Roasted Eggplant Meatballs

Steps

1. 1Heat your oven to 425ºF. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Make 6 to 8 small slits in each eggplant, and place the eggplant on the prepared sheet pan. Transfer the pan to the oven, and roast for 45 minutes, flipping the eggplants halfway.
2. 2Remove the pan from the oven, and let the eggplant rest until cool enough to handle. Using a knife, peel away the skin and scoop the flesh into a colander or sieve to drain for at least 30 minutes. (For reference, the weight of the eggplant flesh post-draining should be roughly 480-500 grams. If it isn’t, don’t worry, you’ll just possibly need fewer breadcrumbs in step 4.)
3. 3Transfer the eggplant flesh to a food processor. Add the salt, egg, garlic, and parmesan. Purée until smooth.
4. 4Transfer the eggplant purée to a large bowl and stir in the breadcrumbs. The mixture should be wet but workable: if you scoop or spoon a small portion into your palm, you should be able to squeeze it into a ball, with minimal sticking. If the mixture is too wet, stir in more breadcrumbs. Note: The goal is to use as few breadcrumbs as possible to prevent the baked meatballs from tasting too bready/mushy.
5. 5Preheat the oven to 550ºF convection roast or as hot as it will go. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
6. 6Using a small scoop (I use a #50 scoop) or spoon, portion the mixture into 20 to 22 small balls evenly spaced on the sheet pan. Using lightly oiled hands, rub each portion into a smooth ball. Transfer the pan to the oven and roast for 10 to 12 minutes or until the meatballs are evenly browned.
7. 7Meanwhile, heat the tomato sauce in a large skillet on the stovetop over low heat, just until it begins to simmer. When the meatballs finish roasting, transfer them to the sauce and simmer for 5 minutes. Garnish with fresh basil and shave parmesan over the meatballs to taste.