Crispy Lamb Meatballs With Chickpeas and Eggplant Recipe (2024)

Here are my tweaks/additions/tips1) you are going to need more olive oil than the recipe recommends2) once you have finished cooking the meatballs and eggplant, pop them in the oven at 200 degrees to keep it warm3) season the chickpeas with a 1/2 tsp of paprika, red chili flakes, salt, pepper, and coriander4) i added cous cous to the dish to make it more hearty5) Used arugula, parseley, and mint as the green mixture6) if you are feeling fancy, sprinkle some pomegranate seeds on top

From the accompanying article: "I will forever favor crispy over saucy, because saucy is the enemy of crispy, and crispy is the best and most pleasant thing about food. For example, I can’t stand when people squeeze lemon over my fried calamari or schnitzel..."From the recipe: "...squeeze lemon halves over everything before serving."

So here's how to reduce the oil: microwave the sliced eggplant for 5-10 minutes, turning once and opening the door every minute to let the steam out. When the eggplant is shrunken, let it sit a minute, pat dry if needed, then fry. It will brown very quickly; 1 minute per side. Only a little oil is required. I find this works much better than salting and draining. The downside is that the eggplant will lose some of its shape, but who cares if it is under the greens....

I made my own ground lamb from 1.5 lb of leg of lamb so I could leave the meatballs pink in the middle. 10 pulses in the food processor was perfect. I cooked the eggplant for longer so the pieces got really soft. The eggplant was the star of the dish for me, so next time I will double it. And I will probably just use one can of chickpeas, as two cans was a lot.

I don't share the author's somewhat extreme preference for crispy over saucy. But there's no contradiction in their objection to lemon squeezed over fried calamari or schnitzel and finishing this recipe with lemon juice. Fried calamari and schnitzel are breaded. Meatballs aren't. Breading can get soggy. These meatballs won't.

reduce the fat by roasting instead of frying. the lamb already has plenty of fat and baking at a high temp will create a crisp outer texture. brush the eggplant slices w oil and bake at a high temp they too will brown and get soft in the middle. roast the chickpeas after rolling them on a plate brushed with oil, and voila, you can produce this dish with about half the fat.

It's true that eggplant soaks up an enormous amount of oil when sauteed - I think the description in the article of baking eggplant halves would work better...

This sounds like a very oily dish. I'm going to try baking the meatballs, eggplant, and chickpeas (the latter two oiled and seasoned) on 3 sheet pans @400F for 20-30 minutes. I'm hoping to wind up with crispy chickpeas, too.

There’s a huge amount of oil in this plus lamb is a very high fat meat. If you can stand the absence of the crunch I would suggest baking the meatballs. I think that’s what I’ll do when I try it and I’ll rethink frying the eggplant (although I do love the crunch factor) AND the chickpeas. And lastly if you use Greek yogurt I find that the 5% is as satisfying as full. In fact I make labneh A LOT and I always used 5%. It does look yummy.

Delicious combination of tastes and textures. I'm not big on cooking meatballs or eggplant in skillet; thus, I grilled the eggplant and the meatballs: First brushed all with EVOO, added salt & pepper. Used grilling basket for meatballs. Otherwise followed recipe as is. Next time I may add additional eggplant. YUM!

I wasn't sure about the fennel seeds, so I used some ras el hanout instead. Also, I spritzed the eggplant evenly with olive oil on both sides and didn't add more. And I agree with the person who said more eggplant, fewer chickpeas. That's my next iteration. That said, it is delicious!

I'm sharing this tip: If you cook the sliced aubergine in the microwave, you won't need to use oodles of oil to cook it. Saves a LOT of calories!

Meatballs were very good. I substituted a tahini salad dressing instead of the suggested yogurt base to dress the greens and drizzle on meatballs. I made brown rice as well. This will stay in the rotation.

When I make my eggplant parmigiana , to cut down on fat I salt them well, place a heavy pot on top for an hour to force out the excess moisture. dip each eggplant slice in flour and then place sliced eggplant on a broiler pan. Brush with olive oil, and broil for about 4-6 minutes on each side till brown and crispy.A little more work but worth the raves.

