Crispy Lamb Meatballs With Chickpeas and Eggplant

Here are my tweaks/additions/tips 1) you are going to need more olive oil than the recipe recommends 2) once you have finished cooking the meatballs and eggplant, pop them in the oven at 200 degrees to keep it warm 3) season the chickpeas with a 1/2 tsp of paprika, red chili flakes, salt, pepper, and coriander 4) i added cous cous to the dish to make it more hearty 5) Used arugula, parseley, and mint as the green mixture 6) if you are feeling fancy, sprinkle some pomegranate seeds on top

From the accompanying article: "I will forever favor crispy over saucy, because saucy is the enemy of crispy, and crispy is the best and most pleasant thing about food. For example, I can’t stand when people squeeze lemon over my fried calamari or schnitzel..." From the recipe: "...squeeze lemon halves over everything before serving."

So here's how to reduce the oil: microwave the sliced eggplant for 5-10 minutes, turning once and opening the door every minute to let the steam out. When the eggplant is shrunken, let it sit a minute, pat dry if needed, then fry. It will brown very quickly; 1 minute per side. Only a little oil is required. I find this works much better than salting and draining. The downside is that the eggplant will lose some of its shape, but who cares if it is under the greens....

I made my own ground lamb from 1.5 lb of leg of lamb so I could leave the meatballs pink in the middle. 10 pulses in the food processor was perfect. I cooked the eggplant for longer so the pieces got really soft. The eggplant was the star of the dish for me, so next time I will double it. And I will probably just use one can of chickpeas, as two cans was a lot.

I don't share the author's somewhat extreme preference for crispy over saucy. But there's no contradiction in their objection to lemon squeezed over fried calamari or schnitzel and finishing this recipe with lemon juice. Fried calamari and schnitzel are breaded. Meatballs aren't. Breading can get soggy. These meatballs won't.

reduce the fat by roasting instead of frying. the lamb already has plenty of fat and baking at a high temp will create a crisp outer texture. brush the eggplant slices w oil and bake at a high temp they too will brown and get soft in the middle. roast the chickpeas after rolling them on a plate brushed with oil, and voila, you can produce this dish with about half the fat.

It's true that eggplant soaks up an enormous amount of oil when sauteed - I think the description in the article of baking eggplant halves would work better...

This sounds like a very oily dish. I'm going to try baking the meatballs, eggplant, and chickpeas (the latter two oiled and seasoned) on 3 sheet pans @400F for 20-30 minutes. I'm hoping to wind up with crispy chickpeas, too.

There’s a huge amount of oil in this plus lamb is a very high fat meat. If you can stand the absence of the crunch I would suggest baking the meatballs. I think that’s what I’ll do when I try it and I’ll rethink frying the eggplant (although I do love the crunch factor) AND the chickpeas. And lastly if you use Greek yogurt I find that the 5% is as satisfying as full. In fact I make labneh A LOT and I always used 5%. It does look yummy.

Delicious combination of tastes and textures. I'm not big on cooking meatballs or eggplant in skillet; thus, I grilled the eggplant and the meatballs: First brushed all with EVOO, added salt & pepper. Used grilling basket for meatballs. Otherwise followed recipe as is. Next time I may add additional eggplant. YUM!

I wasn't sure about the fennel seeds, so I used some ras el hanout instead. Also, I spritzed the eggplant evenly with olive oil on both sides and didn't add more. And I agree with the person who said more eggplant, fewer chickpeas. That's my next iteration. That said, it is delicious!

I'm sharing this tip: If you cook the sliced aubergine in the microwave, you won't need to use oodles of oil to cook it. Saves a LOT of calories!

Meatballs were very good. I substituted a tahini salad dressing instead of the suggested yogurt base to dress the greens and drizzle on meatballs. I made brown rice as well. This will stay in the rotation.

When I make my eggplant parmigiana , to cut down on fat I salt them well, place a heavy pot on top for an hour to force out the excess moisture. dip each eggplant slice in flour and then place sliced eggplant on a broiler pan. Brush with olive oil, and broil for about 4-6 minutes on each side till brown and crispy. A little more work but worth the raves.

Being German and loving Schnitzel, I have to strongly disagree with the notion of Lemon ruining Schnitzel. I serve Lemon wedges on the side so everyone can squeeze the juice on the Meat just before they eat it, it is soo delicious. I will cook this Lamb meatball dish tomorrow, hope it will turn out as well as it sounds.