Hoisin Eggplant Balls (recipe)

[Guest guest]

I made these last night and they were fabulous. Great

appetizers for Thanksgiving and all the parties that

are coming up. I added an additional step when

preparing this recipe....I chopped the eggplant pulp

after squeezing out the excess liquid because it was

kind of stringy (perhaps I didn't bake the eggplant

long enough). Don't forget to scrape the garlic in

with the egglant pulp.

 

Hoisin Eggplant Balls

 

1 large eggplant

3 cloves garlic, halved lengthwise

1/2 cup ground peanuts

1/4 cup tahini

2 T. fresh parsley, minced

salt and pepper

3/4 cup dry bread crumbs (or more as needed)

3 T. hoisin sauce

 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut 6 slits into the

eggplant and place a piece of garlic in each slit.

Place eggplant on lightly oiled baking sheet and bake

until soft, about 45 minutes. Reduce oven temperature

to 375 degrees if you plan on baking the eggplant

balls.

 

Halve the cooked eggplant and scrape out the pulp.

Squeeze the pulp between the palms of your hands to

remove excess liquid. Place pulp in a bowl. Add the

ground peanuts, tahini, parsley, salt, and pepper.

Blend well. Add just enough bread crumbs to hold

mixture together when shaped into balls. Roll the

mixture into 1 - 1 1/2 inch balls and coat with bread

crumbs.

 

Bake eggplant balls on lightly oiled baking sheet

until browned and firm, about 20 minutes. OR Fry

eggplant balls in batches in 1/4 inch hot oil over

medium-high until browned on all sides, about 2 - 4

minutes. Drain on paper towels.

 

Place eggplant balls in a bowl with hoisin sauce and

stir gently to coat. Skewer with toothpicks and serve

at once.

 

 

 

 

 

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