Sunday's Supper/Eggplant Frikadellen

I  always find it interesting how one idea can lead to another, and sometimes, better than the first! Last week I shared an eggplant, kale, and chickpea stew. A few of you wrote in and said that you gave it a try and loved it. I'm so happy :) 

I LOVE eggplant! I think it's great in so many dishes. I have an eggplant casserole that I will share in the near future. Makes the perfect side dish. As I cooked the eggplant for the stew, the thought occurred to me, what if I pureed the eggplant and made it into patties?    

Well, I was not disappointed. What I ended up with was a patty that is great as a main dish, but will work well with pasta, and in a sandwich. When my husband tried the patty, he said, this is like Frikadellen, a German meat patty. 

To make the patties, begin with cubing the eggplant, and sprinkling it with salt. For this recipe, I allowed the salted eggplant to sit overnight in the refrigerator. The skin was left on the eggplant, why get rid of good vitamins? When I was ready to cook the eggplant, it was rinsed well and dried on paper towels.

Olive oil was heated in a large pan. The eggplant added and cooked until golden brown. 2 minced cloves of garlic were added and allowed to cook about a minute longer. 

The eggplant/garlic mixture  was then placed in a food processor and pureed until smooth.

Beaten eggs, minced parsley, Italian bread crumbs, shredded sharp cheddar cheese, chopped walnuts, green onions, and dried oregano were mixed together. 

Then the pureed eggplant/garlic mixture was added, mixed well, and formed into patties. 

The patties were then placed in a hot pan with olive oil and allowed to brown, about 3 minutes on each side
.

After cooking, I drained the patties on paper towels, and then dug in! The patties can be frozen prior to cooking, so cook what you would like, and save the rest for another meal.  

Eggplant Frikadellen
Makes about 10 patties

ingredients;
2 medium eggplant cubed (do not peel)
2 cloves finely minced garlic
1 tablespoon salt
2 eggs beaten
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup Italian bread crumbs
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup finely minced parsley
3 green onions thinly sliced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
3 tablespoons olive oil
salt and black pepper to taste

directions;
Place eggplant in a large bowl. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon salt. Mix well. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Drain and rinse eggplant well. Dry on paper towels, or a clean kitchen towel. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large nonstick pan. Add eggplant and cook until golden brown. Add garlic and saute another minute to release flavor. 
Place eggplant/garlic mixture in a food processor and blend until smooth. Set aside.

Combine beaten eggs, shredded cheese, parsley, bread crumbs, walnuts, green onions, and oregano. Add pureed eggplant and mix well. Form mixture into hamburger sized patties. 

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in large nonstick pan. Place 5 patties in pan. Cook on each side until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side. Remove patties from pan and place on paper towels to drain. Repeat with remaining patties. 

Serve with mashed potatoes, or over pasta with your favorite tomato sauce. The patties are also delicious as a vegetarian burger! 

If you give the patties a try, I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!
Rhonda