Bulgarian Meatballs in Eggplant Sauce – from Orit Shacham

Ingredients for meatballs:

150 gm (5 oz) ground beef
150 gm (5 oz) ground chicken
Handful of chopped parsley
Handful of chopped dill
5 cloves garlic, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 egg
Salt and coarse-ground black pepper
Bit of flour [don't jump yet, this may not be necessary - Orit]

Ingredients for sauce:

2 large eggplants
2 small zucchinis
1 cup chicken stock
4 tbsp. oil
4 cloves garlic, chopped
Salt and coarse-ground black pepper

Preparation:

1. Mix together all the meatball ingredients, except for the flour. Cover and put in refrigerator.
2. Bake the eggplant on all sides in a very hot oven (stick them with a fork first, so they won't explode). Put in a large plastic bag and put in the sink to cool. Meanwhile, peel the zucchini, cut in quarters, and steam in a bit of water until soft but not too mushy.
3. Peel the eggplant and mash together with the zucchini, using a fork.
4. Fry the garlic a bit in oil in a large pot. Add the eggplant mixture and stir-fry for two more minutes. Add salt, pepper, and stock, and cook together for five minutes.
5. Meanwhile, make small balls from the meatball mix and coat in a bit of flour [I seriously doubt this is essential to success here -- Orit].
6. Put the meatballs carefully into the pot with the bubbling eggplant sauce. Cover and cook for 20 minutes.