Eggplant is one of those veggies that you either love, or you love to hate.
I’ve heard it described as gummy, chewy, tasteless…much like tofu, in my opinion.

And on that spongy soy note – it’s true, the texture of both eggplant and tofu can be tricky, the two tend to be exceptionally watery, and somewhat flavorless – that is, until they are prepared correctly!

THIS is the correct way to cook eggplant, along with some Italian meatballs, fresh herbs, and smoked blue cheese.

THIS is the way to do it!

You can skip the soy today and take my word for the perfection of the purple orb.

Eggplant and Blue Cheese Meatballs

1 lb. ground sirloin
8 oz. marinara sauce
6 oz. smoked blue cheese
2 Tbs. fresh rosemary
sea salt and pepper
1 large eggplant

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Stab the eggplant multiple times with a fork. Wrap in foil and roast for about 45 minutes, until super soft. 
Meanwhile, mix together the ground meat with about 4 oz. of the smoked blue cheese, and generous amounts of sea salt and pepper. Form into golf-ball sized meatballs.
Place into an oven safe baking pan and cover with the marinara sauce, along with fresh rosemary. Bake for about 40 minutes, until completely cooked.

Once the eggplant is cool enough to handle, slice lengthwise and allow the steam to escape. Drain and liquid by squeezing each half over the sink. **Really squeeze out as much water as possible – eggplant has so much moisture!
Remove the flesh from the skin and mash with a fork with salt and pepper, or puree in a blender or food processor.
Return the eggplant puree to the skins and fill with the cooked meatballs and sauce.

Sprinkle with the remaining blue cheese and fresh rosemary.

6 thoughts on “Eggplant & Blue Cheese Meatballs”

  1. Omg! Sounds so incredible. Now you’ve got me going to the store to get some of these items so I can make this over the weekend. To bad my son and my man don’t like eggplant; (not going to tell them it’s eggplant, haha) Will keep you posted.

    1. Definitely keep me posted and let me know how it goes! Remember, eggplant is SUPER watery…so I am going to go back in and amend the recipe, reminding folks to squeeze out as much water as possible from the veggie.
      Don’t tell Nate the Great and Craig it’s veggie – they won’t know!!! 🙂

  2. I thought I’d roast some cherry toms and put those and the eggplant in the vitamix for a nice sauce over meatballs and angel hair pasta, can’t show the eggplant skin.

  3. We all agreed, it was delicious! I kept all the eggplant liquid, puree’d it along with roasted cherry toms, shallots and red wine. I coated angel hair pasta with it and put the meatballs on top. The pasta was dreamy, put a little black truffle sait on it before the meatballs, yum! I had some leftovers today for lunch. Now the pasta drank up all the liquid and hit it with a little butter. Nate’s getting a meatball sammy for school lunch tomorrow. Still no mention of the eggplant and they will never know. : )
    Thanks

    1. OMG, Trish! You are a genius. I love this idea and all your creativity, but I also love that you shared it with me! Thank you so much. Many hugs and best wishes to you. I can’t wait to see you again soon!

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