Greek Meatballs with Eggplant & Mashed Potatoes. Silky, melt-in-your-mouth mash covered with piles of meatballs and a rich tomato sauce. Comfort food doesn’t get much better than this.
Serves 4
¾ cup fresh breadcrumbs
1 tbsp milk
1 brown onion, roughly chopped
½ cup parsley leaves
2 tbsp oregano leaves, plus extra to serve
1 cup rocket leaves
500g lamb mince
⅓ cup olive oil
1 large eggplant, cut into
3cm pieces
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
½ tsp dried chilli flakes
2 oregano sprigs
800g cooked tomatoes, pulped
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
2 tsp caster sugar
800g sebago potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
50g unsalted butter, chopped
⅓ cup hot milk
Combine breadcrumbs and milk in a bowl and set aside for 5 minutes or until breadcrumbs soften.
Process onion, parsley, oregano and rocket in a food processor until a rough paste forms. Mix paste with soaked breadcrumbs and lamb mince. Season. Roll 2 tablespoons of mixture at a time into meatballs.
Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Cook meatballs in batches for 6 minutes, turning occasionally, or until browned. Remove; set aside.
Add remaining oil and eggplant to pan. Cook for 7 minutes or until eggplant is soft. Add garlic, chilli flakes and oregano sprigs; cook for 30 seconds. Add tomato pulp, vinegar and sugar.
Return meatballs to pan, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 20 minutes or until sauce has reduced.
Meanwhile, place potatoes in a large saucepan of cold salted water over high heat, bring to the boil and cook for 20 minutes or until tender. Drain and return to saucepan over low heat.
Roughly mash potatoes. Add butter and hot milk. Beat well with a wooden spoon until fluffy. Season to taste.
Serve meatballs over mashed potato and sprinkle with extra oregano leaves.
+smart tip
These meatballs freeze well. Reheat and serve with risoni pasta instead of mash.
