Imam Bayaldi Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment and brush with olive oil. Slit the eggplants down the middle, being careful not to cut through the skin. Place on the baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes, until the outer skin begins to shrivel. Remove from the oven and transfer, cut side down, to a colander set in the sink. Allow to drain for 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium heat in a large, lidded skillet and add the onions. Cook, stirring often, until the onions are very tender, 5 to 8 minutes, and add the garlic. Cook, stirring, for 30 seconds to a minute, until fragrant. Remove from the heat and transfer to a bowl. Add the tomatoes, herbs, salt to taste and 1 teaspoon of the sugar and 1 tablespoon of the remaining oil.
• Turn the eggplants over and place in the pan, cut side up. Season with salt. Fill with the onion and tomato mixture. Mix together the remaining olive oil, the remaining sugar, the water and the lemon juice. Drizzle over and around the eggplants. Cover the pan and place over low heat. Cook gently for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, checking the pan for liquid and basting from time to time with the liquid in the pan, and adding water to the pan if it becomes too dry. By the end of cooking the eggplants should be practically flat and the liquid in the pan slightly caramelized. Spoon this juice over the eggplant. Allow to cool in the pan, and serve at room temperature.

Steps:

• Saute the onions in a little oil.
• Add the garlic, tomatoes, parsley, salt, and pepper.
• Cook until it comes together as a very thick stew (no liquid). Stir in mint.
• Cut the stem ends from each eggplant and cut eggplants in half lengthwise.
• Make 3 lengthwise slits, almost from end to end, cutting into the flesh about 1 inch deep.
• Heat 1/2 cup olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.
• Add the eggplant, cut side down, and fry gently, until dark golden-brown on cut side.
• Turn over and fry on skin side a couple more minutes.
• Remove from oil (most of it will have been absorbed) and place on paper towels to drain for at least 15 minutes before proceeding with recipe (this gets rid of most of the oil- you can omit the frying step to cut calories and save time, but you will NOT have the same flavourful results, and the recipe will not be as authentic).
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Hold each slit apart and spoon the vegetable mixture into each cavity.
• Arrange eggplants in a baking dish just large enough to hold them.
• Sprinkle with sugar, lemon juice, and drizzle with the remaining oil.
• Bake for 40 minutes, or until tender.
• Serve with lots of crusty bread.

Steps:

• Peel half the skin away from the eggplants in long strips, so that they look stripy. With the tip of a paring knife, make a deep slash lenghtways on each eggplant. Sprinkle the eggplants with salt and allow them to stand for 30 minutes, then rinse.
• Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas 4.
• Put the onions into a pan, preferably non-stick, with 50ml of the olive oil and the sugar. Cook very slowly for about 1 hour until the onions are completely soft and the mixture is the consistency of a light jam.
• Spread one third of the mixture over the base of an oiled casserole dish (it needs to be a casserole dish with a lid, as you'll need to use the lid later), then add a layer of chopped tomatoes and set aside.
• Add the remaining tomatoes to the fried onions in the pan; and add the nutmeg and half of the parsley; mix well and cook for 10 minutes.
• Add the water to the pan contents and stir; arrange the eggplants on the onion mixture in the bottom of the casserole and with a spoon, stuff the garlic slices into the slashes in the eggplants.
• Add the pan contents to the casserole dish and work it into the slashes in the eggplants as well. At this point, the casserole dish should be really full!
• Season to taste and pour the remaining oil over the contents; cover the casserole with a sheet of foil and then the lid. This should ensure that it is thoroughly sealed.
• Cook in the oven for 40 minutes, or until the eggplants are really soft. If you like a thick sauce, remove the lid for the last 10 minutes to allow it to dry off a little.
• Allow the dish to cool off until it is lukewarm, then sprinkle with the remaining parsley and serve.

Steps:

