Roasted Eggplant Croquettes

I've done it again. Made an eggplant dish I would actually make again, that is. And I enjoyed it again! I don't know what's going on. Maybe eggplants are growing on me after they kept appearing week after week in our Greenling box.



While these would be great on a salad or even on their own, I chose to spread them with hummus and stuff them in a pita with some cucumbers and lettuce (also from our Greenling box!). I was traveling that afternoon and they turned out to be perfect airport food -- filling, easy to eat, and not smelly.

I changed the original recipe in a few ways. The biggest change was to bake these rather than fry them, both because it was healthier and also because I thought it would stand up better over a few hours.

This recipe makes 4 large patties.

Adapted from Julie's Kitchen, via Elly Says Opa

Ingredients:

• 1 globe eggplant (though I used 4 asian eggplants), sliced into 3/4" rounds
• 1 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/2 c. onion, roughly chopped (I used a red onion)
• 1/2 c. flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
• 2 roasted red bell peppers, coarsley chopped (I used 2 jarred peppers for convenience)
• 1 egg, beaten
• 3/4 cup panko bread crumbs
• Pam spray
  

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Toss eggplant with olive oil, salt and pepper on a baking sheet and roast for about 40 minutes or until they can be pierced easily. Let cool. (I actually did this the night before I made the patties to save some time.)
• Pulse the roasted eggplant in a food processor until it's chunky, then add the parsley, onions, red pepper, egg, salt and pepper to taste, and panko (you may not need all the panko, just enough so that the mixture can stay together in a patty). When the eggplant mixture is thoroughly combined, chill it for about 30 minutes to make sure the patties stay together.
• After the mixture has chilled, spray a baking sheet with Pam and roast at 375 degrees for 15 minutes, or until the top of the patties are lightly browned.

Verdict:
Like I said, I really liked these! It again renewed my faith in eggplant. There are so many different flavors going on in these, all of which I really enjoyed. The roasted eggplant and pepper lent an underlying smoky flavor, while the parsley gave it a pop of freshness. I was also so surprised at how colorful they were! So many eggplant dishes are kind of...brown, but these were a delight to eat (I'm definitely one of those "eat with my eyes" eaters!).