Mediterranean Meatballs & Eggplant

Mediterranean Meatballs & Eggplant 

Eggplant:
1 large eggplant, very thinly sliced into discs
sea salt and pepper
1-2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil

1 cup basic marinara sauce
1/4 cup Mediterranean olives, pitted and diced (Kalamata or Castelvetrano)

 

Mediterranean Meatballs:
1 lb. grass-fed beef
2 cloves roasted garlic, minced
1 Tbs. fresh oregano, minced
1 Tbs. fresh basil, minced
sea salt and pepper

 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  

After slicing the eggplant into discs, lay out the discs onto a paper towel, sprinkling with salt, and allow to “sweat” about 10 minutes.  Flip and “sweat” out the moisture again for an additional 10 minutes.  
Transfer to a parchment lined baking dish and add freshly ground pepper.  Bake for about 15 – 20 minutes, keeping an eye on the discs around 10 minutes to ensure they don’t burn.  Remove from oven and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.

 

In the meantime, combine marinara, olives, herbs in a small pot over low heat to completely heat through.  Feel free to substitute your own, homemade marinara for the store-bought version.

 

The timing of the meatballs, eggplant, and sauce is important, to ensure everything stays nice and hot!
Combine all meatball ingredients in a large bowl and form into golf ball size portions.  

In a large skillet, over medium heat, fry the meatballs, turning once, until perfectly browned.

 

To assemble, loosely stack the eggplant discs, spooning the marinara between each layer.  

Top with several meatballs and then finish off with extra sauce!