Remember when I said I was going to feature food related posts on the blog? And then I do but then it’s months before I do it again? I’d like to get better at that. It’s really something I love; cooking, eating, sharing, pouring over recipes, getting lost on Pinterest just salivating over all the goodness that’s out there. Problem I find is that when I’m cooking dinner in the winter, it’s dark and I can’t photograph the end result! During the summer, I’m too busy to be blogging anything other then directly client related. No time for personal endeavors, sadly. But I decided to whip this up for lunch the other day and with that I was able to photograph the meal with beautiful natural light. There was a lot of interest for the recipe so here it is! Enjoy!
- 1 Spaghetti Squash
- 2 Cups Spaghetti Sauce (your own or I use Rao's if not making it homemade)
- +++++++
- 1 Large Eggplant
- 1 cup freshly ground romano cheese
- 3/4 cup panko or plain breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup rinsed cannelini beans
- 1/2 cup freshly chopped parsley
- 1 tsp onion powder
- S&P
- Preheat oven to 400. When it's to temperature, cook the eggplant for about 30 minutes or until it softens completely. You can either cook it whole--just on the rack-- or slice it in half, drizzle with olive oil and bake on a sheet pan.
- While the eggplant is baking, cook your spaghetti squash. There are many methods of doing this, however I find the simplest way is to pierce the squash a dozen times and microwave it for about 7 minutes, flip it and then microwave for another 7 minutes. Let it cool, slice in half and scoop out seeds. Use a fork to get all of the strands out. Set aside.
- When eggplant is finished, scoop out all of the flesh and discard the skin. Give it a squeeze to get out any excess water. If you do this a day ahead like I did, you can store it in the fridge overnight with some paper towels which will soak up some of the eggplant liquid.
- Pulse the eggplant in a food processor. Add the parsley, cheese, beans, onion powder, and S&P until combined. Add the breadcrumbs bit by bit until you have a nice consistency where the balls will keep their shape.
- Roll them into golf sized balls. You'll get about 16 or so.
- Bake or fry them--whichever you feel like doing. Watching calories? Bake them at 350 on cookie sheet with tin foil. Give the foil a mist of cooking spray so they don't stick! Takes about 20 minutes until cooked through and golden brown. Want the flavor? Fry them up in olive oil until they are golden and cooked through.
- Mix your spaghetti squash with your tomato sauce. Add the eggplant meatballs. Sprinkle some shaved Romano or Parmesan on top. Enjoy!
- Next time I might add some ricotta to the meatball mixture.
- If you wanna get fancy you could always saute up the spaghetti squash with some oil and garlic first for some extra flavor.
- I grew up with Romano cheese but if Parmesan is your thang, then use that instead.
