What to serve as a vegetarian main course for summer entertaining?
One of the joys of cooking just4Me is I don’t need to comprise on the food I eat. I cook just what I like, made to suit my taste. However, recently I had friends over for a birthday lunch with a guest of honour who eats a vegetarian diet. As a meat lover, I needed to expand as thoughts on what made the main course at a celebration lunch.
I wanted to serve the main course that honoured her food choices and was not just another side salad disguised as a main.
What to make?
Since my recent trip to Finland, I’ve been a bit in love with meatballs, hence my Christmas lunch of turkey meatballs (Watch out for the upcoming post on Christmas lunch).
So in preparing for the birthday lunch, I wondered if I could make a vegetarian version.
I began researching in earnest. I was looking for a dish with a summer vegetable.
Eggplant is a favourite veggie of the birthday girl, so that was my starting point. Several weeks of researching and lots of test cooks resulted in a recipe that delighted me.
Vegetarian eggplant balls with onion jam
Crunchy on the outside and soft and tasty on the inside. They were a great success with everyone at the birthday lunch.
I served them cold with a pre-made onion jam plus a homemade potato salad, simple green salad and a sweet pickle of carrot and radish (another dish I’m in love with from my Nordic trip).
The menu proved to be perfect for a celebration lunch on a hot summer’s day a few days after Christmas. Tasty, light, refreshing and a little different.
With crunchy panko crumbs on the outside and soft on the inside, these balls of veggie goodness are great hot or cold.
Therefore they make a great snack as is, straight from the fridge, or as a topping for an open sandwich for light lunch, much as you would use traditional Nordic meatballs.
I’ve decided these yummy eggplant balls are a great way to add more veggies to my diet and they will be appearing on my dinner table on a regular basis, not just for festive celebrations for others.
So I send out a big “thank you” to my friend who gave me a reason to widen my food experience and discover eggplant balls.
Finally, the recipe below makes about six largish balls suitable for the main course. You can make them half the size and use as a canape or starter.
For the birthday lunch, I made double the recipe below, which is written sized just4Me…. as the main course and some snacks, using only one large eggplant.
What do you serve as a vegetarian main meal for a festive lunch? 
Eggplant Balls thermomix
This is a wonderful vegetarian starter for a festive occasion. Contains eggs and gluten
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 6 large
Ingredients
500 g water
Approx. 500 g eggplant (aubergine)about 1 large fruit, diced into 4cm cubes
100 g (1 sliced) wholemeal/rye bread, in 3 cm in pieces
1 onion peeled and cut in half
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp dried oregano or tbsp fresh leaves
1/2 – dried chilli powder
2 tbsp of pine nuts or walnuts
1 egg
salt and pepper to taste
4 tbsp plain flour
100 g panko crumbs for coating
oil and butter for pan-frying
Instructions
Place water in the mixing bowl.
Place diced eggplant in Varoma bowl and set in place over mixing bowl. Cook for 15 mins/Varoma/ speed 1. Set aside to cool to room temperature. (about 20 mins)
Discard water from the mixing bowl and dry.
Place bread in mixing bowl and crumb 10 sec/speed 5. Set aside.
Place onion, garlic, oregano, chilli, pine nuts and in the mixing bowl and chop at 7 sec/speed 7. Scrape down the sides.
Add cooked eggplant and reserved breadcrumbs, egg and season generously with salt and pepper. Mix 10 sec/speed 6.
Add flour and mix 10 sec/speed 6.
Use a spoon and one wet hand to shape into 6 large round balls.
Place panko crumbs in a bowl. Roll each meatball to coat thoroughly. Place on a tray and cover.
Set aside in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or till ready to cook. I leave them overnight to develop a better flavour.
Line an oven tray with a paper towel.
Heat a little oil in a frying pan over medium heat and fry the meatballs, a few at a time till golden in colour. Transfer to a tray and place into 180 C non-fan preheat oven to keep warm if serving hot.
Serve hot onion jam and vegetables of your choice.
Or serve cold with salads of choice.