Eggplant Patties with Vegetables

For eggplant patties, use young cylindrical fruit with dark purple, almost black skin. Young fruit has not yet formed seeds, which you would notice in the finished dish. If the eggplants are slightly overripe, you will have to remove the seeds as well.

As extra filling ingredients, I recommend herbs and baked red bell pepper and hot pepper. Baked eggplant has a nearly neutral taste, so the pepper improves the aroma and makes the patties slightly spicy, just at the edge of perception. For a tomato sauce similar to Italian marinara, prepare a few large ripe tomatoes, basil and garlic.

The prepared eggplants and all the peppers must be baked. The simplest way is in a microwave or oven. But vegetables baked over an open fire or over a grill are much tastier and more aromatic. In Bulgaria they bake eggplants and peppers well in a special electric oven called a chushkopek. Bake the vegetables until the skin is black.

Put the baked vegetables in a pot or large frying pan and cover with a lid. The vegetables must cool so they do not burn your fingers. Carefully peel the burnt skin off the peppers and eggplants. That completes the vegetable prep, and you can make the patties.

Cut each eggplant in half lengthwise and cut off the tip with the stem. Use a teaspoon to remove as many seeds as you can. Inspect the flesh and remove any tough, dark areas. They are common in eggplants and have an off smell. They are probably either spoiled spots or traces of some plant disease.

Remove the seeds from the baked hot and sweet peppers and cut off the stems. Chop the pepper flesh fairly finely with a knife and put it in a large bowl. Cut the eggplant flesh into small cubes. Add finely chopped parsley and cilantro (optional). By the way, more herbs will only improve the dish.

Mix the vegetables so all the ingredients are evenly distributed. Add an egg, salt and season with ground black pepper. Mix the filling thoroughly.

Next, add breadcrumbs in small portions, or better yet, stale bread rolls, wheat bread or French baguette grated on a fine grater. Keep mixing until the mixture becomes denser, but much softer than the mixture for meatballs.

You can already shape patties from this mixture without fear that they will fall apart while frying. Vegetables do not contain much protein, which “sets” during cooking and breaks up minced-meat patties, causing cracks. Put all the mixture in a bowl and leave it for 10-15 mins so the breadcrumbs soften completely.

If you like, the fried eggplant patties can also be simmered in a tomato sauce similar to Italian marinara, made by a simplified recipe. Peel a few large ripe tomatoes, red or pink, and remove all seeds and any clearly underripe parts. Peel 1-2 cloves of garlic and blend them with the tomato flesh. Pour the tomato puree into a saucepan with 1 tbsp of heated vegetable oil, add 1 tsp of sugar (5 g) and salt.

Simmer the tomato sauce under a lid over low heat for 6-7 mins, then add finely chopped fresh basil, stir and simmer for another 10 mins, until it thickens slightly but is still fairly runny. While the patties fry, keep the sauce covered over the lowest heat.

With wet hands, shape small oblong patties. This amount of mixture makes 10-12 patties, enough for 3-4 servings. Place the shaped patties on a wet plate.

Heat vegetable oil in a large frying pan. Coat all the patties thoroughly in flour, leaving no gaps. Put them in the oil and fry over medium heat without a lid.

There is no need to cook eggplant patties through the way you would meat patties. All the components of the mixture are completely ready to eat. Just fry the patties well and thoroughly, until a rosy, golden crust forms.

At this stage the eggplant patties can be served: arrange them on plates and garnish with herbs and fresh vegetables. A slice of lemon is a nice addition, since a light tartness only improves the taste.

If you decide to make the vegetable patties with sauce, pour the prepared tomato sauce over the patties fried until golden and simmer them under a lid over low heat for 10-12 mins.

For patties with sauce, prepare a simple side dish such as mashed potatoes, or steam some couscous. Arrange the side dish around the edge of the plate like a border and sprinkle it with chopped herbs. Put the eggplant patties in the middle and pour the tomato sauce over them. Serve hot, before the sauce sets.

Homemade eggplant patties are both tasty and filling, even without a side dish. Plain fresh cucumbers and tomatoes are plenty. Add any side dish if you like. I also advise adding just a little ground hot pepper.