Imam Bayaldi Recipes

EASY IMAM BAYILDI RECIPE

Steps:

• Preheat your oven to 425ºF.
• Cut eggplants in half. Scoop out the middle, leaving a 1/4- to 1/3-inch edge around the eggplant. Reserve the flesh.
• Brush eggplants all over with olive oil. Be very liberal with the olive oil. Eggplants will soak it up. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt inside the eggplant halves.
• Roast eggplants for 20 minutes. Chop up the reserved eggplant flesh.
• In a large pan over medium-high heat, sauté the onions in olive oil for 5 minutes with the rest of the salt and pepper.
• Add in the eggplant flesh, garlic, tomato paste, cumin, and oregano. Cook for 5-7 minutes.
• Add the halved cherry tomatoes and cook for 3 more minutes, scraping up any fond from the bottom of the pan.
• Distribute the filling equally among the eggplant halves, and top with crumbled Feta cheese.
• Bake for 15 minutes.
• Garnish with additional Feta, chopped fresh herbs like parsley or mint.

IMAM BAYILDI (A STUFFED EGGPLANT RECIPE FROM ASIA MINOR)

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.

IMAM BAYILDI

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.

ARMENIAN STUFFED EGGPLANT (IMAM BAYILDI)

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.

IMAM BAYILDI WITH BBQ LAMB & TZATZIKI

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.

IMAM BAYILDI

Steps:

• Halve the eggplant lentghways. Sprinkle with salt and leave to weep for 5 minutes. Rinse well and place the halves side by side, flesh side upwards, in a wide pan.
• In a bowl, mix the onion, tomatoes, garlic and fresh herbs with the salt and a *little* of the oil. Carefully pile the mixture high on top of each eggplant half until all the flesh is covered. Mix the rest of the oil and the water with the sugar and pour it over and around the eggplant.
• Cover the pan and cook very gently for 1 or 2 hours. Baste occasionally with the oil, pushing gently the onion and tomato mixture down into the halves as they cook. The eggplant should end up soft and flat, completely filled with the mixture, sitting in a slightly caramelized flavored oil.
• Leave to cool in the oil. Transfer to a serving dish, spoon the oil over them, and serve with wedges of lemon to squeeze over.