İmam Bayıldı

İmam bayıldı: tender eggplants stuffed with slowly cooked onions, tomatoes and garlic, baked in olive oil until silky.

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The name is famously translated as ‘the imam fainted.’ Whatever the legend, the dish is a classic example of Turkish olive-oil cooking where vegetables become rich without meat.

Ingredients

• 4 small eggplants
• 90 ml olive oil (divided)
• 2 onions (thinly sliced)
• 6 garlic cloves (thinly sliced)
• 4 tomatoes (peeled and chopped)
• 1 tsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 1.25 tsp fine salt (divided)
• 0.5 tsp black pepper
• 3 tbsp fresh parsley (chopped)
• 120 ml hot water
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Step-by-step method

1. Heat the oven to 200°C conventional or 180°C fan. Peel alternating strips from the eggplants so they have a striped appearance.
2. Brush the eggplants with 2 tablespoons olive oil, place on a tray and roast for 25 minutes, turning once, until softened.
3. Meanwhile, heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a frying pan over medium-low heat. Cook the onions for 12–15 minutes until very soft.
4. Add the garlic, tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, half the salt and pepper and cook for another 10 minutes until thick.
5. Stir in most of the parsley and the lemon juice. Make a lengthwise slit in each softened eggplant without cutting all the way through.
6. Place the eggplants snugly in a baking dish, gently open the slits and fill generously with the onion-tomato mixture.
7. Pour the hot water around the eggplants and drizzle with the remaining olive oil. Cover loosely and bake for 25 minutes, then uncover for 10 minutes.
8. Cool to warm or room temperature, finish with parsley and serve with bread or yogurt.