Melitzanes Imam Bayildi Recipes

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

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:

• 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.