Porcini & Eggplant Croquettes with Vegan Onion Gravy
The moment that I posted this vegetarian croquette recipe online, I had a flood of messages in my Instagram & Facebook inboxes, as well as comments on my post. I’ve heard you loud and clear: you WANT this recipe, and you want it NOW!
A few kitchen notes before getting started
Plan ahead – set aside a couple of hours to roast and then cool the eggplant. You can do this up to a day in advance. You can store the roasted eggplant in the fridge, covered, until ready to use.
The best kitchen tools to use
Your hands! And, some kitchen shears (scissors). Seriously. Just make sure your nails are trimmed and your hands are washed. Your hands are your best tools. You’ll also find an ice cream scoop handy to measure out your meatballs and ensure they’re the same size. I LOVE these ones, use them for everything, including measuring cupcake batter to drop cookies.
You’ll also want a large wide-bottomed saucepan for frying. I use a dutch oven for this. (On that note, I own both Le Creuset and Cuisinart, and I find the quality of the Cuisinart to be excellent, for a fraction of the Creuset price. If you don’t yet own a dutch oven, this one is a nice starter, or a great budget option is this highly-rated Amazon Basics model.)
Why you need these in your life
These mushroom and eggplant croquettes are a great vegetarian meatball substitute and would go lovely with a nice tomato sauce on top of spaghetti. Bonus: they contain no soy, and they are made without any other fake meat substitutes. 100% whole food croquette / meatless meatballs.
Don’t like eggplant? You don’t taste it. Like, at all. What it does do is give these some wonderful moisture that is often lacking in other veggie meatballs.
This recipe makes about 36 to 40 mushroom and eggplant croquettes. Have leftovers? These freeze extremely well for future meal prep. Simply allow to cool to room temp, place on a baking tray lined with parchment, and freeze individually. Then, pop them into a freezer bag to use at a later date. When you’re ready to re-heat, Heat from frozen at 350F for about 15 to 20 mins, until centers are hot.
The flour truly helps these vegetarian meatballs form their crunchy crust. Don’t skip this step!
Ingredients are important
Panko is different from other breadcrumbs as it helps the croquettes to crisp on the outside. You can find it in most large grocery chains, or in Asian grocery stores.
FAQ
Can I make these vegan? Absolutely! You can replace the cheese with vegan cheese, or omit the cheese entirely. You can replace the egg with two flax or chia “eggs”. (Or, you can make these tried and true vegan eggplant falafels instead!)
Porcini and Eggplant Croquettes aka. soy-free vegetarian meatballs
adapted from Domenica Marchetti on Food52
Prep Time 40 minutes mins
Cook Time 20 minutes mins
for croquettes
- 2 medium eggplants roasted (see instructions below)
- 1 cup dried porcini mushrooms
- 2 cups boiling water
- 6 garlic cloves microplaned
- 2 eggs beaten
- 4 tbsp chopped parsley
- 2 tbsp chopped basil
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 3 cups panko breadcrumbs
- 1 cup grated fresh parmiggiano
- Scant 1/4 cup of AP flour
- vegetable oil for frying
for gravy
- 2 cups reserved porcini liquid
- 1 tbsp. tamari
- 2 tbsp dehydrated onion
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1/4 cup water
Begin by roasting your eggplants: Cut in half lengthwise. Massage with good olive oil. Place face down on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake in 375F oven for 1 hour. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
Meanwhile, boil water. Place porcinis into large bowl and pour 2 cups of boiling water on top. Allow to sit until ready to use. Do NOT discard liquid. This is precious gold for your gravy.
Scoop out eggplant flesh and combine with soaked porcinis. Use kitchen shears, as well as your hands, to break the mixture up into small pieces.
Add garlic, eggs, herbs & spices. Mix well by hand. Add breadcrumbs and cheese. Mix once more.
You should now have a very moist ground-beef like consistency.
Prepare a large sheet pan with parchment, sprinkled with flour. Use your smallest ice cream scoop to measure out your croquettes, and use wet hands to roll them into balls. Place on tray until ready to cook. Use a fine mesh sieve to dust with flour.
Now is the time to heat up your oil. Find the widest bottomed saucepan that you have and fill it about one inch deep with vegetable oil. I used my large Le Creuset dutch oven, as it has high walls that helped to prevent splatter on my stovetop. (See notes above about that!) Make sure your oil is nice and hot as this will help the balls to not stick, as well as to form a nice crust on the outside.
Use tongs to place balls into the hot oil, careful not to splatter yourself - do not drop them too quickly!
Cook for about 3 mins on each side, until brown. Remove and place on parchment-lined baking tray. You may want to keep these in a low oven (200F) to keep warm until ready to serve, or prepare ahead and reheat later.
GRAVY TIME! Vegan gravy instructions:
Combine 1/4 cup water and 2 tbsp. cornstarch until starch is dissolved into a milky consistency.
On the stovetop, combine porcini water, tamari and dried onions, and bring to a boil.
Once boiling, lower heat to medium and stream in the cornstarch water mixture, whisking constantly.
Continue whisking until mixture begins to thicken, about 5 minutes.
Serve hot croquettes with hot gravy and enjoy!
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