• Trim the stalk ends of the eggplants (you may leave the stalk). Peel off 1/2-inch-wide strips of skin lengthwise, leaving alternate strips of peel and bare flesh. Make a deep cut on one side of each eggplant lengthwise, from one end to the other, but not right through, so as to make a pocket. Soak the eggplants in water with 1 tablespoon of salt and leave for 30 minutes, then drain and dry them.
• For the filling, soften the onions gently in the oil, but do not let them color. Add garlic and stir for a moment or two, until the aroma rises. Remove from the heat and stir in the parsley and tomatoes. Season to taste with salt, and mix well.
• Stuff the eggplants with this mixture and place them tightly side by side, with the opening on top, in a wide, shallow pan. Pour over them the oil and enough tomato juice to cover, mixed with a little sugar, salt, and the lemon juice. Cover the pan and simmer gently for about 45 minutes, or until the eggplants are soft and the liquid is much reduced.
• If you want to bake the stuffed eggplants instead, arrange them in a baking dish, cut side on top, with the rest of the ingredients poured over. Cover with foil and cook in a preheated 400°F oven for 1 hour, or until soft.
• Allow to cool before arranging on a serving dish. Serve cold.
• Some cooks fry the eggplants very briefly first in olive oil.
• If the eggplants are too large for 1 person, cut them in half and make the slash into the cut side.
• For zucchini imam bayildi, hollow 2 pounds zucchini by scooping out their centers from the stem end, using an apple corer (see page 315), taking care not to pierce them right through. Stuff with the above filling and set the zucchini in layers, side by side, on a bed of tomato slices in a large pan. Pour over them about 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil mixed with a teaspoon of sugar and a little salt. Cover the vegetables with water and simmer, covered, over low heat, for 1/2 hour, or until soft.
• Small eggplants (3 1/2-4 1/2 inches long) are usually stuffed whole, although medium-sized ones can also be used. The usual way to stuff them whole is to cut a slice off the stem end just below the hull and reserve it to use as a "cork" and to scoop out some of the pulp with a small knife or a pointed spoon. (Use the discarded pulp for another dish.) Rolling the eggplant on the table and pressing it with the palm of your hand facilitates this. The eggplants are stuffed, and closed with the reserved "corks." They are placed upright in a large pan, packed tightly with the "cork" ends facing upwards, and cooked in stock or tomato juice which is poured over to almost cover them. Zucchini and small bell peppers, stuffed with the same filling, are sometimes cooked together in the same pot with the eggplants.
• A Turkish way is to leave about 1/2 inch of the stalks on, remove the hulls, and peel off 1/2-inch-wide strips lengthwise, leaving alternating strips of bare flesh and shiny peel. This ensures that the eggplants keep their shape, while the peeled strips allow the bitter juices to escape after sprinkling with salt. A deep slash is made along the center, right through the eggplant, to within 1/2 inch of each end, and the filling is pressed into this slash.
• A third way, used when the eggplants are baked, is to cut the eggplants in half lengthwise. In this case the eggplants can be a little larger. They are peeled or not, and a bit of the pulp is scooped out to hold the filling.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 190°C/375°F/Gas 5.
• Slice each aubergine in half lengthwise.
• Scoop out the flesh from the aubergines and chop.
• Blanch the aubergine shells in boiling water for 2 minutes then drain upside down.
• Heat 3 tbsp of oil in a pan and saute the onion until soft and golden.
• Add crushed garlic and fry for 2 minutes.
• Add parsley, chopped aubergine, tomatoes, green and red pepper, cinnamon, salt and black pepper and cook for about 5 minutes.
• Add lemon juice and sugar to taste.
• Arrange the aubergine boats in a baking dish and fill each one with the filling.
• Cover the dish with aluminum foil.
• Bake in the oven for about 25 minutes.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
• Cut eggplants in 1/2, then cut each 1/2 into thirds, leaving 12 eggplant spears total. Place on a baking sheet and brush with 2 tablespoons olive oil.
• Roast in the preheated oven until fork tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• While eggplants are cooking, heat remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat in a medium to large pan. Add bell pepper, onion, and garlic to the hot pan and cook until onions become tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated, 2 to 3 minutes. Set aside to cool.
• Remove eggplants from the oven and let cool slightly, 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer eggplants to a 9x13-inch baking dish. Slice each spear vertically using a fork and knife, being careful not to cut through skin. Pry each open and fill with 2 to 3 tablespoons of tomato filling. Cover with tomato sauce.
• Bake in the preheated oven until bubbling, about 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with parsley.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375°F. Heat half the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the eggplants and brown on all sides, adjusting the heat and turning as necessary; drain on paper towels. Cut a slit lengthwise in each eggplant, taking care not to cut all the way through, then assemble them in a baking dish that will hold them snugly.
• Add the remaining oil to the skillet and turn the heat to medium-low; cook the onions and garlic, stirring occasionally, until very soft and fragrant, about 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook until softened, about 5 minutes more, then stir in the parsley, sugar, and salt and pepper. Remove from the heat.
• Stuff the onion-tomato mixture into the slits in the eggplants. Pour any remaining pan juices and 3 tablespoons water over the eggplants, cover loosely with foil, and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven, cool to room temperature, squeeze the lemon juice on top, and serve.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Halve the aubergines lengthways and score the flesh side deeply, brush with a good layer of olive oil and put on a baking sheet. Roast for 20 mins or until the flesh is soft enough to scoop out.
• Fry the onion in a little oil until soft, add the garlic and cinnamon and fry for 1 min. Once the aubergines are cool enough to handle, scoop out the centres. Roughly chop the flesh and add it to the onions. Halve the tomatoes, scoop the seeds and juice into a sieve set over a bowl, then chop the flesh. Add the chopped tomatoes to the pan and cook everything for 10 mins until nice and soft. Add a little more oil if you need to. Stir in the parsley, leaving a little for scattering at the end.
• Lay the aubergine halves in a baking dish and divide the tomato mixture between them. Pour over the juice from the tomatoes, drizzle with more olive oil and bake for 30 mins until the aubergines have collapsed.
• Meanwhile, mix the tzatziki ingredients together and put in a small serving bowl.
• Season the lamb with salt, black pepper and a pinch of paprika. Griddle, grill or barbecue for 3 mins on each side or until the fat is nicely browned, then put in a serving dish and squeeze over the lemon halves. Scatter the aubergines with parsley, then serve with the lamb and tzatziki.