheryl

This is a Neapolitan specialty that our neighbor gave us to eat. They are an appetizer to any meal and are really easy to make! I thought that we would need a sauce to go with it, but the balls are delicious on their own. I probably have made these once a week since she gave me the recipe! This recipe makes about 8 balls.

Ingredients (sorry it's in grams!):

- 800 grams of eggplant

- 120 grams of bread crumbs (I didn't measure this out at all- I eyeballed the amount I needed in order to make good balls, like when making falafels or meatballs).

- 120 grams of grated Parmesan cheese

- one tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

- 1 egg (original recipe calls for 2, but one did just fine)

- salt and pepper

Directions:

1) Slice the eggplant into strips and boil until soft (maybe 5-10 minutes)

2) Drain the water, let cool, then squeeze the water out of the eggplant. I used some paper towels to help me.

3) In a bowl combine all of the ingredients, adding small amounts of breadcrumbs as needed and mix. You want the balls to keep its shape without being sticky. I also made the balls into flatter, more oval shaped, in order to fry them more easily.

4) Heat canola oil in a pan on the stove. When it becomes hot, fry the balls until they are golden brown. Turn over and repeat. Eat hot!