Being German and loving Schnitzel, I have to strongly disagree with the notion of Lemon ruining Schnitzel. I serve Lemon wedges on the side so everyone can squeeze the juice on the Meat just before they eat it, it is soo delicious. I will cook this Lamb meatball dish tomorrow, hope it will turn out as well as it sounds.

I put the meatballs and chickpeas in one cast iron skillet and roasted them - cut down on the oil, because the chickpeas cooked in the lamb fat, and made them very crispy. I also echo what others said about roasting eggplant on a sheet pan - doing this allowed me to cook the components at the same time, so everything came together faster and was hot when served.

Made in oven at 450 and reduced oil, but it was plenty oily. Looked prettier than it tasted but worth trying again. Double spices and roast meatballs on middle shelf only about 3 min to keep med rare, add a lemon’s worth of juice & zest to yogurt sauce and plenty of dill or cilantro. Necessary to have eggplant slices very thin (1/4”) and generously sprayed with oil on both sides. Do chickpeas in advance while oven preheating, shake pan frequently. Full platter of arugula under it all, arils top.

I took the meatball recipe on its own and made some pretty incredible pita with them and some salad and dressing. Very helpful.

- double meatball seasoning and use fennel seeds fronds- cut eggplant thinner- layer yogurt, arugula, chickpeas, yogurt, meatballs, chickpeas, eggplant, cilantro

I cooked the eggplant and meatballs in the oven because I am lazy. 400 degrees, 25 min meatballs, 35 min eggplant. Simple, delicious, and beautiful.

Cumin seed instead of fennelWhile cooking the eggplant, add tumeric and cayenne.Tossing in the greens with the chickpeas works well.Use Tatziki instead of yogurt.Eggplant at 1cm thick, so they don't turn to mush before being done.You need to use more oil and drain the eggplant.

Made the meatballs with lamb in complement to the shish*to and corn salad on this site--outrageously good. Included red onion & onion powder, garlic & garlic powder, cumin, fennel, red & black pepper, and salt, of course. Baked on parchment at 400 for 20 min; next time I will pull them a few minutes earlier. Mixed yogurt with garlic/lemon/cucumber, and served with chopped romaine. Will try chickpeas & arugula next time. Going into regular rotation as a fun, delicious, and easy weekday option!

I know people always complain about others who leave 5 star reviews for a recipe that they modify the heck out of. I’m going to give this one 4 stars because, as is, I think it’s a good base recipe. I used beef instead of lamb, so I amped up the spices by adding cumin, cardamom, coriander, and a bit of turmeric. It tasted like merguez! I followed others’ leads and cooked the chickpeas with some spices, roasted the eggplant, and seasoned the yogurt with garlic and lemon juice. Delish!

Air fryer for the meatballs! 30 minutes at 400° did the trick for me: evenly browned, cooked throughout, not dried out, crispy exterior.

This was delicious. If you want an equally delicious recipe with less oil, swap cauliflower for eggplant.

You absolutely HAVE to finish with pickled red onion. It makes the dish SING. You won’t regret it.

Very good taste but way too much oil. Next time I would roast the meatballs on a sheet-pan with the chickpeas, and then roast the eggplant on the same or another sheet pan, then cover to soften. I think I might use parsley instead of cilantro. Agree with others about some extra red pepper flakes (or Aleppo) and maybe some coriander or extra fennel.

For me this is too much trouble for what you get. I'd rather have a rare lamb burger and a spinach salad for dinner, and it would be a cinch to make.

In spite of handling them gently, the meatballs WERE tough, but tasty. I salted the eggplant slices with coarse grain salt and left them while the meatballs browned. Then I wiped each one before adding to the skillet-cuts down a bit on the oil. I used arugula and cilantro-very nice. Will make again, although it was a fair amount of standing over the stove-it all came together on the one platter and so was really an easy dish. The oil does not make it seem greasy-a small serving satisfies.

Our whole family loved this, including my young son! I substituted sliced, roasted sweet potatoes for the eggplant since I forgot to add eggplant to my grocery list. I used ground pork as well. I also used a bit less oil than called for, and used avocado oil as I find that smokes less.