The Aubergine Meatballs they are delicious oven-baked spheres, made up of finely grated courgettes, ricotta, Parmesan, breadcrumbs and egg. The preparation of this second course is simple and very fast, and the zucchini balls are excellent clever idea to make everyone eat vegetables, even children. The very versatile taste of courgettes goes perfectly with this preparation and the peculiarity of these meatballs lies in the cooking in the oven which will allow you to obtain soft meatballs. Zucchini meatballs are perfect as a second course, but also to be served in a finger food buffet or together with other vegetarian meatballs, such as rice meatballs, lentil meatballs and chickpea meatballs!

Preparation

1

Wash the courgettes well under running water, dry them with a clean cloth or a sheet of absorbent paper, cut off the ends and grate them with a grater with large holes.

2

Once grated, pour them into a colander and place them in a large bowl. Add 1 teaspoon of fine salt.

3

Place a plate or a weight on the courgettes so that they lose all the excess water. Let them drain for 1 hour, then drain them with a spoon to remove all the liquid.

4

Pour the courgettes into a bowl and add the ricotta and Parmesan, mixing everything well.

5

Also add the egg and breadcrumbs, mix well.

6

Add the salt and pepper and mix, then leave to rest in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

7

Once rested, remove the dough from the refrigerator and take portions of about 50-60 grams. Make meatballs by passing the dough between the palms of your hands. Separately, in another bowl, pour plenty of re-milled semolina flour.

8

Coat each meatball in the semolina flour, rolling it well to coat all sides. Place each meatball on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.

9

Flatten each meatball with the back of the spoon to give them a flatter shape. Bake in a preheated static oven at 180°C for 20 minutes, until golden brown. Take them out of the oven and enjoy them hot.

Advice and tips

Zucchini meatballs can be too fries: however, let them rest for at least 1 hour in the refrigerator after forming them. Then heat the abundant seed oil well up to one temperature of 170°C. You can measure the temperature with a cooking thermometer. If you don’t have it, you can dip a long toothpick in the oil: if it starts to bubble right away, you can start dipping the meatballs. Immerse them 2-3 at a time, so as not to lower the oil temperature too much.

You can vary the spices and aromatic herbs inside the zucchini balls: if you want to make one vegan version, you can avoid using cheese and eggs and replace them with a generous teaspoon of curry and, to mix, 50 grams of vegetable spreadable cheese or vegetable ricotta. In a vegan version you can also use nutritional yeast to flavor your meatballs.

If you want a crispier exterior, brush the meatballs with sunflower oil before putting them in the oven.

You can also cook the zucchini balls in it air fryerfollowing the instructions for your fryer. This way you will have even more delicious meatballs!

Storage of zucchini balls

The zucchini balls can be stored in the refrigerator, covered with cling film, for 2 days maximum. We advise against freezing them, because once defrosted they would be too crumbly and risk crumbling.