EGGPLANT ‘MEATBALLS’ OVER ZUCCHINI PASTA

By Golfwidow7

Ingredients

• 1 medium eggplant
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons of water
• 1 3/4 cups of gluten free or old fashioned oats
• 1 organic egg
• 1 cup of loosely packed basil
• 1 tablespoon of parmesan cheese (*optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon of dried parsley
• Sea salt and pepper
• Extra virgin olive oil
• 4 zucchinis/yellow squash
• Marinara sauce (we used Rao's Roasted Eggplant Sauce)

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Using a peeler, peel the skin off of the eggplant.
Cut the eggplant into thick rounds (about an inch) and then into chunks.
In a medium/large pan, add a drizzle of olive oil over medium heat.
Add 2 teaspoons of minced garlic to the pan (leave the rest for later), and sauté for about a minute.
Add the chopped up eggplant to the pan and mix through the garlic and oil.
Add two tablespoons of water to the pan, cover, and reduce heat to low.
Steam the eggplant for 10 minutes.
In a food processor or high speech blender, add the oats and blend into flour-like consistency.
When the eggplant is fork tender, drain and excess water from the pan and add the eggplant to the processor, along with the egg, basil, parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes, dried parsley, sea salt, and pepper.
Process until a sticky mixture is formed. *If you used a really large eggplant, you may need to add more oats until the mixture sticks together. It's ok if the remaining oats do not get blended finely.
Evenly coat a baking sheet with olive oil.
With slightly damp hands, scoop out the eggplant mixture, roll into balls and place them on a baking sheet. I found I needed to rinse my hands multiple times in-between; however make sure you're hands aren't too wet.
Bake for the eggplant 'meatballs' for 10 minutes, then flip the meatballs over and bake for an additional 15 minutes (25 total).
While the meatballs are baking, spiralize your zucchini/yellow squash.
Squeeze any excess liquid from your zucchini pasta with a paper towel.
Flash fry the zucchini pasta over medium heat, by adding a teaspoon of olive oil to your pan and sautéing until heated through. (*You can cook for longer, I just don't like them to get soggy).
Warm your sauce.
Place the zucchini pasta on a plate, top with meatballs your favorite sauce, and additional fresh chopped basil.