Reprinted with permission from The Beginner's Pegan Diet Cookbook by Michelle Miller
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C, or gas mark 6). Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Set aside.
On a large sheet pan, combine the eggplant, onion, and garlic. Drizzlewith the oil and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Bake the eggplant for 30 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 375°F (190°C, or gas mark 5).
Transfer the baked eggplant, onion, and garlic to a food processor andadd the almond flour, egg, Italian seasoning, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.Pulse 10 to 12 times until the mixture is well mixed but the eggplant is still slightly chunky. Don’t form a smooth paste, but rather a chunky but sticky mixture.
Use a 2-tablespoon (30 ml) cookie or ice-cream scoop to portion the eggplant mixture onto the prepared sheet pan. Wetting the scoop with water before scooping helps the mixture come out more easily.
Bake the meatballs for 40 minutes until they begin to crisp up onthe outside.
Spiralize the zucchini and divide it among theplates raw.
Heat the marinara sauce until very hot and top the zoodles with it right before serving. This will heat up the dish without overcooking the zoodles, which makes them watery.
Top the zoodles and marinara sauce with the meatballs.
If you don’t have a spiralizer for the zucchini noodles, use a vegetable peeler to make long strands of squash. Another low-cost option for making vegetable noodles is to use a julienne peeler.