Melitzanes Imam Recipes

BAKED EGGPLANT WITH TOMATOES - MELITZANES IMAM

Steps:

• Remove the tops and bottoms of the eggplants. Cut them in half lengthwise to create eggplant boats.
• Place the eggplants in a big bowl with cold water and soak them for 30 minutes. You may place a plate on top to weigh them down. The soaking helps remove the bitter flavor from eggplants skin.
• Preheat oven to 230°C / 446°F.
• Drain the eggplants and place in a casserole dish. Score them with a knife creating deep criss-cross lines to help the eggplants bake well in the center. Take the 1 cup of olive oil and using a spoon, add spoonfuls of the oil on each eggplant.
• Season the eggplants with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper.
• Bake for 30 minutes until nicely roasted on top. Meanwhile, start preparing the tomato sauce.
• Heat the splash of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and the onion slices and cook until completely softened.
• Stir in the tomatoes and season with some kosher salt, ground pepper, and ground nutmeg. Cook for about 10-15 minutes stirring occasionally, until tomatoes start to drain and become mushy. Add the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes more stirring occasionally.
• Using a fork press the eggplants a bit to make some space for the sauce to sit on. Add spoonfuls of the sauce on the eggplant boats. Reduce heat to 160°C / 320°F and slow-cook the eggplants for about 35 minutes. Then raise the temperature again to 200°C / 392°F and roast the eggplants for about 10-15 minutes more.
• Serve with chopped fresh parsley on top.

MELITZANES IMAM

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Slice the eggplant in half lengthwise, and hollow out the halves leaving about a 1 centimeter shell. Set the flesh from the insides aside for later use. Place the shells on a baking tray, and drizzle with a little olive oil.
• Bake for about 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until soft.
• While those are baking, chop the leftover eggplant into small pieces. Heat about 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic; cook and stir for a few minutes. Add the chopped eggplant; cook and stir until tender. Mix in the tomatoes and tomato paste until well blended. Simmer over low heat until the halves in the oven are ready.
• Remove the baked eggplant shells from the oven, and spoon in the tomato and eggplant mixture. Sprinkle a little cinnamon over the top of each one, and return them to the oven. Bake for another 30 minutes or so.

MELITZANES IMAM BAYILDI

Steps:

• Instructions To prepare the aubergines, place them lengthwise on a board. Cut the stalks off. Using a peeler or sharp paring knife, peel a 1-2cm strip of skin from the stalk end to the base of the aubergine. Leave a 1-2cm strip of skin, and then peel another strip. Carry on until you have gone all the way around the aubergine and you have a striped effect of skin and flesh showing. Cut a slit lengthwise in each aubergine. Salt the peeled parts of the aubergine well to 'degorge' them* and place them on a tray. Degorging draws out all the bitter juices. Set the aubergines aside for 30-40 minutes. Meanwhile, peel and cut the onions in half through their roots. Cut into half rings. Peel the garlic cloves and slice them thinly. Wash the tomatoes well and dice them roughly. Make sure to catch the juice of the tomatoes. Heat a deep frying pan with 3tbsp. olive oil on a medium heat. Once the oil is warm, add the sliced onions and fry until they are soft and starting to turn a light golden. Add the garlic and fry for a couple of minutes until it is starting to soften and also turn slightly golden. Add the tomato paste and stir through for a few seconds. Add the tomatoes and their juices to the pan. Add about 1/2 cup of water, the red wine vinegar and sugar and a pinch of cinnamon and cayenne pepper. Bring up to the boil, and then reduce to a simmer. Add more water as needed. Cook until the tomatoes begin to break down and the sauce becomes jammy and thickens. Stir through the roughly chopped parsley and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Taste, and if needed add a little more sugar or a squeeze of lemon juice. Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan). Rinse the aubergines well, and pat dry. Heat a heavy based frying pan with 1tbsp. olive oil. Add a few aubergines and fry until the skin starts to turn golden and the aubergines are softening. They need to be almost cooked through, as this helps them to break down and really soften when they cook in the oven. You will need to turn them quite often and add more olive oil as they cook. Don't add too much oil though, as aubergines soak it up very quickly. When the aubergines are done, remove them from the pan with tongs, and drain on some paper towel. Place in a stainless steel metal baking dish, with the slit facing up. They need to be quite snug in the dish. I find a metal dish gives a better result as it conducts more heat and caramelises the sauce more, but if you don't have a suitably sized one, ceramic or pyrex will work fine. Using a spoon, open the cut slits of the aubergines a little. Work carefully as you don't want to break the aubergines. Spoon stuffing into each aubergine. You can fill them quite full, piling the stuffing up a little. Spoon any leftover stuffing in between the aubergines. Sprinkle feta on top of the stuffing in each aubergine. If you would like to make the dish vegan, just simply leave off the feta. Add a little water in between the aubergines and drizzle 1-2 tbsp. olive oil over the whole dish. Cover the baking dish with foil, tenting it a little at the top, so it doesn't touch the aubergines. Place in the oven and bake for 1 hour. Remove the foil and continue to bake for another 1-2 hours, until the aubergines are meltingly soft, the sauce is caramelised and the feta is golden and nutty. If the sauce is getting too dry but the aubergines are not done, you can add a little more water to the tray. You may also need to turn the oven down to 160°C (140°C fan). Once cooked, remove the dish from the oven and allow to cool down. Serve warm with a little extra feta and some crusty village bread on the side. Melt in the mouth 'Melitzanes Imam Bayildi' was last modified: January 7th, 2021 by Mira Related