Imam Bayildi

I think I decided to make this when I saw a recipe for "healthy imam bayildi" and eventually found my way to the less-healthy version.  Quite frankly, after Robin Robertson's turkish eggplant with walnut sauce, no other stuffed eggplant is going to come close, but this was simple and solid.  I forgot to photograph it after it came out of the oven; I just ate it!

Here I precooked the onion and garlic, and I also threw some of the eggplant innards into that saute.  I doubled the number of tomatoes and roasted them ahead of time; I omitted parsley and dill and added cinnamon and cayenne.

Imam Bayildi (stuffed Turkish eggplant)

(adapted from ifyoucanmakethatyoucanmakethis)

Ingredients

2 large tomatoes
1 large eggplant, halved lengthwise

1/3 c olive oil – and you might need more
1 onion, diced

2 cloves of garlic, minced
¼ cup chopped mint
juice from half a lemon

1 lil thwack cinnamon

1 lil thwack cayenne

salt and pepper
 
Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 450*.  Roast tomatoes whole until their skins blister; then remove them from the oven.
2. Remove green part from eggplant and halve lenthwise. Slice a thin strip off the eggplant so it will sit in baking dish without rolling.  Scoop/cut out the innards and set aside.  Place hollow eggplants in an oiled baking dish.
3. Saute onion, garlic, and eggplant in a bit of oil.
4. When the tomatoes have cooled, pull off their skins and discard them. Cut the tomatoes in half and squeeze out the seeds into a bowl. Dice the tomato and add to the onion mixture. Add mint, lemon juice, spices, and a glug of olive oil, and mix.
5. Overfill the eggplant with the onion mixture.  Smother with olive oil and season wel.
6. Pour water into the dish so that it comes about 1 cm up the side of the eggplant.
7. Bake or simmer covered with foil for 1 hour at a low heat (350ish), uncovering half way through. Serves 2.