Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Combine the first 8 ingredients in a plastic bag, and shake to evenly coat the vegetables.
Coat a 15-by-10-inch glass baking dish with cooking spray. Spread the vegetables evenly in the dish and bake, uncovered,
30 minutes or until the veggies are soft. Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature.
Stir the egg and panko into the eggplant mixture and transfer to a food processor fitted with the chopping blade.
Working in small batches, pulse until the mixture is minced, not puréed.
Form the mixture firmly into 1œ-inch balls. (Its OK if the mixture is wet.)
Bake in a glass dish covered in cooking spray for 25 to 30 minutes. Allow the veggieballs to stand 5 minutes before serving with Easy Red Sauce (recipe follows) and cooked spaghetti noodles.
* Appetizer option: Fold 1 cup feta into the minced eggplant mixture. Form into 1-inch round balls. Bake for 20 minutes. Makes approximately 30 appetizer-sized veggieballs.
8 oz. button mushrooms, sliced
8 oz. baby bella mushrooms, sliced
1 medium onion, quartered
1/3 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ tsp. sea salt
¼ tsp. freshly ground white pepper
Cooking spray
1 egg, gently whisked
½ cup panko breadcrumbs
This article appears in Sep 1-30, 2011.