Preheat the oven to 180 °C (350 °F) convection / 200 °C (390 °F) top and bottom heat. Clean the vegetables, quarter the eggplants lengthwise and slice thinly. Halve the tomatoes, and finely dice the celery and shallot.

Place all ingredients for the meatballs in a bowl, season generously with salt and pepper, and knead into a homogeneous mixture using your hands or a spoon.

Shape 15 to 20 evenly sized meatballs, about 2 inches (5 cm) in diameter, from the meat mixture and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake the meatballs in the oven for 20 minutes.

Heat the oil in a pan, add the eggplant, celery, and shallot, season generously with salt, and sauté over medium-high heat for 5 to 8 minutes.

Once the eggplant is soft and juicy, add the tomatoes and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes until they are also nicely softened. Add the sugar and let it caramelize for 1 to 2 minutes.

Reduce the heat, add the diced tomatoes, and let simmer over low heat for about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring the water to a boil in a pot. Stir the polenta (cornmeal) into the boiling water, let it come to a brief boil, then remove the pot from the heat. Cover the polenta and let it sit for 10 minutes to thicken.

Stir the ricotta into the polenta and season with salt. If the polenta is too thick, simply add a splash of milk.

Wash the thyme, strip the leaves, and add them to the vegetables. Season the vegetables with salt and pepper. Divide the vegetables and polenta onto two plates and serve with a quarter of the meatballs on each plate (about 3 to 5 meatballs).

Let the remaining meatballs cool, store them in the refrigerator, and use them within 3 days.